#1: Justin Roberts - Pop Fly

Justin Roberts is one of the anchors of our radio show, and has been since the start. (Indeed, we played two tracks from him on our very first show.) And he's been a foundation our family's music collection, ever since I first ordered Great Big Sun after seeing the "You might also like..." link on Amazon when ordering a Dan Zanes CD. (It helped that I remembered liking Justin's prior band, Pimentos for Gus at the 400 in Minneapolis.)

Heck, he was one of the first family-oriented performers we ever saw live, at the Iota, which appears, sadly, to have stopped booking kids' music. (At one of those Iota shows, he sang a very sweet "Happy Birthday" to Ella, who had just turned, I think, 4. Maybe 5.) And his Meltdown CD received first place in the inaugural Fids & Kamily Awards a couple of years ago.

That's a long way of saying that we have pretty high expectations for any new Justin Roberts CD coming in the door. Pop Fly cements -- if there were ever any question -- his place as one of the finest and most creative family-oriented artists today.

From the insanely catchy and relatable title track (a song to which I dare you not to sing along) to the sweet tribute to grandma "From Scratch," to the hilarious "She Sits" and its praise of a lenient babysitter, to the gentle closing song "Fruit Jar," this record works on many levels. It's got great radio songs (my first interest), but it's got a flow to it that works remarkably well. More than most kids' records, when one song ends and the next one starts, it just feels right. As always, long-time collaborator Liam Davis produces the record with just the right touches, letting the songs come through without making you say, "Hey! Production!"

This last year was very good for kids' music, and Pop Fly sits very comfortably at the top of the list of great records to be released in it. And Justin's winning the whole kielbasa of the Fids & Kamily Awards twice should tell you all you need to know. There are very few other artists creating as creative, engaging, smart, and just plain great music as Justin Roberts.

- Bill Childs, Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child and various publications