Favorite Fridays highlight media the HCDL staff recommend. Find your next favorite book, audiobook, movie, TV show, magazine, etc., here every Friday—and share your own favorites in the weekly posts’ comments!

This week we’re sharing some of our librarians’ favorite music albums. If you’ve listened to any of these, share your thoughts in the comments along with your own favorite albums!

*Hoopla is available to Howell library district residents only.

American Idiot by performer Green Day (Musical group)

Call# CD Gre Explicit version

This concept album by the American rock band Green Day is an epic punk rock opera following the young, lower-middle class anti-hero Jesus of Suburbia. Full of disillusionment, discontent, and dissent in reaction to contemporary American political events of the early 2000s, when this album came out, the album shines when listened to all at once, in track order, taken as one epic piece of music. However, with singles like “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and the title track “American Idiot,” the album is easily enjoyed song by song. American Idiot was adapted as a stage musical of the same name in 2009. Find the cast recording on Hoopla*.

Pentatonix . by performer Pentatonix (Vocal group)

Call# CD Pen

Pentatonix (or PTX) is an American a cappella pop group from Arlington, Texas. Their arrangements of vocal harmonies, basslines, riffing, and beatboxing can easily make you forget there are no actual backing instruments in their songs. This album, released in 2015, is my favorite so far, with catchy songs like “Sing,” “Cracked,” and “New Year’s Day” being a few of my favorites. PTX is also known for their covers of classic Christmas music, which is a staple CD in my family’s car during the holiday season. Check out our library’s full collection of PTX albums, and if you end up checking out Pentatonix Vol. 2, Hoopla* has a handy songbook for that album.

Pray for the Wicked by composer Panic! at the Disco (Musical group)

Call# CD Pan

I’ve been a fan of Panic! at the Disco (and Brendan Urie in general, the current solo musician of the band) since high school, but their album that came out in 2018 is one of my favorites. Panic! at the Disco songs are often high energy and work as great pump up music, with my favorite songs to jam out to being “Say Amen (Saturday Night),” “High Hopes,” and “Roaring 20s.” Check out our library’s full collection of Panic! at the Disco albums in our catalog and on Hoopla*.