Top 5 Kids’ Albums

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Move over, Kidz Bop. These albums are for parents who’d like to listen to music with their kids without sacrificing their frontal lobe.

1. Tumble Bee
Traditional toe-tapping tunes covered by singer/songwriter Laura Veirs. Hipster mamas and papas rejoice: That is The Decemberist’s Colin Meloy on “Soldier’s Joy.” Tumble Bee, by Laura Veirs. lauraveirs.com

2. Snacktime!
Even if you weren’t a teenager in the nineties trying to keep up with Ed Robertson rapping about The X-Files, you can still appreciate this G-rated offering from The Barenaked Ladies. There are plenty of laughs for kids where ninjas, the alphabet, and anthropomorphic snacks are concerned, and for parents, too, on tracks like “My Big Sister,” a brother lamenting having to wear his big sister’s winter coat, and “I Don’t Like,” where wild-caught salmon is inexplicably the punch line of a joke. Snacktime, by the Barenaked Ladies. barenakedladies.com/releases/snacktime

3. Jungle Gym
It was a real challenge to choose just one of Justin Roberts’ albums to favor, but “Gym Class Parachute” and “Snow Day” will forever speak to the eight-year-old in me. These are quintessential childhood tunes that don’t overindulge on the silliness. Jungle Gym, by Justin Roberts. justinroberts.org/home.php

4. Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents the Dino-5
Despite the fact that whoever wrote the story between the songs has clearly never encountered a real child, this album is still at the top of my toddler’s request list. Also, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 voices a Tyrannosaurus Rex rapping about his stuffed bunny. I mean, come on. Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents the Dino-5, dino5.com

5. Here Comes Science
Who better to introduce your child to the scientific method than They Might Be Giants? Meet the elements, hitch a ride on the bloodmobile, and feed every little’s early love of dinosaurs with repeated listens of “I am a Paleontologist.” Here Comes Science, by They Might Be Giants. theymightbegiants.com/music/here-comes-science

 

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