We know the wheels on the bus go round and round, but isn't life hard enough without having to listen to it a gazillion times before our kids develop some taste? Therefore in the interests of furthering our children's music appreciation, and maintaining our sanity, the lovely people at MumsRock online magazine (tagline: Because there is life after birth) listened to a frightening amount of so-called kids music and come out the other side with their pick of the 'top of the (kid's) pops'.
Best for the nursery - Punk Rock Baby
"For those of us who get misty-eyed when they hear The Jam", say MumsRock. Punk Rock Baby is a collection of lullaby versions of those tunes you used to get sweaty in the moshpit to. If you're keen to start your child on a diet punk early in life, it's all here: The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Blondie, The Buzzcocks and everything else your rebel heart could desire. Just maybe try to avoid teaching them the spitting, self-piercing and anarchy parts of punkdom. (Other options include Ibiza baby for a spot of blissed out banging choons, 80's baby for some lessons in materialiasm and all manner of other pop-based nursery fodder).
Punk Rock Baby (£9.99) available from punkrockbaby.com
Best for toddler sing-a-longs - My Ray: Songs from the Kids' Lounge
"We love, love, love Mr Ray and his quite brilliant (and award-winning) CD Songs From The Kids Lounge" say the MumsRock team before going on to compare Mr Ray's work with the Beatles. Must be good! If you're already aware of Mr Ray and his tunes, you may start to go loopy after too many listens, but with 14 of the catchy sing-along songs to choose from, you'll at least have a bit of variety. Check out Mr Ray's website for a little preview of what to expect.
Songs From the Kids Lounge (around £9.99) fromTownsend Records
Best for in-car sanity - Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Radiohead (and The Cure, and Nirvana, and AC/DC and Coldplay and everyone else)
This one is our choice for a great bit of baby music. The Rockabye bunch have put together loads of excellent CDs like this one, which has lullaby versions of all your favourite Radiohead tracks. They're pretty, relaxing and really quite lovely, so you may well find yourself chilling out to them on car journeys long after your little bundle of joy has quit screaming. Check out a review of the albums over on My Chemical Toilet.
Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Radiohead £12.95 from Prezzybox.