Grab your hairbrushes, girls! In light of Dave Berry's list of The 10 Albums Every Man Should Own, here's a list of classic albums for the ladies:
10 Albums Every Woman Should Own
Joni Mitchell - 'Blue'(01 of10)
Blue by name, blue by nature, blue by cover colour. The only Joni album you need to own... apart from 'Court And Spark', 'Both Sides Now' and all the other ones. But they don't contain the essential tragic Christmas song 'River', do they? No. (credit:Reprise)
Carole King - 'Tapestry'(02 of10)
The most important album released in 1971, apart from Joni Mitchell's 'Blue'. Carole knew what it meant to be a natural woman, even if, back in 1971, that meant far more body hair. And what woman hasn't at some point felt the earth move under their feet, needed a friend or wondered if someone will still love them tomorrow? (credit:Ode)
Various Artists - 'The Best Disco Album In The World... Ever!'(03 of10)
Who needs individual, classic disco albums when this double CD has it all covered?! Just grab your girlfriends, your hairbrushes and your hilarious afro wigs - and hit play. Altogether now: "Youuuu maaaake me feeeeeeel..." (credit:Virgin)
Spice Girls - 'Spice'(04 of10)
Which one were you - the posh one, the sporty one, the scary one or Charlotte? Or to put it another way: who do you think you are? The kind of woman who loves GIRL POWER, that's who! And who doesn't - especially when it comes wrapped in such a sparkly package, full of singalong tunes and messages about 'getting' with your friends? (credit:Virgin)
Tracy Chapman - 'Tracy Chapman'(05 of10)
Tracy was talkin' bout a revolution and it sounds like... this album. Did she release any other albums? Probably. But who cares? This is the only one you need. Just make sure you fast-forward over the obligatory Depressing Acapella Track (see also: Tori Amos's 'Little Earthquakes'). (credit:Elektra)
Various Artists - 'Dirty Dancing' Original Soundtrack(06 of10)
Are we having the time of our life, ladies?! ARE WE?! We are when we're listening to this album. Classic doo-wop tracks PLUS Patrick Swayze? Swoon! NOBODY puts a woman in a corner when this album is on. Well, not unless she's planning to run towards the centre of the room where a man's waiting to lift her. (credit:RCA)
Shania Twain - 'Come On Over'(07 of10)
Beautiful AND talented - but that don't impress us much! No, what makes us love Shania is slow dances with our men to songs like 'You're Still The One' and 'From This Moment On'. Man! Does this album make us feel like a woman? So much so, it made us forget all about Sheryl Crow's 'Tuesday Night Music Club'. (credit:Mercury)
Ella Fitzgerald - 'Essential Ella'(08 of10)
You could check out her Songbook series or her duets with Louis Armstrong. But let's face it: we're busy women and it would take us ages to work through Ella's back catalogue. So why not invite some friends over for dinner and impress them with this album? (Better still: consider getting a 'jazz divas' collection. That way you've got her, Nina Simone and Billie Holliday ALL covered.) (credit:Decca)
ABBA - 'Gold'(09 of10)
Knowing me, knowing you, you'll have this album in your collection. Not least because you can't be bothered to skip over the tracks that weren't hits on albums like 'Arrival' and 'The Visitors'. But who can blame you? You just want 'Fernando' and 'Mamma Mia', right?! (credit:PolyGram)
Various Artists - 'All Woman'(10 of10)
All woman? All great, more like! Madonna. Sade. Yazz. And other women, some of whom have surnames. A fantastic compilation series (it doesn't matter which one you own) featuring all women. Who are all woman. Especially Chaka Khan, who is every woman. As are you. (credit:Dino Entertainment/Quality Television)