Boats Beaches Bars & Ballads

When Jimmy Buffett eventually becomes the subject of a college course--and given his enduring popularity as a singer-songwriter and author, you know he will someday--here's what'll be on the final exam. Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads is so named because the four-CD collection divides Buffett's collected works among those categories, giving each disc a theme. From early classics such as "Biloxi" and "Come Monday" to more recent fare known only by the Parrothead cognoscenti, this set is the perfect accompaniment to a cool drink and a hammock on a summer afternoon. What kind of cool drink? Well, that'll be on the final, too. --Daniel Durchholz