5 Classical Guitar Music CD's You Mustn't Live Without

1. Spanish Guitar Classics - Antonio de Lucena

This is one of the best classical guitar music CD's I've ever heard. Its 100% Spanish sound will quickly sweep you off your feet while simultaneously melting away any anxieties you may have. With works like Bizet's Habenera and Rodrigo's Concierto De Aranjuez, several of the works on the album are easily recognizable. Most of the album is performed on solo guitar, though several of the tracks are accompanied by a couple of instruments. If you don't already own this album, don't wait any longer - you will not be disappointed. If you buy it on iTunes or Napster, its title changes to Spanish Classical Guitar. If you still have trouble finding it, look up "Antonio de Lucena."

2. Suite Music for the Classical Guitar - Brian Morris

Suite Music for the Classical Guitar performed by Brian Morris is a soulful and delightful interpretation and synthesis of popular, folk, and jazz music from Argentina, the UK, and USA. Unlike Spanish Guitar Classics, Suite Music for the Classical Guitar has a completely different feel. Though it too is laid back and relaxed, one can sense the driving force behind the suites are their structures rather than their melodies. However, that is what makes this album unique and a definite must have.

3. Russian Classical Guitar Music - Andrei Krylov

Andrei Krylov's Russian Classical Guitar Music has a depth and richness of sound unlike any other album on this list, making it a welcoming contrast, especially to Morris' Suite Music for the Classical Guitar. Its distinct, almost haunting, Russian flavor is interlaced with sweet melodic lines that enrapture the listener.

4. Sky Lake. Classical Guitar. Zen. Meditation Music - Andrei Krylov

Created amidst of the great outdoors in a small cabin underneath the vast blue expanse, far away from the hubbub of the modern world, this album is a meditation of the "spirit world and nothingness" - though one could argue that Krylov's creation of nothingness is indeed something... something very special. Sky Lake, sans rough harmonies and rigid melodies, provides us listeners a soothing and calm sound-scape.

5. Sunset. Baroque and Classical Music - Andrei Krylov

If you haven't already noticed, Andrei Krylov's classical guitar music makes up over half of this list. (What can I say - he's good!). His expertise and mastery over the instrument is apparent on all three albums. On Sunset, apart from the classics of great Baroque and Classical composers such as Bach, Rameau, Giordano, Handel, and Vivaldi, Krylov composed several works in similar style. He truly is an amazing artist and performer.