WILL THE THRILL’S
TOP TWENTY-FIVE FAVORITE LOUNGE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

The best from my collection of Crime Jazz, Exotica, Vintage Vocalists and Smooth Sounds of Seduction.

Find the LPs if you can in your nearest bargain bin, though some have been released on CD too. In any format, these albums are timeless,
the Sounds of Thrillville:

1.  PETER GUNN (Original Soundtrack)
   Henry Mancini – the ultimate cool private eye music
   
   
2.  LONELYVILLE: THE NERVOUS BEAT
   Creed Taylor Orchestra – the greatest crime jazz album you’ve never heard
   
   
3.  POLYNESIAN PARADISE
   Phil Moore Orchestra – exotica favorites, exquisitely done
   
   
4.  JUNGLE JAZZ
   Les Baxter – sexy sax, intoxicating instrumentals
   
   
5.  FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA AND ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM – the Latin lounge lizard’s soundtrack, Sinatra at his smoothest
   
   
6.  SLEEP WARM
   Dean Martin –lounge lullabies featuring Dino’s finest vocals over orchestra directed by The Chairman himself
   
   
7.  HYPNOTIQUE
   Martin Denny – sensuous, soothing and surreal
   
   
8.  ABOUT THE BLUES
   Julie London – my favorite torch singer at her most sly, smoky and seductive
   
   
9.  THE WILDEST!
   Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Sam Butera and the Witnesses – premiere collection from Vegas’s coolest lounge act, the heppest cats and kitten ever, man
   
   
10.   SPACE AGE BACHELOR PAD MUSIC (Compilation)
    Esquivel – the album that launched the Lounge Revival of the 90s, still the Atomic Bomb of Sonic Swingdom
    
    
11.   THAT’S ALL
    Bobby Darin – one of the swingin’est LPs ever featuring two of Bobby’s biggest hits, “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea”
    
    
12.   VOODOO
    Robert Drasnin – moody moonlight melodies
    
    
13.   4:35 EXOTICA
    Ted Auletta and his Orchestra – Polynesian Pop at its purest
    
    
14.   MMM…NICE
    Bob Thompson – the best from a genius pioneer of Space Age Pop
    
    
15.   LONESOME ECHO
    Jackie Gleason – romantic and rich, lush and lively make-out music
    
    
16.   SAMMY DAVIS JR. AT THE COCOANUT GROVE (Live) – the most talented, versatile performer of our time captured at his peak
    
    
17.   A TOUCH OF TABASCO
    Rosemary Clooney with Perez Prado – Cubano Cha-Cha Mambo Magnifico
    
    
18.   INTRODUCING LINDA LAWSON
    Linda Lawson – unsung cocktail classic by a sultry siren and good friend
    
    
19.   MUSIC TO READ JAMES BOND
    Various Artists – vibrant variations of 007’s theme music
    
    
20.   She's A LADY
    Tom Jones – Lounge's Largest Lungs cut loose, 70s style - caution: may cause spontaneous conception….
    
    
21.  WHIPPED CREAM & OTHER DELIGHTS
    Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass - this is pretty much everyone's favorite lounge album, not only because of the content, including Herb's signature tune "A Taste of Honey," but most likely due to what is probably the sexiest album cover of all time
    
    
22.  THE LEGEND OF PELE
    Arthur Lyman - volcano melodies and tropical goddess music from the master of the Mai Tai mood
    
    
23.  STACCATO (Original Soundtrack)
    Elmer Bernstein - rivals Mancini's "Peter Gunn" as the definitive TV PI score, bold and brassy but smooth and suave, just like John Cassavettes in the title role as the beatnik musician gumshoe
    
    
24.  JUN'GALA
    Marty Wilson and His Orchestra - exciting exotica, a sonic safari for the soul
    
    
25.  VOODOO!
    Richard Hayman and His Orchestra - not to be confused with Robert Drasnin's album of the same title, this is a sultry, steamy cauldron of zombie tunes that'll liven up any undead shindig...