best three songs to start a CD

vs.

i rarely ever listen to "albums" as the songs are presented any longer ... i just hit "random" on my iphone and let the songs play ... sometimes, i'll pick an artist but still play the songs on random ... also have tons of "greatest hits," which makes me familiar with the songs but not necessarily the albums from which the songs come.

sooooooo, i was driving gina's car the other day and the dave matthews band's second studio album "Crash" was in the CD player (big shock there). I listened to the first three songs in the order in which they are presented - "so much to say," "two step" and "crash into me" - and was blown away - borderline spiritual experience sort of stuff. Caveat: i am a huge dave fan. but the depth of the lyrics and way the ensemble comes together are amazing.

So it got me thinking about what other "albums" began with such epic-ness ... until now, my no-brainer for an opening three songs has been "Mental Jewelry," the 1991 debut album by Live. That album opens with "Pain Lies on the Riverside," "Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)" and the piece de resistance "The Beauty of Gray." "Mental Jewelry" doesn't just start with three great songs to open the cd - it's a seminal, groundbreaking piece of work in its own right when looked at in its entirety ... the boys from york gave us the OK to rock again and forget the 80s hairband craze ... what makes "mental jewelry" most impressive is that it is the first three songs on live's FIRST album ... hello, live, welcome to the machine!

i'm still going with live as my top three songs to open a CD but after listening to "crash," i've got a second favorite.

what are your favorite first three songs to start an album? do you even listen to albums in the order in which they're presented any longer? inquiring minds want to know ...