The BoDeans first caught my eye with their screaming opening on “Closer to Free,” which was the title theme for Party of Five. For six seasons, my Wednesday evenings were spent singing along to every word of the catchy pop rock song while I followed the dramatic saga of the Salinger children (not to mention learning about hip bands from the Peach Pit onBeverly Hills, 90210). The show would go on to feature such classic artists as Stevie Nicks, Tori Amos, Sid Straw and even swing band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. My love affair with music in the late 90s would not have been complete without The BoDeans and the Fox Wednesday night lineup.

I am going to admit, I don’t think I have ever seen a single episode of Fox’s The O.C. However, I can sing every single word to its theme song, the awesome “California” by Phantom Planet. The show was revered at the time for its close attention to what was hip in music, featuring artists from Dashboard Confessional and Jem to the Album Leaf and Spoon. Their series of soundtracks were legendary and very much represented what young people like myself were listening to at the time. However, without that theme song, I would have never paid any attention to that band, that show or its impressive roster of accompanying albums.

Over the past few years, my favorite musical artist has gradually changed, leaving me with an enduring love affair with singer/songwriter Gavin DeGraw. While it recently wrapped up its tenured run, One Tree Hill was another show that shaped the musical landscape for much of the past decade. Boasting a noteworthy set of performances and soundtracks, the WB/CW teen soap started it all off with DeGraw’s rocking “I Don’t Want to Be.” Making many appearances of his own, he had a consistent musical presence himself over the course of the show and really set the tone for sonic soundscape that went along with the otherwise overly dramatic scenes. I think I saw a handful of episodes of this one at best, but I always checked out the soundtracks whenever they came out. That’s the sign of great music to me.