I went to Tower Records yesterday just to look.

Yeah, riiiiight.

The last thing I need to be doing is spending money on "entertainment." But I found the Foo Fighters latest, One By One on sale for $10. Now who can pass that up? I’ve been missing my favorite of theirs, There is Nothing Left to Lose, ever since the ex got it. Alas, it was not on sale. (It can’t be burned, it’s one of those.)

But the greatest find was without a doubt Rufus Wainright’s new one called Want One. The album was not on sale, but I just couldn’t put it down before I reached the cash register.

I’ve been a fan of Rufus ever since the Tribute to John Lennon that aired back in 2001. It was a great special with the likes of Dave Matthews, Natalie Merchant and Stone Temple Pilots doing covers of John Lennon songs. But when the lights came up on this guy being backed by Moby and Sean Lennon as he belted out "Across the Universe," I dropped whatever I was doing. "Who is that?!" If you’re into music piracy, download the live version of "Across the Universe" and you’ll hear what I did.

Rufus has an unmistakable voice. If you’re in a used cd store (or not used for that matter) I recommend you pick up his 2001 release Poses. It’s a GREAT album, which showcases his vocals with quiet piano. The title track is my favorite.

Want One, unlike Poses, is dense with production, layered often with a full-blown orchestra. A prime example is the opening track "Oh What a World," which begins with something akin to chanting monks, then kicks into carnivale, even sampling Ravel’s "Bolero." My favorite tracks are "I Don’t Know What It Is" (kind of a theme to my life lately), "Vicious World" and "Beautiful Child." And "Vibrate" shows off his sense of humor ("My phone’s on vibrate for you/But still I never ever feel from you").

I’ll be addicted to this one for some time to come. Every friend I let borrow Poses brings a new fan into the fold. Hopefully Want One will do the same.