1. Mud - Tiger Feet - This is a classic glam rock track from 1974 and the first record I ever bought. Well to be precise, my mum bought it for me. Evocative of summer holidays spent riding off wooden ramps on Chopper bikes pretending to be Evel Knievel, before rushing home for a bowl of butterscotch Angel Delight while watching the lovely Jenny Hanley on Magpie. Oh! Jenny where are you now?

2. The Fall - Bingo Masters Breakout - Every top 10 should have at least one Fall track and this is mine. The very first single from Mark E Smith's post punk collective, and what an absolute gem. Almost 30 years after its release it still sounds stunning to these ears. Unfortunately, I can now empathise with line, "All he sees is the back of chairs, in the mirror a lack of hairs". Indeed!

3. Joy Division - Atmosphere - In 1980 I was a surly teenager with a rather laissez-faire attitude to personal hygiene, whose sole pleasures were derived from listening to music and finding the occasional glossy magazine discarded in a hedge. My favourite band then was Joy Division, who released this single after the untimely death of singer Ian Curtis. Even today, this sparse melancholic tune sounds masterful. Not to be confused with the song 'Atmosphere' by madcap comedian Russ Abbott of Basildon Bond and Julio Doubleglazius fame.

4. Pixies - Gigantic - One from my student days, when beer was less than £1 a pint and breakfast T.V was watching Henry Kelly's Euro quiz, 'Going for Gold'. This is the stand out track from the Boston (Massachusetts not Lincolnshire) quartet's 'Surfa Rosa' album, a superb mix of brilliant song writing, insane lyrics, abrasive guitars and stunning melody. As an aside, producer Steve Albini said of singer Kim Deal, "she has an astounding voice - as if Doris Day was a little dirty." Now there's a thought.

5. This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren - Next is a cover version of a song by Tim Buckley, one of the most talented rock vocalists of the 1960s and father of acclaimed singer Jeff, although to my knowledge no relation of maverick priest Father Pat Buckley. Good covers are about reinvention, about expanding and improving on the original, while bad covers are, to quote the band Pulp, "like an own brand box of cornflakes". This however, is not just a good cover but probably one of the greatest ever recorded. A truly haunting rendition, with the ethereal vocals supplied by Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser ensuring that this sounds like nothing else before or since.

6. Husker Du - Important Years - At the beginning of the nineties, keen to embrace new technology, I set off in my Sinclair C5 to purchase one of the new fangled compact discs that had suddenly become all the rage. At Doctor Roberts Record Emporium (now defunct) I parted with some of my hard earned for a copy of 'Warehouse songs and Stories' by the influential U.S. hardcore band, Husker Du. I was not disappointed, the album is a varied and accomplished collection of songs with 'These Important Years', the opener, a classic combination of melody and noise. Crank right up to eleven.

7. Tom Waites - Cemetery Polka - What can I say about Tom Waits? I could do a top 10 of just his songs alone. Admittedly an acquired taste, but in my opinion the legendary gravel voiced singer/songwriter is a truly unique talent whose tales about seedy and desperate characters remind me of the type of people I meet on a daily basis working for the N.I.C.S. The album 'Rain Dogs' is a personal favourite and from it I have chosen this track mainly because of its utterly bizarre lyrics. Who else but Tom Waits could come up with lines like, "Uncle Phil can't live without his pills, he has emphysema and he's almost blind, and we must find out where the money is, get it now before he loses his mind."

8. Nick Cave - Into your Arms - A simple arrangement, just the Australian troubadour's baritone voice complimented by piano, but the result is a very fine tune indeed. Also, the first song played at my wedding to the lovely Michelle, and widely acknowledged as being a pleasant change from the usual Celine Dion dirge. As for the actual event, it was the best day of my life. From the minute I got out of bed until the moment I awoke on the settee 20 hours later, still wearing my suit and clutching a traffic cone.

9. Beth Gibbons & Rustin' Man - Mysteries - Beth Gibbons, the ex singer from Portishead, has the kind of achingly beautiful voice which could make a statue cry real tears. Not my words but those of some bloke off the Internet but nevertheless sentiments I share. An achingly beautiful song, listen to this and weep.

10. Cold War Kids - We Used to Vacation - bang up to date now with the opening track on Californian indi-rockers excellent debut album 'Robbers and Cowards'. This dry eyed account of alcoholism's effect on a family contains the immortal line, "I promised to my wife and children, I'd never touch another drink as long as I live." Oh! How often have I made this same pledge? Well never, because my alcohol consumption is wisely, always less than the 20 units per week advised by the British Medical Council. This album was recommended to me by a young whippersnapper at work barely out of short trousers, but I doff my hat to him. It's a belter.

How do your Top 10 songs compare? Send your Top 10 to lorna.mckay@jpress.co.uk Those chosen for pubclication will receive a £10 HMV voucher