Welcome to the Five-Timers Club

Remember this old chestnut?

Saturday Night Live – Tom Hanks – 12/08/1990 by ccob

In downloading Mule Variations as part of my emusic subscription this month, I realized that Tom Waits has now entered my own “Five Timers Club,” that select group of musical acts whom I enjoy enough to have purchased five of their albums.  Well done, sir.  A quick survey of my iTunes library gives the following list of Five Timers, compiled in order of most to least:

• They Might Be Giants (15ish)
• Mojo Nixon (10)***
• Bob Dylan (9)
• Mike Doughty (w/ Soul Coughing (3), solo (5): Total (8))
• Bob Mould (Bob Mould (2), Sugar (4ish), Husker Du (1): Total (7))
• Cake (7)
• Crash Test Dummies (7)
• Jonathan Coulton (7ish)
• Barenaked Ladies (6)
• Less Than Jake (6)
• Moxy Fruvous (6)
• Nine Inch Nails (6)
• Pearl Jam (6)
• Weezer (6)
• Spider John Koerner (w/ Ray and Glover (4), solo (2): Total (6))*
• The Chieftans (Sole group (4), partnered with others (2): Total (6))*
• Tom Waits (5/7)**
• Counting Crows (5/6)**
• Flogging Molly (5.5)
• Great Big Sea (5)
• Eric Clapton (5)*
• Ani DiFranco (Solo (4), with Utah Phillips (1): Total (5))
• Van Morrison (Solo (3/4), w/ the Chieftans (1): Total (4/5))*

‘ish’ – refers to a rounding process in which two half-album EPs count as one full album.
* – refers to an artist or group whose presence in the five-timer club includes albums I inherited from my dad.  In the case of Bob Dylan, I do not include an asterisk because I have six albums I’ve purchased on my own and three I inherited.
** – second number reflects multi-disc set.
*** – I got these albums for free during an Amazon.com special, so the presence of these artists does not necessarily reflect my taste (though if I didn’t like them at all, I wouldn’t keep them).

There were probably another dozen bands that need just one more album to make the five-timers club, but it’s fun to see which artists I tend to buy more often.  Three groups I regret not being on this list (and now go into the ‘make up for lost time’ category? Radiohead, James, and Foo Fighters.  I’ve got three or albums each for James and Radiohead, but only TWO for Foo Fighters.  Better get on that.

Well, dear readers?  Who are on your Five Timer list?