Music has an amazing way of attaching to memories or changing your attitude about life. Different people have different musical tastes, and for that reason my list of songs that get me through rough patches of life may seem very strange, but these are the songs that work for me and keep me going.

Aside from my ten top personal songs for hard times, there are also lists of other songs that have significant personal meaning to me from different points in my life. Like many great songs, they can be hard to fit into one group or theme, but a few CDs with all of these old and new classics gives you plenty to chew on through the rough times.

It's amazing how music can carry you through, and these songs have helped me.

My Personal Top 10 Songs: The Ones That Really Carry Me Through Hard Times

1. "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty. This song is the musical epitome of who I am, the stubbornness I need to get through life, and refusal to quit. I absolutely love the lyrics of this song: You can stand me up at the gates of Hell/But I won't back down/Gonna' Stand my ground/Won't be turned around/in a world that keeps on pushing me around/But I'll stand my ground, and I won't back down.
2. "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen. One line sticks out above the others is "I'm sick of sitting around trying to write this book," in part because I'm a writer, but the entire song is great, and everyone's hit that time in their lives where everything seems stale.
3. "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. This might be one for younger kids, but the fired up song is a winner for getting fired up and tempering that into effort.
4. "Wherever I May Roam" by Metallica. One of my all time favorite songs from the Black Album, I definitely understand the line "Wherever I lay my head is home."
5. "Lost in Hollywood" by System of a Down. This is a depressing song, and an odd choice for getting through hard times, but for some reason, it just strengthens me to keep going.
6. "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger. This has long been one of my favorite songs. The message, the tone, the haunting voice, all of this comes together in an absolutely incredible song, and one that holds a great story and a philosophical message
7. "Seize the Day" by Avenged Sevenfold. I refer to this as my "even out" song. No matter how terrible I feel, this song might not make me happy, but it stablizes me out.
8. "Heard the World" by O.A.R. This is another of those songs that just hit me to the core, and I can listen to it over and over again to pick me up any time.
9. "So Far Away" by Staind. The lyrics explain it all: "Now that we're here, it's so far away-all the struggle we thought was in vain. And all the mistakes one life contained, they all finally start to go away. And now that we're here it's so far away and I feel like I can face the day. I can forgive, and I'm not ashamed to be the person that I am today."
10. "Loving the Alien" by Velvet Revolver. I don't know why this song works so much for me, but it does. Every time.

The Fired Up & Fight On Songs

"The Boxer" Simon & Garfunkel

"Keep the Faith" Bon Jovi

"Simple Man" Lynyrd Skynyrd

"Another Bag of Bricks" Flogging Molly

"Devil's Dance Floor"

"What's Left of the Flag"

"My Hero" Foo Fighters

"In the End" Linkin Park

The Travel & "Break Free" Songs

"Running Down a Dream" Tom Petty

"Free Bird" Lynyrd Skynyrd

"Ramblin' Man" Allman Brothers

"Old Friend" The Allman Brothers

"Against the Wind" Bob Seger

"Turn" The Byrds

"Can't Find My Way Home" Blind Faith

"Touch of Grey" The Grateful Dead

"Old Friend" The Allman Brothers

"You Keep Me Hangin' On" Rod Stewart

"House of the Rising Sun" The Animals

"Lonely Road" Everlast

"Grace of God Goes I" Flogging Molly

"Run" Snow Patrol

"Dani California" Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Gangster's Paradise" Coolio

The "Good Angry" or "Screw You" Songs

"Already Gone" Eagles

"Anything Right" P.O.D.

"Far Behind" Candlebox

"You" Candlebox

"Float On" Modest Mouse

Songs That Just Work for Me

"Dream On" Aerosmith - yes, Aerosmith, the sell outs. This is my dirty little secret, but I can't not love this one song

"Forget It" Breaking Benjamin

"Ripple" The Grateful Dead

"Gabriel's Mother's Highway Ballad #16 Blues" Arlo Guthrie

"Operator" Jim Croce

"One Thing" Finger Eleven

"Burning Bridges" Collective Soul

"Make You Feel Better" Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Otherside"

"Dani California"

"Desert Rose" Sting