One of the tricky parts of making this list is that I don’t want any one artist over-represented. I could have twenty-five songs by Trisha Yearwood, probably fifty by Mary Chapin Carpenter, and on and on.

Gretchen Peters has written a whole bunch of songs you’ve heard that are sung by others. But she kept some of the best ones for herself. I could include nearly every song she’s ever recorded on the Ultimate Playlist, but this list requires tough choices.

But the choice to include Picasso And Me is easy. It’s the story of Picasso, told through the eyes of his cat. And it speaks to me as few songs do.