THE ULTIMATE MIX CD

THE ULTIMATE MIX CD: Petty pours out heart in underrated career
CONSISTENTLY ENTERTAINING, distinctively American and an often underrated songwriter, Tom Petty has amassed a singular body of work that few can match. His emergence in the mid-'70s was greeted with the then-popular "new Bob Dylan" pronouncements.

But Petty and the Heartbreakers sounded a lot more like the Byrds tangling with the Rolling Stones, with Dylan as referee. Here's a sampler of a favorite Petty tunes we'd burn on a CD. And though this list stops at 10, it could easily go a lot higher with no depreciation in quality.

1. "Breakdown." A song from the eponymous first album that exudes tension as a simmering verse boils over into a roaring chorus. It became Petty's first Top 40 hit in 1978, but just barely, since it peaked at No. 40.

2. "American Girl." This is what might have happened if the Byrds covered a Springsteen tune: heartland rock with a fetching jangle.

3. "Listen to Her Heart." The lush, gorgeous chime of the twelve-string guitar makes this one of the most Byrds-like tunes in Petty's catalog.

4. "Magnolia." A sublime auditory evocation of the lyric's "wet Southern night," this nostalgic ode to a fleeting amorous encounter is one of Petty's overlooked gems.

5. "Free Fallin'." One of Petty's most powerful and emotional songs, many consider it his finest. It's from the Jeff Lynne-produced "Full Moon Fever," ostensibly Petty's first solo effort, as opposed to a Heartbreakers album. But Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell is all over it and other band members make appearances, too.

6. "Don't Come Around Here No More." Light touches of psychedelia first crept into Petty's sound on 1985's "Southern Accents," produced by Eurythmics' Dave Stewart.

7. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Petty duetted with Stevie Nicks on this infectious track he wrote with Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. It appeared on Nicks' solo debut "Bella Donna" and became its first hit.

8. "Refugee." Still Petty's finest achievement, the 1979 album "Damn the Torpedoes" was his commercial breakthrough. This fiery rocker and "Don't Do Me Like That" were both Top 20 singles, but the album is one of those rare recordings that doesn't have a weak track. The whole thing has become so familiar that it's hard to believe those two songs were the only chart hits.

9. "The Waiting." An inspired rocker with an infectious, memorable chorus hails from the follow-up to "Damn the Torpedoes," the almost-as-good "Hard Promises." It was Petty's third Top 10 hit.

10. "You Don't Know How It Feels." After a couple of albums helmed by Lynne, Petty toned down the production for 1994's "Wildflowers," which included this lovely, introspective shuffle.