I own Not So Soft,Imperfectly, Living In Clip, Little Plastic Castle, The First Album, Out of Range, and Puddle Dive, and although I love each and every one of these albums, I keep returning to Not a Pretty Girl again and again. This album marks a transition from Ani's more acoustic and light sound (The First Album, Imperfectly) to her more hard-edge music (Dilate, Little Plastic Castle). I love both phases but I'd have to say I'm happiest in the middle. This CD combines folk and rock for the best glimpse of Ani that i have found. If you are a new Ani fan, this is the best album to own because it really showcases her talent. You are able to hear her loud, passionate work in "The Million You Never Made" ( the song that has my favorite lyric- life is a sleazy stranger flirting with a bimbo named disaster at the end of the bar...I'm telling you I'm different than you are), her softer work in "32 Flavors" and "This Bouquet", her spoken poetry in "Tiptoe", her acoustic edge in "Cradle and All", and her lyrical mastery in nearly every track but especially in "Hour follows Hour" and "Shy". Ani is a singing poet, a true musical genius. If you are tired of everyday bubblegum pop and you want to hear a true artist who thinks of her music as art, pick up an Ani CD. You won't be disappointed. I never have been. She isn't for everyone, but she may just be for you.

If you don't know Ani DiFranco yet, she's the straight-talking, "Why don't more singers say it this plainly?" independent singer/songwriter who's built up such a following that it proves -- yes, there IS room for smarter music in this world.

She's got a killer voice. (How does she sing like that?) And she plays guitar so well that even if you don't know much about the instrument ... you can tell she's good.

NOT A PRETTY GIRL is the perfect album to buy first. And don't worry, once you get hooked -- there are gazillions more from which to choose. That's the great thing about discovering an artist like Ani -- if you find you love her, you can just keep buying more and more!

Is she folk? Is she 'women's music'? Is she punk? Who knows. She's just a very forthright singer/songwriter who writes lyrics no one else dares to produce. (The advantage of having founded her own music company, as I understand it!)

Some of the highlights on this "Absolutely must have" album include THE MILLION YOU NEVER MADE -- a hardore tell-off to the music industry, LIGHT OF SOME KIND -- repenting for being unfaithful, sung with heartfelt, bang-it-up umph, and CRADLE AND ALL -- a beautiful, gut-wrenching ballod that just goes on and on about a rough day in the life of a city girl. Then of course, NOT A PRETTY GIRL is a great feminist song.

NOT A PRETTY GIRL is where it's at -- make it your first Ani album, but don't make it your last.

Every Ani album is a masterpiece, if you ask me. I've followed her for a long time now and I've watched her grow and expand her range with each passing record, from the spare folk of her self-titled debut, to dueting with the former artist usually known as Prince on her latest, "To the Teeth."

"Not a Pretty Girl" remains a favorite of mine. I connected to "32 Flavors" from the first time I heard it. I love "Shy," "Hour Follows Hour," and "Cradle and All," but one of the finest tracks I've heard in a long time is "The Million You Never Made." She sorta turns into Wendy O. Williams at the end of the song...not that that's a bad thing.

To sum up: worth every penny.

This is probably my favorite Ani CDs of all time (with OUT OF RANGE and DILATE tying for a close second). Of course, I love the simplicty of the earlier albums and the funkyness and the chances she's taken with her more recent ones. But there is just something about the time period when she made this. She seemed to be at a creative, political and honest peak. There is something about the title track, "Light of Some Kind" and "The Million you Never Made" that make you glad to be alive and sitting there listening to Ani.

The thing I love about NOT A PRETTY GIRL is the fact that it's so political and it's so not political at the same time. "Sorry I Am" is one of her best downright folk tunes. "This Bouquet" and "Worthy" are both emotional and compelling. "Shy" is probably one of her best rock tunes (though you don't fully realize how much of a rock tune it is until you hear it live). And of course, there's "32 Flavors" which I believe will be a classic in it's own right... if it's not already. The percussion at the end gets me every time.

Don't say she's angry. Angry is far too simple a way to describe Ani DiFranco or her music. Anger is played with one note - mixed emotion requires a rhythm section. She picks you up, drops you, dusts you off, looks you in the eye and says "wanna go round again?". Whatever you want to feel, its in there.

Musically and lyrically her best album to date!