Get the Music: Various Artists — Seventeen: The Best New Music (Hear It First), Audio CD (paid link)
Seventeen: The Best New Music (Hear It First) brings twelve artists together on a 2006 magazine-branded compilation. Use it as a sampler: hear the sequence, choose a song that holds your attention, and follow that performer into a full album. The selections below give you three starting points and specific questions to listen for.
This guide concerns the Seventeen magazine compilation credited to Various Artists. Searching with the complete album title and “2006” helps distinguish it from releases by the group SEVENTEEN.
Identify the release before choosing a format
The licensed Apple Music catalog entry dates the compilation to April 18, 2006 and credits Sony BMG Music Entertainment. “Best New Music” is the release’s historical title; it describes a selection presented to listeners at that time.
For the physical edition, look for the full title, Various Artists, and Audio CD. The Amazon CD listing linked above identifies a single disc and lists the twelve tracks below. When buying a used copy, check the seller’s condition description and whether the booklet and rear insert are included. Those inserts are useful for credits as well as identifying the edition.
Check a digital service’s actual playable songs before treating its album page as the complete compilation. At our October 2, 2026 check, Apple’s U.S. entry displayed two songs, while the CD listing contained twelve. Availability can vary by service and region. If a song is missing, use its artist and title to find an authorized album release, then check any live, demo, remix, or remaster label.
The twelve-track CD sequence
Use this sequence to identify the disc and keep notes. The artist changes from track to track, so record both the performer and song title when saving a favorite.
- Shout Out Louds — “Hurry Up Let’s Go”
- Faces on Film — “Beginners”
- Citizen Cope — “Sideways”
- Apollo Sunshine — “Phoney Marony”
- The Like — “The One”
- Architecture in Helsinki — “It’s 5!”
- Regina Spektor — “Ode to Divorce”
- Tegan and Sara — “So Jealous”
- Iron & Wine — “Naked as We Came”
- Dirtie Blonde — “Walk Over Me”
- Persephone’s Bees — “Nice Day”
- Say Hi to Your Mom — “As Smart as Geek Is Chic Right Now”
Listen in this order once if you have the complete disc. Notice how a change of voice, instrumental density, or rhythmic feel resets your attention. Then return to two contrasting selections. A compilation’s useful result can be a clearer sense of what you want to hear next.
Three routes from the sampler to an album
Iron & Wine: follow “Naked as We Came” into Our Endless Numbered Days
Sub Pop’s album page places “Naked as We Came” between “On Your Wings” and “Cinder and Smoke.” Hear that three-song opening in order. The compilation introduces one selection; the album lets you hear what surrounds it.
On a second pass, concentrate on the relationship between the voice and the repeating accompaniment. Where do phrases begin and end? Which small changes keep the pattern moving? Compare how the neighboring songs use space and how much instrumental activity sits around the vocal.
If your edition includes extras, begin with the original album program. Sub Pop’s 2019 deluxe edition adds eight demos, including “Naked as We Came.” After hearing the album, that explicitly labeled demo offers a separate comparison of performance and arrangement.
Regina Spektor: follow “Ode to Divorce” into Soviet Kitsch
Rhino’s Soviet Kitsch listing includes “Ode to Divorce,” “Poor Little Rich Boy,” and “Us.” Start with the compilation selection, then hear those other two songs within the album. Use the same questions across the three: what establishes the pulse, how does the singer shape a phrase, and when does the accompaniment change?
Focus first on the ends of vocal lines. Listen for held sounds, clipped endings, pauses, and the instrumental response. Then replay one passage while attending only to the accompaniment. This gives you a concrete way to describe why two songs by the same performer can feel very different.
Tegan and Sara: follow the title track into So Jealous
The duo’s official music catalog identifies So Jealous as a 2004 album. Hear “So Jealous” on the compilation, then play the album from the beginning. Keep a short note whenever a vocal entrance, repeated phrase, or instrumental change draws you back in.
Choose one passage with a single prominent vocal line and another where you hear additional voices. Listen for whether the parts move together, answer each other, or occupy different registers. Check the release’s credits before assigning a particular voice or instrument to a performer.
The artists’ 2014 description of So Jealous X distinguishes the original album from bonus remixes, covers, B-sides, and demos. Keep those version labels when comparing tracks or making a playlist.
Turn a favorite track into a listening session
- Hear a complete song. Write down one moment you want to revisit, with a timestamp from your copy.
- Name what attracted you. Try the vocal phrasing, recurring instrumental figure, rhythmic feel, or change into a new section.
- Find the album connection. Use an artist or label catalog to identify an album containing that song. Confirm the performer and version.
- Hear the surrounding tracks. Play the song before it and the song after it, then listen to the album in sequence when you have time.
- Choose one next step. Keep another track, revisit the whole album, or try a different artist from the compilation.
If you rebuild the CD sequence as a playlist, retain the original order and mark substitutions such as live versions or demos. Keep unavailable tracks in your notes so the playlist’s contents remain clear. For the next stage, Yenra’s offline music-library guide explains file tags and transfers, while the Pandora guide offers another way to explore from a chosen artist or song.