As the only cigar lounge in the Midwest that exclusively spins vinyl, we feel it is only right to share a list of our favorite albums to play in the lounge at night. Whether it's jazz, country, soul, hip-hop or rock 'n roll, we usually dig for the classics. Here's your go-to list next time you're searching for an album to start the weekend off right. 

1. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

Release date: August 17, 1959
Label: Columbia Records
Genres: Jazz, Modal jazz, Hard bop, Cool jazz

No matter the night, you can never start off wrong if you pull Kind of Blue from its sleeve, pour a glass of your favorite single malt scotch and light up a Durango 2010 Classic Turkish Stout. This jazz standard goes over well with any crowd in any cigar lounge, and for good reason. Miles has several great albums, but Kind of Blue is at the top for us. 

2. Johnny Cash - Live at Folsom Prison

Release date: May 1968
Label: Columbia Records
Genres: Country music, Outlaw country, Folk rock

Ah, the great times we've had in the lounge listening to Johnny tell the story of a "Boy named Sue." His 27th album, Johnny Cash's Live at Folsom Prison features the man in black performing several of his greatest hits to a room full of prisoners inside California's Folsom State Prison. Pour a bourbon, light up a Durango 2010 Elmer's Burnt Peach and play this one all the way through. If you're burning it right, the cigar should last right through 'til the end of the album.

3. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly

Release date: July 1972
Label: Curtom Records
Genres: Soul music, Funk

Written for the 1972 crime film Super Fly starring Ron O'Neal and Carl Lee, the Super Fly Soundtrack made more money than the actual movie. Curtis Mayfield struck gold with this album, creating a soundtrack that's lived well beyond the film it was written for. 11:00 PM in the lounge, with a glass of cognac in-hand, is just the right time to put this one on.  

4. Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters 

Release date: July 1972
Label: Curtom Records
Genres: Soul music, Funk

Seriously, let us know when you find a groovier track than 'Watermelon Man.' Hancock's funkiest album is also his best...With more than one million copies sold upon its release in 1973, Headhunters the largest selling jazz album of all time. Even more impressive: Herbie was 22 years old when he wrote it. Recommended smoke: Durango 2010 Three Cherry Cavendish.

5. A Tribe Called Quest - Hits, Rarities and Remixes

Release date: June 17, 2003
Label: Jive Records
Genres: Jazz rap, Alternative hip hop, East Coast hip hop

Every cigar lounge should have, at least, a few great hip hop albums. This compilation features some of ATCQ's greatest hits including 'Award Tour,' 'Electric Relaxation,' and 'Buggin' Out.' It also includes some previously unreleased remixes and a couple of songs from different soundtracks. Throw this album on and raise your glass to Phife Dawg. One of the most influential hip-hop artists of our time, Phife passed away last year. RIP. 

6. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Release date: June 1, 1967
Label: Capitol
Genres: Rock music, Pop music, Psychedelic rock, Pop rock

We don't need to over-explain The Beatles to anyone, but we will reiterate why this particular album is such a great one. The band's 8th Studio Album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band won 'Album of the Year' at the GRAMMY Awards in 1968, it spent 15 weeks at number one on the charts in the United States, and Rolling Stone has called it "the most important rock & roll album ever made." Need we say more? Best track: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

7. Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall

Release date: October 13, 2008
Label: World Circuit Records
Genres: Bolero, Guajira, Descarga, Danzón, Criolla

Perhaps our favorite album to play in the lounge. Buena Vista Social Club's performance at New York City's Carnegie Hall on July 1, 1998 elevated the group of Cuban musicians from world renown players to international stars. Today the album has sold over eight million copies, making it the best-selling world music album ever. 

8. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?

Release date: May 12, 1967
Label: Track Records
Genres: Rock music, Blues, Psychedelic rock, Blues rock, Acid rock 

Hendrix created a whole new dialect for electric guitar with this album. But it wasn't just the guitar chops that got people paying attention; four of the album's songs are featured in Rolling Stone's 500 greatest rock songs of all time. Pretty impressive for a debut studio album. Jimi is to this day perhaps the only musician to capture the word 'Fire' so well. 

9. Al Green - Greatest Hits

Release date: April 1975
Label: Motown/Universal Records
Genre: Soul music

This album features nearly all of The Reverend Al Green's greatest hits, including perhaps the greatest soul song of all time, "So Tired of Being Alone." There's something about this album that captures the nightlife of our Saint Louis lounge so well...we couldn't imagine leaving it off the list. Order a bottle of wine, pick a side and enjoy the ride.