NYC's Hometown Sweethearts are by far the best cover band in the world — bar none. It just so happened they grew up here in Madison. They play the songs you want to hear, in a way that makes you feel nostalgic-yet-current.

Many of those ubiquitous songs of the past few decades are now a little more ubiquitous thanks to local cover band Hometown Sweethearts. They've played everywhere from their regular Tuesday-night gig at Crystal Corner to the Old Fashioned. Now, your very own home can be a Hometown Sweethearts venue thanks to the their CD, A Shower Of Golden Hits!, which includes R. Kelly's (“Ignition”) and Tom Waits' (“I Don’t Wanna Grow Up”). The Sweethearts’ bouncy versions recall the fun of the original songs without being too literal, which is fitting — who wants to hear a bar band do it dead serious?