I love non-lyrical music. It’s what I listen to most, and as a KGNU DJ, I get to discover a whole lot and share it on the air. Friends sometimes ask what I’m listening to. Here it is.
| Rank | Artist | Album | Label | Release Year |
| 1 | Medeski Martin & Wood | The Dropper | Blue Note | 2000 |
| 2 | Chicago Underground Duo | Synesthesia | Thrill Jockey | 2000 |
| 3 | Jan Jelinek | Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records | ~scape | 2001 |
| 4 | The Books | The Lemon of Pink | Tomlab | 2003 |
| 5 | Colleen | The Golden Morning Breaks | The Leaf Label | 2005 |
| 6 | Various Artists | A Raga for Peter Walker | Tompkins Square | 2006 |
| 7 | Jaga Jazzist | What We Must | Smithtown Supersound | 2006 |
| 8 | Portico Quartet | Knee-Deep in the North Sea | Real World | 2007 |
| 9 | Esbjörn Svensson Trio | Leucocyte | ACT Music | 2008 |
| 10 | Animal Collective | Merriweather Post Pavillion | Domino | 2009 |
| 11 | Trey Anastasio Band | Tab at the Tab | Rubber Jungle Records | 2010 |
| 12 | Cloud Cult | Light Chasers | Earthology Records | 2010 |
| 13 | Kaki King | Glow | Velour | 2012 |
| 14 | GoGo Penguin – v2.0 – | v2.0 | Blue Note | 2013 |
| 15 | I Think You’re Awesome | Løft Mig Op, Så Jeg Kan Nå | Hank | 2014 |
| 16 | Floating Points | Elaenia | Pluto/Luaka Bop | 2015 |
| 17 | Jeff Parker | The New Breed | International Anthem | 2016 |
| 18 | The Natural Yogurt Band | The 13 Moons of Neptune / Satelites | BMM Records | 2017 |
| 19 | Sons Of Kemet | Your Queen Is A Reptile | Impulse! | 2018 |
| 20 | Trey Anastasio Band | Ghosts of the Forest | Rubber Jungle Records | 2019 |
| 21 | North Americans | Roped In | Third Man | 2020 |
| 22 | Jaimie Branch | FLY or DIE LIVE | jaimie branch | 2021 |
| 23 | Oren Ambarchi | Ghosted | Drag City | 2022 |
| 24 | Ben Lamar Gay | Yowzers | International Anthem | 2025 |
| 25 | Gwenifer Raymond | Last Night I Heard The Dog Star Bark | We Are Busy Bodies | 2025 |
