Martin Denny and Esquivel make the best case for ultra-lounge as a home for rounded artists. Their work shows clear rigor and consistency and, well, their bad taste isn't like anyone else's. If you have maybe 5,000 albums (yes, 5,000) you should consider adding a representative sample of Denny and Esquivel to the roster.

Martin Denny invented tiki music in 1955 while looking for an alternative to slack-key guitar tunes. Providing music to drink by at Hawaiian resorts, he became a sort of musician beachcomber, picking up Peruvian pipes, Indonesian gamelan, Latin percussion, Japanese flutes and recorded birdcalls for the style he called "exotica." Perfect for those who dig drinking multi-colored cocktails as big as their head.

Compiled way before the recent ultra-lounge wave broke, "Exotica: the Best of Martin Denny" (Rhino, 1990), assembles 20 varied tropical atmosphere tunes by Denny and his combo -- plenty for all but the king kahuna.