Good morning, Granbys! Today is Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012; there are 327 days left in the year.

Yeah, I’m back from my mini-vacation. And after reviewing my Daily 5s, it’s become readily apparent that many of them have been from a negative point of view (e.g. Top 5 worst songs ever, begging George Lucas not to release The Phantom Menace in 3D and questioning whether Han Solo or Indiana Jones would win in a fight).

So today, let’s be positive and flip one of the more popular Daily 5s - Top 5 worst cover songs of all time - and come up with the top 5 best covers ever. Herein lies the rub with a good cover tune: the better it is, the worse I feel for the original artist, who’s work oftentimes gets left in the dust.

Anyway, with an assist from Super Bowl champion New York Giants fan Jeff Lestermanstein, here's the top 5 cover tunes ever:

5. Friend of the Devil (Cover artist: Counting Crows, Original artist: The Grateful Dead) - OK, the Counting Crows’ version is never going to make you forget Jerry Garcia’s version, but the CC’s are my favorite band. If you don’t like it, get your own website and come up with your own dang lists. Anyway, this version is neat because it takes The Grateful Dead’s classic song and slows it down to the point where you believe that lead singer Adam Duritz is, ahem, in an altered state. Very mellow.

4. (Oh) Pretty Woman (Van Halen, Roy Orbison) - No one  is ever going to confuse David Lee Roth’s voice for Roy Orbison, but man that intro and the guitar riff from Eddie Van Halen takes the song somewhere it was never designed to go.

3. All Along the Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan) - Hendrix had a way of taking someone else’s recordings and just absolutely turning it on its ear. This is Hendrix captured at the apex of his trippy genius.

2. Hurt (Johnny Cash, Nine Inch Nails) - Even Trent Reznor admitted that his dirge was no longer his when Cash released what in my opinion is as haunting a ballad as any that’s ever been recorded. I don’t care if you are a fan or not, just click on that link and try not to get goosebumps. Cash died shortly after this video was made.

1. Respect (Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding) - Franklin took ownership of this song so much, only diehard Redding fans and members of his immediate family know that he originally recorded the piece.

Here’s your Daily 5:

1. Two great things that go great together tonight: Bingo and fondue at the Granby Newcomers and Neighbors February meeting at the First Congregational Church.

2. There’s a teacher training program at Auer Farm in Bloomfield at 3:30 p.m.

3. The Arts Exclusive Gallery in Simsbury is displaying the Brooke Schnabel Showcase.

4. There’s home school astronomy classes available at the Connecticut Children’s Museum in West Hartford.

5. The AARP is offering free tax help at the Simsbury Public Library starting at 10 a.m.