Music is essential to life, period.
This list certainly has plenty of offerings of accompaniment for one's ever changing moods. Without commenting on all the albums, Costello does select a handful of choices to expound upon in his introductory essay, primarily ones that he feels may have the cognoscenti scratching their respective heads. Give him credit for sticking his neck out. Once the ink hit the page, the list becomes target practice. Everyone will disagree with your choices.