(Excerpts)

THE DIRTY DOZEN
For your musical edification (and for the sake of your sex life), the chick editors at Details have compiled this list of 12 albums that we all agree "get us in our girly parts," a phrase that repulsed the poor cubicle mate of the woman who came up with it. Nevertheless, may we suggest you stock up on these do-me disks:

• Radiohead The Bends (Capitol)
• Liz Phair Whitechocolatespaceegg (Capitol)
• Jeff Buckley Grace (Sony)
• Crowded House Recurring Dream (Capitol)
• Freedy Johnston This Perfect World (Elektra)
• Al Green Greatest Hits (DCC Compact Classics)
• Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (Capitol)
• Heather Nova Oyster (Sony)
• Van Morrison Astral Weeks (Warner Bros.)
• Echo and the Bunnymen What Are You Going to Do With Your Life? (Sire)
• Brian Ferry/Roxy Music Street Life (Warner Bros.)
• Garbage Version 2.0 (Universal)

"The sexiest song in the world is Marvin Gaye's 'Sexual Healing'." -- Liz Phair

What are the sexiest words in the English language?
"Whatever you want," answers raunchy (in a good way) songwriter Liz Phair. "They indicate that he'll spoil you like Daddy's little girl and that he'll hunt and gather for you."

THE PERFECT DATE
Drinks, dinner, and a movie? Wrong on all three counts. Let the most romantic men on the planet -- lab technicians -- tell you how to show a woman a good time.

Have a picnic. Pack a lunch you can eat with your hands, like fried chicken and fruit. Then stuff each other's maws. "Any food you feed each other is sexy," says songwriter Liz Phair. "You're sharing a sensual experience, one step away from tasting each other."

-- Reported by Lu Chekowsky, Sara P. Nolan, Matt Ross, David Itzkoff, Adrienne Day, and John Jerguson