Melissa rewinds: as her new DVD hits stores, Melissa Etheridge remembers each of the albums that brought her here.

"Damn, I'm happy. I'm happy as can be," says Melissa Etheridge. That happiness pervades her new concert DVD, Lucky Live, which--like the 2004 album it's based on--is inspired by the love she's found with her wife, actress Tammy Lynn Michaels. But how exactly did Etheridge get here from there? The star sat down with The Advocate and recounted her personal mad professional evolution, album by album.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE

Hot tracks: "Bring Me Some Water," "Like the Way I Do," "Similar Features"

"This album was all about the cover photo. I had almost finished the album, but Chris Blackwell, the head of my record company, thought it was too slick in its production. I had already done the photo shoot, and Chris made an 11-by-14 of this shot, brought it to the studio, and said, 'Make that album.' So I redid the songs with just drums, bass, and me, and it was really powerful. Overall, the songs are all kind of heartbreak songs, but they're all about different people. This album just lasts and lasts."

BRAVE AND CRAZY

Hot tracks: "No Souvenirs," "Royal Station 4/16," "You Can Sleep While I Drive"

"Many of these songs were written while I was waiting for the first album to come out, so I was so eager to make it and put it out. I wasn't really thinking when I made it. I was sort of coming alive and trying things as a writer. I think it's some of my best writing."

NEVER ENOUGH

Hot tracks: "Ain't It Heavy," "Dance Without Sleeping," "Meet Me in the Back"

"It was 1990 and hip-hop was starting to really happen. I was crazy about it, and I wanted to get involved with sampling, but everyone was like, 'No, you're just a songwriter.' '2001' and 'Must Be Crazy' used samples, and people went, 'What the hell is it?' The record company wasn't crazy about this album at all. Chris Blackwell actually used the word 'hate.' I was like, 'Ouch.' But I won my first Grammy for 'Ain't It Heavy.'"

YES I AM

Hot tracks: "Come to My Window," "I'm the Only One," "If I Wanted To"

"Who would have known that little song 'Come to My Window' would take off and spend, like, 40 weeks in the Top 40? I always thought it was kind of boring.... 'I'm the Only One' is a terribly heartbroken song. [Ex-partner] Julie [Cypher] had an affair, and it was horrible just horrible. 'Talking to My Angel' is about my dad, who died right before this album. 'Silent Legacy' was my first political song, and I was always real proud of it. The song 'Yes I Am' has nothing to do with being gay, but I knew it would be connected to that because I had just come out publicly.

YOUR LITTLE SECRET

Hot tracks: "Nowhere to Go," "I Want to Come Over," "Your Little Secret"

"Then you make some money and your record company comes out with fancy packaging and real video directors. I didn't want to suddenly become the artist that nobody recognized, though there's a few hair extensions in there. [Laughs] I made this album while I was touring with Yes I Am, so I didn't feel the pressure of 'You gotta have another hit.' There's some experimentation on it, and I also started writing about my past in songs like 'Nowhere to Go' and 'Shriner's Park.'"

BREAKDOWN

Hot tracks: "Angels Would Fall," "Stronger Than Me," "Scarecrow"

"The saddest album ever. Tammy looks at the cover and says, 'You were just dying in your field.' Yeah, that's me. Julie did come in at one point while I was recording and say, 'Gosh, people are going to think it's just awful between you and I,' so I commissioned myself to write a sweet song about love, "Sleep," but it really had nothing to do with my relationship at the time."

SKIN

Hot tracks: "Lover Please," "I Want to Be in Love," "Heal Me"

"God, I was so skinny. I wasn't eating. I was on the divorce diet. I loved hanging out with all the skinny girls, but God, I was so unhealthy. Look at this picture on the disc--I'm hugging myself! [Laughs] Through the whole breakup, I would go in the studio with my Starbucks coffee, and I'd sit in there all day long and make this music. It was so healing. By the time I'd finished it, I had moved out. The father away I get from this CD, the more proud of it I am. This will be something I can listen to later."

LUCKY

Hot tracks: "Breathe," "This Moment, "Tuesday Morning"

"This CD and DVD is so where I am right now. I was so thin for Skin. I look at Lucky, and it's like, 'Hey! I'm a hefty gal now. I'm a big-boned gal.' But damn, I'm happy. I'm happy as can be. This is my 'Get a room' album. It's filled with life and love, and the songs are so much fun to play live, and the crowd loves them. I'm OK with the music business being as crazy as it is now, because I can do a concert and people will come. That is priceless, and so many artists don't have that. And I'm like, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.'"

Hensley is the author of Screening Party (Alyson Publications).