Judging from most of these posts, I'll probably sound a little out of place here as most of this board seems to skew slightly toward the young/alternative/indie crowd, but I'd like to take the opportunity to invite said crowd to beg, borrow, purchase or steal a copy of Van Halen's self-titled 1978 release, which also happens to be my most influential album. An undisputed classic with devastatingly killer guitar.

quote:

Originally posted by Chilliwack:
Judging from most of these posts, I'll probably sound a little out of place here as most of this board seems to skew slightly toward the young/alternative/indie crowd, but I'd like to take the opportunity to invite said crowd to beg, borrow, purchase or steal a copy of Van Halen's self-titled 1978 release, which also happens to be my most influential album. An undisputed classic with devastatingly killer guitar.

Chilliwack -

That album made it on my list. I still listen to all of Van Halen's releases with David Lee Roth.

Just a little background here..I was born and raised in Memphis Tennessee and at the time of my upbringing there seemed to be two competing popular music cultures -- rap & country.

The neighborhood I grew up in is now largely integrated and was becoming so around the beginning of my adolescence. Memphis has a rich musical history; from W.C. Handy to Elvis and from Stax Records to Big Star, however I was largely oblivious to this until around age 12 or 13.

One of the first things I remember being really excited by was Def Jam and the whole "Yo! MTV raps" culture that was permeating at the time. Actually my interest was mostly music, not culture. One of the records specifically I remember wanting to buy was "Raising Hell" by Run D.M.C.. LL Cool J is in there somewhere, as is Public Enemy.

I think my interest in hip hop wained with the beginning of the 1990's. Hearing the local college radio station playing things like The Pixies or The Replacements, that had a profound influence on what type of contemporary music I would fall in love with and continue to like to this day.

There's also my mother who while driving to church every Sunday always had on some local station that did oldies on Sunday. Hearing everything from Phil Spector's stuff to The Beatles and everything in and outside of that bubble -- huge influence.

For me there are definitely some 'hallmark' music purchases that I made over the years. These dates are pretty right on, as well (I have a steel trap memory):

Winter '90 "Fear of a Black Planet" - Public Enemy

Christmas '91 "Back To Mono" Box Set - Phil Spector

Summer '92 "Loveless" - My Bloody Valentine

Summer '96 "Pet Sounds" - The Beach Boys

Summer '97 "OK Computer" - Radiohead

Those are 5 biggies for me.

Welcome to the site, Mr. Ohio! Keep on posting!!

i moved from Victoria B.C to Peterborough Ontario when i was 6. For those of you who don't know Canadian geography thats like driving from Los Angeles to New York. We took about two weeks and during that whole time the two albums we listened to non-stop were Paul Simon's Graceland and Van Morrison's Inarticulate Speech of the Heart. Those two albums are ingrained deep in my brain.

I'm sure there are quite a few I could think of, but these are the ones that came immediately to mind, so they must be the ones that really stuck.

Simon & Garfunkel - "Greatest Hits" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" I drove from Chicago to Denver with my grandparents and these were the only tapes they had that I could stand.

Dire Straits - "Brothers In Arms" I really loved the "Money For Nothing" video so my mom took me to buy this...on vinyl mind you. I must have listened to it a million times. I still have it, but it's warped to hell.

The Chipmunks - "Chipmunk Punk" I must have got this when I was about 3 years old or so. I will include the track list for your pleasure.
1. "Call Me" 2. "My Sharona" 3. "Good Girls Don't" 4. "You May Be Right" 5. "How Do I Make You" 6. "Refugee" 7. "Let's Go(part 1)" 8. "Let's Go(part 2)" 9. "Frustrated" 10. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
I can tell you right now that I can still remember Alvin singing "Call Me," "Refugee," and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love."

King Crimson - "In the Court of the Crimson King" My dad told me about this, and at the time it was the weirdest thing I had ever heard.

Public Enemy - "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" This was my first rap album(back when people called it rap). I bought the tape and I still remember the first time I heard "Bass. How low can you go?"

Weezer - "Weezer(blue album)" I don't know. I just love this album.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PRG,

exile

These are all albums that once I found them refused to leave my CD player for a good two weeks minimum, they all changed the way I looked at music.

1. beck-mellow gold
This is one of the few albums that I have a hard time going more then a month without. Hearing one artist do so much on one album was something that I found so inspiring.

2. afghan whigs-gentlemen
One of the rawest bands I have ever heard. His songs helped me get through high school, brilliant lyrics and his voice showed me that even singers with no range can sound amazing.

3. beatles-sgt. peppers
until this album I never fully appreciated the beatles, but as soon as I heard it I could not stop listening. Every song on that album is incredible in its own right, and I will always say that its the beatles best album.

4. cooper temple clause-see this through and leave
I'm pretty sure most people don;t know these guys, but there first album absolutely blew me away. The song 'who needs enemies?' is what I would consider a near perfect song.

5. muse-absolution
one of the only albums the first time i listened to it i had to listen to again immediately after to fully comprehend what i had just heard. also special mention to the song plug in baby, ive never connected with a song live as well as i havee with this one.

6. radiohead- ok computer
simply a brilliant album, I could put it ono at any time and it would describe my mood perfectly.

I also wanna mention the song sympathy for the devil by the stones for getting me into rock music after a short affair with hip hop and pop.

Failure - Fantastic Planet
Hum - Downward is Heavenward

Inspired me to pick up a guitar. If I hadn't heard these, I probably would've anyways because I've always loved music, but these happened to be the albums that pushed my passion for music one step further.

Abbey Road- The Beatles
Let It Bleed- The Rolling Stones
Blonde on Blonde- Bob Dylan
All Things Must Pass- George Harrison
Double Fantasy- John Lennon
American Idiot- Green Day

quote:

Abbey Road- The Beatles
Let It Bleed- The Rolling Stones
Blonde on Blonde- Bob Dylan
All Things Must Pass- George Harrison
Double Fantasy- John Lennon
American Idiot- Green Day

"Ooh! A kind of recent record! Rob's sly declaration of new classic-status slipped into a list of old safe ones! Nice!"

-"High Fidelity," from Barry's response to Rob's inclusion of Massive Attack's "Radiation Ruling the Nation" in his all-time Top 5 Side One/Track One list.

That one got my attention, too, Rev. I've been enjoying your postings since you've arrived. Now you've gone and snuck a totally unexpected selection into one of your lists.

I guess we're going to have to be keeping an eye on you, you sly dog.

Now Playing: "Echoes of Harlem" Duke Ellington

This was the Rev.'s second post here.

I understood this forum to be albums that influenced us personally. I am a dinosaur. The albums listed are the ones that most influenced my life in its most formative years. However, I still listen to modern rock and when I heard Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams I thought it was as culturally relevant as anything I had heard in a long time. I went out and bought the album, and I am glad I did. I have listened to it over and again. At certain times in ife a record will come along that puts you back in touch with culture that at my age, is easy to dismiss. As far as more than one listing here, I have thought of the albums over my lifetime that have influenced me, and I expect this list to grow.

At present listening to Sheryl Crowe's Wildflower

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rev. Rikard,

quote:

Originally posted by Rev. Rikard:
I am a dinosaur.

Not so much. If you didn't have an album like American Idiot on your list you'd be a dinosaur. It's always being open to new music that I applaud. I try to be that way myself.

A friend of mine once said he read a study that said most people's musical taste is set in their mid-20s and doesn't really change over the course of their life. The idea that there's a study to that effect sounds pretty far-fetched to me, but it's something I feel like I've observed one time too many.

Cool list, and as I said before, I'm really enjoying what you have to say.

Now Playing: "Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now" Ry Cooder Jazz <-- 'cause I'm still pretty much a dinosaur myself.

Speaking of Green Day. The album that changed they way I listened to music was Green Day's "Dookie". I was in sixth grade at Blockbuster music on a Friday, with mom and dad, and I listened to the album at one of the listening stations. I didn't really know if I liked it, but I knew I wanted to hear more of it. Before then it was all about the Spice Girls and all various Spice Girls incarnations.

1. Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin
2. Deliverance - Soundtrack (for the 5-string, of course)
3. Never Mind the Bullocks - Sex Pistols
4. And Justice for All - Metallica
5. Jimi Hendrix - Soundtrack Recordings (esp: "Red House")
6. Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks
7. Kaito - You've Seen Us...You Must Have Seen Us
8. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
9. Black Flag - Wasted Again
10. British Sea Power - The Decline of British Sea Power

* Sleater-Kinney - Call the Doctor (1996)
My first indie record. Opened the flood gates to quality music

* Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002)
Opened up the world of folk music which has since been one of my favorite genres. It's the album that taught me to be patient with music, to listen more intently and made me realize that music doesn't have to have captivating hooks or be loud. Basically, it allowed me to search more for the essence of what i was listening to rather than simply hearing.

* The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
Totally revolutionnalized the way i perceived quality music to be. To me this is perhaps the most influential record of the 20th century, in regards to rock music.

* Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998)
The first record that created a very intense mood every time i listened to it. Plus it introduced me to my first favorite genre: Trip-Hop.
Would have to couple this with Archive's Londinium which is the best Trip-Hop album in my opinion

* Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
A rock band making electronic music while still keeping its credibility and more importantly, delivering something totally unexpected that actually works while being different and following one of the more defining albums of the previous decade (OK Computer)

* My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1991)
Introduced me to Wall of Sound music. Loud and beautiful. Led me to listen to more shoegazy and post rock music, realizing music didn't necessarily have to have (audible) lyrics

* The Field - From Here We Go Sublime (2007)
Recent album (2007) but it reconciled me with electronic music which i've been on a binge on since.
I'd probably couple this release with Four Tet's Rounds

* Fela Kuti - Open & Close (1971)
The undisputed king of afro-beat introduced me to a style of music other than rock or rap. With it, i started wanting to explore more world-ish music

* Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
I don't even think i need to explain why this is influential

* Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959)
Introduced me to jazz.
Would couple it with Dave Brubeck's Time Out

The Strokes- "Is This It"

Before this album dropped, I pretty much listened to solely hip-hop and classic rock. I was of the impression that modern rock, for lack of a better word, was pure shit. This album made me open my ears to some great stuff that would come out later in the decade.

Hmm, well there's a few for me, most of which are pretty much the same as everyone elses:

Green Day - Dookie

I believe I was 11 when this album came out, and it was the first record I ever really loved. Definitely the point when I started to really care what music I listened to.

Radiohead - OK Computer

Yep, before I listened to this album I was still on Green Day, Weezer, Less Then Jake, etc. Not that I don't still like a lot of the albums I did when I was a kid, but (with the risk of sounding cliche) none of that stuff really sounded the same after I got into Radiohead. It was a big deal for me.

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

I never had this album until I was 16 or 17. It showed me the power of production and attention to sound details. To this day I'm still impressed by how good everything sounds on it.

Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
The Strokes - Is This It?

I got all of three of these albums at around the same time, and I immediately thought each one was great (I still do). In combination they compelled me to pay more attention to new music, which has yielded countless enjoyable moments.

New Order - Substance

Pretty much started my love for late 70's/early 80's post-punk, new wave, etc. It opened a whole new (and amazingly fruitful) genre for me.

Madvillain - Madvillainy

The first hip-hop album I can recall being very impressed by. I'm not an expert on the genre by any means, but I always liked it as a kid, and this album reminded me of that. Since I got I've started listening to a lot more.

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