Albums most influential in developing your music tastes?

[Jeffre]

What was your gateway album to what you listen to now? I mostly listen to instrumental hip hop and indie music now, and these albums did it for me:

1. Ok Computer - showed me what music could sound like, not a lot more to say.

2. DJ Shadow - Entroducing: I listened to this high school year and my friend and I immediately went out, bought a turntable, bootlegged Fruity Loops and started making beats (all the beats we made sucked, but that was the most fun I ever had making music). It also got me into crate digging, which opened up a whole history of music I would have never considered had I not heard this album. People say that though "VU and Nico" only sold a couple hundred thousand albums, everyone that bought a copy started a band. I don't know how much this album sold, but I'm pretty sure everyone that bought a copy either became a DJ or at least bootlegged Fruity Loops. That's a right of passage.

3. Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album: This knocked down all the barriers in my mind. There were no rules after I heard this. Anything sound was fair game.

4. Brian Eno - Here Comes the Warm Jets: Similar reaction to the Aphex Twin album. Whenever I'm lost, I listen to this and it all makes sense. Whereas Aphex Twin broke down the walls, Eno put them back together in a strange, beautiful way.

Next.

[yoshi4lyfe]

These aren't really in any order but here's a few of mine:

Atmosphere, God Loves Ugly - discovered this accidently, made me realize there was good hip-hop out there, more than just what MTV played.

Blink-182, Enema of the State (I was young and reckless )- First CD I ever bought, what got me into music in the first place.

System of a Down, Toxicity - First hardcore music that was also popular in my day, gave a little more variety to my then very limited collection.

Rage Against the Machine and Immortal Technique, all albums - Opened my eyes, got me into political activism and made me question the status quo instead of just accepting it.

Bob Marley, Legend - I don't think I need to explain this one
Sublime, self-titled - Same

Bad Religion, No Control - got me into true punk and out of the pop-punk I was listening to that I thought was punk. Made me appreciate lyricism in songs as well ("There's no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end. When we all disintegrate it will all happen again" )

Shpongle, Tales of the Inexpressible - Listened to this while tripping shrooms, best experience I've ever had

[Discounicorn]

I'd like to add the albums "Monk's Dream" and "Brilliant Corners" for Thelonious Monk.

I would also like to recommend "Mingus Ah Um" by Charles Mingus and "Saxophone Colossus" by Sonny Rollins. In my opinion anyway, definite must haves for anyone interested in Jazz.

[icruz1]

This is exactly like me. Hail to the Thief is my favorite radiohead album. It's rare to see someone else liking it most. Usually people pick OK Computer, The BenRAB, or Amnesiac.



If you haven't heard their most recent 'Alive' 2007 live album you need to get it ASAP. As good as daft punk is, Alive is pure electricity. Well recorded and you really get the energy of the crowd. If I could only have 1 house/electronic album for the rest of my life it would be this one.


That's funny. I also watch Bleach like a drug addict. I like some of the songs they use, but mostly the older stuff. There was one song they used for a while that I really loved, but I don't remember which one it was.

Nice choices all around. We have similar listening prefs.

[danikamae beroñas]

Jane's Addition - Nothing's Shocking
It took three or four times of listening to it to actually hear the songs. It was so completely different from anything i was listening to at the time

Elvis Costello - Armed Forces
The first album that i heard where i understood you could be pissed off at everything and not have to scream to get the point across.

The Descendents - Everything Sucks
First punk album i liked top to bottom. Completely changed my view of what punk was and how it sounded

Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom
Beat Poetry, Spoken word over Jazz style beats with Hip Hop undertones. Still one of my favorite albums

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Now I Got Worry
If punk got in a fight with the blues, it would sound something like this.

[Ove]

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Changed my view on what was possible within Rock music. That songs could have movements like Shine on You Crazy Diamond or be shorter and just as complex.

Metallica - Master of Puppets
Made me fall in love with Hard Rock/ Prog Metal. Cliff Burton was amazing.

Pearl Jam - Ten
I will forever be in love with all Grunge and 90s Alternative because of this one album.

Armin Van Buuren - A State of Trance 2004
Most people would say this is long after the downfall of trance, but this album struck a chord with me and single handedly got me obsessed with electronic dance music for many years to come.

Dredg - Lietmotif
Progressive Rock and Metal fused together to make arguably my favorite album of all time.

Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place
The most beautiful album I have ever heard. 5 songs that fill your head with purely instrumental induced euphoria

[mkpcpride]

Radiohead - Amnesiac was my entry into the radiohead universe.

Godzilla Soundtrack - particularly A320 by the Foo Fighters. This album alone took me out of a nearly pure classical library. Overall it is an OK soundtrack and a few songs like A320 and Silverchair's Untitled really got me thinking. I ventured into the rest of the Foo Fighter's albums and have cemented them as my top band. This also served as my entrance to progressive/death metal like Opeth.

Dave Brubeck - Time Out was my gateway drug into jazz. I still don't have a decent jazz collection but it does at least include Kind of Blue.

Emerson Quartet - Shostakovich Quartet Cycle. I was already an avid classical fan since I had played in the orchestra for 9 years in school, but this album really opened me up to fierce passionate destitute post romantic classical music.

Waylin' Jennys - Firecracker is easily my favorite folk/female lead album. I have a small folk collection, but when I need it, I'm never dissapointed. Norah Jones - Come away with me was also one of my early albums in this genre.

Nanase Aikawa - Foxtrot was my entrance to JPop/JRock. I had listened to some KPop before, but nothing grabbed me quite like this.

[✿ ツmei]

agreed. it's my fav live album of all time.

[kaylan b]

Metallica - Black Album
I heard it for the first time when I was 12, and it made me discover a world beyond the billboard lists.

Thrice
Even screaming sounRAB good when it's delivered the right way.

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Opened the world of jazz.

[greenvillin]

Nirvana - Nevermind
I got my first cd player when i was in 6th grade. I bought a smash mouth cd at the same time but ended up thinking it sucked. One of my brother's frienRAB wanted it and offered to trade for Nirvana. I think i listened to it 3 or 4 times in a row when i first put it in, and never took it out for months.

Blink 182 - Dude Ranch
This is my favorite punk album. Fuck the haters, early Blink 182 kicks ass. Pathetic, Josie, Damnit, Waggy, Boring, Dick Lips, Enthused, Apple Shampoo...all of them.

Pink Floyd - Obscurred by ClouRAB
This album just feels good to listen to. I cant really put it any better way.

Hendrix
The guy could fucking play.