Monday, May 23, 2005
Top 10 Most Influential Albums
So I finally got around to making a list of my top 10 most influential albums. I think that title is a little deceiving, though, as I wouldn't really say most of these have had a lot of influence on my current musical tastes. Currently, I've been into a lot of music from the 60's and 70's, as well as experimental, alternative, and indie rock. Rather, this list represents my musical tastes at certain points in my early life. I only started really getting into music when I discovered mp3's in high school. However, I didn't really start getting into albums until my freshman year of college, when downloading them became easier. I limited my list to music that I discovered before the summer after my freshman year of college. It was really after that point, however, that I started getting into a lot of the things that currently influence me. Some of the albums on this list I still listen to, others I now look down upon as "below" my musical tastes. Nevertheless, here they are...
(10) Billy Joel - River of Dreams (Best track: The River of Dreams)
This was one of the earliest albums I could come up with. Way back in elementary school I remember listening to my mom and dad's cassette tape over and over. I don't think we even had a CD player at that point. My parents were pretty big Billy Joel fans and I got sucked into it through them. One of my distinct memories of this album is trying to make a copy of the tape by playing it on one stereo and recording it to a blank tape through a microphone on another tape player. I never did get it done though, because my mom found out and yelled at me for messing with the stereo equipment.
(9) Blink 182 - Enema of the State (Best track: Adam's Song)
This album is from my high school years and my freshman year of college. I never had the entire album, but I listened to quite a few Blink songs, particularly the singles. This really goes back to my "TRL phase", where I would download a lot of the singles from bands I liked from the daily MTV show. I remember one of the few times I went out to lunch with some of my high school friends they played a mix CD with Blink on it as we were driving around in the car.
(8) Korn - Follow the Leader (Best track: Freak on a Leash)
This was another album from my high school years and the TRL phase. I remember being blown away by the video for Freak on a Leash. To this day, I still think it's one of the coolest music videos out there. Again, I didn't ever have the entire album, but I did listen to a lot of Korn and harder rock back in high school.
(7) Eve6 Horrorscope (Best track: On the Roof Again)
This album was a big part of my freshman year of college. I got into it through my next door neighbor in my dorm. I remember listening to this album pretty much daily for a period of several months. I burned it to a CD and would listen to it while I was working my campus job. Really, this album is representative of a lot of the punkish music that I got into freshman year because of my neighbor.
(6) Cake - Comfort Eagle (Best track: Shadow Stabbing)
This is another album from my freshman year of college. I think it was my brother who introduced me to Cake. This got a lot of play in my dorm back then. It's one of the few albums on this list that I still listen to occasionally. I remember one time my semi-insomniac friend down the hall told me he was going to take a nap and to wake him up in a few hours by playing crappy music. I didn't think Cake was crappy and so I started playing it pretty much immediately. Evidently it was a little loud and my friend didn't like it. I remember him coming into my room, turning down the volume, and saying, "I told you to wait a couple hours."
(5) Limp Bizkit - Significant Other (Best track: Break Stuff)
This was another album from my hard rock high school TRL phase. The first mp3 I ever downloaded was Faith by Limp Bizkit, which was on their earlier album. By the time this album came out, though, I was hooked on Limp Bizkit and downloaded all the tracks. This was one of the first albums I got after I really started getting into music.
(4) Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (Best track: In the End)
Yet another album from my freshman year of college. This was a holdover from my harder rock loving high school days. Along with System of a Down's Toxicity and album #2, this got me through those tougher times from that chaotic freshman year. I remember blasting Linkin Park in the dark after I got stood up one time.
(3) The Dave Matthews Band - Live in Chicago 12-19-98 at the United Center (Best track: Jimi Thing)
This album represented the flip side of my freshman year of college music listening. My brother introduced me to Dave Matthews and at first I was hesitant to embrace it for fear of being too soft. However, repeated playing of this album just about every night as I was drifting off to sleep made me come around. Dave Matthews is still one of those bands that I'll listen to every once in awhile. Maybe subliminal stuff works after all.
(2) Rage Against the Machine The Battle of Los Angeles (Best track: Guerrilla Radio)
My brother got me this CD for Christmas one year. (I think I was still in High School.) It's one of the only actual CD's I own, though now I just listen to this album on my computer or iPod. I still love Rage Against the Machine and wish they hadn't broke up. Audioslave just can't compare. Zach really put them over the top in intensity and gave the music a certain legitimacy, even if I never really cared about the causes they were promoting.
(1) The Beatles - 1962-1966, 1967-1970 (Best track: too hard to decide)
And finally here it is, or rather they are. Number one, and another number one. I remember these as the red and blue cassette tapes that my parents bought back when I was in elementary school. I listened to these over and over. Back then I think the earlier (red) tape was my favorite, so if you must have one number one then that would be it. This was some of the first music I really got into, including some of the first songs I memorized the words to. As I got into Junior High and High School, of course it became uncool to like your parents music and so I drifted away from The Beatles. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college that I started getting back into The Beatles, as well as other classic rock. The music became cool because it was a classic and had stood the test of time. Currently, I still listen to The Beatles, though I've been enjoying a lot of their later stuff more. Also, I listen to their studio albums rather than compilations. Currently I'm listening to Sgt. Peppers on vinyl. So I guess that takes us full circle. From the Billy Joel cassette tape in elementary school to hard rock and punk mp3's in High School and college, back to cassettes and vinyl of music I liked in elementary school and am now listening to after college.
The almosts
So as I was coming up with my list, I came up with a lot more albums than I thought I would. I tried to pick the ones that I have the most significant memories of. In addition, I tried to get a good cross section of music representing the different phases I've gone through. From the early cassette tape and parent influenced era, I also considered the following albums:
Take 6 - So Much 2 Say
DC Talk - Jesus Freak
Boyz II Men - II
Hootie and the Blowfish - Cracked Rear View
So you see, we had the catchy stuff off the radio, as well as some religious stuff. After I discovered TRL and mp3's and started to "rebel" I got into some harder rock, or at least what was popular back then. Here were a few albums that almost made it from that period:
The Brian Setzer Orchestra - The Dirty Boogie
Metallica - S&M
Eminem - The Slim Shady LP
Papa Roach - Infest
Again, I never really listened to these full albums, but rather the hit singles that I downloaded as mp3's. As I moved on to college and started listening to full albums, I also started to get into more punkish type music. Here's a few more albums that got heavy play my freshman year of college:
Sum 41 - All Killer No Filler
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Blow in the Wind
Weezer - Pinkerton
Godsmack - Godsmack
System of a Down - Toxicity
Saves the Day - Stay What You Are
Incubus - Morning View
The Ataris - End is Forever
I continued listening to some of the harder rock, but also got into a lot of popular punkish stuff which I'm now not too fond of. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college that I discovered Radiohead and started getting back into classic rock. Starting then I think you'd find more albums that influenced my current musical tastes. I like to think that I'm a fan of all types of music and that my tastes are always evolving and adapting. I know that I'll continue to adapt and explore new things in the future.
So there you have it. My top 10 as commissioned by JP. In the end it took a lot longer to compile than I expected. What really spurred me to come up with this list now though was my brother's posing of a new challenge. The other day he asked me what my favorite song of all time was. That, I think is an even tougher question, and I haven't come up with an answer yet. Perhaps a top 10 favorite songs of all time list is coming in the future? That's an invitation to anyone who's bold enough to undertake the challenge. It would definitely be interesting.
Currently listening to: Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles and This Year's Model by Elvis Costello
Last movie I saw: Saw
One line review: Disturbing, a little far fetched, but overall better than I expected.
On a scale of 0-5 sucks (0 being the best): 2.0 sucks
(10) Billy Joel - River of Dreams (Best track: The River of Dreams)
This was one of the earliest albums I could come up with. Way back in elementary school I remember listening to my mom and dad's cassette tape over and over. I don't think we even had a CD player at that point. My parents were pretty big Billy Joel fans and I got sucked into it through them. One of my distinct memories of this album is trying to make a copy of the tape by playing it on one stereo and recording it to a blank tape through a microphone on another tape player. I never did get it done though, because my mom found out and yelled at me for messing with the stereo equipment.
(9) Blink 182 - Enema of the State (Best track: Adam's Song)
This album is from my high school years and my freshman year of college. I never had the entire album, but I listened to quite a few Blink songs, particularly the singles. This really goes back to my "TRL phase", where I would download a lot of the singles from bands I liked from the daily MTV show. I remember one of the few times I went out to lunch with some of my high school friends they played a mix CD with Blink on it as we were driving around in the car.
(8) Korn - Follow the Leader (Best track: Freak on a Leash)
This was another album from my high school years and the TRL phase. I remember being blown away by the video for Freak on a Leash. To this day, I still think it's one of the coolest music videos out there. Again, I didn't ever have the entire album, but I did listen to a lot of Korn and harder rock back in high school.
(7) Eve6 Horrorscope (Best track: On the Roof Again)
This album was a big part of my freshman year of college. I got into it through my next door neighbor in my dorm. I remember listening to this album pretty much daily for a period of several months. I burned it to a CD and would listen to it while I was working my campus job. Really, this album is representative of a lot of the punkish music that I got into freshman year because of my neighbor.
(6) Cake - Comfort Eagle (Best track: Shadow Stabbing)
This is another album from my freshman year of college. I think it was my brother who introduced me to Cake. This got a lot of play in my dorm back then. It's one of the few albums on this list that I still listen to occasionally. I remember one time my semi-insomniac friend down the hall told me he was going to take a nap and to wake him up in a few hours by playing crappy music. I didn't think Cake was crappy and so I started playing it pretty much immediately. Evidently it was a little loud and my friend didn't like it. I remember him coming into my room, turning down the volume, and saying, "I told you to wait a couple hours."
(5) Limp Bizkit - Significant Other (Best track: Break Stuff)
This was another album from my hard rock high school TRL phase. The first mp3 I ever downloaded was Faith by Limp Bizkit, which was on their earlier album. By the time this album came out, though, I was hooked on Limp Bizkit and downloaded all the tracks. This was one of the first albums I got after I really started getting into music.
(4) Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (Best track: In the End)
Yet another album from my freshman year of college. This was a holdover from my harder rock loving high school days. Along with System of a Down's Toxicity and album #2, this got me through those tougher times from that chaotic freshman year. I remember blasting Linkin Park in the dark after I got stood up one time.
(3) The Dave Matthews Band - Live in Chicago 12-19-98 at the United Center (Best track: Jimi Thing)
This album represented the flip side of my freshman year of college music listening. My brother introduced me to Dave Matthews and at first I was hesitant to embrace it for fear of being too soft. However, repeated playing of this album just about every night as I was drifting off to sleep made me come around. Dave Matthews is still one of those bands that I'll listen to every once in awhile. Maybe subliminal stuff works after all.
(2) Rage Against the Machine The Battle of Los Angeles (Best track: Guerrilla Radio)
My brother got me this CD for Christmas one year. (I think I was still in High School.) It's one of the only actual CD's I own, though now I just listen to this album on my computer or iPod. I still love Rage Against the Machine and wish they hadn't broke up. Audioslave just can't compare. Zach really put them over the top in intensity and gave the music a certain legitimacy, even if I never really cared about the causes they were promoting.
(1) The Beatles - 1962-1966, 1967-1970 (Best track: too hard to decide)
And finally here it is, or rather they are. Number one, and another number one. I remember these as the red and blue cassette tapes that my parents bought back when I was in elementary school. I listened to these over and over. Back then I think the earlier (red) tape was my favorite, so if you must have one number one then that would be it. This was some of the first music I really got into, including some of the first songs I memorized the words to. As I got into Junior High and High School, of course it became uncool to like your parents music and so I drifted away from The Beatles. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college that I started getting back into The Beatles, as well as other classic rock. The music became cool because it was a classic and had stood the test of time. Currently, I still listen to The Beatles, though I've been enjoying a lot of their later stuff more. Also, I listen to their studio albums rather than compilations. Currently I'm listening to Sgt. Peppers on vinyl. So I guess that takes us full circle. From the Billy Joel cassette tape in elementary school to hard rock and punk mp3's in High School and college, back to cassettes and vinyl of music I liked in elementary school and am now listening to after college.
The almosts
So as I was coming up with my list, I came up with a lot more albums than I thought I would. I tried to pick the ones that I have the most significant memories of. In addition, I tried to get a good cross section of music representing the different phases I've gone through. From the early cassette tape and parent influenced era, I also considered the following albums:
Take 6 - So Much 2 Say
DC Talk - Jesus Freak
Boyz II Men - II
Hootie and the Blowfish - Cracked Rear View
So you see, we had the catchy stuff off the radio, as well as some religious stuff. After I discovered TRL and mp3's and started to "rebel" I got into some harder rock, or at least what was popular back then. Here were a few albums that almost made it from that period:
The Brian Setzer Orchestra - The Dirty Boogie
Metallica - S&M
Eminem - The Slim Shady LP
Papa Roach - Infest
Again, I never really listened to these full albums, but rather the hit singles that I downloaded as mp3's. As I moved on to college and started listening to full albums, I also started to get into more punkish type music. Here's a few more albums that got heavy play my freshman year of college:
Sum 41 - All Killer No Filler
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Blow in the Wind
Weezer - Pinkerton
Godsmack - Godsmack
System of a Down - Toxicity
Saves the Day - Stay What You Are
Incubus - Morning View
The Ataris - End is Forever
I continued listening to some of the harder rock, but also got into a lot of popular punkish stuff which I'm now not too fond of. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college that I discovered Radiohead and started getting back into classic rock. Starting then I think you'd find more albums that influenced my current musical tastes. I like to think that I'm a fan of all types of music and that my tastes are always evolving and adapting. I know that I'll continue to adapt and explore new things in the future.
So there you have it. My top 10 as commissioned by JP. In the end it took a lot longer to compile than I expected. What really spurred me to come up with this list now though was my brother's posing of a new challenge. The other day he asked me what my favorite song of all time was. That, I think is an even tougher question, and I haven't come up with an answer yet. Perhaps a top 10 favorite songs of all time list is coming in the future? That's an invitation to anyone who's bold enough to undertake the challenge. It would definitely be interesting.
Currently listening to: Blonde on Blonde by Bob Dylan and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles and This Year's Model by Elvis Costello
Last movie I saw: Saw
One line review: Disturbing, a little far fetched, but overall better than I expected.
On a scale of 0-5 sucks (0 being the best): 2.0 sucks
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