Five albums that have changed/impacted your life

[Allanon]

So like normal I've been on a big music/music reflection kick while exams are about to start (silly quarter system), and I thinking about what has really changed me and impacted me more than any other. I'm an album guy, so I figured I'd make a list of my top five and most significant albums for me. What are yours?

 

(In no particular order)

 

1. Radiohead - Ok Computer. No album more accurately describes the isolating feeling that modern society gives you. I challenge you to listen to it while alone in a big city surrounded by people you don't know.

2. The Strokes - Is This It? - It's hard for me to even write how much I love this album. I never listened to The Strokes when they first came out as I was a late bloomer in terms of musical appreciation, but I can say that I've listened to Is This It? On repeat more than I would like to admit. Everything about it is just so perfect.

3. The Beatles - The White Album - I had to put a Beatles album down there as I don't think any other music group has affected me more but I had a hard time picking. The White Album pretty much has the best of every Beatle simple because they couldn't agree on what songs to put in so they made it a double LP with each member getting a decent amount of tracks in.

4. London Calling - The Clash - I admit I don't know too much about punk. I definitely am not a punk rock kinda person, but that's why I love London Calling. I feel like if punk rock had an album that it could put on display it would this one. Something that is equal parts desctructive, and creative. It's also hard not to like that The Clash released London Calling as a double LP and sold it for the price of one. Stick it to the man.

5. Sigur Ros - Ágætis Byrjun - I feel like it's difficult to fully describe the experience of listening to a Sigur Ros album, especially this one. It's given me more revelations and contradictory conclusions than I can remember. It's that album that makes you completely rethink what is music can be and what you can be as a person.

 

Wooo. Sorry if that went on too long. Can't wait to hear what your guys top 5 are!

[LiMiT]

Great topic Allanon!!!!!

 

This is rather difficult to narrow it down to just 5 albums over ones' entire life. Music had more of an impact on me in my early teens into highschool then it does now, but I can't just focus on just one time period. Here is goes. In no particular order.

 

Automatic for the People by R.E.M. In my opinion R.E.M.'s best album. This album covered a wide range of emotions for me and fit just about any mood I was in and influenced me for some time.

 

Original Movie Soundtrack - The Matrix. This has to mark my entry into "electronica." Even though I had singles and remixes prior to this album this one really pushed me into the genre. A genre that has since splintered into many sub-categories which I probably have a sample of everything currently playing on my iPod.

 

Deep Breakfast - Ray Lynch. Ok, if anyone knows who this is or what kind of music he plays I give you major kudos. This and other artists is what I was listening to at a very young age. My grandmother would play this for me when I needed help getting to sleep. This probably paved the way for me for many of my musical tastes as it does parrallel several other genres of music.

 

Drink the Sea - The Glitch Mob. This is my current favorite and only on this list because this album is just completely awesome from first track to last. I haven't been this excited about an album or a group since I was, well, a teenager.

 

Crash by Dave Matthews Band. Ok, honestly I'm not into DMB anymore. Nothing to do with their politics or anything, but this was the goto for me in a very troubling time in my life and I now associate this music with that time in every regard possible. I've completely moved on from that time any everything associated with it. Still, even though I don't count myself as a DMB fan I can't ignore the impact that this album had.

 

 

Well, there you have it. Are these my all time best albums? No, but each played a very significant role in my life. So much so that you could actually chroeograph my life simply by what music I was listening to at that time.

 

"What a long strange trip it has been."

 

S.

[stutters]

indeed, nice topic!

 

aceyalone "the book of human language"

i grew up listening to a split of rock and rap, but this was the first hip hop album i ever connected with. it wasn't about drugs or street life or other things a kid from the burbs tried desperately to identify with, but a deep, contemplative, philosophical sequence of eloquent stories that challenged me during a period of spiritual growth. every other album on my list is orders of magnitude behind this. sample track: the guidelines

 

son of ran "tribute to sky city"

more hip hop. i came across this album while i was living in oakland. just moved to a city after 5 years in the mountains. hated oakland. everything about it. rampant crime. uncontrolled ghettos. why do people tolerate living like that? enter son of ran, a street kid from san diego that grew up in the struggle, cleaned himself up, but stayed close to where he came from. turns out that he was a public school teacher in fremont (just south of oakland). this album forced me to challenge my perceptions and rethink what i knew about this world. made me far more tolerant human than i was before it. sample track: brief soul

 

modest mouse "lonesome crowded west"

i caught this album when i moved to san diego from tahoe with a girl that ended in flames. i couldn't deny the irony of the title, but the way the intensity of the lyrics juxtaposed with the clever harmonies picked me up when i needed it. sample track:

 

new birth brass band "new birth family

i had the chance to go to new orleans for a job in 2004 while i was in bumming in tahoe. we landed, got picked up by a local who immediately turned and asked us what we wanted to do. my buddy wanted to go down to bourbon street. i said "f*** that, let's go see norlans. i want to see some dirty brass." dude smiled, drove us into the 9th, and walked us into the tiniest, divest bar i'd ever seen in my life. it. was. packed. on stage? a family of 2 or 3 generations, about 8 people in total, playing everything from a tuba to a washboard, trombone to a trumpet. no vocals, though. the place was shaking. everyone was dancing. everyone was having a good time. everyone was caught in the music. then someone came out of the crowd and added vocals over the top. i've never seen such an authentic music experience in my life. that show alone set me out on a mission to help connect people with music. sample (not from the album): roll with it

 

pennywise "pennywise"

i come from a strong, conservative catholic home. i grew up in a conservative and religious small town. i went to church, i did what i was told, but one day i started asking questions. i didn't understand what everyone believed in. i didn't hate or mock them for it, i just didn't get it. somehow i crossed paths with pennywise and had this strange feeling that i wasn't weird or alone. sample track:

 

###

 

there's too many honorable mentions to get into, but among them would be choking victim "no gods, no managers" and japandroids "post nothing."

 

if you feel like music stalking me...

 

last.fm

rdio

[TheDude]

Nice topic indeed.

 

1. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins

Takes some time to start liking Billy Corgan's voice, but i practically grew up with it thanks to my brother. It was the first CD i ever got.

 

2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Can't describe how much this album has done for me. Was having a really difficult time during my first year of college, healthwise. Had to take so many drugs to keep me alive, most of them cortico-steroïds. Studying while taking those was impossible, except when i put this album on. I listened to it for two months, non-stop every day, as it was the only thing that could calm me down and let me think. Made it through that year without a single failed exam.

 

3. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures

My girlfriend gave it to me. Know it by heart, amazing album. Best moment ever was then seeing them live at Rock Werchter.

 

4. Blink 182 - The Mark, Tom and Travis Show

Basically my primary school childhood on a compact disc.

 

5. Jesus Christ Superstar

The record that played everyday when i was just a toddler. You just love the stuff you grew up with. I still practically know it by heart.

[NOFX]

4. Blink 182 - The Mark, Tom and Travis Show

Basically my primary school childhood on a compact disc.

 

.... Dude Ranch defined the first few years of high school for me.

[mavC]

Wow..... i have so many albums in mind....

1. Molotov - Y dónde jugarán las niñas? (Where the girls play?) Rock/Rap/Hip Hop Mexican Band. I was so down in this album, it changed my perspective of what a group mass can do with only one purpose, to get heard. I was 11 or 12 years old. I needed this punch at my face. I realized that i could be part of something.
   
2. Blink 182 - Enema of The State. I was 11 or 12 years old when i first saw the vide of "What's my age Again" of Blink 182, it was on 2001 or something. I know that Enema of The State came in 1999 but over my country the good music always arrived later. When i saw the guys run naked i laughed so hard and knew that i wanted to listen more of their music. They inspired me to make my own punk band.
   
3. Pearl Jam - Ten. Man what can i say.... Black, Alive, Porch, Even Flow, Once, Jeremy.... and my favorite of all Release. I thanked so much to my uncle for bring me this. I really felt alive. The song Release helped me so much because i could remembered and move on after the death of my mother. Even when i was 15 years old and my mother died on my 11's.
   
4. Radiohead - OK Computer. The perfection of music. The evolution of the sound. "Paranoid Android" might be the best song in the world. The voice of Thom Yorke is the most relaxing ever. I realized that i could die while listening "Let Down". Radiohead to me is the best band in the world, nobody can compare with what they did. When i first listened this album i knew that for the first time i heard a master piece.
   
5. The Strokes - Is this it. When i first listened to The Strokes i knew that's my kind of music. "Last Night" was a jumped to the 70's. Enjoyed this for a year. Come on, they are called the saviors of rock.
   

 

Honorific mentions:

• Kings of Leon - Youth and Young Manhood
  
• Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
  
• Nirvana - In Bloom
  
• Metallica - Kill 'em all
  
• Sonic Youth - Goo; Sonic Youth - EVOL
  
• Rebecca Black - Friday
  

[Reomet]

Good topic.

Around 2007-2008 I discovered OverClocked ReMix and my life of listening to music was never the same again. Since then, I've discovered some albums that've had a big impact on my life.

1. Currents by Luke Wieting -- Currents is one of the most promising albums I've heard from an up-and-coming film composer. I was introduced to Luke Wieting by a friend and I even got him to sign my disc. This album covers a broad range of styles used in film scores and delivers emotions very well. This is my most listened to album in the history of me listening to music; I have no doubt.
    
   
2. In a Landscape by John Cage -- The particular album I have is recorded by Stephan Drury. Cage is the father of ambient music and delivers some of the most relaxing and etheral piano pieces I've ever heard.
    
   
3. Breach (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Mychael Danna -- Great score for a lackluster movie. Very dark in a calming way. Not a good album to end the day on, but decent thinking music. Very simple, lots of minor tonalities, heavy on the piano with some electronic and orchestral elements mixed in.
    
   
4. Halo 3 ODST Soundtrack by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori -- I've had both the score for Halo 3 and Halo 3 ODST pretty much since they came out. ODST is a good two disc set of percussive ensemble pieces with a good mix of orchestral elements and the signature electric guitar of the Halo series. ODST is a lot more personal in sound than the other Halo games and I love the way the saxophone is employed.
    
   
5. Mass Effect (Original Game Soundtrack) by Jack Wall, Sam Hulick, Richard Jacques, and David Kates (M4 pt. 2 by Faunts for credits music) -- The only reason I ever started playing Mass Effect was because of the music. I purchased it before the game and was soon sold on the prospect of playing it. It's electronic vibes have been explored more fully in the sequels and it does a good job of establishing its own style that meshes musical elements of cyberpunk and science fiction.
   

All the music except In a Landscape is fairly recent stuff (last decade). I also have three albums that I think if I continue at this rate they're also worthy of mentioning despite their very recent release.

1. Identity Sequence by zircon -- zircon is the artist that started my interest in electronic music and by extension, soundtracks. Identity Sequence was released in December of 2012 and is his best produced album to date. It's a huge release from an artist whose already had a big impact on my lfie.
    
   
2. Espers by 12 Followers/Meteo Xavier -- I did a podcast on this album so I ought to be pretty familiar with it. As a debut album, this is really solid stuff. Very good unique electronic elements and a great closing solo piano piece.
    
   
3. We Are But Hunks of Wood by Little People -- This came out in fall of 2012 and is a fantastic laid back instrumental hip hop album. Unique instrumentation and entrancing vibes aren't what I was expecting in a hip hop album (although this can probably be considered more electronic than anything else).
   

The only album above that actually features tracks with English lyrics is Identity Sequence. Excluding choir and the credits music for Mass Effect, the rest is all instrumental. It's mostly a mix of classical/neoclassical and electronic.

Edited March 14, 2013 by Reomet

[Cinkadeus]

1. Pearl Jam - Ten

 

2. Stone Temple Pilots - Purple

 

3. Soundgarden - Superunkown

 

4. Alice in Chains - Dirt

 

5. Counting Crows - August and Everything After

 

 

Yes, the 90s were a big part of my life. Most of which was spent on roller blades with a flannel shirt tied around my waist, but I never really cared for Nirvana. Most of the albums I listed could be just thrown in and played throughout. Nirvana wasn't like that... Every other track was noise or just garbage.

[Madvillain]

Those are some good albums Cink, some of my favorites. I usually get yelled at for saying Pearl Jam > Nirvana... lol

1,3 and 4 would probably be in my top 5 as well. 2 and 5 are both great albums though.