List 5 to 10 albums that have had a huge influence on your life and/or musical development

[Acrobat]

U2 - Achtung Baby
U2 - Pop
Pixies - Doolittle
PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me
The Doors - The Doors
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Radiohead - Kid A
REM - Green
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
The La's - The La's

 

[Tommy Chong]

The only album you'll ever need if you want a continuous flow of poon walking in through your front door.

 

[Jamo Martinez]

The Beatles - Rubber Soul. So many of my personal faves. And I've actually learned tp play a few on guitar (badly)
Paul Simon - Paul Simon. His story telling is second to none and showcased how good a guitarist he is. Love it.
Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True. Has there been a better debut album? And has there been a better first line to the first track on a debut album than ''Now that your picture's in the paper being rhythmically admired'' ? -(In my pre-pubescent days , I didn't get it)
Weather Report - Heavy Weather. Awoke my interest in Jazz. Started working my way backwards . Also introduced me to the greatest bass player ever.
Joni Mitchell . Shadows and Light. Live album with some of her finest work and as good a line up as you could put together with the aforementioned Jaco Pastorius on bass, Pat metheny on guitar and Michael Brecker on sax, Lyle Mays on keyboards and Don Alias on drums.
Everything But the Girl - Eden. Still can't get enough of this.
Miles Davis - Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet. Sublime, flawless. The ballad 'You're My Everything' is in my top ten fave tunes of all time and contains the greatest , sax solo in history by maestro John Coltrane.

I'm still sleepy and somehow neglected to mention Steely Dan. Wouldn't know wether to put 'Can't Buy a Thrill', 'Pretzel Logic' or 'Aja'. The Donald Fagen solo album 'The Nightfly' is also a massive part of my staple diet.

 

[Tommy Chong]

I'm still sleepy and somehow neglected to mention Steely Dan. Wouldn't know wether to put 'Can't Buy a Thrill', 'Pretzel Logic' or 'Aja'. The Donald Fagen solo album 'The Nightfly' is also a massive part of my staple diet.

Well then. You better go back Jack, and do it again...

 

[Jamo Martinez]

Well then. You better go back Jack, and do it again...

Yeah, I was Reelin' in the years.

 

[Yarrgh]

In no particular order

Belinda Carlisle - Heaven on Earth
Madonna - Like a Virgin
Stevie Nicks - Other side of the Mirror
The Bangles - all over the place
Kylie Minogue - Kylie

I think you misunderstood, albums that influenced you, not artists and the albums you inspired.

 

[SerenityNigh]

Yep, no doubt. I'm sure there are bands like you mention that have rabid, if not super large, followings in the UK that Americans just don't get.

Phish is a very, very American band. They are wholly unlike any other American band, but part of "getting" Phish and whether you will die for them or hate them forever is you have to see them live. So much of the Phish experience is the live experience, the scene so to speak, which you can't get without living here. Lots of other reasons, but that's a key one

I don't get phish either, but also I'm not any sort of herbologist. DMB is a very unique American sound, some kind of alt-folk that really can't be replicated. In many ways Matthews is closer to Dylan than anything else, although Dylan has a broad appeal that DMB may not have. And I've never seen DMB live but according to friends that have, it's Phish-lite on the herbology spectrum.

 

[SerenityNigh]

 

[Pittsburgh Footy]

I don't get phish either, but also I'm not any sort of herbologist. DMB is a very unique American sound, some kind of alt-folk that really can't be replicated. In many ways Matthews is closer to Dylan than anything else, although Dylan has a broad appeal that DMB may not have. And I've never seen DMB live but according to friends that have, it's Phish-lite on the herbology spectrum.

DMB is just more mainstream than Phish, I think that's the simplest 100,000 foot way of putting it. They do less "weird" things - what they try musically is safer, their songs aren't as weird as some Phish songs are. Also DMB doesn't go Type 2 on jams but I enjoy many of their Type 1 jams. I can go through a litany of things about misconceptions people have about Phish, in general. That could be its own thread.

DMB was a gateway drug into Phish for me and a lot of others my age. Once I found Phish, and got it, there was no going back. Granted I've seen DMB probably 6 or 7 times and will likely see them again at a festival, but I won't go out of my way to see them.

 

[SerenityNigh]

One more that I enjoyed that I also a favorite of Son2:

and another that I rarely listen to now but it was huge back in the day

 

[notrevE5]

Stranded - Roxy Music

The Book of Invasions - Horslips

Never Mind the Bollocks - Sex Pistols

Candy-O - The Cars

Computer World - Kraftwerk

All Mod Cons - The Jam

Sunshine in the Land of Milk and Honey - Cracker

Shibumi - Tuesday Blue

In Flight - Linda Perry

Madrugada - Madrugada

 

[Charles Hawtrey]

This is quite difficult but thinking about the stuff that was always on or played over and over in my formative years... I am quite a mainstream pop person but my tastes vary across so many genres not mentioned here

 

[Charles Hawtrey]

and I have to give an honorable mention to ....

 

[Tipp blue]

 

[Andy McGurk]

Oasis - Morning Glory

Trapped my finger in a door in Turkey when I was 8 or 9 and had to get a injection under the fingernail in Turkey. For the rest of the holiday, because I couldn't swim, my parents kept giving me change for stuff in the hotel, most of it went on that album on the jukebox. They bought the album for my birthday later that year, I started learning the guitar by the end of the school year.

The Offspring - Americana

My gateway to all the awesome 90s rock and drifted from indie, I wanted my music louder and faster.

Soulfly - Primitive

I hated "shouty" music at the time, ask my mate who didn't if I could borrow this album, based on the artwork and he told me I'd hate it. Changed my perception on that style of singing and all the other bands I instantly dismissed.

NIN - Pretty Hate Machine

Incredibly depressed when I was 17, also broke my wrist, couldn't play guitar but could prod keyboard notes, brother in law got me this album for Christmas and just listened to the whole thing in the dark after his advice. Changed my whole writing style right up to this day. Trent Reznor, God damn genius.

Lemon Jelly - lemonjelly.ky

Find this album in my parents attic some time after uni, someone probably left there after a party of mine or my sisters, no idea whose it was. It's now my go to album when driving back from a festival