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

[jazzy]

Ok here goes.....

1. Sgt. Pepper . As a kid growing up in the 60s I loved the Beatles but when I heard this album it totally knocked my socks off.

2. Joan Armatrading . The self titled album is just wonderful. I still play it regularly and it doesn't sound dated at all.

3. Kind of Blue . I didn't get into jazz until my late 20s although I was always drawn to the light jazzy tracks of guys like Sting and Steely Dan but this album completely won me over and opened my ears to what jazz was really all about. An absolute classic that I could listen to on repeat all day.

4. Aja . The Steely Dan masterpiece. There isn't one note out of place .

5. Steve McQueen. 80s pop doesn't get any better than this. Some genius songwriting by Paddy McAloon.

6. Hounds of Love . Or maybe 80s pop could get better. I love everything Kate Bush ever did and was a fan from the first time I heard Wuthering Heights as a 16 year old. It was a toss up between this and Ariel as my favourite Kate album.

7. Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Yeah I know it's a bit cheesy and a bit dated and that Henry VIII was better but this was my first introduction to the music of Rick Wakeman and a kid I was captivated.

8. Hergest Ridge . It was panned by the critics' as Mike Oldfield's follow up to Tubular Bells but I preferred it then and still do. I think it really sums up pastoral England and I love it.

9. Solitude Standing. I adore Suzanne Vega. Her music is interesting and insightful. The production and sound quality of all her albums are fantastic too.

10. Simon and Garfunkel - Greatest Hits . I'm really reluctant to include a greatest hits album in my list but in all honesty I played this album to death and it was the gateway to me getting all the other albums of Paul and Art both together and individually.

Well I had to limit this to 10 seminal albums but astonished that there's no room for Band on the Run ( Wings) , Tapestry ( Carole King ) , Nothing but the Sun ( Sting ) , Synchronicity ( the Police), Trans Europe Express (Krafwerk ) , Jagged Little Pill ( Alanis Morrisette), Ricochet ( Tangerine Dream), Sportscar ( Judie Tzuke ), Worrisome Heart (Melody Gardot).

The list could go on and on and I'm sure I will kick myself in an hour for leaving something out but your memory starts to go when you get old .

 

[woodsyni]

Echo and the Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here.

Tear Drop Explodes - Kilimanjaro.

Bowie - Hunky Dory.

The Jam - Setting Sons.

Big Country - The Crossing.

Floyd - The Final Cut.

Simple Minds - New Gold Dream.

Portishead - Dummy.

Leftfield - Leftism.

The Clash - Give em Enough Rope.

The Stranglers - Rattus Norvegicus.

The Pistols - Never Mind The

The Cult - Love.

Prodigy- Fat of the Land.

Sisters of Mercy - Floodland.

Setting Sons and the Crossing were immense!!! Two superb albums!

 

[jazzy]

Right, it's eating me inside...have to add a few more.

I mean, c'mon..."**** you, I won't do what ya' tell me". 17.5 y/o... Gasoline, that album.

Duh. Was about 10 y/o when my uncle introduced me.

People love to point to the black album but this is the one for me, by far. 'One' was a monster. The affect of Cliff's death is all over it.

Before my time, wish I could have been of age when it was released but the first spin was a revelation, regardless.


Ok, I'm done (maybe).


@verreauxi for starting this.

Played Dark Side of the Moon last night - first time in a while and I was surprised how contrived and cold it sounded. However the production and sound quality is undeniable

 

[jazzy]

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.

Extremely similar taste in music to my own amigo

 

[Alanbileysfeathercut]

Influenced what was the wedge haircut 1980s.

 

[COYBL25]

View attachment 282185
Influenced what was the wedge haircut 1980s.

Also kicked off the casual genre of clothing too - look at the coat on the cover

 

[jaycee]

Also kicked off the casual genre of clothing too - look at the coat on the cover

Did have a big influence on style around then, I think there was pockets of "casual/scallies" around certainly from sort of 1977 onwards, there was lads wearing lois Jean's and desert boots around Liverpool, perry boys in Manchester, soul boys around London

 

[RufusCat]

Looking at my list it seems to show how my tastes evolved from teenager to grumpy old(ish) man:
Bachman Turned Overdrive - Not Fragile
Barclay James Harvest - Live (double album)
Camel - I Can See Your House From Here
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Ed Alleyne-Johnson - Purple Electric Violin Concerto
Anathema - A Fine Day To Exit
Pinhani - Inandigin Masallar

I knew I would not be able to leave this thread alone, especially as I missed out:
Porcupine Tree - could be any of their studio albums but On The Sunday Of Life is the one I am listening to, when I am driving.
and
RPWL - God Has Failed

 

[notrevE5]

Also kicked off the casual genre of clothing too - look at the coat on the cover

I suppose there's a reason why he is considered one of the most influential men of the 20th century

 

[SuperTimCahill]

Rammstein - Live Aus Berlin (1999)
Live Aus Berlin was one of the first two albums I owned (the other was Metallica - Reload, bought them on the same day). I went to the CD store aiming to buy one CD from each band, and simply got the two with the most songs listed on the back cover. Reload was quickly forgotten, while I listened to Live Aus Berlin a thousand times. I had no idea that the word "live" meant it was a concert at that age, but the album is a masterpiece, so it was all good.

Storm - Nordavind (1994)
The first Norwegian metal I heard. The guitar tone had me hooked instantly.

Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst (1996)
It truly was a mindblowing experience listening to this album as a kid. It pretty much set me on the path to who I am today (not sure if that's a good thing or not).

System of a Down - Toxicity (2001)
I remember my sister showing me the song Chop Suey for the first time. I couldn't wait to get the album after that, and it didn't disappoint.

Pink Floyd - Pulse (1995)
This one opened the door to one of the best discographies in the world for me. Still one of my favorite live albums.

 

[Alanbileysfeathercut]

Also kicked off the casual genre of clothing too - look at the coat on the cover

As did this

 

[Alanbileysfeathercut]

Did have a big influence on style around then, I think there was pockets of "casual/scallies" around certainly from sort of 1977 onwards, there was lads wearing lois Jean's and desert boots around Liverpool, perry boys in Manchester, soul boys around London

He had a massive influence on the band Japan among others

 

[John from Bootle]

Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction

I was 11-years-old when this started taking off. It was an album that nearly 'flopped'...

When Appetite for Destruction was released by Geffen Records on July 21, 1987, it received little notice from American press and radio, apart from some airplay in California. Music journalist Stephen Davis later attributed this to competing rock music in the mainstream at the time, including Aerosmith's comeback hit album Permanent Vacation, Def Leppard's presence on radio with their Hysteria album, and the dominance of U2's spiritual rock over MTV's prime-time viewership. The album debuted at number 182 on the Billboard 200 the week of August 29, but it only sold 200,000 copies in the first several months of its release, and Geffen planned on "walking away" from the record.

Radio stations originally did not want to play "Welcome to the Jungle", and MTV did not want to air the song's music video. However, after several months of lobbying the network, Geffen general manager Al Coury convinced MTV to play the video just once a night for three nights. "Welcome to the Jungle" became the most requested video on the network, and Coury pitched this success to radio stations, whom he sent promo copies of "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City", and "Sweet Child o' Mine".

With the radio and video airplay, as well as the band's touring, Appetite for Destruction managed to top the Billboard 200 on August 6, 1988, over a year after it was released.

Anyway, sorry to digress, I guess you can tell how much this album meant to me when I was that age by the fact I still can't talk about it today without boring people to death

It completely changed everything for me. Up until that point of my life, I'd always liked music, but sitting down and listening to an album was not something I'd ever done. Nor had I gone out out of my way to find music. I'd always just listened to whatever my parents liked I suppose, so quite liked a bit of 80's Fleetwood Mac, Chris De Burgh, and a lot of chart stuff.

As soon as I got hold of this though, it was like a whole new world opened up to me. Within 6 months I was making weekly visits to second hand record stores in Waterloo and other places, and coming home with Led Zep, Kiss, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, AC/DC records and cassettes.

I didn't even end up liking a lot of the stuff I bought; some awful Kiss stuff springs to mind, and I can remember being disgusted when one day I managed to pick up every Bon Jovi album, only to realise upon listening that I'd already heard most of the handful of decent songs that were on them all combined.

It was an incredibly important album this for me, and I also think it helped pave the way for the audience that later pivoted to grunge.

Pink Floyd - The Wall.

Just an incredible album. I don't think it's got one song on that I would put in my top 50, yet I think it's the greatest album ever made. Work that one out

AC/DC - If You Want Blood...

Still the only AC/DC album I listen to. AC/DC with Bon belting out the early classics live on stage. Don't need anything else thanks, Brian.

I can remember listening to it and thinking 'that bit sounds a bit like Chuck Berry or somebody' and it opening my eyes to the roots of the music, though I'd yet to put my finger on the blues influence.

Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion II

Brought me back down to earth. Helped me to realise in my angsty youth that not everything had to be loud and rocking. Made me go back and listen to a lot of stuff I'd decided wasn't cool or 'heavy' enough.

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Taught me to never judge a book by it's cover. He was a 'pop' star to me, a Madonna, a Gary Barlow, a George Michael or Mick Hucknall. This is no pop album.

 

[jaycee]

Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction

I was 11-years-old when this started taking off. It was an album that nearly 'flopped'...



Anyway, sorry to digress, I guess you can tell how much this album meant to me when I was that age by the fact I still can't talk about it today without boring people to death

It completely changed everything for me. Up until that point of my life, I'd always liked music, but sitting down and listening to an album was not something I'd ever done. Nor had I gone out out of my way to find music. I'd always just listened to whatever my parents liked I suppose, so quite liked a bit of 80's Fleetwood Mac, Chris De Burgh, and a lot of chart stuff.

As soon as I got hold of this though, it was like a whole new world opened up to me. Within 6 months I was making weekly visits to second hand record stores in Waterloo and other places, and coming home with Led Zep, Kiss, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, AC/DC records and cassettes.

I didn't even end up liking a lot of the stuff I bought; some awful Kiss stuff springs to mind, and I can remember being disgusted when one day I managed to pick up every Bon Jovi album, only to realise upon listening that I'd already heard most of the handful of decent songs that were on them all combined.

It was an incredibly important album this for me, and I also think it helped pave the way for the audience that later pivoted to grunge.

Pink Floyd - The Wall.

Just an incredible album. I don't think it's got one song on that I would put in my top 50, yet I think it's the greatest album ever made. Work that one out

AC/DC - If You Want Blood...

Still the only AC/DC album I listen to. AC/DC with Bon belting out the early classics live on stage. Don't need anything else thanks, Brian.

I can remember listening to it and thinking 'that bit sounds a bit like Chuck Berry or somebody' and it opening my eyes to the roots of the music, though I'd yet to put my finger on the blues influence.

Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion II

Brought me back down to earth. Helped me to realise in my angsty youth that not everything had to be loud and rocking. Made me go back and listen to a lot of stuff I'd decided wasn't cool or 'heavy' enough.

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Taught me to never judge a book by it's cover. He was a 'pop' star to me, a Madonna, a Gary Barlow, a George Michael or Mick Hucknall. This is no pop album.

Grebo

 

[Bryan+]