Top 10 Most Important Albums To You

TockTockTock · 07-04-2011, 03:34 AM

Not in any particular order:

The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967) by The Velvet Underground
AMMMusic (1967) by AMM
Die Kunst Der Gerausche (2000) by Luigi Russolo
Axis: Bold as Love (1967) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
I Hear a New World (1960) by Joe Meek
Bert Jansch (1965) by Bert Jansch
Madvillainy (2004) by Madvillain
20 Jazz Funk Greats (1979) by Throbbing Gristle
Led Zeppelin II (1969) by Led Zeppelin
Souvenirs (1989) by Django Reinhardt

Too lazy to elaborate on any of them (sorry). There are A LOT more, but I feel this is semi-accurate list of important albums to me. They definitely helped redefine my taste in music and knocked down preexisting prejudices I had dwelling within me.

starrynight · 07-04-2011, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Il Duce

I think "The Wall" is great, but it would have made an awesome single album.

The live album version is very good.

downwardspiral · 07-04-2011, 04:50 AM

Why is The Writings On The Wall by Destiny's Child absent from every list in this thread?

downwardspiral · 07-04-2011, 05:29 AM

Really though, the top ten most important albums to me probably look something like this:

The Verve - Urban Hymns
Fugees - The Score
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
Deftones - White Pony
Placebo - Black Market Music
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
Elliott Smith - Either/Or
Pixies - Surfer Rosa

Will write explanations later.

nowhereusa · 07-04-2011, 12:30 PM

Honorable Mentions: Forever Changes - Love, Fleet Foxes, The Artist in The Ambulance - Thrice, Shazam - The Move, Rumors - Fleetwood Mac, Hot Fuss - The Killers.

10. The Unforgettable Fire - U2 :This album has two of my favorite U2 songs. In my opinion, it also perfected their sound.

9: Is This it? - The Strokes.

8. Rubber Soul - The Beatles: The perfect marriage of their pop and experimental styles.

7. Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness - The Smashing Pumpkins

6. Bleed American - Jimmy Eat World: Though not as good of an album, in my opinion, as Clarity this album had a huge impact on me growing up.

5. Willy and The Poor Boys - Creedence Clearwater Revival: What rock and role is supposed to be.

4. Funeral - Arcade Fire: Never Gets old

3. Deja Entendu - Brand New: This album expanded my interests outside of punk music and opened me up to so many amazing styles of music.

2. Blood on The Tracks - Bob Dylan: One day I would like to write lyrics half as good as the worst written song on this album. I'll probably never get there.

1. Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits - Chuck Berry: My first love. Girls, Cars, and Rock and Roll.

Mrd00d · 07-04-2011, 01:33 PM

10. Sula Bassana - The Night
9. Powerman 5000 - Blood Splat Rating System
8. Ozric Tentacles - Jurassic Shift
7. Beck - Guero
6. Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains - The Big Eyeball in the Sky
5. Rush - Test For Echo
4. Tool - Lateralus
3. Aesop Rock - Labor Days
2. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030
1. Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment

Flyingpig437 · 07-20-2011, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyingpig437

1. Pink Floyd-Dark side
2. Beatles-Sgt.Pepper
3. Beatles-Revolver
4. Air-Moon safari
5. Bowie-Hunk dory
6. The Smiths-Queen is dead**
7. The orb-Adventures beyond...
8. Jimi Hendrix experience-Are you experienced
9. Kate Bush-Lionheart
10- Pixies-Doolittle

*Slightly amended from earlier when 6 was Queen is dead by The Smiths. Surprised I've not got any great inclination to change more. I must be really set in my ways now i've hit 40 +

**amended back from R.E.M-Murmur on the basis that there's 2 songs on Murmur that aren't great while QIS is great or nearly great all the way through.

Amphiptere · 07-20-2011, 07:04 PM

1.) Dog Man Star -- Suede

No other album has stirred me in the same way. Literally transports me to another world :O Melodramatic reaction to a melodramatic album.

2.) Doolittle -- Pixies

Funnily enough made me appreciate poppy catchy things more, I think it's the catchiest thing I've ever listened to. Don't think I've had as much fun with any other album. Plus Black's scream on Tame is awesome

3.) Surfa Rosa -- Pixies

Critical in shaping my tastes and attraction to weird violent sex. Also got me more interested in alternative rock.

4.) Dig Me Out -- Sleater Kinney

Got me listening to female vocalists and moar punk (along with the Pixies)

5.) Kid A -- Radiohead

Not sure yet but this might get me into electronic music which would be ****ing huugggeee

6.) Suede -- Suede

Same effect as Dog Man Star, but to a lesser extent

7.) Spiderland -- Slint

Got me interested in post-rock

8.) Parklife -- Blur

Introduced me to music

9.) The Strokes -- Is This It

This is how I learned about hipsters. I told a friend I liked The Strokes and he almost had a heart attack. Now calls me a hipster every time I talk about my music tastes. Also just had mucho funtimes with this album.

10.) Bullhead -- Melvins

Introduced me to things that aren't alternative/indie rock

Electrophonic Tonic · 07-31-2011, 12:47 AM

In chronological order mostly...

I listened to this album religiously when I was a teenager. I was a late bloomer of sorts when it came to music and really started my musical identity when I was 14. I remember hearing Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio with my dad, and I knew a few of the bigger classic rock songs. I asked him if that was the greatest song of all time. He told me it was Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. And when we got home, I watched the DVD of this concert, and it all clicked for me. I spent basically a whole year of my life listening to nothing but Led Zeppelin afterwards, and loved every second of it. LZ isn't my favorite band anymore, but they hold a special place in my heart.

Up until this point, my dad had been feeding me my musical tastes. And while I appreciated what he did, it left me musically close minded to nothing but classic rock from 1965-1980. I had the Beatles whole discography at this point, but I didn't really push my musical limits. I bought this CD at Best Buy (of all places!). It was significant to me because it was the music purchase I made without my dad's input and it was from here on, I began making my own musical choices, even still being very close-minded.

My favorite genre is progressive rock, without a doubt. And I borrowed this album from a friend when I was 16 years old. I listened to it the first time... and I hated/loathed/detested/violently disagreed with it. BUT I had a 30 GB iPod and only had 8 gigs of music. So I put it on there to justify the other 30 GB's. I heard 21st Century Schizoid Man on shuffle one day, and loved it, not remembering it's King Crimson. I slowly allowed myself to hear the rest of the album, and low and behold, I loved it. And King Crimson became my favorite band.

I was very influenced by the site, Digitaldreamdoor. I don't remember the list, but I saw three artists (West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The United States of America and Soft Machine) and ordered 7 CD between them. This combo CD was my favorite by far. It was the first CD my dad considered unlistenable and thus I realized I was onto something.

Another one of my dad's rules: modern music is bad. The White Stripes helped me get over that unfound fear. This was only 3ish years ago, and it's opened up so many avenues since then for me to discover new music.

Another rule: you can't spell crap without rap. I don't really enjoy this album anymore, thanks to my listening to other, much better rap. But when I first heard it, I did enjoy it. The reliance on classic rock samples made it accessible for me to listen to and again, opened various possibilities to listen to.

The remaining 4 albums are ones I love so much, even if they aren't significant mileposts represent part of my musical evolution/journey....

I would say The Inner Mounting Flame, In a Silent Way and Boom would be just on the outside looking in.

Zyrada · 07-31-2011, 02:49 AM

Figured since I've mostly been lurking and dicking around, I'd actually try my hand at something a little more substantial. Also, these spoiler tags are awfully unwieldy.

I was hoping to reduce on the clutter caused by the occasional wall of text.

10. The Shins "Wincing the Night Away"/Metric "Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

9. Carole King "Tapestry"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

8. Tori Amos "Little Earthquakes"/"Under the Pink"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

7. Boards of Canada "Music Has The Right To Children"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

6. Owen Pallett (as Final Fantasy) "He Poos Clouds"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

5. of Montreal "Skeletal Lamping"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

4. Igor Stravinsky "The Rite of Spring"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

3. The Mars Volta "De-Loused in the Comatorium"/"Amputechture"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

2. Olivier Messiaen "Turangalîla-Symphonie"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

1. Tori Amos "Boys for Pele"

Spoiler for TL;DR:

07-04-2011, 03:34 AM	#491 (permalink)
TockTockTock They/Them Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 1,914	Not in any particular order: The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967) by The Velvet Underground AMMMusic (1967) by AMM Die Kunst Der Gerausche (2000) by Luigi Russolo Axis: Bold as Love (1967) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience I Hear a New World (1960) by Joe Meek Bert Jansch (1965) by Bert Jansch Madvillainy (2004) by Madvillain 20 Jazz Funk Greats (1979) by Throbbing Gristle Led Zeppelin II (1969) by Led Zeppelin Souvenirs (1989) by Django Reinhardt Too lazy to elaborate on any of them (sorry). There are A LOT more, but I feel this is semi-accurate list of important albums to me. They definitely helped redefine my taste in music and knocked down preexisting prejudices I had dwelling within me. Last edited by TockTockTock; 07-04-2011 at 04:05 AM.

07-04-2011, 04:50 AM	#493 (permalink)
downwardspiral Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Liverpool, UK Posts: 734	Why is The Writings On The Wall by Destiny's Child absent from every list in this thread? __________________

07-04-2011, 05:29 AM	#494 (permalink)
downwardspiral Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Liverpool, UK Posts: 734	Really though, the top ten most important albums to me probably look something like this: The Verve - Urban Hymns Fugees - The Score Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory Deftones - White Pony Placebo - Black Market Music My Bloody Valentine - Loveless Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights Elliott Smith - Either/Or Pixies - Surfer Rosa Will write explanations later. __________________

07-04-2011, 01:33 PM	#496 (permalink)
Mrd00d Stoned and Jammin' Out Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Northern California; Eugene, OR; mobile Posts: 1,602	10. Sula Bassana - The Night 9. Powerman 5000 - Blood Splat Rating System 8. Ozric Tentacles - Jurassic Shift 7. Beck - Guero 6. Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains - The Big Eyeball in the Sky 5. Rush - Test For Echo 4. Tool - Lateralus 3. Aesop Rock - Labor Days 2. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 1. Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment __________________ Mrd00d's Last.fm

07-20-2011, 07:04 PM	#498 (permalink)
Amphiptere Groupie Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 13	1.) Dog Man Star -- Suede No other album has stirred me in the same way. Literally transports me to another world :O Melodramatic reaction to a melodramatic album. 2.) Doolittle -- Pixies Funnily enough made me appreciate poppy catchy things more, I think it's the catchiest thing I've ever listened to. Don't think I've had as much fun with any other album. Plus Black's scream on Tame is awesome 3.) Surfa Rosa -- Pixies Critical in shaping my tastes and attraction to weird violent sex. Also got me more interested in alternative rock. 4.) Dig Me Out -- Sleater Kinney Got me listening to female vocalists and moar punk (along with the Pixies) 5.) Kid A -- Radiohead Not sure yet but this might get me into electronic music which would be ***ing huugggeee 6.) Suede -- Suede Same effect as Dog Man Star, but to a lesser extent 7.) Spiderland -- Slint Got me interested in post-rock 8.) Parklife -- Blur Introduced me to music 9.) The Strokes -- Is This It This is how I learned about hipsters. I told a friend I liked The Strokes and he almost had a heart attack. Now calls me a hipster every time I talk about my music tastes. Also just had mucho funtimes with this album. 10.) Bullhead -- Melvins Introduced me to things that aren't alternative/indie rock Last edited by Amphiptere; 07-20-2011 at 07:26 PM. Reason: funsies*

07-04-2011, 12:30 PM	#495 (permalink)
nowhereusa Groupie Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 19	Honorable Mentions: Forever Changes - Love, Fleet Foxes, The Artist in The Ambulance - Thrice, Shazam - The Move, Rumors - Fleetwood Mac, Hot Fuss - The Killers. 10. The Unforgettable Fire - U2 :This album has two of my favorite U2 songs. In my opinion, it also perfected their sound. 9: Is This it? - The Strokes. 8. Rubber Soul - The Beatles: The perfect marriage of their pop and experimental styles. 7. Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness - The Smashing Pumpkins 6. Bleed American - Jimmy Eat World: Though not as good of an album, in my opinion, as Clarity this album had a huge impact on me growing up. 5. Willy and The Poor Boys - Creedence Clearwater Revival: What rock and role is supposed to be. 4. Funeral - Arcade Fire: Never Gets old 3. Deja Entendu - Brand New: This album expanded my interests outside of punk music and opened me up to so many amazing styles of music. 2. Blood on The Tracks - Bob Dylan: One day I would like to write lyrics half as good as the worst written song on this album. I'll probably never get there. 1. Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits - Chuck Berry: My first love. Girls, Cars, and Rock and Roll.

07-31-2011, 12:47 AM	#499 (permalink)
Electrophonic Tonic Your Ad Here Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: The Twilight Zone Posts: 876	In chronological order mostly... I listened to this album religiously when I was a teenager. I was a late bloomer of sorts when it came to music and really started my musical identity when I was 14. I remember hearing Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio with my dad, and I knew a few of the bigger classic rock songs. I asked him if that was the greatest song of all time. He told me it was Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. And when we got home, I watched the DVD of this concert, and it all clicked for me. I spent basically a whole year of my life listening to nothing but Led Zeppelin afterwards, and loved every second of it. LZ isn't my favorite band anymore, but they hold a special place in my heart. Up until this point, my dad had been feeding me my musical tastes. And while I appreciated what he did, it left me musically close minded to nothing but classic rock from 1965-1980. I had the Beatles whole discography at this point, but I didn't really push my musical limits. I bought this CD at Best Buy (of all places!). It was significant to me because it was the music purchase I made without my dad's input and it was from here on, I began making my own musical choices, even still being very close-minded. My favorite genre is progressive rock, without a doubt. And I borrowed this album from a friend when I was 16 years old. I listened to it the first time... and I hated/loathed/detested/violently disagreed with it. BUT I had a 30 GB iPod and only had 8 gigs of music. So I put it on there to justify the other 30 GB's. I heard 21st Century Schizoid Man on shuffle one day, and loved it, not remembering it's King Crimson. I slowly allowed myself to hear the rest of the album, and low and behold, I loved it. And King Crimson became my favorite band. I was very influenced by the site, Digitaldreamdoor. I don't remember the list, but I saw three artists (West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The United States of America and Soft Machine) and ordered 7 CD between them. This combo CD was my favorite by far. It was the first CD my dad considered unlistenable and thus I realized I was onto something. Another one of my dad's rules: modern music is bad. The White Stripes helped me get over that unfound fear. This was only 3ish years ago, and it's opened up so many avenues since then for me to discover new music. Another rule: you can't spell crap without rap. I don't really enjoy this album anymore, thanks to my listening to other, much better rap. But when I first heard it, I did enjoy it. The reliance on classic rock samples made it accessible for me to listen to and again, opened various possibilities to listen to. The remaining 4 albums are ones I love so much, even if they aren't significant mileposts represent part of my musical evolution/journey.... I would say The Inner Mounting Flame, In a Silent Way and Boom would be just on the outside looking in.

07-31-2011, 02:49 AM	#500 (permalink)
Zyrada Avant-Gardener Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Inside your navel gazing back at you Posts: 163	Figured since I've mostly been lurking and dicking around, I'd actually try my hand at something a little more substantial. Also, these spoiler tags are awfully unwieldy. I was hoping to reduce on the clutter caused by the occasional wall of text. 10. The Shins "Wincing the Night Away"/Metric "Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?" Spoiler for TL;DR: I've got these two albums merged together because they were albums which simultaneously marked my introduction to the indie world. These were also the first two bands where I really started to venture beyond my roots and explore the music world in general. It happens when you're a 14-year-old living in the middle of nowhere. 9. Carole King "Tapestry" Spoiler for TL;DR: Tapestry is weirdly out of place in my list of seminal/important albums, but I consider it such because I was pretty much raised on it. According to my mom, if she didn't put it on when I went to bed as a toddler, I would raise hell. Tapestry is practically the first music I ever remember hearing. I don't listen to it a whole lot today, but I still appreciate it. Plus, nostalgia value. 8. Tori Amos "Little Earthquakes"/"Under the Pink" Spoiler for TL;DR: Here's the only artist that I'll give two places on my list. Generally, a musician that's important to me will have a single album that's particularly significant, but Tori is sort of a unique case. The two albums here are listed for similar reasons to Tapestry. I heard a lot of these two albums as a kid because my mom was a massive Tori fan in the 90's. Again, lots of nostalgia value here. 7. Boards of Canada "Music Has The Right To Children" Spoiler for TL;DR: MHTRTC is a fun one for me because, at the time, it was really different from the other music I was listening to. This was essentially the first electronic album I ever fully embraced and took it completely in. I didn't even think of it at the time as being my foray into the electronic world. I just thought it was good music, period. 6. Owen Pallett (as Final Fantasy) "He Poos Clouds" Spoiler for TL;DR: At the time I found out about him, the idea of loop pedaling being the basis for an entire music act was totally foreign to me. I always pictured Owen as this wild-eyed bohemian mastering the art of obscure production effects off in the woods somewhere, sitting in a shack with his violin while sipping tea and generally being a classy bastard writing beautifully nerdy baroque-pop melodies. The titular track also oddly ties in with one of the albums for my #3. 5. of Montreal "Skeletal Lamping" Spoiler for TL;DR: I had the group recommended to me in '08 by some internet friends of mine that thought I might take to their style (and how). Up until Skeletal Lamping's release, I spent my time digging furiously through their discography and consuming virtually everything I could find, starting from the back and working my way forward (that wasn't a conscious decision, it just sort of happened that way). I was reasonably prepped by the time SL's release date rolled around, and I'd spent a decent amount of time hyping myself for it. Then it came out, and the relationship was very appropriately love-hate. Truth be told, I think this album was my true test of loyalty to the band, in a weird sort of way. Almost three years later, and my allegiances are maintained, while Skeletal Lamping has been embraced by me almost in its entirety. 4. Igor Stravinsky "The Rite of Spring" Spoiler for TL;DR: The Rite combines in me both a reasonable sense of nostalgia and a testing of the waters in the world of 20th century composition. I was absolutely obsessed with Fantasia as a kid, and the dinosaur sequence was one of my favorite parts of the entire movie. Curiosity seized me one day several years ago, and I obtained a copy of the original piece... without the Disney butcherings. After hours upon hours of concentrated listening and navigating, I had been sucked in past the point of return. More importantly than my music taste, The Rite really affected my outlook on the tonality in my own work, to mention nothing of how it complemented my own preferences on time and rhythm. 3. The Mars Volta "De-Loused in the Comatorium"/"Amputechture" Spoiler for TL;DR: I think these two albums are equally influential to me for what are really the same reasons. They both did the same things for me at different times in my life. In middle school, I was isolated and socially awkward, and my brother introduced me to this fun little band called The Mars Volta. He thew them in with a whole slew of ska, emo, and indie groups (none of which stuck) he got familiar with through his friends. De-Loused was my only album. Several years later, I was an apathetic (in the literal sense) and vaguely misanthropic high schooler separated from the world by a long-term grounding because of some poor class performance. I didn't have any sort of mp3 player, and my computer had been taken from me. As it turned out, Amputechture was the only album I had left at the time committed to physical form. Cue several months of highly intensive bonding with the album. 2. Olivier Messiaen "Turangalîla-Symphonie" Spoiler for TL;DR: Out of all the items on my list, this one is the most recent. It really is what amounted to be an awesome high school graduation present. It was totally unintentional, too. An accompanist of mine from my last high school competition gave me several CDs at her Easter brunch. I think her main intent was to have me listen to some of the Poulenc that was conjoined to Turangalîla on the album, which I did at first (the final movement of the Concert champêtre still ranks high on my list of favorites). Admittedly, Turangalîla was also intimidating as hell. I skimmed it initially, and I just couldn't seem to penetrate it. I got some more Messiaen works, namely, his entire Catalogue d'Oiseaux. I took to a few pieces and then returned to Turangalîla, and it seemed like I could actually find an entry point. While I'm still gradually creeping my way through the entire symphony in an attempt to digest all of it (I think it might be a long time before that happens, lol), I hold it in very high regards for being not only my entry point to Messiaen, who is now my favorite composer, but my entry point to virtually all of the 20th century compositional literature I found afterward. 1. Tori Amos "Boys for Pele" Spoiler for TL;DR: Here's the really big one for me, on a personal level. I consider Boys for Pele to be the result of my first conscious searching. This was the first album I felt like I could really say was "mine". This was not the same Tori I remembered as a little kid. To me, she was darker, somber, and matured. It seemed totally appropriate for how I saw myself at the time. Ultimately, I think one of the most important things this album did for me was instigate a domino effect. A huge chunk of my preferences and musical traits eventually trace back, in some convoluted way, to this album's influences on me.