Top 10 Most Important Albums To You (soundtrack, blues, funk, instrumental)

Roemilca · 02-10-2009, 08:29 PM

Messy, I'll finish it later, I have to go get some medicine.

4.
3. The Black Eyed Peas - Elephunk
It got me out of JUST rock, and introduced me to hip-hop. They were also my second favorite band (technically Emerson, Lake, and Palmer were my first favorite band, but that was when I was WAYYYY too little).
2. Blink-182 - Enema Of The State
Pretty much formed most of my elementary school childhood, it's all we would listen to on our boomboxes outside playing strange games that I still remember.
1. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
It's the first full album that I ever listened to, and my first 'favorite band'. I pretty much was in love with them until late last year.

RadioWunderbar · 02-11-2009, 08:51 AM

That Nuggets comp is sweet!

jackhammer · 02-11-2009, 09:46 AM

I forgot all about this thread. I will do a list later. Just have to get my thinking cap on!

dac · 02-11-2009, 12:01 PM

My ten, in no order...

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - It was the first Floyd that I listened to that wasn't Dark Side or the Wall and boy did open doors for me.

Led Zeppelin - IV - Speaking of opening doors... This album was the first classic rock album I ever really listened to. While I criticize Zeppelin to no end these days, I owe them quite a bit.

Radiohead - Kid A -

Neutral Milk Hotel - Aeroplane - It's hipster trash and it's STILL better than your favorite album.

The Strokes - Is This It? - Similar to Zeppelin IV in that it had a HUGE influence on what I listen to, but I still give this album regular spins.

Sigur Ros - () - The first post rock band I got into, and the album that can only be described as beautiful.

Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People - Let it be known if I could have one song to listen to for the rest of time that song would be "Hunted by a Freak."

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead - There was a point when I tried listening to this like 2 years ago and just found it unbearable. I revisited The Smiths 6 months or so ago and discovered that they are gods. After listening to this and enjoying it, I found myself able to listen to a lot of things I otherwise wouldn't have gotten around to.

The Mars Volta - De-loused in the Comatorium - I SHOULD NOT like this band. They are far different than anything that I listen to, yet they are among my favorites. This is their best work, though not by far.

Jeff Buckley - Grace - Perfection.

A very safe list, but I think these 10 albums have had a bigger impact on who I am today musically. All led me down roads that I would have otherwise never gone down. Loveless, The Velvet Underground & Nico, and Piper at the Gates could all very well have been on this list too.

WithAnR · 02-11-2009, 04:28 PM

Belinda Carlisle - Best Of
Got me interested in music
The Sisters Of Mercy - A Slight Case Of Overbombing
Got me interested in alternative/goth music
Cradle Of Filth - Vempire Or Dark Faerytales In Phallust (1994)
Opened my ears to more extreme music
Korn - S/T
Got me hooked up with other music fans.
Hole - Live Through This (1994)
A chart band that I actually liked
Belly - King (1995)
One of my first albums I loved every track
White Zombie - Astro-Creep:2000 (1995)
An album I bought on a camping holiday after never hearing a single note or info about that band (except a single being in the US charts). By the end of the camping trip everyone was "singing" to the tape, Yeah!
Faithful Dawn - Temperance (1997)
Another band I bought without hearing a note. This was my introduction to darkwave. Bought it from the now defunct Pink Pather Records shop in Carlisle which happened to be the area where the band was from (and I was on holiday at).
Katatonia - Tonight's Decision (2001)
My favourite album by my favourite band.
VNV Nation - Futureperfect (2002)
Introduced me into a whole new electronic arena.

TimmayTheTurtle · 02-11-2009, 04:44 PM

i also only really wanna name 5^^^^^

5. Iowa - Slipknot
Got me into metal, granted not the best to start with, but at least I go into it. Before this I listened to Linkin Park and Blink-182. Then I went into my Slipknot/Korn stage. =]

4. Come Clarity - In Flames
Like 5 years ago. My girlfriend and my uncle died both in a short amount of time around each other. I was cleary sad. This amazing cd in my opinion, got me through some stuff times.

3. Painkiller - Judas Priest
Got me into priest, and just good metal in general.

2. Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked, Pt. 1 - Iced Earth
CD for summer 08 for me and my friends. Almost everyday I was with them this CD was in the car where ever we went. Just good memories.

1. Alive in Athens - Iced Earth
Got me into my favorite band, Iced Earth. Matt Barlow's voice on this double disc set is incredible. He has twice the emotion he does on album versions. He hits amazing notes on "Iced Earth" and "A Question of Heaven". Simply changed my life. =]

Zarko · 02-12-2009, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dac

Sigur Ros - () - The first post rock band I got into, and the album that can only be described as beautiful.

I prefer boring as a description but whatever

Good thread though as GENERALLY it isn't people just posting their faves.

jackhammer · 02-12-2009, 04:03 AM

I will post them in chronological order and has been stressed in the thread, these albums shouldn't neccessarily be your favourites. Only the albums that shaped your musical tastes. ( the dates are when I first heard the album)

The Beatles - Red/Blue albums. (1975 onwards)

It is best to use these albums as catch alls for The Beatles music. My dad was and still is a big fan and my earliest recollection of music was hearing their music.

E.L.O - Discovery (1979)

Once again it's my dad's fault! I can remember hearing ELO and being utterly intrigued with the vocals and sound effects (obviously synthesisers but I didn't know that at the time!). It just sounded so different compared to early Beatles music.

Madonna - Like A Virgin (1984)

This one mainly because it was the first album I ever bought. I got it on cassette in 1984 to use with my first walkman. I still have a soft spot for this album and own it on CD.

Iron Maiden - Live After Death (1986)

This really kick started everything for me musically and it gave me an identity and a route into non mainstream music. I still absolutely love it.

Megadeth - Peace Sells..But Who's Buying? (1987)

I am pretty sure that this was the first thrash Metal album that I heard and I just love the changes in tempo and the aggression of the album. A continuation of my love for Metal.

Pink Floyd - Meddle (1989)

I heard this whilst working in my first full time job making fire extinguishers (!). A guy working there asked me what music I was into and I said Metal and was also a big fan of Marillion. He suggested trying Pink Floyd's Meddle. I listened and the A side (it was on vinyl) sort of left me a little bemused. Then I heard 'Echoes' which took up the entire B side and so began my love of Pink Floyd.

Tangerine Dream - Underwater Sunlight (1990)

I moved to the town I still live in, in 1990 and basically was an 18 year old kid getting pissed and sleeping on many sofas and floors. After a particulary heavy night out I awoke in a friends house and he was playing this album. The rich lush ambience was quite new to me and it just seemed to work perfectly with waking up with sun bearing down and a fuzzy head. Still a big favourite now.

Underworld - Second Toughest In The Infants (1998)

I started a new job as a chef and they always played music that was not your usual Restaurant piped crap. this album was playing and the epic Banstyle/Sappys Curry was playing. It's over 15 minutes long and has a brilliant breakdown with an acoustic guitar kicking in and a slow build back up. It made me look at Dance music in a completely different light and I realised that there is just as much innovative and well made stuff in the genre as Rock music.

Melt Banana - Cell Scape (2007)

You are never too old to hear new music and although my genre tastes are wide, I had never experienced noise rock. Due to you good folk at MB this was my first taste of it and I was blown away by the energy and quirkiness. Again this opened up another avenue of musical exploration.

Melody Gardot - Worrisome Heart (2008)

I do love my female singer/songwriters but I have never really been into Jazz. This represented the perfect way to ease into Jazz and what a fantastic album it is and now Jazz is a genre that i'm inching into all the time.

dac · 02-12-2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zarko

I prefer boring as a description but whatever

God help you if you find () boring...

NSW · 02-12-2009, 01:46 PM

It’s hard to keep this list to 10 albums, and really hard to pick the top ten. So I just wrote about the first 10 I could think of. I know we’re supposed to put these in order of how influential they are, but they are going to be in timeline order of when I first listened to them.

Best of Sam Cooke – Sam Cooke
Instrumental in getting me interested in soul and R&B music. What can I say? Sam Cooke had a great voice and style. His songs can be soulful, chipper, moving, or just plain fun. My mom had this one on vinyl, and would play it when I was liiittle (think 4 or 5 years old) and I couldn't get enough of it even then. Obviously, the older I got the more I began to appreciate it in a different way and let it motivate me to check out other soul artists. It’s just an awesome album and a fantastic genre of music that I’ll never stop loving.

There Must be a Better World Somewhere – B.B. King
I love this man. I don’t know how else to put it. When he passes (he’s gettin’ up there ya know), tears will be shed. He is the reason I love the blues guitar, and this is the album that started it all.

5150 – Van Halen
I remember my dad loved this album, and those nights when my mom was working and he was left to tend to us kids, this was one of the albums he would always put on. All three of us (my brothers and I) would rock out with Dad and it was good times! Later on, as I got a bit older and started having crushes and what not, some of the songs from this album like “Dreams” and “Why Can’t this be Love” really started to take on meaning for me. Now I listen to them and think “Gawd, what a bunch of overly sentimental fluff”, but they still bring back the good memories.

Metallica (Black Album) – Metallica
This is the album that got me into Metallica, and thereby metal in general. “Sad But True” was always my favorite song, but I pretty much listened to this album all the way through and loved every minute of it. I’ve since discovered better Metallica albums (well, better metal albums on the whole), but this one will always have the special spot as the first metal album that I really got.

Ledbetter Heights – Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
This was the first blues album I ever bought on my own, having not heard or read any reviews and without any outside influences. I was perusing the blues section at Best Buy and came upon it. Up until that point in my life, I guess I’d thought of all blues artists as being older, and so when I saw the cover with a picture of this kid who looked to be not much older than myself, I was intrigued. I gave a couple of the songs a listen in the store and decided I liked it. Thus began my obsession with KWSB. I eventually saw him in concert 4 or 5 times. Now a-days, I’m no longer an obsessed fan, and I haven’t picked up that first album in a long while, as I much prefer his next two albums. But since this was my first foray into buying music on my own terms, it’s always going to be at the top of my list.

Tenors on Tour – The Three Tenors (Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti)
When I was young, I couldn’t understand how people could listen to opera and be moved to tears. That was until I heard this album, specifically Placido Domingo’s version a ‘Nessun Dorma’. There are a lot of songs on this album I don’t care for, but this song alone made it worth me purchasing a hard copy and listening to it over and over again. I remember the first time I heard it, I was in the car with my mom. She was always the one trying to put a little ‘culture’ in our lives. We listened to the entire album and got to that last song, and I remember trying to hide my tears by looking out the passenger window and not talking. His voice was so powerful and moving, and combined with the choir and the orchestra, I was blown away. When it was over, I was able to squeak out that it was “pretty good”. She understood.

Braveheart movie score
I’ve never been big on movie scores, usually preferring to listen to the compiled songs on the soundtracks. My husband actually had me listen to this one (before we were married) and I fell in love with it. We even used one of the songs in our wedding, for the walk down the isle. To me, it’s very emotional and beautiful and it reminds me of happier times.

The Moon and Antarctica – Modest Mouse
The first time I heard this album I remember thinking, “Man…this guy has a horrible voice! This is just terrible.” But the couple of people I knew who liked them insisted that I needed to keep listening. So I did…and it did end up growing on me. “3rd Planet” is trippy, “Gravity Rides Everything” is fun to sing along to, “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” has an awesome groove, and “Wild Packs of Family Dogs” makes me chuckle every time I hear it. This album is on my list because it proves that sometimes you do have to give music a second (or third, or forth) chance to realize its merit.

Based on a True Story – Fat Freddy’s Drop
I can’t remember the last time I listened to an album and instantly fell in love, but this is one of those albums. One of my MB gems. Is it reggae, dub, soul…all of the above? I’d never heard of dub before MB, and had very limited exposure to reggae, but I love me some soul music, always have. And this album has taken elements from all of these genres and put them together in one glorious music experience. I can easily sit and listen to this album all the way through, never skipping a song, and that’s hard for me to do normally. Also, I’ve been overly excited about sharing this album with other people, and I’ve gotten a few of my friends hooked.

The Flying Club Cup – Beirut
Another MB gem. I checked this out on a whim, and I haven’t been able to stop playing it since. I never, ever would have picked this up anywhere else besides Musicbanter. But Zach Condon’s voice haunts me and the music is completely different and unique compared to what I’ve been used to listening to. It’s on the list because it’s a reminder of why sites like this are a godsend and a great outlet for becoming exposed to new and exciting music.

02-10-2009, 08:29 PM	#61 (permalink)
Roemilca Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 412	Messy, I'll finish it later, I have to go get some medicine. 4. 3. The Black Eyed Peas - Elephunk It got me out of JUST rock, and introduced me to hip-hop. They were also my second favorite band (technically Emerson, Lake, and Palmer were my first favorite band, but that was when I was WAYYYY too little). 2. Blink-182 - Enema Of The State Pretty much formed most of my elementary school childhood, it's all we would listen to on our boomboxes outside playing strange games that I still remember. 1. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory It's the first full album that I ever listened to, and my first 'favorite band'. I pretty much was in love with them until late last year. __________________

02-11-2009, 08:51 AM	#62 (permalink)
RadioWunderbar Groupie Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Posts: 18	That Nuggets comp is sweet! __________________ I am a cliche.

02-11-2009, 09:46 AM	#63 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	I forgot all about this thread. I will do a list later. Just have to get my thinking cap on! __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

02-11-2009, 12:01 PM	#64 (permalink)
dac MB's Biggest Fanboy Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land Posts: 2,852	My ten, in no order... Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - It was the first Floyd that I listened to that wasn't Dark Side or the Wall and boy did open doors for me. Led Zeppelin - IV - Speaking of opening doors... This album was the first classic rock album I ever really listened to. While I criticize Zeppelin to no end these days, I owe them quite a bit. Radiohead - Kid A - Neutral Milk Hotel - Aeroplane - It's hipster trash and it's STILL better than your favorite album. The Strokes - Is This It? - Similar to Zeppelin IV in that it had a HUGE influence on what I listen to, but I still give this album regular spins. Sigur Ros - () - The first post rock band I got into, and the album that can only be described as beautiful. Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People - Let it be known if I could have one song to listen to for the rest of time that song would be "Hunted by a Freak." The Smiths - The Queen is Dead - There was a point when I tried listening to this like 2 years ago and just found it unbearable. I revisited The Smiths 6 months or so ago and discovered that they are gods. After listening to this and enjoying it, I found myself able to listen to a lot of things I otherwise wouldn't have gotten around to. The Mars Volta - De-loused in the Comatorium - I SHOULD NOT like this band. They are far different than anything that I listen to, yet they are among my favorites. This is their best work, though not by far. Jeff Buckley - Grace - Perfection. A very safe list, but I think these 10 albums have had a bigger impact on who I am today musically. All led me down roads that I would have otherwise never gone down. Loveless, The Velvet Underground & Nico, and Piper at the Gates could all very well have been on this list too. __________________

02-11-2009, 04:44 PM	#66 (permalink)
TimmayTheTurtle Groupie Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: dp [847] Posts: 18	i also only really wanna name 5^^^^^ 5. Iowa - Slipknot Got me into metal, granted not the best to start with, but at least I go into it. Before this I listened to Linkin Park and Blink-182. Then I went into my Slipknot/Korn stage. =] 4. Come Clarity - In Flames Like 5 years ago. My girlfriend and my uncle died both in a short amount of time around each other. I was cleary sad. This amazing cd in my opinion, got me through some stuff times. 3. Painkiller - Judas Priest Got me into priest, and just good metal in general. 2. Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked, Pt. 1 - Iced Earth CD for summer 08 for me and my friends. Almost everyday I was with them this CD was in the car where ever we went. Just good memories. 1. Alive in Athens - Iced Earth Got me into my favorite band, Iced Earth. Matt Barlow's voice on this double disc set is incredible. He has twice the emotion he does on album versions. He hits amazing notes on "Iced Earth" and "A Question of Heaven". Simply changed my life. =] __________________ Iced Earth, Dream Theater, TDWP, and Anthrax for life. 360 gamertag= TimmayTheTurtle http://www.myspace.com/erikamadethis Last edited by TimmayTheTurtle; 02-11-2009 at 04:45 PM. Reason: i worte alive in earth instead of athens ;p

02-11-2009, 04:28 PM	#65 (permalink)
WithAnR Groupie Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: UK Posts: 46	Belinda Carlisle - Best Of Got me interested in music The Sisters Of Mercy - A Slight Case Of Overbombing Got me interested in alternative/goth music Cradle Of Filth - Vempire Or Dark Faerytales In Phallust (1994) Opened my ears to more extreme music Korn - S/T Got me hooked up with other music fans. Hole - Live Through This (1994) A chart band that I actually liked Belly - King (1995) One of my first albums I loved every track White Zombie - Astro-Creep:2000 (1995) An album I bought on a camping holiday after never hearing a single note or info about that band (except a single being in the US charts). By the end of the camping trip everyone was "singing" to the tape, Yeah! Faithful Dawn - Temperance (1997) Another band I bought without hearing a note. This was my introduction to darkwave. Bought it from the now defunct Pink Pather Records shop in Carlisle which happened to be the area where the band was from (and I was on holiday at). Katatonia - Tonight's Decision (2001) My favourite album by my favourite band. VNV Nation - Futureperfect (2002) Introduced me into a whole new electronic arena.

02-12-2009, 04:03 AM	#68 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	I will post them in chronological order and has been stressed in the thread, these albums shouldn't neccessarily be your favourites. Only the albums that shaped your musical tastes. ( the dates are when I first heard the album) The Beatles - Red/Blue albums. (1975 onwards) It is best to use these albums as catch alls for The Beatles music. My dad was and still is a big fan and my earliest recollection of music was hearing their music. E.L.O - Discovery (1979) Once again it's my dad's fault! I can remember hearing ELO and being utterly intrigued with the vocals and sound effects (obviously synthesisers but I didn't know that at the time!). It just sounded so different compared to early Beatles music. Madonna - Like A Virgin (1984) This one mainly because it was the first album I ever bought. I got it on cassette in 1984 to use with my first walkman. I still have a soft spot for this album and own it on CD. Iron Maiden - Live After Death (1986) This really kick started everything for me musically and it gave me an identity and a route into non mainstream music. I still absolutely love it. Megadeth - Peace Sells..But Who's Buying? (1987) I am pretty sure that this was the first thrash Metal album that I heard and I just love the changes in tempo and the aggression of the album. A continuation of my love for Metal. Pink Floyd - Meddle (1989) I heard this whilst working in my first full time job making fire extinguishers (!). A guy working there asked me what music I was into and I said Metal and was also a big fan of Marillion. He suggested trying Pink Floyd's Meddle. I listened and the A side (it was on vinyl) sort of left me a little bemused. Then I heard 'Echoes' which took up the entire B side and so began my love of Pink Floyd. Tangerine Dream - Underwater Sunlight (1990) I moved to the town I still live in, in 1990 and basically was an 18 year old kid getting pissed and sleeping on many sofas and floors. After a particulary heavy night out I awoke in a friends house and he was playing this album. The rich lush ambience was quite new to me and it just seemed to work perfectly with waking up with sun bearing down and a fuzzy head. Still a big favourite now. Underworld - Second Toughest In The Infants (1998) I started a new job as a chef and they always played music that was not your usual Restaurant piped crap. this album was playing and the epic Banstyle/Sappys Curry was playing. It's over 15 minutes long and has a brilliant breakdown with an acoustic guitar kicking in and a slow build back up. It made me look at Dance music in a completely different light and I realised that there is just as much innovative and well made stuff in the genre as Rock music. Melt Banana - Cell Scape (2007) You are never too old to hear new music and although my genre tastes are wide, I had never experienced noise rock. Due to you good folk at MB this was my first taste of it and I was blown away by the energy and quirkiness. Again this opened up another avenue of musical exploration. Melody Gardot - Worrisome Heart (2008) I do love my female singer/songwriters but I have never really been into Jazz. This represented the perfect way to ease into Jazz and what a fantastic album it is and now Jazz is a genre that i'm inching into all the time. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

02-12-2009, 01:46 PM	#70 (permalink)
NSW Bigger and Better Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas girl living in the UK Posts: 2,596	It’s hard to keep this list to 10 albums, and really hard to pick the top ten. So I just wrote about the first 10 I could think of. I know we’re supposed to put these in order of how influential they are, but they are going to be in timeline order of when I first listened to them. Best of Sam Cooke – Sam Cooke Instrumental in getting me interested in soul and R&B music. What can I say? Sam Cooke had a great voice and style. His songs can be soulful, chipper, moving, or just plain fun. My mom had this one on vinyl, and would play it when I was liiittle (think 4 or 5 years old) and I couldn't get enough of it even then. Obviously, the older I got the more I began to appreciate it in a different way and let it motivate me to check out other soul artists. It’s just an awesome album and a fantastic genre of music that I’ll never stop loving. There Must be a Better World Somewhere – B.B. King I love this man. I don’t know how else to put it. When he passes (he’s gettin’ up there ya know), tears will be shed. He is the reason I love the blues guitar, and this is the album that started it all. 5150 – Van Halen I remember my dad loved this album, and those nights when my mom was working and he was left to tend to us kids, this was one of the albums he would always put on. All three of us (my brothers and I) would rock out with Dad and it was good times! Later on, as I got a bit older and started having crushes and what not, some of the songs from this album like “Dreams” and “Why Can’t this be Love” really started to take on meaning for me. Now I listen to them and think “Gawd, what a bunch of overly sentimental fluff”, but they still bring back the good memories. Metallica (Black Album) – Metallica This is the album that got me into Metallica, and thereby metal in general. “Sad But True” was always my favorite song, but I pretty much listened to this album all the way through and loved every minute of it. I’ve since discovered better Metallica albums (well, better metal albums on the whole), but this one will always have the special spot as the first metal album that I really got. Ledbetter Heights – Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band This was the first blues album I ever bought on my own, having not heard or read any reviews and without any outside influences. I was perusing the blues section at Best Buy and came upon it. Up until that point in my life, I guess I’d thought of all blues artists as being older, and so when I saw the cover with a picture of this kid who looked to be not much older than myself, I was intrigued. I gave a couple of the songs a listen in the store and decided I liked it. Thus began my obsession with KWSB. I eventually saw him in concert 4 or 5 times. Now a-days, I’m no longer an obsessed fan, and I haven’t picked up that first album in a long while, as I much prefer his next two albums. But since this was my first foray into buying music on my own terms, it’s always going to be at the top of my list. Tenors on Tour – The Three Tenors (Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti) When I was young, I couldn’t understand how people could listen to opera and be moved to tears. That was until I heard this album, specifically Placido Domingo’s version a ‘Nessun Dorma’. There are a lot of songs on this album I don’t care for, but this song alone made it worth me purchasing a hard copy and listening to it over and over again. I remember the first time I heard it, I was in the car with my mom. She was always the one trying to put a little ‘culture’ in our lives. We listened to the entire album and got to that last song, and I remember trying to hide my tears by looking out the passenger window and not talking. His voice was so powerful and moving, and combined with the choir and the orchestra, I was blown away. When it was over, I was able to squeak out that it was “pretty good”. She understood. Braveheart movie score I’ve never been big on movie scores, usually preferring to listen to the compiled songs on the soundtracks. My husband actually had me listen to this one (before we were married) and I fell in love with it. We even used one of the songs in our wedding, for the walk down the isle. To me, it’s very emotional and beautiful and it reminds me of happier times. The Moon and Antarctica – Modest Mouse The first time I heard this album I remember thinking, “Man…this guy has a horrible voice! This is just terrible.” But the couple of people I knew who liked them insisted that I needed to keep listening. So I did…and it did end up growing on me. “3rd Planet” is trippy, “Gravity Rides Everything” is fun to sing along to, “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” has an awesome groove, and “Wild Packs of Family Dogs” makes me chuckle every time I hear it. This album is on my list because it proves that sometimes you do have to give music a second (or third, or forth) chance to realize its merit. Based on a True Story – Fat Freddy’s Drop I can’t remember the last time I listened to an album and instantly fell in love, but this is one of those albums. One of my MB gems. Is it reggae, dub, soul…all of the above? I’d never heard of dub before MB, and had very limited exposure to reggae, but I love me some soul music, always have. And this album has taken elements from all of these genres and put them together in one glorious music experience. I can easily sit and listen to this album all the way through, never skipping a song, and that’s hard for me to do normally. Also, I’ve been overly excited about sharing this album with other people, and I’ve gotten a few of my friends hooked. The Flying Club Cup – Beirut Another MB gem. I checked this out on a whim, and I haven’t been able to stop playing it since. I never, ever would have picked this up anywhere else besides Musicbanter. But Zach Condon’s voice haunts me and the music is completely different and unique compared to what I’ve been used to listening to. It’s on the list because it’s a reminder of why sites like this are a godsend and a great outlet for becoming exposed to new and exciting music. __________________ Hi.