5 Albums That Changed Your Life

[dfuruta]

Not my favorite albums, but the ones that opened up new worlds of sound.

Black Sabbath - Paranoid
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (and then Meditations, and then Interstellar Space...)
Corrupted - El Mundo Frio
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Ché-SHIZU - Glimmering Star

[Neal]

Not necessarily what I would say are my favorite records, but definitely some that made me think about things differently.

The Wall - I can't even listen to this record anymore, but it altered my perception profoundly at an early age.

...And Justice for All - First real metal record I can remember hearing. Made me want to get serious about guitar.

In Utero - As soon as the first chord hit, I was floored. Still love this record.

Plastic Surgery Disasters (Dead Kennedys) - Raw and intense as hell, but also very dynamic and musical. A punk band that could really play. Fuck ya. Some of the best lyrics ever, too.

Hard to pick the 5th one. Fuck it there's too many... Arise, Covenant, 2112, Appetite, Highway to Hell, NOLA, IV, Scream Bloody Gore, World Downfall, Sgt. Pepper, Unorthodox Steps of Ritual, Night on Bald Mountain, Sonic Excess in its Purest Form, Hendrix: Woodstock, Daydream Nation, Vulgar, De-Loused, blahblahblahwhogivesashit...
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some stuff I've recorded: http://soundcloud.com/neal-stein

[goose134]

Jimi Hendrix- Smash Hits This was bought as a gift for my birthday from a friend of my father. Let's just say I heard it at just the right time.

Violent Femmes-Violent Femmes I still can't get my head around how such a small, acoustic instrumentation could shred so much.

The Jesus Lizard- Goat This was my first forray into the noisy rock that was prevalent in Chicago at the time. Then Comes Dudley just starts this album with the bass on attack/slow torture and the drums that will change your life.

More Songs About Buildings and Food- The Talking HeadsOne of the first times a band I cared about gave permission to sing about really banal, yet profound conceptual topics. All wrapped up in jangly guitar

The Wedding Present- Bizzaro Speaking of jangly guitar, nothing prepared me for how fast you can play a rhythm guitar. All while your distorted lead lays down super slow arcs that follow the conversational lyrics without aping them.
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I make a living as an electrician, not recording in the basement.

[mechanicalmastering]

1) In Utero - Nirvana
Perhaps the most amazing and emotionally-impactful music I have ever heard. Sometimes I think that the audio on this particular record is not of this world, something entirely seperate from anything we have ever known, almost as if it came from some sort of celestial, intergalactic radio station. Kurt was a true gift to the world, his music has changed my life in ways that nothing ever has, or ever will.

2) Play - Moby
This is my desert-island record, I could listen to it a thousand times over. I was actually dissappointed when I first bought it!

3) Milk & Kisses - The Cocteau Twins
Yucky ADAT, disgusting use of primitive digital technology, but dammit, the songs are beautiful, "Eperdu" is what the music of the future will consist of, GOOGLE IT!

4) The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground
Artistic lo-fi greatness.

5) We've Come A Long Way Baby - Fatboy Slim
This record expanded my perspective of how music can be taken-apart and put back together again. Ever see the picture in the liner notes of the basement he made the recording in? It inspired me to become the multi-instrumentalist that I am, and seize all creative control for myself, (including the engineering & mastering).

Honorable Mentions:
The Sneaker Pimps ~ Becoming X
The Prodigy ~ Fat Of The Land
Leadbelly ~ The Best Of Leadbelly
Nirvana ~ Nevermind

[Gregg Juke]

Not necessarily my favorites; certainly not now. All life-changing in H.S.
No particular order: Jimi Hendrix "Smash Hits," The Police "Outlandos D'Amour," Bob Marley/The Wailers "Burning," The Doors "The Soft Parade," The Sex Pistols "Never Mind The Bullocks." (Honorable Mention: David Bowie "Space Oddity" and "Scary Monsters;" and also Jim Carrol "Catholic Boy")

[This was a few years before I discovered this five: Elvin Jones "Earth Jones," Tony Williams "The New Tony Williams' Lifetime: Believe It!," U.K. "U.K.," King Crimson "Discipline," and John Coltrane "A Love Supreme"]

GJ

[teleguy2]

Radiohead - Ok Computer
Wilco - Summerteeth
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
U2 - Joshua Tree
U2 - Achtung Baby!


Those were defining albums for me. There are so many others, but these jump out to me right now, so I guess that's what I'll list.
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New Cool Now Music |
Steven Wesley Guiles |
My Bandcamp | John Cash Studios

[keplar]

My top five in no particular order:

Soundgarden's "Superunknown" - For the melding of world-influenced rock with complex sonic textures...Plus Kim Thayil's ridiculous guitar playing...

The Soundtrack to Myst - There is something about this game's minimalist soundtrack that has infected my brain (in a good way). I still listen to it at least once a week.

Björk's "Post" - One of my fist times being exposed to an artist blending sampled, electronic, and acoustic elements.

Nine Inch Nails "The Downward Spiral" - This cohesion of this record from start to finish still blows me away.

Paco de Lucia's "Fuente y Caudal" - Paco's playing on this album started me on my journey to learn everything I could about not just flamenco, but all sorts of world and folk music.
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Keplar
Recording Artist, Techie, and DIY addict
www.Keplar.net

[engelen62]

My list in chronological order:

Soundtrack Recordings from the Film Jimi Hendrix. I was about 10 when I borrowed this record and after that music was my main interest.

Talking Heads: Once In A Lifetime. I got this record for my 20th birthday and rythm and music production got into my life for full.

U2: October. 1982 music was much more than America.

Talk Talk: Spirit Of Eden. Muaic as divine as it gets.

Daft Punk: Homework. 100% machine and 100% human.
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Inge Engelen
dreamlab studio
NORWAY
ingee.no

[Gregg Juke]

I would also add U2 and Talking Heads to my list (specifically "Once In A Lifetime;" in fact, that album has some bearing on the "Are loops for candyasses?" thread up on the Recording forum)...

GJ

[E campbell]

No particular order:

Beatles - White Album
Clash - London Calling
Replacements - Let it Be
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Neil Young gets his own list!
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My band:
Palominoband.com

Our Music Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx_Zbhr3MWE

RNP> Otari MX5050 half track> Apogee Duet> Ableton Live.

[ktspringer]

I think age is one of the most interesting things alongside the records...so I'll just leave it at that.

15
Pinkerton – Weezer
Kid A – Radiohead
(in that order)

16
Lifted – Bright Eyes

17
The Glow Pt. 2 – The Microphones

22
Lost and Safe – The Books

[ktspringer]

[Huskyrock]

Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet
Bjork - Homogenic
Clutch - Clutch
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Dungen - 4

[antbar]

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts' Club Band - Beatles
Telekon - Gary Numan
Jehovahkill - Julian Cope
Taking Tiger Mountain - Eno
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter - Incredible String Band

These are life-changers for me, one way or other, but each of these albums is burned deep into my record-making mind.

I'm sure we're only a few months away, but I'd love to see the machine that could eat these five albums and reconstitute all the musical information into a single "new" album. Yum!
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"Anton Barbeau: intimidating the merely curious since 1967."

[jayoski]

Soundtrack to Carl Sagan's Cosmos

Movement 3 of "Heaven and Hell" from the Vangelis Album "Heaven and Hell" was used as the theme song to Carl Sagan's Cosmos. The whole record is beautiful.