Thats funny because that is the exact way I got into Floyd. My dad was a big Pink Floyd fan and because of that I always dismissed them as some "old fart" band. I remember I was at Hot Topic in the mall & Comfortably Numb came on, and I was like Damn that sounds pretty tight! Needless to say I was shocked to find out it was Pink Floyd! and the rest is history.

My roommates chewed me out when I had to ask what they were listening to, mind you it was three in the morning and they were using mind-altering substances, but they were still able to chew me out. "Comfortably Numb" woke me from a deep sleep and I still don't know how. Then you should have seen their faces when I told them another time that I could never remember hearing Stairway to Heaven and that I didn't listen to Zeppelin (of which I now have the Complete Studio Recordings Boxset - what a great gift from my dad, because I asked for the four-disc set, but BB didn't have it so he bought me the only Zeppelin box set he saw in the store. He didn't know the difference and my mom what sort of pissed when I let on that I didn't ask for this particular box set, but I would keep it out of the goodness of my heart.) :)

Pearl Jam-Ten
Nirvana-Nevermind
Metallica-And Justice for All
Pink Floyd-Darkside of the Moon
Dr.Dre-The Chronic

Aerosmith-Toys In The Attic
The first record I ever bought. It still holds up as far as I am concerned. I really can't stand any Aerosmith post 1980.

Beatles-1967-1970 (The Blue Double Album)
I wore this one out. My mom got it for me for Christmas 1977. Every generation should "discover" The Beatles.

Santana-Moonflower
There are only a handful of guitarists who emit a signature sound. Carlos Santana is one of them. This record is half live-half studio. the musicianship by the whole band is amazing, and Greg Walker's soulful voclas are amazing. This is much better than the recent Grammy winners.

R.E.M.-Murmur
Rolling Stone declared them the next big thing. So I bought the record, saw a show and was hooked. It only took them until 1988 to "make"it. I was bummed when the masses found out about R.E.M.

Pearl Jam-Ten
I have noticed this record in some of the other Top 5s posted here. I think they were the best band of the 90's and continue to be strong in the 2000's. Pearl Jam is a band of musicians, while a lot of other bands of the nineties just can not play. Ten has been a hard act to follow for Pearl Jam and they will probably never be able to surpass it, but so what, these guys don't want to make another Ten.


Honorable Mention:
Matthew Good-Beautiful Midnight
The best songwriter I have heard lately. Check him out.

Plastikman - Sheet One
The most amazing display of techno at that time. To this day that album still leaves me amazed.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood
Nothing could have ever really prepared me for that one.

Pink Floyd - The Wall
One of the most interesting albums I ever heard.

Kraftwerk - The Man Machine
Incredible album.

Magic Sam - Black Magic / West Side Soul
It's a toss up between the two. Either of the two have such a vibe to them. Near perfection in my opinion.

In no particular order:

1. Def Leppard - Hysteria...this was THE 80s album for me...wore out one tape completely

2. Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill...I dunno...about 96, this sounded good to me

3. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral...What can I say, its NIN...just awesome

4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Once More With Feeling...probably my most listened to CD since September

5. Christina Aguilera...shameful to admit the amount of times I listened to that garbage, this was of course before she turned into a freak!

Might I add, I kinda wrote Pink Floyd off before too...never having heard any of their songs, I had pre-determined in my mind that I did not like them...until I actually l listened to them, also Comfortably Numb is one of my favorite songs ever.

This makes me feel old and I'm not really that old ><

The sign was popular when I was a sophomore in high school!



Very hard for me to just pick 5 albums, because music has always been a huge part of my life.


Michael Jackson - Thriller: First album I ever owned to my knowledge that was real music. I got it when I was 6 years old and I had just moved from Massachusetts to Florida with my parents, leaving all my siblings behind. My oldest brother got me the tape and an MJ Thriller poster for my birthday that year (with a few other things I still remember fondly). We're not the closest out of my brothers and sister by far, but it has left an impact on me still.

The Cars - Heartbeat City: The first CD I ever owned. My other brother bought me this one, and to this day I'm still a huge huge cars fan.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik: This album changed the face of music for me my freshman year in High School. It had been out for a while, but I had just encountered it and it was the greatest collection of songs I had ever heard. This CD started a 10 year love affair for me of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (that sadly ended with their release By The Way, which I think is horrible. The only time a CD has truely broken my heart).

The Cure - Wild Mood Swings: Pretty much summed up most of my Senior year of high school and the few years after it. Another great cd that led to a collection of great music from a great band.

Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine: Another anthem of my high school years. Encounted this CD my freshman year, and it's still in heavy rotation a good 12 years later.

bonus:

Wax Trax! Afterburn - Compilation CD of Wax Trax! artists. Kind of like an add on to their Black Box set. This is where I first encountered the band Underworld, whom I absolutely adore (The song on this CD, Dirty Epic is my all time favorite Underworld song by them as well). I recall driving around constantly through high school listening to this song over and over and over and over. ;)

HA!

The Sign was popular when I was in grad school, and I'm only 32.

So ya got 6 years on me. If it makes me feel old, then you must feel ancient :p

1) Prince - 1999 - a genius at work

2) LL Cool J - Radio - my first full rap album. Listening to it now makes me remember getting so hyped when The Electrifying Mojo (for those of you old school Detroiters) would cut and scratch "Dear Yvette" for like 30 minutes straight on his radio show

3) Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill - Listened to this album every day for over a year. It just never gets old. When I think of my high school days, this album is the first that comes to mind

4) Public Enemy - Nation of Millions - still IMHO the only "perfect" album I've ever heard.

5) Pearl Jam - Ten - opened my ears to a whole different type of music


Honorable Mentions:
Pet Shop Boys - Actually
Kraftwerk - Computer World
De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising

But also, I still listen to the Sign occasionally to sometimes wonder "what the hell was I thinking."
Also for me
Natile something (the one who did that torn song), it was my first and only female cd artist that I ever owned (I also have Garbage as well)

Natalie Imbruglia

Tommy - The Movie Soundtrack - Saw the movie many times (including 5 times in a row in 1 day, at the theater) My first album.

The Cars - Debut album, great, got me started on "new bands"

The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta My friend and I wanted to go see a band, we picked the Police and I bought this album before it got big. They didn't even sell out the show and they were great, I had seen them every tour after that, and seen Sting every tour since then.

U2 - The Joshua Tree - While I was already a huge fan (seen them many times before this, starting on the War Tour) this album fully entrenched me into my obsession (which I still have today)

X - Los Angeles A Great Album, by the best "punk" band ever.

edited to add X, I had them in my head but forgot to add them...

good question.

Well there were THREE albums I was listening to A LOT around the same time that was very big in my life with graduating high school and moving 2,300 miles away from Houston to NY.

1. Nivana - Nevermind ; listened to this constantly and I was wearing this t-shirt (the one with the baby cover) and the album was on in the car I was in when I was SHOT! (still have the shirt with the blood stains on it.

2. Pearl Jam - Ten roughly same time frame. Went to Lolla 92 and been to 30+ shows since!

3. Stone Temple Pilots - CORE listened to this album over and OVER again straight through on my drive up from Houston to NY.
So it brings back memories.

------------------------------------------
4. Beatles - #1 album.... fresh in my mind, listened to it constantly in the rental convertible in Maui on my honeymoon this past summer.

5. NIN - Pretty Hate Machine; first kissed my (now Wife) while this was on.

Great Thread...

<b>1) Son Volt: Trace</b> Possibly <i>the</i> album of the Alt-Country movement. Jay Farrar made a serious statement with this record.

<b>2) Radiohead: OK Computer</b> This record remains as fresh as the first day I listened to it.

<b>3) Miles Davis: Kind of Blue</b> Love it. The best jazz record of all-time. Possibly the best jazz musician of all-time.

<b>4) Grateful Dead: Wake of the Flood</b> I bought this record about 8 years ago and it immediately went to the top of my personal list. This is a legendary album.

<b>5) Wilco: Being There</b> The terrific double CD from Jeff Tweedy & Co. Of course, Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot could be inserted in this slot.

Others: Pearl Jam: Ten <-- Great album from reckless HS days w/ Briank.
Neil Young: Harvest <-- My favorite NY album.
The Band: Self-Titled <-- I've listened to this record hundreds of times.

1) The Ghost Of Tom Joad - Bruce Springsteen
2) Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos
3) Biograph - Bob Dylan
4) The Heart Of Saturday Night - Tom Waits
5) Classic Queen - Queen

Others that come to mind:

1) The Wall - Pink Floyd
2) Appetite For Destruction - Guns n Roses
3) Counting Crows - August And Everything After
4) Symphony #9 (Choral) - LVB
5) The Future - Leonard Cohen

Recent Mentions that are on the life chaning road:

1) Songbird - Eva Cassidy
2) Julie Cruise - Floating Into The Night
3) John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
4) Astrel Weeks - Van Morrison
5) Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells


Strange how, in the last two years with downloading becoming the norm, I've lost touch with actual albums, replaced by individual songs or mix CDs. This thread, reading many of the titles I recall or others that interest me or others I have a few songs from I realize that it is time to get back to purchasing a disc and running it into the ground as I did with some of those listed above.

The top 5 albums that have had the most impact on me as a person in the way I am and what I listen to today are as follows: (in ascending order)
5)Metallica-And Justice for All
4)The Doors-Best of The Doors
3)Guns and Roses-Appetite for Destruction
2)Nirvana-Nevermind
1)Tool-Aenema

Lewis Taylor - Lewis Taylor
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Radiohead - Kid A
Kerri Chandler - A Basement, A Red Light And A Feeling
Mastercuts - Classic Jazz-Funk 3

1. Kraftwerk - Man Machine
2. Wire - 154
3. The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks
4. Killing Joke - Killing Joke
5. Devo - Q: Are We Not Men?

Each one of these completely redefined music for me when I discovered them.

Honorable Mention (Punk):

1. The Clash - The Clash/Give 'Em Enough Rope
2. Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
3. The Damned - Machine Gun Ettequette
4. The Ramones - Rocket to Russia
5. The Jam - Snap!

Honorable Mention (Electronic):

1. The Normal - TVOD/Warm Leatherette (single)
2. Synergy - Sequencer
3. Peter Baumann - Trans Harmonic Nights
4. Edgar Froese - Stuntman
5. Depech Mode - Speak and Spell/Construction Time Again

Honorable Mention (Rock, Pop):

1. Stevie Ray Vaughn - Texas Flood
2. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
3. The Who - The Kids Are Alright
4. The Beatles - Blue Album
5. Pink Floyd - Animals


All of these fall under the catagories of "I didn't know you could do that," or "I didn't know it could be done that well."

1. Chief Assassin to the Sinister - Three Mile Pilot
2. Na Vucca Do Lupu - Three Mile Pilot
3. Songs from an Old Town We Once Knew - Three Mile Pilot
4. Pinback - Pinback
5. Blue Screen Life - Pinback

Duran Duran-Rio

The only one of this group that I actually bought back when vinyl was pretty much my primary choice. Defined my teenage years. Once took a train from Detroit to Miami and packed all my cassettes (I had upgraded by then) except Rio which was in my player with me. I listened to the album almost non-stop for 3 days and still know all the lyrics to every song.

10,000 Maniacs-In My Tribe

In between the synth-pop and the hair-bands came music like this. I was a little late to U2 and REM, but the duet on this album with Michael Stipe on A Campfire Song turned me on to REM which I am very grateful for. I think every song influenced me. I read On the Road, listed to old Cat Stevens albums, and visited the Painted Desert. I think it's one of the top 5 albums in my collection.


Nirvana-Nevermind

This should be a tie with Pearl Jam, but this was the one that really changed me the most of anything I've ever listened to. It almost seems cliche to say it now, but it did. I listened to more pop music and that seemed what the culture liked at the time. Had 2 friends who listened to hard rock and metal and they played it for me. I didn't really even want to listen and when they played it for me I was captured. Took me threw all my college years and Kurt's death was a day that I remember the way my mom remembers JFK's death.


Tori Amos-Little Earthquakes

Found her before the masses and this is also my 2nd favorite album ever. I'd never heard anything like her before and nothing has moved me the way this album did. I loved Nirvana, STP, and PJ, but I went nuts for Tori. Fan Club, every import single, 7 concerts, and everything she did I followed. This was the album I was listening to when I met my wife and it means the world to me now.

Fifth choice could have been Thompson Twins-Into the Gap, Garbage-Garbage, Madonna-Madonna, AC/DC-Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap or Def Leppard-Pyromania but in a close call I give it to:

The Cranberries-Everybody else is doing it, so why can't we?

If it was best or even most important album it may have been one of the others, but this CD was part of changing me. I was going to college in Arizona when this came out and this CD was released at a time when I was out partying every night. It seemed like it was in everyone's player, ALL the songs were fun and beautiful and had energy and I just remember driving around the desert at night, growing up, naked girls, and lots of beer and this was the "party" album of the bunch and it's too bad the Cranberries never came close to topping it.

1. Dave Matthews Band - Crash
2. They Might Be Giants - Flood
3. Weird Al - Bad Hair Day
4. Mortal Kombat OST
5. Rush - Retrospective

...not sure it qualifies as "changing my life" but these are albums I got a little obsessed with. I'll include more than five:

Joy Division "Unknown Pleasures" The first non-mainstream album I bought when I was 14. A friend of mine introduced me to it. I still listen to it all the time.

Nitzer Ebb: "That Total Age" stripped down, aggressive electronic music sounded pretty amazing in 1987, the age of Whitesnake.

George Harrison: All Things Must Pass The first album I stole from my mother when I was 10. Great stuff, particularly "Wah Wah".

Sonic Youth: Sister I bought it when it came out, it's still my absolute favorite album of all time. Number one.

My Bloody Valentine: Loveless Anyone who bought this album in 1991 couldn't put it down, I was one of them.

Big Black: Atomizer Captured the guitar buzz I'd been waiting to hear for a while. when I was in the throes of teenage angst.

The Cure: Disintegration The bible for mopey teenagers everywhere.

Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions... The first rap album I bought, the rest is history.

Metallica: ...and justice for all Before buying this album, I was convinced that metal sucked. After....

Minor Threat: Out of Step The hardcore punk bible. This and MDC's "Millions of Dead Cops" are what I used to listen to on a walkman while mowing the lawn.

Funkadelic: One Nation under a Groove Taught me to love da funk.

Meat Beat Manifesto: Storm the Studio Showed me just how far electronica could go... still sounds pretty ****ing hardcore and revolutionary.

The Sundays: Reading Writing and Arithmatic The anthem for my "sensitive sweater-vest" days.

Pulp: Different Class The coolest thing since sliced bread when it came out.

Roxy Music: Country Life Taught me to love the 70s.

Dinosaur Jr: You're Living All Over Me Because I actually knew these guys (they're from my hometown). They reek of Amherst, MA and so do I.

Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation My second favorite album, ever.

...and so on and so forth.

Tom Waits -- Frank's Wild Years
R.E.M. -- Lifes Rich Pageant
Husker Du -- Flip Your Wig
Beatles -- White Album
Talking Heads -- Remain in Light