20 Albums

I originally wrote this for a Facebook (Crackbook?) tag, but thought it would be good to muse on here as well. Well, this is pretty embarrassing on a lot of levels, but that's life, isn't it? Asked to name 20 albums influential to my life in such a way that I'll always remember the time I listened to them, here's what I came up with. I've excluded any "Greatest Hits" albums that, while important to me, aren't really albums in the traditional sense. So here goes...


Early Years: NO CLUE AT ALL
Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Huey Lewis & the News - Sports

I didn't realize how important music would be to me at a young age, so it was pretty much buying whatever someone told me to buy, whether that was a commercial, a friend on the playground, or Michael J. Fox. Still, though, there are more embarrassing first concerts than Huey.


Early High School: STILL FIGURING IT OUT
Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever
Peter Gabriel - So
Don Henly - End of the Innocence

The first two came out long before the time I bought them, but I knew I liked 'em and I wore out the tapes playing them in my parents' cars. Those are two records that are way better as a whole than the hits they spawned. And you probably remember Bruce Hornsby's piano playing in "Innocence", but did you know that record also feature cameos by Axl Rose (washed up) and Sheryl Crow (unknown)? While it wasn't exactly innovative, there's not a bad song on that album.


Late High School and Early College: FINDING A VOICE
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Fear
Dada - Puzzle
Pearl Jam - Ten
Nirvana - Nevermind

Between senior year of HS and freshman year of college, I constantly spun two tapes dubbed from my brother's CD collection. The first two were on one tape and the other two were on another. From alt-folk to pop-guitar to heavy-grunge, these covered so many bases and set the soundtrack for some pretty intense drives.


Late College and Post-Grad: AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Dulcinea
Say Zuzu - Highway Signs & Driving Songs
Summercamp - Pure Juice
Barenaked Ladies - Stunt

I blasted "Siamese Dream" from my dorm room the weekend freshmen moved in, wrote English papers while listening to "Dulcinea", and got inspired to form a band by "Highway Signs". And even though we weren't dating yet, I'll never forget trekking to Boston with Robin and our friend David to see the 'Ladies "CD release party" of "Stunt", which filled all of Government Center.

Married with Children: NOT CARING ABOUT MY IMAGE
Cake - Prolonging the Magic
Sister Hazel - Fortress
The Push Stars - After the Party
Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music
Jonatha Brooke - Steady Pull

Cake taught me how important percussion was to making me want to move (and yes, a phone keypad IS percussion), Sister Hazel's "Champagne High" still brings goosebumps, and The Push Stars and Jayhawks have never disappointed in over a dozen shows across three states. As for Jonatha, let's just say that no other voice can hypnotize me as quickly, and I can't wait to add more of her albums to my collection. I wish I had been listening closer all along...

There you have it. 20 albums that did it for me. But the hard part of this list? Paring it down to 20. I still feel like I left a few out...