I've been working on my own list, and it's not as easy to do as it looks. Here goes:
5
Genesis - A Trick of the Tail
I had the benefit of an older brother and a musically interested father for my earliest listening years. I think "Squonk" was one of the first songs I remember really liking, no doubt because of the little drawing of the Squonk on the album's liner notes. A Trick of the Tail won the "Harson Award" for album of the year in 1976, the year I turned five. (For the uninitiated, the Harson Awards were given out by my family between 1975 and 1980 for the best music of year. Pink Floyd was pretty much guaranteed to win any year they released an album.)
Jethro Tull - M.U.
Jethro Tull was big in our house as well, and the idea of a flute in a rock band was novel even to my young ears. M.U. was a 'best of' album, so I got a heavy dose of "Aqualung", "Thick as a Brick", "Skating Away" and other Tull classics as a kid. Maybe that's why I didn't share my roommate's enthusiasm for Tull in my freshman year at college.
10
Rush - Permanent Waves
Again, very much influenced by my brother and father. When I was 10, my brother was 16 and into Rush. So I listened, too. And that's why this is so funny to me.
Steeleye Span - Please to See the King
This 1971 release by English folksters really opened my ears to other types of music. Traditional songs like "The False Knight on the Road" likely were the seeds that grew into my appreciation for Celtic and Scandinavian folk music as I got older. I can remember driving on the back roads of Bucks County with my father, listening to this record on 8-track tape.
15
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
By 15, I was finding my own way, musically. The Queen is Dead still ranks - to me and many others - as one of the greatest records of all time. It has endured for 25 years and still sounds as good today as it did when I was 15. Even if you were inclined to dislike the Smiths, you'd have a hard time after hearing the opening title track.
The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
Unlike The Queen is Dead, I can't say this album has endured. That said, I listened to it constantly back then. Now I only listen to the lullaby version of The Cure's greatest hits -- with an occasional spin of "Boys Don't Cry" for the kids -- and I'm rediscovering things I loved about the band.
20
Big Audio Dynamite II - The Globe
I was always a big Clash fan, but I wasn't a snob about it. I liked Mick Jones a lot and even Joe Strummer regretted firing him. So I gave BAD a fair chance, and they didn't disappoint. By 1991, and with a new lineup, they had perfected a dancey, electropunk groove that didn't sound like anything else. "Rush" and "The Globe" are classics and so are album tracks like "Green Grass" and "Can't Wait". They played a terrific New Year's Eve show in New York that year that remains one of the greatest concerts I've seen.
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
I saw the first Lollapolooza a couple of times in the summer of 1991 and when Trent Reznor and company rocked. This record brought brought an industrial sound to the mainstream, even if it wasn't truly an industrial record. But Reznor found great commercial success by making edgy songs like "Down In It" and "Head Like a Hole" instantly palatable to a radio audience. And now he's winning Oscars.
25
Mr Hansen at his absolute best. We have the Dust Brothers to thank for taking this album in an upbeat, hip-hop direction when it was meant to be more somber and acoustic. From the chunky opening bars of "Devil's Haircut" through the shimmer of "Jack-Ass", the result is pure gold.
Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory
I'm may have been 24 when this record came out -- it's kind of hard to figure. There are six bonafide classics on this record -- "Some Might Say", "Roll With It", "Morning Glory", "Wonderwall", "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Champagne Supernova" and it's no surprise these guys dominated 1995 and 1996. At the time, I was into Oasis over rivals Blur, but as Winston Churchill said, "There are two kinds of success -- initial and ultimate." And ultimately, I preferred Blur to Oasis.
30
The Strokes - Is This It?
I resisted the hype that surrounded these guys for a long time, but succombed after seeing them in a double bill with The White Stripes. They won me over with a tight set and the album was just as strong. And while they never were able to match the intensity of this album, I'm still interested in hearing what they sound like now.
Gorillaz - Gorillaz
Damon Albarn is one of the few artists who consistently makes interesting music. The first Gorillaz album was very much that, with hip-hop, Latin, dub and world influences drawn into Albarn's stew. Throw on a kick-ass single, "Clint Eastwood", and an animated band and no surprise I was hooked.
35
The Fall - 458489 A Sides
In 2007 I was in Amoeba in Hollywood buying obscure Fall records for my brother. I didn't know the band so I asked him what I should buy for myself just to get a flavor. He told me to start with this record, basically a compilation of their more accessible singles from the 1980s. It's a terrific collection, with enough sneer and snarl as you'd expect from Mark E Smith but also enough pop songcraft to keep a novice like myself interested. I played this record constantly, and my addiction to the band only grew from this point on. Hear what I'm talking about in two songs: "Hit the North" and "Cruiser's Creek".
Bill Monroe - 20th Century Masters
Bill Monroe pretty much invented bluegrass, so when I was on a bluegrass kick, this is where I started. Plenty of classics here, including "Blue Moon of Kentucky", "Uncle Pen", "Molly & Tenbrooks", "Footprints in the Snow".
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Here's a band that never got big in this country, despite being critical acclaimed -- and despite being absolutely brilliant. Perfect pop songcraft, melody and harmony abound here, with the great Neko Case providing killer vocals on "Letter from an Occupant" and the title track.
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