15 Albums - A Facebook Reprint

This was one of those Facebook posts that was going around a while back. As you can tell, I really took to this one. There were supposed to be 15 albums listed. I have 17, because I couldn’t keep any of the following out of the list. The musical choices probably say a lot about me. I don’t know what that is, so feel free to enlighten me.

The request was for 15 albums that had "such a profound effect on you they sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, and emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world."

A lot of these albums, today, I consider cheesy. But I’m being honest. And don't lie, in the late 80’s and early 90’s you were listening to the same stuff. :)


1. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet - I remember hearing "Wanted Dead or Alive" at the pool one summer and thinking, "What was that. I need to hear that again." I was only 7 or 8 years old.

2. The Beatles - "Let It Be" was my introduction, but the "Greatest Hits 1967-1970" made the biggest impact. Staggering pieces of songwriting, bridging the gaps between classical, English pub songs, psychedelia, and rock. No style, form, or instrument was off-limits

3. Def Leppard - Hysteria - This was one of the first rock albums I owned. I remember the videos. Just very cool, very rock and roll. The lyrics didn't mean much and didn't have to. The guitar work was so produced and so slick. And the drummer only had ONE ARM! It hooked me at a young age.

4. Garth Brooks - Ropin' the Wind - It's something the whole family listened to before I was old enough to have some say in what we listened to. The songs were great, whether you like country or not. It was also the idea that country music could be fun. And loud. This was the second concert I saw live, and it was like a rock and roll show.

5. Aerosmith - Greatest Hits, Pump - I discovered these albums around the same time, via my cousin Marty. It was a great representation of the early years and the comeback years. Thirty years later, you can still rock, even harder? Okay, cool. Aerosmith is the American version of the Rolling Stones. But they're better. Better singer, better guitar players. You could argue that the Stones had better songs, but that's an opinion. My first concert was the Get A Grip tour.

6. The Black Crowes - Shake Your Moneymaker - I love Stones-influenced bands, much more than I actually like the Rolling Stones. Odd. The Black Crowes were young and vibrant and doing music that harkened back to a time about 30-35 years earlier. Chris Robinson has an incredible whisky-soaked voice and Rich Robinson's guitar was tuned to open chords - something that was alien to play, then frustrating, then very very cool.

7. Guns and Roses - Appetite for Destruction - I remember thinking, "this is music my parents might not want me to listen to. But I really want to hear it." I felt more of an impact from that album as time went on. I still learn from what Slash and Izzy did when it comes to having two guitars in one band. An amazing piece of musicianship, with anger from Axl that was raw and unfettered, unlike the over-produced posturing he gave on much of the Use Your Illlusion albums and Chinese Democracy. My band now plays "Sweet Child of Mine" every show and the audience always, always gets off on it.

8. Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble - Texas Flood - My first entre into the blues. That three chord progression, so very structured, with so much going on over top. An 8 or 12 bar blues makes me want to move. Then it makes me want to play. This led me down a totally different path, musically. In the end, I'll always be a blues based guitarist.

9. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced? - I pulled this out of my Dad's record collection and realized what the next step from blues could be. I'm not a huge fan of the really stoned stuff. But the songs were and still are amazing. The ideas Jimi had remain staggering. He was simply on a different level.

10. AC/DC - Back in Black. Wow. More blues based guitar, but from a different direction. Guitar from heaven or hell. One way or the other, those riffs weren't created on this earthly plane. I eventually learned to play the entire album. Still can.

11. The Eagles - Greatest Hits Volume 1 - This is songwriting that is just staggering in it's beauty. We listened to this as a family when I was young. I rediscovered them as a teen and became a huge fan of the band, and can generally name which of the band's seven different members (over their entire career) were playing on which album. Harmonies. On my goodness, the harmonies. The songwriting. Lyrics that read like poetry and your buddy talking to you at the bar - at the same time! And of course, the Hotel California guitar solo may be the best of all time.

12. Jackson Browne - Practically an honorary member of the Eagles. He helped write Take It Easy and was part of the California sound. Again, the lyrics. Wow. Poetry and self-importance only surpassed by Bono and Springsteen. Still, it was spectacular and Jackson Brown's music always hit me closer to home than U2 or The Boss. Don't know why. It just did.

13. James Taylor - Greatest Hits Volume 1 - This is when I realized that wimp music was worth listening to. Much the same as the effect of the Eagles and Jackson Browne. But the stripped down nature of the guitar work was incredible. If you're by yourself (or with a girl) it's hard to go wrong here. The only problem--the music sounds far easier to play than it actually is. "Fire and Rain" and "Country Road" and "Something in the Way She Moves" all kill me.

14. Metallica - The Black Album - Suddenly, heavy metal had melodies and harmonies. And it suddenly made sense to me. I had liked "One" from "And Justice For All," but this entire album again turned me in a direction I hadn't considered. And I loved it. So very heavy. My favorite song off the album is still "Sad But True."

15. Pink Floyd - The Wall - I like "The Wall" a lot better than "Dark Side of the Moon." It feels deeper to me. I was also getting into it around the same time my English class was getting into the Expatriat poets--T.S. Eliot, etc. I liked them both a lot and saw a lot of crossover in subject matter. Again, so many levels. I can always go back and find something new.

16. Steely Dan - Best of - This is the first music I discoverd as a guitar player that I never tried to learn. I didn't see the point. It was perfect as it was. I would never be in a group that could pull it off, with the horns and keys and everything else that was going on. But I was still hooked through the nose on this album. These guys are the closest I'll ever get to really getting off on jazz.

17. Led Zeppelin – II - This is the first Led Zeppelin album I owned and loved. It has classic songs that are still played (or even over-played on the radio today. “Ramble On,” “Living, Lovin’ Maid,” “Heartbreaker,” and more. And possibly my favorite riff of all time is in Bring It On Home. It led to a love of the band and an appreciation of Jimmy Page’s influences. Their impact can’t be overstated.

Honorarble mentions: These are other albums I got hooked on that might not have rated all the time I put into the above.

Journey - Greatest Hits
Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood
Janis Joplin - Greatest Hits
Soul Asylum - Grave Dancer's Union
Hootie and the Blowfish - Cracked Rearview and Fairweather Johnson
The Beach Boys - Greatest Hits (loved it as a kid)
The Refreshments - Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big and Buzzy - You know "Banditos". Trust me. Look up the lyrics.
Bare Naked Ladies (Greatest Hits)
Tesla - Greatest Hits

And of course, the trash rock like Warrant, Poison, and others taught me a lot of good guitar. Worth mentioning.