Greatest Albums

In the INXS Lounge at RockBandLounge.com, we've started a new discussion that really got me started thinking. They asked what our top 10 albums that influenced us (either positively or negatively) are and to tell why. Well, that has prompted some excellent discussion, and it has provided me with an excellent reason to avoid working on my final projects for the semester for a little while. So, here are my choices.

Okay, I couldn't limit myself to 10...but I did limit myself to 15. LOL. I've granted five honorable mentions.

So, my Top 10 (in no particular order):

The Beatles - The White Album: One of my all-time favorite albums by one of my all-time favorite bands. This double album is full of everything. It has introspective songs, songs that only make sense if you're high, sing-along songs, and everything in between. Even if it was devoid of almost everything else on the album, it would likely make my list simply for While My Guitar Gently Weeps. George Harrison never got enough credit for his songwriting.

Guns 'N Roses - Appetite for Destruction: At a time when *rock* consisted of Hair Bands, more Hair Bands, and still more Hair Bands singing sappy power ballads and cheesy songs about a girl being Cherry Pie, this album hit like a bomb...in a good way. Welcome to the Jungle began to change the face of music. And Sweet Child 'O Mine garnered them female fans, without having to resort to a using an uber-cheesy power ballad. This was a power ballad that ROCKED.

U2 - The Joshua Tree: I struggled with which U2 album to include in my list. And while The Joshua Tree isn't my favorite U2 album, it was the first to make me seriously take notice of this band. I had heard Pride (In the Name of Love) and New Year's Day and a few other of their songs before. But this was something else entirely. And it truly speaks to the power of this album that tracks like Where the Streets Have No Name and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For still have the same kind of fresh feel to them when performed live today as they had when they were first released (might be why Where the Streets Have No Name is my ring tone). Oh yeah...and don't forget about the gorgeous video to With or Without You! This album, like the majority of their subsequent albums, also truly felt cohesive...like they were making a statement, sending a message, with the entire album. It isn't just an album full of hits and some filler. Everything works together to paint a larger picture.

Pearl Jam - Ten: While the rest of the world was caught up in Nirvana lust, I was falling for the power of Eddie Vedder's vocals. He may not have a perfect voice, but there is a passion to what he sings that I never found in Nirvana...so Pearl Jam is what I connected with from the grunge scene/Seattle sound. Songs like Evenflow and Alive knocked my socks off, but the album as a whole really sucked me in. Songs like Jeremy, Black, and Release gave me a complete experience. It didn't hurt that this album...this movement in music...occurred at a time when I was searching for anything to take me away from my own life. I connected to the angst in this music...

INXS - Elegantly Wasted: Much like with U2, I struggled to settle on which INXS album to include on my list. I wound up going with Elegantly Wasted because of the rawness of Michael Hutchence's lyrics. Even though the music is still the trademark INXS sound, the lyrics take this album to a different sphere than any of their others...a place that Full Moon, Dirty Hearts hinted at but didn't quite ascend to. The lyrics on this album are heartfelt, raw, pure emotion. Particular favorites for me are I'm Just a Man, Everything, and Searching.

REM - Document: There were a number of REM albums I thought about including on my list. But Document wound up making the cut because of its sheer listenability. This is an album with a feel. Even all of these years later, I can put it in and listen to it over and over again without ever feeling like I want or need to hear something different. This is REM at their finest. Oh yeah, and it doesn't hurt that one of the quirkiest songs ever written is on it...It's the End of the World as We Know It...and I Feel Fine.

Metallica - Metallica: Heavy metal may not be for everyone. And that's okay. But heavy metal made its way to everyone with this album. It's often referred to as the Black Album...much like the Beatles' White Album. Songs like The Unforgiven and Enter Sandman broke the barriers of popular music when the entire face of popular music was on the verge of changing, and Nothing Else Matters brought a lot of women to become fans of true heavy metal (not Hair Band "metal") for the first time.

Led Zeppelin - IV: Yeah, I know...Stairway to Heaven is almost a cliche now. But even if you disregard that track (which would be a mistake), this album is full of some of the best true down and dirty rock 'n roll music ever made. If you've never listened to it...LISTEN TO IT! You will not regret it. And it may just wind up being one of your favorite albums of all time too. Don't say I didn't warn you. There is not a bad *skip over it* track on the album.

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds: A groundbreaking album by a band more traditionally known for their "surfer rock" music. Does it still have some of that feel good vibe? Of course. But it also has an experimental quality that most people would relate to The Beatles at the time. They took chances with this one, and those chances paid off. Also, this album has one of my all-time favorite songs ever, God Only Knows.

Michael Jackson - Thriller: The King of Pop before he became The King of Odd. I don't care who you are, this album was the shit. And it is still very listenable today, though some of the tracks feel a bit dated. Just go ahead and admit it...you wore a red jacket and a single fingerless glove too. It's okay. We all did back then.

And my honorable mentions:

Aerosmith - Get a Grip: I had to include an Aerosmith album, and I really struggled with which one to include since there are so many that have affected me over the years. I wound up settling on Get a Grip though, possibly because of how it virtually plays like a Greatest Hits type album. Yeah, they had a lot more hits than what you find on this album, and some probably were bigger hits than some of these. But you can't ignore the fact that virtually every song on this album was a hit. That says something.

Def Leppard - Hysteria: And while we are speaking of albums full of hits, we have to include Hysteria. This one is just plain FUN. That is all. I love it.

Willie Nelson - Half Nelson: For an album that I used to hate, I sure do love this one. An album full of duets, this one is one that my father wore the tape out...TWICE. He listened to it constantly. When we would travel to visit my grandparents (a 12 hour drive) this is what we would be forced to listen to the entire way...both directions. So yeah, I was *over* it for a long time. But when I picked it up again a few years ago, I was filled with nostalgia. And honestly, there are some great duets on it! Some of my particular favorites are Pancho and Lefty with Merle Haggard and To All the Girls I've Loved Before with Julio Iglesias.

Empire Records Soundtrack: I struggled between choosing this soundtrack and the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. Essentially, it boiled down to the fact that this one is full of music that I can listen to all the time, and SNF is full of disco. Granted, it made me love disco. But anyways, this soundtrack to me, is one of the greatest soundtracks ever compiled. This one is quirky and fun and sexy and just plain awesome. If you've never listened to it, check it out. You won't be disappointed.

AC/DC - Back in Black: The only AC/DC album I've ever owned. But this one kicks my butt every time I put it in. I love it. I love everything about it. I love that it can take me back in time. Priceless.

I may come back at some point and change my mind...add something, take something away, do an entirely different kind of list of favorite albums. But, this is it for now!

So...what albums impacted you, and how?