Your Personal Ten Most Influential Albums

This is brutally difficult. In no specific order at all. Subject to change tomorrow.

1. Pink Floyd - Meddle
2. Led Zeppelin - Zeppelin II
3. Yes - The Yes Album
4. Jethro Tull - Songs From the Woods
5. Keith Jarrett - Köln Concert
6. Fairport Convention - What We Did On Our Holidays
7. Grateful Dead - American Beauty
8. Bert Jansch - Rosemary Lane
9. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
10. Phish - Junta

 

Ramones- Leave Home
Elvis Presley- Golden Records
The Cure- Standing on a Beach
The Church- Heyday
Circle Jerks- Wild in the Streets
Love- Forever Changes
The Kinks- Village Green Preservation Society
Beatles- Revolver
Bob Dylan- The Times They Are A-Changin'
The Heptones- On Top

and hundreds more!

 

Maybe these………

The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album)
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground
Pink Floyd - Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
The Byrds - Original Singles Vol 1
Television - Marquee Moon
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Mirror Man Sessions
The Stanley Brothers - 1983 Collector's Edition Volume 5
Led Zeppelin - ll
Black Sabbath - Masters Of Reality

Or maybe these………

The Beatles - Rubber Soul
Van Morrison - St Domonic’s Preview
Velvet Underground - White Light / White Heat
Echo & The Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here
Joy Division - Closer
The Stooges - Raw Power
The Faces - Ooh La La
Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys - The Classic Bluegrass Recordings Vol 1
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Charlie Byrd - Blues For Night People

Or maybe these………

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
Them - some best of compilation on cassette
Velvet Underground - & Nico
Felt - Crumbling The Anticeptic Beauty
Pere Ubu - Datapanik In The Year Zero
Echo & The Bunnymen - Crocodiles
Humble Pie - Performance Rockin The Filmore
Hank Williams - some compilation on cassette
The Rolling Stones - Beggar’s Banquet
The Who - Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy

 

Elvis Golden Records - my first Elvis lp
Sgt Peppers- the lp that changed lps
We’re Only In It For the Money- the lp that changed how I heard music
Hot Rats - the best lp of all time by anyone
Chuck Berry’s Golden Decade - he did all those songs?
Hank Williams 24 Greatest Hits - he did all those songs
Electric Ladyland- never gets old sounding
Roxy & Elsewhere - music play fast and precise
Maria Muldaur - the most soothing voice ever
We Are the Village Green Preservation Society - as good as Sgt Pepper

 

About 5 beatle albums 3 stones albums maybe a dylan album or Aqualung

 

Velvet Underground and Nico
Velvet Underground White Light/White Heat
Lou Reed Transformer
Kinks Village Green Preservation Society
Roxy Music First Album
Roxy Music For Your Pleasure
David Bowie Ziggy Stardust
David Bowie Alladin Sane
Stooges Funhouse
Stooges Raw Power
Scott Walker 2
Scott Walker 3

 

For "most influential" (some overlap with "favorite") I'm going with:
(in alpha order)

Johann Sebastian Bach - Double Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, Zubin Mehta/New York Philharmonic Orchestra/Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman, violins

Blackfoot - Strikes

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Moanin'

Dream Theater - Images and Words

Foghat - Stone Blue

Fran Joseph Haydn - String Quartets Opus 76, #4-6, Takacs Quartet

Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai - Natives

Wes Montgomery - The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

The Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks

Rush - Moving Pictures

 

Metallica - Kill Em All: These three Metallica albums are what introduced me to music.
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
Metallica - Master Of Puppets

Motley Crue - Too Fast For Love: Along with Metallica albums these Motley albums represent my teenage years
Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil
Motley Crue - Theater Of Pain
Motley Crue - Girls Girls Girls
Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood

Bob Dylan - Greatest Hits: Introduced me to his Bobness at age 18 and probably shaped my tastes since.
Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde: My favorite album of all time and I swear I listened to it several times a day for 20 straight years. I don't think it left the CD changer.


Bonus:
The Velvet Underground - Peel Slowly And See: I know this is a box set but I have to include it.

 

Beatles—Abbey Road
Yes—Close to the Edge
Led Zeppelin—II
Miles Davis—Kind of Blue
Neil Young—Harvest
Joni Mitchell—Miles of Aisles
Pink Floyd—Meddle
Radiohead—Kid A
Cream—Live Cream VolI
Cat Stevens—Tea for the Tillerman

 

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Steely Dan - Aja
Pat Metheny Group - Travels
Genesis - Seconds Out
King Crimson - Discipline
Rush - Moving Pictures
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Bill Evans Trio - At The Village Vanguard
Bela Fleck & The Flecktones - Live Art
John Fahey - America

 

Radiohead - OK Computer
Pink Floyd - The Wall
John Grant - Queen of Denmark
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
Ween - The Pod
The Sisters of Mercy - First & Last & Always
The Wedding Present - Seamonsters
The Smiths - The Smiths
Kramer - The Guilt Trip

 

Most influential can be way different than favorite.

Beatles 65 - Beatles
Teaser and the Firecat - Cat Stevens
Madman Across the Water - Elton John
Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
Oxygene - Jean Michel Jarre
Aimless Love - John Prine (the entry point)
Oh Mercy (Blood on the Tracks) - Bob Dylan
BOTT was huge but Oh Mercy sent me on to several other artists due to Lanois’ production and influence.

Blue Train - John Coltrane
I found everybody else from this.
Tilt - Scott Walker
Free Jazz - Ornette Coleman and his 8

 

This is a difficult question to fully answer, as favourite may not necessarily be my most influential - there are albums not in my selection for example that were influential in sending me down yet another musical rabbit hole in terms of style or genre, but would not necessarily be amongst my elite albums. I'm erring more towards the former here. I went with a top 15 too, as I'd be splitting hairs from around 9-15. Whereas the 15 have been set in stone for a little while at least.

 

1. Deep Purple-Made In Japan
2. Three Dog Night-Cyan
3. Elton John-Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
4. Van Halen-Van Halen
5. Journey-Frontiers
6. Utopia-Oblivion
7. Todd Rundgren-A capella
8. Todd Rundgren-No World Order
9. Dusty Springfield-Dusty In Memphis
10. Laura Nyro-Angel In The Dark.

 

Maybe these

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Smash Hits
Bowie - Space Oddity
The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
The James Bond Collection - John Barry
Neil Young - After The Goldrush
Sly & The Family Stone - Stand
Schoenberg, Webern & Berg: Orchestral Music - Simon Rattle & Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Pink Fairies - Never Never Land
The Small Faces - The Autumn Stone
Ennio Morricone - For A Few Dollars More

I'd better stop here. I could fill pages. Like I've neglected to mention Dylan, The Doors, Booker T & MG's, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry and the list goes on.

 

In no particular order or ranking...

-The Beatles: Rubber Soul
-The Beatles: The Beatles
-Yardbirds: 5 Live Yardbirds
-Elvis Costello & the Attractions: My Aim is True
-Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced
-The Who: Who’s Next
-Derek & the Dominoes: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
-The Clash: London Calling
-The Ramones: The Ramones
-The Allman Brothers: Eat a Peach

 

Fragile - YES
Trilogy- ELP
Ziggy Stardust - Bowie
RA-Utopia
Squawk-Budgie
Hot August Night-Neil Diamond
Dare-Human League
Masterpiece- The Temptations
Hemispheres- Rush
Who's Next-The Who

 

• Jimi Hendrix- Band of Gypsys
• Jethro Tull- Thick As A Brick
• Deep Purple- Made in Japan
• Allman Brothers- Fillmore East
• Humble Pie- Rockin the Fillmore
• Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti
• Johnny Winter And- Live
• Black Sabbath Volume 4
• Yes Yessongs
• ELP- Welcome Back My Friends

 

U2 - The Joshua Tree
Beck - Sea Change
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
The Police - Synchronicity
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Radiohead - The Bends
Weezer - Pinkerton
The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction

 

No particular order! These were the records that caused the most significant growth as a listener, musician, and/or human. I’m probably forgetting some, too.

1. Beatles-White Album
2. Beatles-Revolver
3. Pink Floyd-Animals
4. Talking Heads-Remain in Light
5. Miles Davis-Kind of Blue
6. Miles Davis-Live Evil
7. Jimi Hendrix-Live at Fillmore East
8. Radiohead-Kid A
9. Pearl Jam-Vs
10. Soundgarden-Superunknown

 

Correct. I was going off my addled head.
Thanks.

 

The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
The Stone Roses
John Coltrane - My Favorite Things
Felt - Forever Breathes the Lonely Word
Renegade Soundwave - In Dub
Primal Scream - Screamadelica
Brian Eno - Discreet Music
The Jam - Dig the New Breed!
Otis Redding - Otis Blue

 

Here's Mine... Trying to do the whole image thing for the first time.

Pardon me, if it is a work in progress.

 

Subject to change in an hour... at least for me... I'm sure I'll figure out I missed a few... Great list...

 

1. Captured Live at the Forum - Three Dog Night
2. Green River - Creedence
3. Gentle on My Mind - Glen Campbell
4. Chase the Clouds Away - Chuck Mangione
5. For Every Man - Jackson Browne
6. Home Free - Dan Fogelberg
7. Picking Up the Pieces - Poco
8. On the Waters - Bread
9. Chicago I
10. Black Hat Saloon - Rusty Wier