1. Radiohead : OK Computer

OK Computer changed my world. I had just bought my first cd player and was buying two new cds to go with it. I picked up New Adventures in Hi-Fi and OK Computer, mainly on the strength of Creep. I remember being completely unfamiliar with any of the music on the disc, but after the first listen decided I really liked “that long song” (Paranoid Android). I also remember sitting down with the liner notes and reading all the lyrics as the songs played. I was thoroughly intrigued by Stanley Donwood’s crazed artwork and hidden imagery. Every song on the disc is stand out. I limit myself listening to it so I can forget some of the best parts and rediscover them on another listen. It changed how I listened to music. I realized that these guys had influences that made them play the way they did, so I began investigating. The entire world of music not played on the radio spread before me. Commercial radio has been a non-entity to me and I have Radiohead to thank for that. I also went back and listened to their other cds and eps. I waited patiently for Kid A’s release, in the meantime starting a fansite. I took pictures of myself at the Grand Canyon holding up a signing saying “I’m OK” (which is actually a line from a b-side from this album call “Palo Alto”) I read Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I decorated my school binders with various imagery from the album artwork. I taped multiple performances off of the TV. The album starts off strong with a memorable guitar line followed quickly by distinctive looped/compressed drums and sleigh bells (!?!) which is “Airbag”. It is a definite mood setter for the entire album. Electronics and traditional rock instrumentation are combined seamlessly to explore a future time when an “interstellar burst” is required for Thom to come “back to save the universe”. And the band was. Here in the first song is something completely different than their previous material. And it continues with the phenomenal “Paranoid Android”. We hear the voice of Fred from the Mac Speech program repeating “I maybe paranoid, but no android” while a sedate intro leads us in this 6 minute opus. I adopted “Ambition makes you look pretty ugly as my personal mantra, but I think it was probably misapplied. Nevertheless, the song chugs on with a total change right around 3 minutes as the guitars takes lead and Jonny does a crazy math-rock solo. Breakdown 30 seconds later as the melotron and choir with Thom as lead take over as he entreats the sky “rain down on me”. After the line “God loves his children / Yeah” the song shifts again with another crazed solo. There are definitely three different songs here, but some how it works. And they released it as a single. “Subterranean Homesick Alien” follows, with a much more sedate sound. The killer “Exit Music (for Film)” is the ultimate song for that task. Sparser than anything else on the disc, Thom sounds alone and scared as he contemplates his escape from the life he knows. Then, after Phil’s cymbal enters slowly, the full band kicks in after his toms hit at 2:47 and it all breaks loose. I must say it is one of the most emotional moments in music for me that I have ever experienced. “Let Down” following, bringing back memories of a more Bends-era Radiohead. Thom and Ed come out of separate channels, so it’s a great headphones song. “Karma Police” is one of favorite songs based on a piano. Especially Thom’s slurred delivery. I don’t think I’d ever thing to include the lyrics “Phew!” in a song. Next is “Fitter Happier”, which made me investigate the Mac Text-to-Speech program with the Fred voice even more. The self help lines we hear really Mark the beginning of the second half of the album. In “Electioneering”, Thom campaigns like candidate who is trusting in “your votes” but it seems like more of a business model than the people’s choice. “Climbing Up the Walls” is Radiohead at their most paranoid/psychopathic. Hollow drumming, groaning guitars/electronics, mumbled vocals? All there. “No Surprises” may sound happier with its glockenspiel, but a listen to the lyrics reveals lines like “I’ll take the job that slowly kills you” and “I’ll take the quite life / I’ll take the carbon monoxide”. Both “Lucky” and “The Tourist” are great songs in their own right, which fleshes out the album and keep the mood going. OK Computer made me realize an album can be a complete statement, a mood setter, and all the songs can work together. It really showed that Radiohead were more than a great Brit-pop band. They were saviors of the musical art form. For me anyway.

2. R.E.M. :: Murmur

The reason this album is important to me has changed over the years. First, it was because I use to ask me parents to put it on the turntable when I was a little over a year old. So it was an early favorite. Then, it was just because R.E.M. was my favorite band and this happened to be their first album. Now, I think it is more because it actually is a very good album. It represents the band early output well, and has a particularly youthful sound. Stipe’s vocals are mumbled and sound like gibberish at best. Mills keeps the bass insistent throughout while Berry sounds like he is pounding on very hollow drums. And Buck distinctive Byrd-ish guitar delivery is classic. Each song is memorable and distinct. Some choice cuts include "Catapult", which was my favorite song to request in my tender years. Appropriately, the lyrics are "We were little boys / We little girls.....Did we miss anything?" "We Walk" also ranks high for Stipe’s vocal sneer. I also like “Shaking Through” for its almost childish melody and thunder (?) sound effects. Listening to this album, it’s hard to rate songs individually for their strengths since it has been a part of my life so long. I am glad that I don't have to be embarrassed by my youthful musical choices and can still see the influence on my listening choices now. R.E.M. is probably the best representation of 80s college rock, which over their career morphed in Alternative. Although the latter may be a dead term, there is still a lot to listen to from the American Underground 80s, and R.E.M. were a good introduction to a style I am still interested in exploring.

3. The Smiths :: The Queen Is Dead

I can't remember not knowing of this album. My dad loves The Smiths, and I grew up hearing their music. I remember listening to this album when I was about 3 and asking my mom why they didn't play "I Know It's Over" on the radio. The album starts strong with the raucous "The Queen Is Dead" and followed by the hilarious "Frankly, Mr. Shanky". The emotion poured into "I Know It's Over" reaches a climax that could leave one in tears. "Cemetery Gates" pits English poet heavyweights Keats and Yates against the Morrissey-backed Oscar Wilde. I always thought running around in a cemetery was a great thing to do on a sunny day myself. Over the years, I have come to appreciate each song on this album more and more, but especially "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out". How much Smith-ier can you get than saying "And if double-decker bus / crashes into us / to die by your side / is such a heavenly way to die" over Marr's wistful guitar lines along with a superb synth line. I can appreciate this album from a musical, lyrical, and emotional standpoint (since it reminds me of my childhood and my growing appreciation of The Smiths as I got older). Isn't that what makes a great album?

4. The Clash :: London Calling

The Clash were styled as "the only band that matter" during their heyday, and who could argue with such after a listen to the 1979 double album London Calling. The iconic album art harks back to Elvis Presley first album, which some refer to as the first “rock” record. In imitation, The Clash say, “well, here is the last!”, with a bass guitar being smashed into the stage at one of thier shows (and that is a really good story too!). The album plays as a cohesive and has highlight after highlight. Opening with the amazing “London Calling”, Strummer let’s us know what he would sound like if he was a bird, and sets the tone for the entire album with stuttering guitars and earnest vocals…until the next song! There we are brought back to the 50s with some roots rock goodness in the form of “Brand New Cadillac”. And it continues from there. Other styles covered include blues, funk, ska, jazz, Latin, lounge, R&B, etc. Basically, the Clash incorporate all their influences and still end up sounding better than anyone else. My favorite Clash song, "The Guns Of Brixton", is a fine example of how diverse the band was while still being, for lack of a better term, punk. Paul Simenon's memorable bass line and spoken-word vocals inspire visions of a dangerous state controlled future by way of a reggae beat. And in a final hidden track, The Clash give the 80s one of their most important rock radio hits with “Train in Vain”. Could an album ever come out that combines so much sound but hold together so well, even 25 years after it’s release? I can’t think of another.

5. David Bowie :: The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

I first heard Bowie via the Singles compilation and liked it so much that I went through my parent’s vinyl to find some other material. Over time, this album has become even more important to me. It showcases Bowie at a very high point creatively and also the slickness of Mick Ronson. Many assert that glam was proto-punk, and I think this album proves that. I don't think there is a song that isn't amazing on this entire album. I don't think anything else needs to be said about how important this album is because history proves that well enough.

6. Beck :: Mutations

I had Odeley like most before I bought Mutations, but I think the latter had the most effect on my listening tastes. Although Beck had incorporated funk- punk- blues- country- folk- noise- hop into Odeley, it was immediately engaging because it was dangerous and new to me. Now can an album of, according to allmusic, "psychedelic country blues and lo-fi folk" do the same thing? Yes. This proved to me that Beck was an artist, not tied down to his radio success of "Loser" or other tracks some may have initially dismissed as novelties. I had heard "Tropicalia" on the radio, and thought it was really cool. But songs like "Bottle of Blues" may have seemed more challenging compared to the rest of my musical taste at the time. Somehow, the entire album worked for me. And it still does. The highlight is definitely the closing track. While "Static" an awesome song, it is made even more essential by the hidden track (know as "Diamond Bollocks" on the LP version). Probably the most exuberant part of the record, it somehow manages to incorporate some serious harpsichord jamming along with other "typical" Beck instrumentation, including a sample of birds tweeting, a noise breakdown, and a crazy synth outro. Yeah.

7. Sigur Rós :: ( )

It starts with the packaging. A regular cd case is covered in an opaque white sleeve, with a cut out for the ( ). Inside and outside there are no track names, info on band members, screaming fans pictures, shout outs, or even a credit. Instead, illustrations containing leaves and plants overlap one another on tracing paper in the inner booklet. Even before I listened to this album, I am quite taken with the concept. To start with, all eight songs are titled Untitled 1-8. Next, Jonsi decides he will sing the whole album in his made up "hopelandic". I guess I didn't understand Icelandic on the previous albums, so it wouldn't seem to matter that much. But because of this, the vocals are treated more as another instrument to convey a mood or idea. The first few tracks start out slow, but the amazing crescendos later in the songs make listening all the more worthwhile. Untitled 4 is a standout, the drums at the beginning really setting the song apart from the first three tracks (which rather meld together). I like to sing along in a weird sort of mumbling impression of Jonsi's amazing vocals. A thirty second pause at the end of this track cleaves the album in half. The second half of the album less lighthearted and more haunting. Each track ending with more building, more excitement. Untitled 8 is a standout, and it gets my vote for "Best Songs of All Time". Tension and anticipation build throughout the entire song, until 9:26, everything breaks loose, and we are lost in other world of bright light and noise (a little over the top, I know). I never thought I would be opening advocating twelve minute songs, but Sigur Rós are worth my time.

8. The White Stripes :: White Blood Cells

In 2001 I realized the radio was no longer my source for new music. I had been listening to it less and less, and was getting more of my recommendations online. So when "Hotel Yorba" was doing well in the UK and getting lots of online press, I decided to get White Blood Cells (which had already been out a while but still had not reached radio/MTV airplay that "Feel in Love with a Girl" would later give it). I love the minimalism and blues-by-way-of-trash-punk attitude. There was not a song on the album that I wanted to skip over, and White's intensity seemed so real. The idea that just two people could create such big music was important to me. The fact that the band had ideals and such broad influences helped me to see that older music (as in the 1930s) was very important to what I was listening to now. Before I heard this record, I probably would not have been interested in finding out more about "Blind" Wille McTell or Robert Johnston. White Blood Cells was turning point in musical appreciation, and I thank Jack and Meg for that.

9. Sonic Youth :: Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth = ( No Noise Sounds + Post Punk Aesthetics ) / Experimental Performance Art. Ok, maybe that's a bit pretentious, but they are the foundation for the indie-noise crossover in my book. While containing quite a bit of "washes of noise", the album contains truly memorable songs. Starting off with the killer "Teenage Riot" and segueing into "Silver Rocket" starts things off rather fast. But some songs are slower, instrumental pieces that show lack of regard for the typical verse-chorus-verse structure of "typical" pop or rock music. Most songs clock in around five minutes or longer. Nevertheless, even on first listen this album is quite enjoyable (compared to some that seem to need 5+ listens to crack). The double album contains both Thurston, Lee, and Kim singing on various songs, and some nice "spoken word" by the Minutemen's Mike Watt. The three part "Trilogy" ends out the album on a high note showing why this album is required listening for everyone post-1988.

10. Wilco :: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

I remember the first time I heard of Wilco. My dad accidentally had bought a copy of Being There, but neither of us liked it very much. At the time, I think I thought it "too soft". Then when Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was being downloaded like mad in 2001, it was being recommended heavily by a message board I frequented. So, I happened upon a copy of A.M. in Goodwill and picked it. Still "too soft" for me at the time. But, when I continued to read more of the reviews of this album and see it make many 2002 Top Album lists all over, I really wanted to hear it. Even on the initial listen I was enjoying it. Tweedy's earnest delivery along with engaging musical experimentation was refreshing, and fit in with my taste in R.E.M. and Radiohead. Since then, I have gone back and listened to the Wilco discography, and I really enjoy even their more "alt-country" sounds. I think their entire output shows that really Wilco doesn't fit in with any one sound, but have explored roots rock, country sounds, experimentation, indie pop and rock, etc and come out with consistently good material. After watching I Am Trying to Break Your Heart I have an even greater appreciation for this album, and what it represents. To me, it shows that good music doesn't need to be promoted via the typical channels of MTV, radio, record company promoters or other corporate entities. If it is truly good, people will buy it. The band will sell records. People will support what the band does because they believe in them. I believe in Wilco.