# 6 Albums that really influenced you



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

6 albums, in no particular order that really influenced you at an early age that have stuck with you ever since. Molded your musical tastes and perhaps influenced your interest in guitar.


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

Tull - Aqualung
LZep - IV
Queen - II
Rush - 2112
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Beatles - Abbey Road 

That was tough


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

Van Halen - Van Halen
The Bears- Rise and Shine
Joe Satriani - Flying in a Blue Dream
Extreme - Pornograffiti
Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon
King Crimson- Discipline

Honorable mentions-

Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
Pearl Jam - Ten


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## cdntac (Oct 11, 2017)

I really can't name six. Only four albums had a MAJOR influence upon me granted each of these four artists all had multiple albums that highly influenced me. 

ZZ Top -- Eliminator. This album made me want to pick up a guitar.

Aerosmith --- Draw The Line. I heard the single Draw The Line in 1983 and Joe Perry had me hooked.

David Wilcox --- Best Of. I remember skipping class in grade 12 and a guy put this on while driving home. I heard Hot, Hot Papa and said "Who is THIS????". Loved it immediately. 

Ted Nugent -- his first solo album for many reasons. I never envisioned that years later we'd be friends and I'd be looking after his guitars.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Led Zep - Houses Of The Holy - given to me taped, by a neighbour. Woke up my rock n roll animal
U2 - Joshua Tree - I've been listening to it again lately. I just kept it on continual repeat in the car for a couple years back in the day
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland - I ended up becoming a big collector of vinyl, imports and boots, of his for a while
Elton John - Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy - his peak, but the albums around that time are all great
Nirvana - Nevermind - I was late getting into it by a year or 2, buddy lent me his car and had it on tape, so I listened to it a bunch. Today, 90's alternative and grunge remains my favourite

That's 5. There's probably 100 tied for 6th.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Robben Ford- Talk to you Daughter.
U2- Rattle & Hum
INXS- Kick
Midnight Oil- 10-1
V.Spy-V.Spy- Xenophobia Why
Angels- Face to face (Angel City)
Cold Chisel- Swingshift


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Brutal hard to pick just six. 
Tomorrow my list will be different. 
Honourable mention to all other records these bands recorded. 
In no particular order.

Led Zeppelin 1, Led Zeppelin
Dire Straits, Dire Straits
Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd
Tattoo, Rory Gallagher
Livestock, Roy Buchanan
Machine Head, Deep Purple
Dixie Chicken, Little Feat
Cheap Thrills, Janis Joplin
Exile On Main Street, Rollin Stones
Aqualung, Jethro Tull

So many bands meet the threshold of greatness for me...Neil Young, Dixie Dregs, Jean-Luc Ponty, The Waterboys, Wishbone Ash, Rush, Van Halen, Linda Ronstadt,


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Led Zeppelin - Presence
Blue Oyster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin
The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
Bruce Cockburn - World of Wonders (Cockburn's songwriting and musicality finally meet)
The Jam - Dig the New Breed (Their last album. I discovered them too late)
The Kinks - One for the Road

This list will change in 5, 4, 3, 2...


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Queen - Queen II
Pink Floyd - Wish You were Here
Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards
King Crimson - Larks Tongues in Aspic
Rolling Stones - Decembers Children (Very first album I ever bought at age 13)


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

When I said INXS-Kick “may” have influenced my musical ambitions (1988).......


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## Boogieman (Apr 6, 2009)

Yes - Close to the Edge
Deep Purple - Machine Head
The Police - Regatta de Blanc
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Queen - Jazz

Honourable mentions:
Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow
Led Zeppelin - IV
Santana - Abraxas
Dire Straits - Dire Straits
The Shadows - Apache (single)


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

I've been heavily influenced by many classic rock albums but here are some more recent ones that have influenced my singing, songwriting and playing.

Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
Ryan Adam - Cold Roses
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Son Volt - Okemah and the Melody of Riot
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

This is like picking my 6 favorite brain cells.

Zep II
Yes Relayer
Queen I (and II)
Rush Hemispheres
Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon
Deep Purple Machine Head


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## Guest (May 10, 2018)

Yes - Fragile
BTO - Not Fragile
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Max Webster - High Class in Borrowed Shoes
Ted Nugent - Double Live Gonzo
Blue Oyster Cult - On Your Feet or on Your Knees


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Def Leppard - Pyromania
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Foo Fighters - One by One
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
Metallica - Kill 'em all
Reserved until I think of another

Honourable mention: Heart - Bad animals (had a gf in HS who used this as a soundtrack for messing around...all.summer.long.)


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Hmmmm. That's a LOTTA music to cover.

East-West - Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Absolutely Free - Mothers of Invention
Gonna Take a Miracle - Laura Nyro
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane
Electric Ladyland - Jimi Hendrix
Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Blizzard of Ozz
Kiss Alive II
Led Zepplin 3
Rush - A Farewell to Kings
Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Bob Dylan: John Wesley Harding 
Beatles: Rubber Soul 
Frank Zappa: Hot Rats 

Elvis Costello: My Aim is True
XTC: Drums and Wires
Dire Straits: Dire Straits


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Sabbath Paranoid
Tull Aqualung
Fairport Convention, Nine
Johnny Winter Live, And
Bach, Brandenburgs
Johnny Winter, Still Alive and Well


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Alice Cooper - Greatest Hits
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Genesis - Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Wishbone Ash - Argus
Teenage Head - Teenage Head (original '77 Cdn release)
Television - Marquee Moon

Honourable mention to Roxy Music's Avalon album, not because of its' influence per se; rather, it gave me a huge boost in the "art of seduction" dept. in the early '80's (only wished they released it about 4-5 yrs earlier to be honest).


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Hmm, tricky--but off the top of my head (& probably missing one or two):
In Rock-Deep Purple
Made in Japan-Deep Purple
Decade-Neil Young
Masterworks-Albert King
Winter Sun-Glenn Kaiser
Making Movies-Dire Straits


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

bzrkrage said:


> When I said INXS-Kick “may” have influenced my musical ambitions (1988).......
> View attachment 203017


ahhh, the Peavey Bandit. My first amp.

For me influence wise, my parents bought me Double Platinum by Kiss and from there, Led Zep and Yes which lead into many other genres.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

In no particular order and for different reasons

Tattoo You - The Rolling Stones
Love - The Cult (and Electric, too)
Back in Black - AC/DC
Straight Outta Compton - NWA
The Bends - Radiohead
1967-1970 (Blue Album) - The Beatles

A shit ton more, but those are the first six that popped into my head.

Zeppelin, Floyd, SRV, The Cure, Motley Crue, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Public Enemy, The Beastie Boys...so many.


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

Diablo said:


> Def Leppard - Pyromania
> Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime


Hell yeah!


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## Guest (May 11, 2018)




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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

*black sabbath * _paranoid_
*jimi hendrix* _are you experienced_
*deep purple*_ burn_
*judas priest* _british steel_
*ac/dc* _hiway to hell_
*kiss* _dressed to kill
_
i was born a rocker, and i'll die a rocker.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

Twist and Shout
The Monkees
Tommy
Love It To Death
Machine Head
My Aim is True


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

it's interesting to see people choose similar things to me. even more interesting though, are the choices that make me think "ewww, i can't stand those guys". i like that, there's something about it that just somehow makes me feel like there are things out there i might like later.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

cheezyridr said:


> it's interesting to see people choose similar things to me. even more interesting though, are the choices that make me think "ewww, i can't stand those guys".


And most of it is rock. Imagine that.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

LanceT said:


> And most of it is rock. Imagine that.


well, yeah...


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here
Rolling Stones-Exile On Main St.
Muddy Waters-Hard Again
Steely Dan-Aja
The Sex Pistols-Never Mind The Bollocks
The Ramones -Leave Home


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Nirvana - Incesticide
Green Day - Dookie
Metallica - Ride the lightning
Les Marmottes Aplaties - Épisode Sanglant
Oasis - What’s the story (morning glory)


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

What's fairly evident is that "influence" records depend on the age of the person.

I find it interesting that two people mentioned Television's album "Marquee Moon". Often overlooked, it is a landmark in two-guitar rock. I actually have it on 8-track, and there have been days when I just let it roll non-stop. I can't say that it "influenced" me (my influencing was pretty much complete by 1972 or so, years before its release), but it IS a great album.

Lists aside, I'm curious about what criteria people applied when identifying something that they felt influenced them. Was it your first exposure to a genre? An artist you desperately tried to emulate? Something that opened your eyes about a technology or technique? What madeyou feel that you were influenced by it?


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## Guest (May 12, 2018)

stuff that just .. grabbed me by the booboo.


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

mhammer said:


> What's fairly evident is that "influence" records depend on the age of the person.
> 
> I find it interesting that two people mentioned Television's album "Marquee Moon". Often overlooked, it is a landmark in two-guitar rock. I actually have it on 8-track, and there have been days when I just let it roll non-stop. I can't say that it "influenced" me (my influencing was pretty much complete by 1972 or so, years before its release), but it IS a great album.
> 
> Lists aside, I'm curious about what criteria people applied when identifying something that they felt influenced them. Was it your first exposure to a genre? An artist you desperately tried to emulate? Something that opened your eyes about a technology or technique? What madeyou feel that you were influenced by it?



If the OP would have listed the Top 15 albums "Marquee Moon" would have been on my list. Indeed a great album.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

mhammer said:


> ... What madeyou feel that you were influenced by it?


Stuff that I listened to a lot such that it effected how I play even though I’m not trying to copy it.


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## SG-Rocker (Dec 30, 2007)

AC/DC - Powerage
AC/DC - Let There Be Rock
Mahogany Rush - Strange Universe
Black Sabbath - Sabotage
Alice Cooper - Love It To Death

Honourable mentions:

Rush - Rush (debut album)
Ted Nugent - Great Gonzos


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Beatles-Abbey Road
Johnny Cash-Folsom Prison
Creedence-Bayou Country
Hank Williams-Greatest Hits
Joe Cocker-Mad Dogs and Englishman
Queen-A Night At The Opera

And about 20 or more honourable mentions.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

mhammer said:


> What's fairly evident is that "influence" records depend on the age of the person.
> 
> I find it interesting that two people mentioned Television's album "Marquee Moon". Often overlooked, it is a landmark in two-guitar rock. I actually have it on 8-track, and there have been days when I just let it roll non-stop. I can't say that it "influenced" me (my influencing was pretty much complete by 1972 or so, years before its release), but it IS a great album.
> 
> Lists aside, I'm curious about what criteria people applied when identifying something that they felt influenced them. Was it your first exposure to a genre? An artist you desperately tried to emulate? Something that opened your eyes about a technology or technique? What madeyou feel that you were influenced by it?


Mine includes stuff that was before my time.
I heard In Rock when I was 8 or 9--and it wasn't new at the time--but wow--it just blew me away--Made in Japan I listed as well, as that came later, but same impact--and actually more for Jon Lord than Blackmore--but overall it was both and the way the band played together.
And Roger Glover as well as I learned to distinguish the bass parts.

But everything I listed (& more) was an emotional response.
And more...


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

All is valid and allowed. I was just curious about how people went about making their selection.


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## losch79 (Jul 11, 2016)

Interesting seeing everyone's influences. I wanted to play guitar because of Hendrix and Frehley, but the next evolution of my playing came from hearing Rising Force for the first time in the mid 90's.

Jimi Hendrix - Are you Experienced?
Kiss - Kiss
Led Zeppelin - IV
Joe Satriani - Time Machine
Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force
Dream Theater - Images and Words


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Rush Hemispheres
Black Sabbath Sabbotage
Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here
Rush 2112
Triumph Rock and Roll Machine
Steppenwolf


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

mhammer said:


> All is valid and allowed. I was just curious about how people went about making their selection.


Certainly i would interesting to know that sort of thing.


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

I'm just a couch player but the albums I chose from my childhood actually had tunes I've learned to play. Love to strum "Mother Goose, Aqualung (still working on the second half of the solo), Cheap Day Return, Life's a long song" by Tull, "Wish you were here, Welcome to the machine, Shine on (including the four magic notes) by PF , "Something for Nothing, Passage to Bangkok, Tears"off 2112, "Stairway (allowed on my couch), Black Dog, R&R, Goin' to Cali (alt tuning fun)" from LZIV, attempting "Ogre Battle and As it Began" from Queen II and "Something, Here Comes the Sun and medley parts" from Abbey Road.

One of my problems is remembering them a week after I've "learned"them.


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## John Fisher (Aug 6, 2017)

Pink Floyd ................... Animals
Malmsteen .................... Marching Out
Gary Moore ........................ Victims Of The Future
Thin Lizzy ..................... Live and Dangerous
The Clash ...................... London Calling
Rainbow ........................ Rising

In a pinch if this was all I could ever listen to, I could die happy (and animals is on a loops as i typed this)

I see Honourable mentions are acceptable

Deep Purple.........Come Taste The Band
Queensryche ......Operation Mindcrime


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

Any K-Tel compilation on 33 1/3
-but seriously-

Over Under Sideways Down - Yardbirds
Somewhere Outside - Ugly Ducklings
Rubber Soul - Beatles
Truth - J Beck
a grouping of any of The Ventures albums


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## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

Achtung Baby - U2
Crash - Dave Matthews Band
Gordon - Barenaked Ladies
Bring it On - Gomez
Lover Fighter - Hawksley Workman
Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready? - Big Sugar

Great idea for a thread. Thanks. Had fun thinking back. (edited - made first list too quickly)


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

I couldn't answer that right away, because I have to go back to as early as 1965. But let start a train of thought here...

Johnny Winter - First Album, Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton - Beano, Butterfield Blues Band, Frank Zappa - Hot Rots, The Yardbirds., The First Rolling Stones Album.

Hmm, was not as hard as I thought, with further thought I would likely edit this a bit.


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

K-TEL FTW!







































Honourable mention =


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Can't help but come with a list of honouralbe mention or reconsideration for main list of 6.

First Santana Album, First two Zep Albums, Jeff Beck Truth, Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire, Zappa/Mothers - Roxy & Elsewhere


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

... And maybe Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull, Butterfield Blues Band - East/West,... a Cream Album or two


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

As has been mentioned, the influence of K-Tel albums should not be overlooked. At least in my situation. My older brother was a bit weak, wrt music he brought into the house. My peers and myself didn't get a lot of cool radio stations because of low pop density. How else could we get exposed to new, exciting music?

22 Great Hits, 22 Great Stars! That's how. I was introduced to a lot of cool stuff buying K-Tel album in my pre-teens. A lot of blech, too, but let's not concentrate on that.

And imagine how thrilled I was to find out songs like Hocus Pocus or Crimson and Clover had a whole bunch more cool stuff, once I heard the 'extended' (i.e. real) version of it. Double win!


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

ed2000 said:


> Any K-Tel compilation on 33 1/3


Hey, I was brave enough to list The Monkees ......................... and I owned a few K-Tel albums (and maybe one Stars on 45 too)


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> As has been mentioned, the influence of K-Tel albums should not be overlooked. At least in my situation. My older brother was a bit weak, wrt music he brought into the house. My peers and myself didn't get a lot of cool radio stations because of low pop density. How else could we get exposed to new, exciting music?
> 
> 22 Great Hits, 22 Great Stars! That's how. I was introduced to a lot of cool stuff buying K-Tel album in my pre-teens. A lot of blech, too, but let's not concentrate on that.
> 
> And imagine how thrilled I was to find out songs like Hocus Pocus or Crimson and Clover had a whole bunch more cool stuff, once I heard the 'extended' (i.e. real) version of it. Double win!


I won't say there was NO filler on those K-Tel albums, since they could only stick on the hits they were granted licenses for, and some were duffers. But compared to some albums by bands that had one or two singles, and had to scramble to fill up 5 or 6 tunes per side, sometimes there was less filler on K-Tel discs than on many other albums, including those by bands whose hits were included on the K-Tel compilations.


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## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

I'll give it a shot. These have been certainly some of the most influential:

Joan Jett - I Love Rock n Roll

AC/DC- Back in Black

Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?

Monster Magnet - Spine of God

Swervedriver - Raise

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless


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## Xelebes (Mar 9, 2015)

When I grew up, my parents didn't keep a record collection. Instead, we had reams and reams of songbooks. So there never really was an album that had profound influence on me. Furthermore, many of the albums that get touted are in the genre that I cannot bear to listen to (classic rock, bebop, etc.) so I never grokked the format. This is largely due to my family having the reasoning of why buy the recording when you can play the songs you want to hear.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

mhammer said:


> I won't say there was NO filler on those K-Tel albums, since they could only stick on the hits they were granted licenses for, and some were duffers. But compared to some albums by bands that had one or two singles, and had to scramble to fill up 5 or 6 tunes per side, sometimes there was less filler on K-Tel discs than on many other albums, including those by bands whose hits were included on the K-Tel compilations.


I wasn't implying there was any filler on K-Tel albums. They just painted with a very broad brush. There was no musical target, just what was popular over that short period of time (and what they could get licensed - no surprise there was no Led Zep or similar on any that I'd heard). 

These were like samplers from small record companies that came out in the 80s, to generate interest in the label. But, IMO, these K-Tels were more about selling as many units as possible, even if it meant every person buying a K-Tel album would only like 25%. Everyone just liked a different 25%.


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## Eyeban Ezz (Jan 19, 2018)

Growing up in the 1980s, these 6 albums changed the way I viewed music. All of these are listed in the order in which I discovered them. All of these took place within a year and a half of the others.


*Run DMC "Raising Hell"* - I bought this cassette in 1986 as a new release, and as an 11 year old it blew me the fuck away. I mean if you were 11 years old and everybody who was popular was jumping around smiling and wearing neon leg bracelets and playing synthesizers and then this comes along it was a breath of fresh air. This was in between where Aerosmith was popular and when Aerosmith was popular. This was pre-Aerosmith comeback. Had it not been for this album and the retake of Walk This Way, Aerosmith may have even faded away. This album also had heavy metal guitars played by Rick Rubin. Label mates and touring friends The Beastie Boys had Kerry King play the solo on _"No Sleep Til Brooklyn"_. Run DMC's 1987 follow-up _"Tougher Than Leather" had several track with Chuck Biscuits playing drums. Chuck is a legendary Canadian punk drummer best known for contributions to DOA, The Circle Jerks, Danzig, Black Flag, and Social Distortion._ 

*"Less Than Zero" (Movie Soundtrack)* - 1987 was the year where I truly discovered music on my own. This soundtrack contains 50% amazingly interesting stuff, while the other half contains absolute nonsense and worthless horse shit. Significant tracks on this soundtrack were Slayer _"Inna Gada Divida"_, The Bangles _"Hazy Shade of Winter"_ (possibly the best cover song ever done), Roy Orbison _"Life Fades Away"_, and the official first track of the recently assembled band Danzig _"You And Me (Less Than Zero)"_ who signed with Defjam in late 1986 after playing The Ritz NYC not long after Slayer also signed with the 'hiphop' record label_. _This was one of the final works by Roy Orbison before he died, which was a song written by Glenn Danzig. 

*LL Cool J "Bigger And Deffer"* - Purchased this in 1987. A rap album with hard rocking backing tracks. One shitty ballad but nobody is perfect. This album was more metal to me at the time than many of the lipstick-wearing hair metal bands of the time. It was pretty raw and all the backing beats were hard rock based. For me personally it reset the bar and was the rawest thing I had ever heard until Public Enemy's _"It Takes A Nation of Millions..."_ album came out a year later (which contained sample of Slayer's _"Angel of Death"_).
*Guns N Roses "Appetite For Destruction" -* This was the first compact disc that I ever purchased. I had discovered GNR after wearing out the previously mentioned LL Cool J cassette tape for several months. When I bought this CD it came in a longbox (which I have since lost). The album was so new, it wasn't even a big huge thing yet. The album had no filler tracks and in the mind of a 12 year old, this was the best god damn album I had ever heard. It was also the first all-out hard rocking (metal type) album that I had.
*Iron Maiden "Killers" / "The Number of the Beast"* - I bought these 2 albums on the same day sometime in the late 80s, probably summer of 1988 because _Seventh Son of a Seventh Son_ was popular around this time. In short, both of them blew me away and today are still my favorite 2 Maiden albums. I don't know if there is a way to elaborate, if you were ever a fan of Maiden you know how good these 2 albums were and still are. I don't know if I can add anything else to this.

*The Misfits "Earth A.D." *- This was the point of no return. At the time, this was the craziest and most sinister album I had heard by any band. I had the late 80s version of this (the gold disc version) so that was the full _Earth AD/Wolfsblood_ with _Mommy Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight_ as well as the _Die Die My Darling_ EP tacked onto the end. As far as initiation goes, this is actually the most un-Misfits sounding album in the catalog but it is a god damn classic through and through. The decibel levels were up way too high during recording and it translates into something pretty unique. Many of these songs were to be released as "Walk Among Us 2" (and if you ever heard the original demos of Earth AD songs you would swear they were pulled straight from the Walk sessions) but these were all re-recorded and reworked by Mugger of SST (Black Flag's engineer). The album also had Robo on drums who was previously in Black Flag. The entire band has publicly stated how unhappy they were with the final result of this album. Fans disagree with Glenn and company. This might be the most evil record ever made. Lots of copycats came along 10 years later.
That is my list of 6. There should be a part 2.5 and a part 5.5 but it's late and I already typed a novel. That is the basic structure of how I went from Duran Duran to rape your mother/kill for satan. Plus I couldn't figure out a quick way to work _INXS Kick_ and _Megadeth Peace Sells_ into the timeline but sometimes a director has to leave certain scenes on the cutting room floor.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

LP's that changed me.... I'll try to go chronologically by "discovered"

*Synchronicity: The Police*. I've said it here before, but up to the first time I heard this album, I didn't have a band of my own. I liked a lot of stuff on the radio, and I listened to my dad's British Invasion, my Mum's Motown, or whatever my sister was into. These guys woke me up!

*1984: Van Halen*. This came out late 83, I was 10. I liked "_Jump_" a lot, but the summer of 84 they released "_Panama_" and it grabbed me!! When I bought the LP and heard "_Drop Dead Legs_", I was hooked on VH.

*Slippery When Wet: Bon Jovi*. This was huge, and I jumped on that bandwagon real quick! I air guitared this thing start to finish. It is what made me want to pick up the guitar (for real)

*The Queen is Dead: The Smiths*. Songs like _Big Mouth Strikes Again_, _Some Girls Bigger Than Others, _and _There is a Light That Never Goes Out_ are magical. Made me realize how talented New Wave musicians were.

*Zeppelin II*: We were on a road trip to a friends cottage. We all had our own Walk-Man's, but my buddy handed me his and said "_listen to this_". He played me _What Is and What Should Never Be_. I nearly s**t my pants!!! It was so unlike anything I had EVER heard. A week later when we got home, my Mum picked me up from my friends, I made her detour to the mall so I could buy this tape! "Discovering" Led Zeppelin (seriously) changed me. I lived/slept/breathed Zep, guitar, and the Blues after that.

***EDIT** For some reason I thought it was 5...*

#6: *Love: The Cult*. This album was a massive opening of the eyes as far as song writing goes. Some of the stuff they came up with on this album is still (equally) relevant and odd. It would probably fit between Slippery When Wet, and The Queen is Dead.

My list isn't fancy, or deep and mysterious, but all of these have a deep, secured place in my musical heart. I still love (and listen) to all of them. Fun exercise. Thanks to the OP for getting me thinking.


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## JHall55 (Dec 6, 2016)

R.E.M. - Document
Tom Cochrane - Victory Day
Green Day - Dookie
Pearl Jam - Ten
The Gaslight Anthem - 59 Sound
Taylor Swift - Speak Now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Daniel Grenier (Jun 24, 2008)

Jethro Tull - Benefit
Beatles - White Album
The Who - Quadrophenia
Led Zeppelin - 1
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Trilogy
Al DiMeola - Mediterranean Sun Dance

.... and so, so many more ....


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## Daniel Grenier (Jun 24, 2008)

Ok... 6 more. Anything by:

Cream
Genesis
Deep Purple
Roxy Music
Blind Faith
Atomic Rooster

Can’t resist... 6 more
The Police
Pink Floyd
Cat Stevens 
Gordon Lightfoot
BTO
Grand Funk Railroad


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## Gavz (Feb 27, 2016)

bzrkrage said:


> Robben Ford- Talk to you Daughter.
> U2- Rattle & Hum
> INXS- Kick
> Midnight Oil- 10-1
> ...


Love INXS - Kick


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## PHJim (May 23, 2012)

Only 6? Facebook gave me ten.

1 - Blues At Newport '64
2 - Elizabeth Cotten - ***** Folk Songs & Tunes
3 - Herb Ellis & Stuff Smith - Together
4 - Oscar Brown Jr. - Sin & Soul
5 - John Hartford - Aereo Plane
6 - Karen Dalton - In My Own Time


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## 2N1305 (Nov 2, 2009)

I am going to revive this thread solely for curiosity's purpose... Might ring a few bells around town, if that can generate interest. Enigmatically, of course.
In no particular order, except for the first one:
Aerosmith - Live Bootleg: before this, my music life was as boring as the early nineties, because that's when I started listening to rock and roll. This was like getting kidnapped by music, "listen to this" said the devil... At least, if you were used to Dance music and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Chilliwack - the Mask album: This was another ear-opener, I had never heard anything like it before, or since. This album in particular, rather, not Chilliwack the band itself. They remain special for me basically because of this album. Rain-O is probably my favorite song of all time. Weird, eh?

Led Zeppelin II : as mentioned above by someone else, totally blew my mind. Lemon song, Bring it on home, oh yeah baby, now we're rockin'.

Deep Purple - Machine Head. Although I 'd heard DP before on the radio, this album got me listening to Blackmore's riffs and trying very hard to learn them, Still am...

Jimi Hendrix - Are you experienced : Jimi was my guitar teacher. I assembled knowledge gained from my Zeppelin IV songbook, and began to realize how you play rock guitar. Red House - still one of my favorite blues songs.

Ozzy Osbourne - Randy Rhoads tribute album : My cousin dubbed this for me because he was in awe of Randy Rhoads. I was like "who's that?". Jeez... take any song on this album and it will kick ass ten times over any of the studio versions. This is the first time I sat down and learned a solo as well as I could - and I still know it today. It taught a lot in the way of (classic) metal guitar, which served me well through my teenage years. Hello Diminished fourths. Thanks, John Paul.

The Trews - House of ill fame : Gosh, when I heard "I'm not ready to go" I thought it was good. When I bought the CD, that song was not nearly as good as the opener or the closer. What a band...

Dusty Springfield - Best of: Hey, I love most of her songs. Period. Some people use the word melodic to describe music that is basically the root note + occasional excursions above and below that note. If you want know what "melody" is, listen to singers of the fifties and sixties.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Rush - To me, Alex and Geddy were going to be stars no matter what. This album still holds up for me.

Rush - Fly By Night - What can I say, Introducing the Professor. I believe the greatest rock song ever written is on this album.

Deep Purple - Who Do We Think We Are? - Loved everything about this band.

Pink Floyd - DSOTM - What can I say.

Frank Zappa - Hot Rats - Peaches en Regalia freaked me out, still does.

Yes - Close to The Edge - Chris Squire. Total Mass Retain has the coolest bass riff ever.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

*Blonde on Blonde* -Bob Dylan. Lyrics. 

*Uncle Meat* -Mothers of Invention. Imagination. 

*Casino* -Al de Miola. Phrasing.

*My Aim Is True* -Elvis Costello & the Attractions. What a band should be. 

*Skylarking* - XTC. Pop originality. 

*Fogerty's Cove* -Stan Rogers. Folk.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I grew up listening to old school country because of my dad, my mom loved disco. I thought disco was better than country but then one day I went to a buddies place (I might have been 13 or 14) and he put Rush Hemispheres on his turntable and cranked it really loud and I was hooked. La Villa Strangiato blew me away... 

After that in no particular order
Cheap Trick Live at Budokan
Pink Floyd Wish You were Here, 
Pink Floyd Meddle, 
Black Sabbath Sabbotage 
Rush 2112


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

In no particular order.

Derek and the Dominoes - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs

Rush - 2112

The Cars - The Cars

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

Dire Straits - Dire Straits

Robert Cray - Strong Persuader


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## Doctor Cheese (Oct 16, 2021)

Very young age and made me want to be a musician/composer:
ELO “Out of the Blue”
Synergy “Electronic Realisations for Rock Orchestra”
Wendy Carlos “A Clockwork Orange”
Elton John “Caribou”
Janis Joplin “Best of...”
Beatles - we had so many 8 Tracks - I can remember the picture on the front of the one I listened to most, but can't find it in a discography - and there was so much that impacted me regarding their songwriting from so many albums, it seems silly to differentiate at this point (mostly because I didn't learn anything of value about songwriting LOL)

But since there's no musical talent in our family, parents bought me a guitar with a warped neck from a flea market to prove it, so I didnt' do anything.

Until high school and my first (borrowed...later bought) Gibson and a friend showing me some chords...and, and, and...!
So, these were the biggest influences on my guitar playing at that time (I matured after that...not much, tho):
Angry Samoans “Inside My Brain”
Black Flag “Jealous Again”
Circle Jerks “Group Sex”
X “Los Angeles”
Ramones “Rocket to Russia”
Dead Kennedys “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables”


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Johnny Winter, Live And.
Johnny Winter, Still Alive And Well.
Jethro Tull, Aqualung.
Fairport Convention, Nine.
Townes Van Zandt, The Old Quarter Live.
Marshall Tucker Band.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

I knew this was a resurrected thread, but I didn’t remember actually posting to it. As I’m reading what people had listed, I was also thinking of mine… then I came across my post. Happy to see I would have written the same ones, for the same reasons. 
The only addition being an honourable mention to Ozzy’s live record “Tribute”. It was my very first taste of Ozzy and Sabbath.


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## LeDfuT (Aug 11, 2021)

Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Green Onions - Booker T & the M.G.'s
Exile on Main Street - Rolling Stones
Live at Leeds - The Who
Honky Tonk Heroes - Waylon Jennings
Old No. 1 - Guy Clark


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## Speck_WFTR (2 mo ago)

From early age as you said:

Yes - Fragile
VH - Fair Warning
Ozzy - Blizzard
Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Francisco Tarrega or Isaac Albeniz

Later on:

the Absence - Riders of the Plague
Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake
Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force
Bob Marley - Legend
Red Hot Chili Peppers - BSSM
SRV - Texas Flood


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