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I do love dipping into this thread and getting reminded of some amazing music!! I don't think anyone has put forward a list that hasn't had at least one album on there I've owned and enjoyed.
Music is everything to me. From an early age I was fascinated by it and it's always been there through the good, the bad…and the heartbreak, oh the heartbreak. I'm also really into Hi-Fi and spent more than I care to mention on my set-up.
The list below is in no particular order:
Album 1. (The Band that changed my life) The Smiths 'The Queen Is Dead'.
The Smiths literally changed my life. If I hadn't been such a massive fan I wouldn't have gone to the Smiths convention in Manchester (1989) where I met my first love and which also introduced me to another band* coming up later on this list.
Every album they made was a classic but it's TQID which holds a special place in my heart. I was lucky enough to see them on The Queen Is Dead tour in Wolverhampton. It's still up there as my favourite gig of all time. When they arrived on stage the world stopped. I looked around me with people screaming and crying, totally losing themselves. I thought to myself "This must of been what was like see The Beatles". Total Mania.
I don't tend to listen to them much anymore. Morrissey's behaviour has got more and more bizarre over the years and he hasn't made anything worth listening to since ‘Vauxhall and I' (1994). Thankfully we still have Johnny Marr who's made some great albums (The Messenger is one of my favourite albums of the last 10 years) and contributed to many of others.
Album 2. Cocteau Twins 'Treasure'.
Basically my favourite band of all. Impossible to describe without sounding like a knob.
I discovered them one Saturday morning on a tv show presented by Gary Crowley back in 1985. Ever since then I've played them on a regular basis and never tired of them. I saw them live many times and actually met Liz and Robin in Sheffield while on tour for ‘Heaven or Las Vegas'. I still have the signed note Liz and Robin.
It's extremely difficult to pick a favourite (they've never made a bad track let alone a bad album) but ‘Treasure' gets the nod today. I actually physically ache when I listen to it. It takes me to another other-worldly time and place. If you've seen the film ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock' I get that sort of imaginary and vibe.
Album 3: Talk Talk 'The Colour of Spring'.
I remember buying the album in Woolworths Cannock back in 1986. I'd bought the single ''Life's What You Make It" first which was pretty poppy and mainstream and not a million miles away their earlier synth pop records. The album (The Colour of Spring) was a move away from the mainstream, especially side two which showed early signs of the direction they would later take on their following albums "Spirit of Eden" and "Laughing Stock". I still play all three albums on a regular basis and are up there as my most played albums, which just shows how great they are. ‘The Colour of Spring' is also my ‘Test Disc' for demoing anything ‘Hi-Fi' related.
Album 4. This Mortal Coil 'Filigree and Shadow'
Writing a list of my favourite and influential albums, it looks like 1986 was the formative year which had a profound effect on the rest of my life. A lot of the albums I bought around this time I still play on a regular basis, including this one.
Although their first album, "It'll end in tears" is a great album I believe 'Filigree and Shadow ' is their Magnum opus.
It's very difficult to try to describe this album to anyone, much like the Cocteau Twins, this album is otherworldly and without comparison.
Album 5. Jeff Buckley 'Grace'
This album was recommend to me by someone back around 1996 (it all gets a little hazy around this time). After a (very) drunken evening I remembered the conversation from the night before (a minor miracle) about the album. Shortly afterwards I bought it without listening to it (remember the days before YouTube?) Thankfully it turns out it was a safe bet. The album is a masterpiece. I've since recommend it to numerous people who've all gone on to buy it and love it too.
Album 6.* The Stone Roses S/T
In your life you will have one moment or one day which changes your life forever...
The exact date I cannot remember but it was in July 1989. I went to a Smiths convention in Manchester and on my journey up there I met my first love who would change my life forever.
On the evening of the very same day I heard "I am the Resurrection" for the first time. This was at a 'Smiths Disco', which wasn't as sad as it sounds, honest!
I was on the dance floor (which was a first for me too being a shy ‘box bedroom rebel') as "I am the Resurrection" started. From the opening snare drum I completely lost myself. To this day I've never heard a better song. That breakdown, that bass! Jesus! I bought the album the following week and an amazing period of my life began.
A year later I went to the now legendary Spike Island concert. Ignore knobheads like Noel Gallagher banging on about the sound being sh*t. They sounded amazing down the front! Still the best day of my life.
You could say the Roses mean A LOT to me.
Album 7. David Sylvian 'Secrets of the Beehive'
No great personal story behind this choice, it's just stunning album.
Album 8. Hüsker Dü 'Candy Apple Grey'
Difficult to choose just one album by them. ‘Candy Apple Grey' was my introduction to them via the Annie Nightingale radio 1 show on a Sunday evening.
A pivotal band in my life. Thanks to them I got to know a group of life long mates and made a lot of memories along the way. Never saw Hüsker Dü live but managed to see Bob Mould and Grant Hart live. I saw Bob Mould with his band Sugar at ULU in London. An amazing day with the highlight being my first stage dive. The look of fear on the crowds faces is something I'll never forget. Laffin!
Album 9. David Bowie 'Hunky Dory'
I've never been one for looking back. There are bands which I like from the 60's and 70's but they don't feature heavily in my collection.
I got into Bowie very late and it's something I regret. As a teenager Bowie was just bright suits and part of that Live Aid clique which was another world away from where I was at the time.
It was around 2010 when I bought Hunky Dory and I finally "got it". I just could not believe one person could be responsible for so much great music. Since then I've played more Bowie than anything else. Choosing one album was virtually impossible. Of the 27 studio albums he released I could've chosen anyone one from 10 masterpieces. A Genius! Hunky Dory is probably the most played album of his, so it gets the nod today.
Album 10. Radiohead ‘In Rainbows'
This list hasn't been in an particular order but I think ‘In Rainbows' could well be my favourite album of all time. I could have quite easily put ‘A Moon Shaped Pool' in this Top Ten but wanted to keep the list as varied as possible. Not sure what the list says about me or the state of music today, seen as there's only one band in my Top Ten still releasing new material?
No great back story with me and Radiohead. I just love ‘em.
Honourable mentions:
The Verve ‘A Northern Soul', ‘Urban Hymns' and ‘A Storm In Heaven'
Doves ‘Lost Souls'. One of most underrated bands IMHO. Every they've released has been class.
Pink Floyd ‘DSOTM'. An obvious choice but for me it's perfection.
The Jesus and Mary Chain ‘Psychocandy'
Echo and the Bunnymen ‘Ocean Rain' (basically their first four albums)
Pixies ‘Surfer Rosa' and ‘Doolittle' (I kissed Kim Deal you know)
Depeche Mode ‘Violator'
Joy Division ‘Closer'
New Order ‘Low Life'
REM ‘Automatic For The People'
Smashing Pumpkins ‘Gish'
Big Black ‘Songs about F*cking'
Prefab Sprout ‘Steve McQueen'
Grizzly Bear ‘Painted Ruins' (can't stop play it)
Led Zeppelin IV
Easterhouse ‘Contenders'
‘'(that's) the story of my life''……
Holy crap, that is one hell of a top ten, let alone the extras. I got into the Cocteau Twins massively in the last few years. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, I think it was a combination of things. I saw ‘Pearly Dewdrops Drop' on a show called I think ‘Indie at the BBC' that I still have on the recorder box and watch from time to time. I was transfixed by Liz' voice and the sounds coming out of the guitar and bass. I also read at a similar time that Robert Smith once described Liz' voice as “The voice of God.†Coming from the frontman of probably my favourite ever band, I had to check them out further. Next time I was in Vinyl Exchange (great shop) in Manchester I managed to pick up both Treasure and Heaven Or Las Vegas on the same day.
Sometimes when I get into a band late on, I like to pick the albums up in the order they were released, but I picked up the CT albums randomly as and when I saw them. I was blown away by Head Over Heels and also the Lullabies to Violane 1 collection. I've always been obsessed with b-sides, EPs and hunting down obscure songs, so that LTV compilation really hit the spot for me. Also bands like Slowdive and more recently Beach House that I enjoy a lot, have been influenced by the Cocteau Twins. Awesome music
A storming film and an excellent sound track.There is only one: the soundtrack from Amadeus.
Nowadays I mainly listen to classical music. But rock-wise there were a number of favourites:
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Deep Purple - In Rock
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA
Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
The Who - Who's Next
Caravan - In the land of grey and pink
Crosby Stills Nash and Young - Deja Vu
Van der Graaf Generator - H to He who am the only one.
Lindisfarne - Fog on the Tyne
Soft Machine - 3
And plenty more.
I'm afraid I stopped listening to rock albums in 1974 when 'bubble gum' became the dominant genre.
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