15 Greats

Think of 15 albums, CDs, LPs (if you're over 40) that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life. Dug into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Royally affected you, kicked you in the wazoo, literally socked you in the gut, is what I mean. Then when you finish, tag 15 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you're it!

I love music, so this is going to be fun for me :) I think a great album is one you can listen through in it's entirety and be moved, even just physically, by every song. I don't think I could make an argument that any of these are the best album EVER, (maybe some of them belong in the top ten tho) but all of these albums affected me personally.

1. Abbey Road- The Beatles
Arguably the best Beatle album. It made me cry the first time I heard it all the way though.

2. Street Gospels- Bedouin Soundclash
Great pop-y Canadian reggae. The description sounds like trash, but not so. Every song is a great one.

3. Graceland- Paul Simon
An album of my childhood. :) Paul Simon created a whole new sound that has yet to be copied. And he did it flawlessly.

4. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme- Simon and Garfunkel
Another album of my childhood. I used to listen to this on tape until I wore it out. Beautifully poetic lyrics.

5. Tallahassee- The Mountain Goats
A heart wrenching story-in-album-form about an unhappy couple. More outstandingly beautiful lyrics.

6. Good News For People Who Love Bad News- Modest Mouse
Maybe certain Modest Mouse fans would argue that this isn't their best album, but I don't care. For me, this works as a cohesive thought, a story about dealing with death. This album goes through every stage of grief with some damn good beats to back it up.

7. OK Computer- Radiohead
This album introduced me to Radiohead and stayed in my CD player for months on replay. What can I say about the greatness of this album that hasn't already been said?

8. Dark Side of the Moon- Pink Floyd.
Repeat what I said about OK Computer, but replace Radiohead with Pink Floyd.

9. The Virgin Suicides- Air
Seeeexy sexy music from one of my favorite french bands.

10. Living In Clip- Ani DiFranco
Girl power done right. When I listen to this album, I remember why I wanna be Ani.

11. Beck- Mellow Gold
Beck is awesome.

12. Bishop Allen- The Broken String
Light, fun pop music with a sweet sensibility. Every song is catchy, and every lyric a gem.

13. Danger Mouse- The Gray Album
A mix of the White Album (which is ANOTHER amazing album by the Beatles) and the Black Album by Jay-Z, which is a great album in and of itself. I'm already a huge fan of remixes and covers, so this album is perfect for me.

14. The Last Five Years- Jason Robert Brown
TECHNICALLY this is a musical, but as an album is how I first heard it. For a little theatre geek, I didn't listen to a lot of musical albums in high school, but due to great music, wonderful lyrics and a heartbreaking story, this one was constantly in my CD player.

15. Preemptive Strike - DJ Shadow
This album introduced me to my favorite DJ, and is still my favorite of his.

16. De Stijl - The White Stripes
The White Stripes (along with the Beatles and the Mountain Goats) round out my top three favorite bands. This album doesn't get a lot of attention, but in my opinion it's heads and tails above the rest of their amazing work

17. The White Album - The Beatles
This album is just the fab four havin fun and bein creative. Maybe not all of the songs are radio-friendly, but they're all great.r

18. Rubber Soul - The Beatles
The first Beatles album I heard all the way through (besides that 1 album they released a decade or so ago) Maybe I'm over representing the Beatles on this list, but only because their music has meant so much to me.

19. Radiodread/Dub Side Of The Moon - Easy Star All Stars
Maybe it's cheating to put two albums under one number, but both of these cover albums affected me in the same way- they took albums that already meant a lot to me and made them new. After hearing the reggae version of both these albums, I had a new respect and listening love for the original. Plus, I'm a huge fan of cover songs.

20. 2nd To None- Elvis Presley
This in not an actual album, but rather a compilation CD of his early work. This is how I learned to love Elvis, though.

21. You've Come A Long Way, Baby -Fatboy Slim
I don't listen to any other Fatboy Slim album, but I love this one. It's perfect 90's techno. Every song is great.

22. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots -The Flaming Lips
How I loved the Flaming Lips. Plus, as you might notice, I really like albums that tell a story, which this does.

23. Roseland NYC [LIVE} - Portishead
I love Portishead, but this is the album I reach for most. Hearing Beth Gibbons WAIL on the live version of Sour Times still sends shivers down my spine. Its kinda funny that I like this album so much- I usually hate live albums

24. Birth of Cool - Miles Davis
When I was in high school, this album, along with the Billie Holiday album later on this list, made me love Jazz. Miles knows how to play a horn (understatement of the year)

25. Cold, Cold Heart - Hank Williams
This is another compilation album, but it's a great one. Hank is in my top ten fav artists, and this album introduced me to him.

26. Lady Sings The Blues - Billie Holiday
Yet another compilation album from a great artist dead decades before I was born. This album made me love jazz and blues.

27. Riot On An Empty Street - Kings Of Convenience
Someone gave me a burned copy of this CD when I was in high school. I listened to it aaallll the time until my mom stole it and scratched it up. I never knew the name of the album until I googled the lyrics (still bouncing around in my head) recently. It still sounds great after all these years.

28. Lhasa De Sela - The Living Road
My aunt sent this to my mom as a christmas present one year. She listened to it and decided she didn't like it so I snatched it up. Lhasa sings beautiful haunting old-worldy music in french, english, and spanish.

29. The Cool- Lupe Fiasco
The second studio album from one of my favorite hip-hop artists. This album (like a lot of them on this list) tells a great story with sharp lyrics.

30. Volume One - She and Him
I'm listening to this now. :) This is just a sweet poppy album with a 60s feel that covers a few songs, including the beatles. Whats not to love?

I know it said 15, but I couldn't stop there. I actually had to edit to fit only 30. I also left out some of my favorite artists (Prince, Daft Punk) because they didn't have straight-up albums that affected me and some great Albums (Pet Sounds, Doolittle) because while I can appreciate their greatness, didn't change MY life.

Maybe I got too into this, but I'm really looking forward to readin what ya'll think are the best albums. Thoughts?