Which definitive album in your life launched your love for music overall?
Maybe it was the first album you bought with your own money. Maybe a friend or relative gave it to you. Maybe it was the first band you heard play live. Maybe it was a perfect soundtrack for something in your life.
Also, if you want, specify which track/s in that album hold special value. You can also tell a short anecdote or story to accompany your explanation.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
67 Answers
Limp Bizkit – Chocolate Starfish
Sounds crazy but it’s true, I can trace my whole musical “journey” back to starting with that album. Since then obviously, I’ve diversified into every genre, but that album was the first album when I realised what music I wanted to play and it was the first album I played till I knew every line, and I think I probably still do!
Burzum – Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
narrative epicness beyond any mortal comprehension.
Had to have been either Beatles Abey Road or Carole King Tapestry. Now I’ve given away age
I was around 14 and was given an RCA Music Club gift subscription. I ordered the best of The Doors on cassette tape (dating myself !), and it forever changed my music world….
@Judi Not necessarily. You could be a youngster who absolutely LOVES oldies. Just saying this possible scenario. =)
As for me, I believe that one of my first albums was a music sampler album. But if there’s one album which really launched my love for music, it was the ABBA Gold collection.
Dancing queen.. Feel the beat of the tambourine, oh yeah…
Now I’ve given away age?
My parents were really into psych and some other stuff like Velvet Underground, so I suppose hearing that pumped through the hi-fi got me jazzed on music. Thriller was the first album I bought with my own money (thought it might cooler if it was Off The Wall). Popular dancy stuff like M.J., folkie tunes, and psychedelic Donovan-esque songs got me really excited, and still do.
Oh, and lots of new wave. I grew up in the 80’s, thus am partial to synthesizer.
3 influential albums growing up:
Beach Boys- Pet Sounds
Love- Forever Changes
michael jackson- Off The Wall
The Doors Album with Light My fire, Crystal Ship, Break On Through to the Other Side,
The Stones Satisfaction (Out of Our heads Album?)
Workingman’s Dead – The Grateful Dead
The first album I ever bought with my own money was Thriller. I was 7. That is the first time I can recall wanting to buy a record and being so excited to own it. As I got older I turned to R.E.M, The B-52’s, and the Doors.
I always had a passion for music, so i can’t really say. My mother made me listen to classical, mi father to jazz. then i started to listen to rock.
The most important album so far has been Dance of Death by Iron Maiden, my first heavy metal album.
Incubus “Make Yourself”
AFI “Sing the Sorrow”
When I was about 7 my dad brought home copies of Meet the Beatles, Help, and I Wanna Hold Your Hand. My brothers and I listened endlessly to those albums.
The first album I bought with my own money was Born to Run by Bruce Sprinsteen, I head Jungleland and had to have the album. I played that cassette until it couldn’t be played anymore. To this day Thunder Road is one of my all time favorite songs.
I can’t say exactly what because I love music. Got it from my parents. They are both very passionate about it and they’d always play something at home – day and night. I’d wake up to my mom singing along to the likes of Platters and Neil Sedaka, I’d sleep beside my dad listening to Julio Iglesias, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. But I loved Beatles and everything new wave after that.
For me it was definitely Radiohead’s “In Rainbows”. That was the first album that I could just drown myself in. It made me appreciate a rich sound and got me hooked on good music.
I would listen to it on my way to class in the morning. Every now and again I’d get so caught up in a song I would suddenly realize that I just walked 100 meters and I have no idea what happened in that time span.
The Beverly Hills Cop’s OST when I was in my early teens. From the day I saw a billboard for this flick I knew I would love each second of it. The OST was out before the movie, though, so I bought it and OD’ed on it each day, trying to imagine the movie through the hypnotic tunes from Patti LaBelle, Junior Giscombe, the Pointer Sisters, Harold Faltermeyer, Shalamar, etc…
When I was a small child (under 10), my dad subscribed to mail order music. I think it was RCA, but I can’t remember. Anyway, he ordered big collections of all sorts of music. I spent endless hours listening to Peter and the Wolf and Swan Lake, Artie Shaw,Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsay, Glenn Miller and other Big Band music, folks songs (Old Dan Tucker, Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley). I loved it all.
The first album I bought was a Beach Boys album.
Rufus Wainwright’s Want One is the first album I remember waiting for because I wanted it so badly. I had his first two albums and loved them, then when Want One came out it was like an epiphany. I went to the store to get it the day it came out and then I listened to it on repeat for months.
My (older) sisters were taken to Montgomery Wards by a family friend, and allowed to buy one album. They bought the BRAND NEW Meet the Beatles.
When they brought it home and played it, they were so excited by it, it got me excited by it too. I think I was 6 years old.
When I just started high school there was this ‘alternative music’ magazine I got from someone and it had a free sample CD with it. Featuring the, at that time, weirdest music I had ever heard (bands like Sigur Ros for example). I did not like every song on there but it fueled my passion to explore and learn about other music than i heard on the radio and the top 40 charts.
My first ever bought album was the OST to space jam. Maybe that helps you understand where I was coming from when I got that free sample cd :)
The first album that I listened to regularly was probably Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace gospel album. My aunt played it all the time. The first album that got me all riled up was Private Eyes by Hall and Oates when I was 11, but the first one I bought with my own money was Chronic Town by R.E.M. when I was 12. There was a record and tape store by my elementary school that sold all the college rock of the day and when I heard “Lower, Wolves” for the first time in that store, the Top 40 pop had to move out of the way.
@gggritso haha, i know what you mean. I sometimes find myself zoning into the music that i forget why i walked or where i’m headed.
@filmfann wow, at age 6, must’ve been a really memorable album. :)
It was a Simon and Garfunkel album that I borrowed from my uncle. I think it was the live recording of the concert in Central Park. My mom and dad had primed me earlier for a taste in folk music, as the one concert that they took us to was Peter, Paul, and Mary.
Two albums really:
Sticky Fingers 1971 • by the Rolling Stones
From the Andy Warhol cover art (with working zipper) to the opening lick of Brown Sugar – I was immediately hooked by the conventions of Rock & Roll.
The Song Remains the Same soundtrack 1976 • by Led Zeppelin
The first time I heard “live” Rock & Roll. Blew me away.
It was the Summer of 1978 when I heard them both for the first time from my father and cousin respectively. I was seven-years-old.
From that point on it was an endless diet of Yes, The Beatles, CSNY, Jeff Beck and, of course, the Stones and Zeppelin.
@Point5r Wow, that took some balls to admit.
I’d enjoyed music for quite a while, but I didn’t love it until Thrice- Vheissu. Here’s why.
Led Zeppelin – led Zeppelin 4
I honestly can’t think of the first album that I bought. I think it was Prince 1999. I remember walking around Magic Mountain with my parents when I was 12 or 13, it was dark and the park was about to close. We walked past an area where people were drinking and dancing to 1999 and I thought that it looked so much fun. I will always remember that moment. I immediately asked my parents to buy the cassette tape for me.
The movies Grease and Annie also played a big part in my love for music. I would sit for hours singing along to the Grease soundtrack when I was 12.
i remember when i was a little child…i think i was 4 yrs when my mother used to play songs of Michael Jackson..i remember i used to dance and dance..and i guess from that age group my love for music grew more and more…..the album was dangerous frm which my love for music grew…and by this i started to explore more music…and now i am a music maniac…..kind of addicted to it….:)
Jeez. One of my first favorite albums must have been Guero by Beck, which was also one of the first I had ever bought… But then I think one of the next ones I bought was Good News For People Who Love Bad News, by Modest Mouse. That’s still one of my favorite albums ever. So that’s up there. But there’s just so many…
I would say those two albums were probably the ones that got me really into music, though. Even though I have albums now that I probably like more than those two, I like to think of those as my original favorites, and the ones that began the addiction…
Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker Ballet and the 1812 Overture! To me (I was a teenager at the time) the music was alive and full of energy. I realized then there was more to music than Motley Crue!
Iron Maiden’s self titled album. If I didn’t buy it, I would have never got into metal in the first place.
The first album I bought with my own money must have been “Crest of a Knave” by Jethro Tull. But before that I’d found a tape of “Touch” by the Eurythmics, which was the first album I really listened to carefully. Soon after that I bought “Crusader” by Christ De Burgh, which I’d say is the one that actually made me go “wow!”. Most of the Dire Straits ones followed soon after.
My sister came back from college and made me listen to Life in A Nutshell from the Barenaked Ladies album Maybe You Should Drive. I was about 12 years old. I then had to go buy every BNL album. I remember that day, sitting in her car in my parents’ driveway, like it was yesterday.
Queen – News of the World. I’m the youngest of 4 (I’m 37). And, there’s a 8 year age difference between the second youngest (brother) and I. When I was a youngin’, this album was played constantly; to the point to where there were a few skips because the record was scratched due to wear. And, when that would happen, all that we would do was give a good ol’ stomp on the livingroom floor shag, so, that this beast would start playing Freddie and the boys again (sans skip).
I’ve had a love of music ever since. My bro’s and sis had a chance to see Freddie (et al) perform live, and I guess that they were amazing.
Radiohead—Kid A. Blew my mind when I heard it.
It all started with Otherside, by Red Hot Chili Peppers. I loved every song on that album, except, ironically, Californication…
“Americana” by The Offspring.
I got it about the same time I got a B*witched cd.
Of course, like most, my first exposure to music was what my parents listened to. I will always remember loving Neil Diamond and The Doors.
As far as personally, I really dug Madonna’s first album. But it wasn’t until I was 12 and discovered KROQ (Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure) that I really developed my own music taste.
Then I’d say RHCP Uplift Mofo Party Plan.
DMB Under The Table and Dreaming.
I like all kinds of music.
i was kinda into music already but Underoaths album They’re only chasing safety was probably the first album that had a big effect on me
The Monkees – More of the Monkees
The Beatles – Abbey Road
And, my mother always played classical when I was in her tummy.
Ben Folds- Rockin’ the Suburbs
Edit: There were so many of my parents’ albums that really launched it, but I’d say it wasn’t defined until I heard Ben Folds in my late teens/ early 20s.
In our house there was classical music and then there was church music. At the age of 3 I was passionately fond of that famous piece by Richard Wagner, “The Ride of the Bacteria.” My mother seemed to enjoy hearing me ask for it, too. She played it for me on a big old brittle 78 rpm disc.
I grew up on classical, and the first album I bought with my own money was Handel’s Water Music. I still love “The Ride of the Valkyries.”
Live on Two Legs- Pearl Jam
My Dad played it probably for over a year everytime we got in the car. I still can remember all the things Eddie says in between the songs.
Track 1. Corduroy
Track 8. Red Mosquito
Track 13. Betterman
Track 14. Black
Music has always been a huge part of my life, I can’t remember a time where I didn’t think about it. The album I love the most is The Stone Roses and have done for 20 years now and the track from it I love the most is of course I Am The Resurrection Definitely having that one played at my funeral.
Abbey Road by the Beatles
Can the Can by Suzie Quattro
Breakfast in America by Supertramp
@mattbrowne . . .Breakfast in America is in my top 5 all time. Great album.
@Blondesjon and @mattbrowne I bought BiA the day it was released. Took it home, and loved it! It was months before they played anything on it on the radio.
It was either Steve Miller – Greatest Hits 1974 – 1978 or The Eagles – Greatest Hits. Both albums figured heavily into my ‘firsts’ as a young man. First use of marijuana, first three day drunk, and first sexual experiences.
To quote The Dude: I hate the fuckin’ Eagles.
@rawpixels I checked out your profile I like your taste too! If you have PJ as your field of expertise your a friend of mine :) And the fact you like The Beatles and Radiohead EVEN BETTER!
@Blondesjon – I think almost all Supertramp albums are great and timeless. People will still enjoy them in 50 years. A good measure for great music is the number of decades they survive. At least 98% of what we hear on popular radio every day will go away. But this still means up to 2% created in 2009 is good or even great.
@filmfann well that is your prerogative, as Evelyn says:
Life is about choices, your results may vary
but in a just and decent world, Joe Walsh would be your next door neighbor and he’d play his guitar at full volume at 3 am on Sunday mornings.
The first album that I can remember being extremely excited about and loving to bits was the OST for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Although I was a big fan of OSTs before that, it was really the first three tracks on DMC that made me fall in love all over again. (Some of my favorite [musical] moments include: the awesome bass line at the beginning of The Kraken, the pipe organ in Davy Jones, and the ‘circus theme’ in Dinner is Served.)
The most anticipated albums, for me, were:
1. The Nightmare Before Christmas: Special Edition (even though I already owned the regular edition)
2. Death Cab for Cutie/Narrow Stairs
3. Coldplay/Viva La Vida
and after I watched Mirrormask I had to go out and purchase the OST, like, right away.
I was also a big Bond and Delerium fan, back when.
More recently, I’m discovering how much I like cool jazz/modal jazz, as well as Romantic Era composers, mostly Eastern European/Russian ones.
And finally, my favoritest album EVER is Danny Elfman’s Serenada Schizophrana. (I like it even more than DMC, which is saying something. Ha.)
@evegrimm I simply love Jack Sparrow’s theme and Davy Jone’s theme. Dum du-duhm. Dum du-duhm. Dum du-duhm. Dum du-duuhhmm..
well i grew up listening to motown so stuff like luther vandros, the supremess, that kind of stuff. :P
@mattbrowne Yeah, go Breakfast in America ! Go, Supertramp !
My first album was Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon I was a 70s teenager and it was almost obligatory to have this album.
The first three albums I purchased were: Cream Disrailie Gears, Door, look into the sun, and Traffic, Traffic, but I loved music way before that, and maybe the Beatles had a lot to do with it, and the Moody Blues.
Newsboys’ Step up to the Microphone I’ve been a fan ever since and it started by obsession with music if you trace it back. If you trace it back far enough I was started by Sound of Music when I was about 3.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
