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My Favorite Albums of All-Time
They say the mark of a good song is that every time you hear it you are instantly zapped back to the first time you heard it and ultimately fell in love with it. I have no problem agreeing with that theory. Today we'll be looking at fifteen albums that have influenced, shaped, and enriched my life. Some of these albums are musically brilliant. Some of them have incredible lyrics. And some of them actually influenced my own music. So while you're reading, go ahead and push "play" on the music player on the left, then go buy my new CD Here.
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#15 - INXS - Kick (1987)
This is a record that I break out and play on those hot summer days. Yeah man, crack open a bottle of brew and have a solo dance party in my room. "Guns In The Sky" is just right to pack back a couple, and then before you know it you're up on your feet and moving around to their biggest hit, "I Need You Tonight". And if you're like me, you'll find yourself singing along... even if you don't know the words. What actually got me hooked on Kick was the song "Mediate". It's not quite pop... it's not quite rap... it's... it just is. Whoa... deep.
Favorite Songs: Mediate, New Sensation, Never Tear Us Apart, Guns In The Sky
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#14 - Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II... Back Into Hell (1993)
Okay, this one's kinda embarassing, but in the fall of '93 I was a huge Meat Loaf fan. I even wore a Meat Loaf t-shirt to school. No wonder I didn't get a date. I knew all the words to all his songs (even the "Bad Attitude" album that nobody remembers) and thought someday "I Would Do Anything For Love" would be be my wedding song. The reason I thought Meat Loaf was so awesome was because I thought he really looked like that monster from the video. Imagine my surprize when he turned out to look like everyone's drunk uncle.
Favorite Songs: Everything Louder Than Everything Else, Rock N' Roll Dreams Come Through
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#13 - Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual (1983)
Cyndi Lauper is a total babe. I've said it a million times before and I'm not about to stop now. This album made her famous for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Time After Time", but it's the deeper cuts that pull me in. Sure, this record is pop music brilliance... but there's also some rock, some pseudo-punk, and even a Prince cover ("When You Were Mine"). And let's not forget that "She Bop" is all about female masturbation. Yes, FEMALE MASTURBATION! Right on! That's even better than Christmas morning. Did I mention that Cyndi Lauper is a total babe?
Favorite Songs: She Bop, Yeah Yeah, All Through The Night, Money Changes Everything
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#12 - Hanson - Middle of Nowhere (1997)
Stop laughing. This is a great album. No, I don't have posters of Hanson on my wall... my wife won't let me put them up. I DO have a one-of-a-kind Hanson t-shirt that was given to me by some good friends from Starbucks. I don't know why I like this album so much... I just love it. I can't help it. I have a sick problem, and I'm a big enough man to admit it. I guess it just represents everything that is good and pure and wrong in the world at the same time.
Favorite Songs: Mmmbop, Where's The Love?, Madeline, Yearbook, Thinking of You, I Will Come To You, Man From Millwaukee, Lucy, Speechless... fuck it, the whole fucking CD.
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#11 - K-Tel Presents: The Irish Rovers Special (1972?)
Would you believe I got this wonderful record for only 25 cents? And would you believe I've worn out at least four copies of it? Well, I scratched a few up while listening to it drunk on Guinness. It was a "pre-St. Patty's Day" day. I rarely ever like Greatest Hits albums, but this one stands out. It's all my favorite drinking songs together at last. The only Rover song that seems to be missing is "Years My Come, Years May Go"... but maybe I was too drunk to notice that it was actually there the whole time. Even still, I could really go for a pint now just thinking about these tunes.
Favorite Songs: The Barley Mow, Good-bye Mrs. Durkin, The Orange and the Green
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#10 - Andrew WK - I Get Wet (2001)
This is the soundtrack to my old apartment. My then-roomate Josh and I would blare this album until our ears looked like Mr WK's nose. We were too poor to buy our own CD, so we copied Peter's. We liked it so much that we each made our own copy. Seems stupid, seeing as how we were living together. We thought Andrew WK was going to bring back classic metal, but sadly he faded away as a novelty. But I still have my memories of rockin' out to this album on "National Drink On Your Balcony Day" with Josh... and how Josh insisted we hold hands and think about bunnies.
Favorite Songs: I Love NYC, She Is Beautiful, I Get Wet, Take It Off, Party Hard
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#9 - Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies (1973)
Alice Cooper's music is something that speaks to the creative writer in me. Vicent Furnier (the man behind the Alice make-up) always talks about how Alice is just an act... a character that he plays. Not only does this record rock supreme, but it gives you a few laughs along the way. "No More Mr. Nice Guy" has been recycled in too many comedy movies to mention. And, you might think a slower, piano-driven song about having sex with a dead woman is disgusting... but when Alice does it, it's almost poetic and sincere. And kinda funny too.
Favorite Songs: I Love The Dead, Billion Dollar Babies, Sick Things, Generation Landslide
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#8 - Prince - Dirty Mind (1980)
Getting back to solo dance parties, I can't think of any music that gets me up and moving more than Prince. While most people consider "Purple Rain" to be his best, I like to call upon this album from a couple years before. It's very raw and uncensored... one song is about having sex with his sister. Another is about getting head from a woman on the way to her own wedding. This record is right at the beginning of 80s New Wave, and pretty much the beginning of the Minneapolis Sound too. It crosses borders both sexually and musically, and most importantly, it makes you get up off your ass.
Favorite Songs: Head, Uptown, Dirty Mind, Sister, Partyup, When You Were Mine
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#7 - Aerosmith - Aerosmith (1973)
The first Aerosmith album tends to be forgotten because of it's lower production value. Steven Tyler doesn't even sound like himself on the record... even on "Dream On", which was the only song he didn't change his voice on. For me though, this is my favorite band at their purest form... still learning who they are. And this collection of songs is what made me want to play harmonica. I spent a good chunk of the summer of '96 listening to a beat-up vinyl of this album that I got for a buck. It still gets me going today.
Favorite Songs: Mama Kin, One Way Street, Movin' Out, Walkin' The Dog
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#6 - Bon Jovi - New Jersey (1988)
This is Bon Jovi at their best. Anyone who was alive in the 80s loves Bon Jovi. Except my wife, but I like to think she just hasn't realized yet that she in fact does love the Jon Bon. I got this tape from Columbia House (remember them... they'd give you twelve tapes for a penny...?) and it blew me away. At this time in my life, Bon Jovi was my favorite band. This was a good five years or so before I'd realized who Aerosmith even was. Wait... what do you mean you don't know what a "tape" is? You know, a "cassette". No? And you wonder why I write songs called "I'm So Old".
Favorite Songs: Love For Sale, Bad Medicine, Lay Your Hands On Me
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#5 - Buckcherry - 15 (2005)
I was a big fan of Buckcherry when they came out in '99 and then the group split up around 2001 or so. In late 2004 I stumbled across an mp3 called "Crazy Bitch" and I was so out of the loop that I didn't know the band had re-configured themselves. I still claim that hands down, Buckcherry is the best rock band in the world today. They've got that swagger. And this album is comparable to getting tea-bagged by your favorite Penthouse Pet... assuming she had something to actually tea-bag you with. It's raunchy... it's bad for your health... and yet it feels oh-so-good at the same time.
Favorite Songs: So Far, Crazy Bitch, Sunshine, Brooklyn, Next 2 You
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#4 - Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion II (1991)
I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't get into in the gunners until after the band broke up. It was summer '99: I was doing loser laps with Captain Cackton, The Joker's Child, and Adam "Riot" Thom. I was known as "Ambush". We were so not cool at all, hence the loser laps. Did I mention we were in a Geo? Fuck yeah! We were awesome! We were the DWO (Dirt Whore Order) and we drove around to "You Could Be Mine" and "Get In The Ring"... our theme songs. We partied hard and fucked all the bitches. Alright, actually we just did our loser laps and convinced the Captain's mom to buy us pizza.
Favorite Songs: Estranged, Locomotive, Pretty Tied Up, You Could Be Mine
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#3 - Bruce McCulloch - Shamed-Based Man (1995)
If you ever wondered what the hell it was that inspired me to make albums like "Friggidy Ding-Dong" and "New Ditty", then look no further than this CD from one of the members of the Kids In The Hall. It's funny, but borderline crazy, and at times it even feels homicidal. The songs are catchy, meaningless, and bring a smile to my face like no other collection of tunes has ever done. I consider this to be the funniest album ever made. But also, it's akward. Bruce always had this akwardness to him on the "Kids" show, and it really shines through in his music. Listen to this CD. It'll fuck you up real good.
Favorite Songs: Al Miller, When You're Fat, Daddy's On The Drink, Answering Machine, Eraserhead
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#2 - Prince - The Gold Experience (1995)
Prince's first album completely under the title of O+> (you know, that symbol thing) is also his most over-looked effort. The album had the hit "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", but songs like "Dolphin" and "Shh" are Prince in his classic form. I love it because of how it makes my feet move. I love the lyrics and the beats and the guitars... man, I just love this CD. If you came over to my house and said, "Let's listen to Prince..." You'd probably expect "Purple Rain" but instead you'd be blown away by this. We'd dance. We'd funk. We'd sip on Kool-Aid. And you'd never be same again.
Favorite Songs: Endorphinmachine, P Control, Billy Jack Bitch, Now, Shy, Dolphin
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#1 - Aerosmith - Nine Lives (1997)
I never obsessed over any album more than Nine Lives. From March '97 until early '99, Aerosmith was my everything. I ran to the mall at lunch break to get this CD the day it came out. I listened to it through art class. Then on the way home. Then for every waking minute I had. If the CD wasn't there, the songs were in my head. My parents got annoyed 'cause it was blaring from my room 24/7. For me, it seemed like there wasn't any other music. To prove my point, I own three copies of this CD: the regular one, the different cover, and an import with an extra song. Yes, this album was that important to me.
Favorite Songs: Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees), Pink, The Farm, Full Circle
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So now you've seen what goes thru my iPod pretty frequently. I hope you enjoyed listening to some of Friggidy Ding-Dong while reading this list. Don't forget to Buy the CD. Who knows, it might just become one of your Favorite Albums of All-Time.
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