Top 3 Rock Albums that changed your life

downtownrobbrowndowntownrobbrown 446 Posts
edited April 2018 in Music Talk
I come from a more rock background so I'm interested in what people here might say. Sorry about all the heavy hitters but that's how it all went down.


1. Led Zeppelin - "Physical Graffiti"

First Zeppelin album I ever got. Nuff said.

2. Pink Floyd - "The Wall"

Some burnout gave it to me on the grade school bus. Blew my mind.

3. Grateful Dead - "Live/Dead"

So cosmic.
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  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    First three that come to mind:

    Black Sabbath - Paranoid

    Led Zeppelin - s/t

    Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet

  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,778 Posts
    The Doors - L.A. Woman.
    When I was young and dirt poor, dubbed cassettes were considered a luxury. My mum used to get Univ students to babysit, and some of them would leave tapes behind. Along with an Otis Reading a-side/Run DMC b-side, L.A. Woman was a standout tape. I was too young to understand a lot of the now obvious meaning to the songs, but the music was unlike any pop music I might???ve heard on the radio in the mid ???80s, and completely changed my appreciation of music.

    Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
    Friends of mine at school heard this and all wanted to become guitarists. I heard it and wanted to be a drummer (never happened though, cost + noise :whycry:, record collector = frustrated wannabee musician?).

    Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
    Even Jimi didn???t make me want to learn guitar. He made me want to take drugs.

  • Blink 182 - Enema of the State (I was11y/o and it was the first album I bought for myself... against the will of my parents)

    Led Zeppelin - Zepellin III (Tangerine was one of the first songs I learned on guitar, also kicked me straight out of a short-lived pop punk phase)

    Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced (I'm a guitarist, this album simultaneously blew my mind and made me really push to get better... and what Duderonomy said re: Hendrix)

  • DustedDonDustedDon 830 Posts
    Black Sabbath - Paranoid
    Led Zeppelin - II
    Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
    Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
    The Smiths - Meat is Murder

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts




  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    1. Metallica Kill The Master Of Lightning (one big chunk, those can probably be my top three, pepper in Garage Days)

    2. Nirvana Nevermind (cleaner than Bleach, more accessible to my ears, went huge as I was a 16-year-old in Seattle)

    3. Band Of Gypsies (I've looked at my informationTunes "plays" stats and the numbers don't lie)

    I can listen to all of those at any time, except Nirvana. Sometimes Nirvana makes me sad and I'll cry. Forget about that MTV one I can't go near it, I'll curl up in a ball on the floor. Tenderberry Grunge Cobbler.

  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts
    Pat Benatar - In The Heat of the Night had the single Heartbreaker. Because it was the first record I bought with my own money

    AC/DC - Back In Black, originally got it in 1980 when it came out. Because the title song is probably my all time fav rock tune

    Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast. Because Iron Maiden was my favorite band in high school, and would lead me into heavy metal, and joining my first band in 9th grade.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I'm old. Was always into folk, blues more than rock.

    Sgt Peppers - Got it for my 13th bday.
    Barry Goldberg Blue Band Blowing My Mind - Pulled out of my brothers collection. First recording for Harvey Mandel and Charlie Musselwhite IIRC.
    English Beat Whap'pen - At a time when I disdained all rock music my roommates were playing this and Specials, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Go Gos, Bruce Springsteen, Stray Cats... allowed me to reappreciate the genre.

  • DustedDon said:
    Black Sabbath - Paranoid
    Led Zeppelin - II
    Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
    Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
    The Smiths - Meat is Murder
    Only 3. No cheating.

  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    Aerosmith - Get Your Wings (first tape i ever bought (it was a Super Saver!) with my lawnmowing money)
    Ramones - Animal Boy (first punk rock tape. Know it front and back.)
    Fugazi - Steady Diet Of Nothing ( it never left my tape caese for about 5 years)

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
    The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
    Bad Brains - Rock For Light

  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,885 Posts
    South of Heaven + Motorhead No sleep + ??

  • caicai spacecho 362 Posts
    Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
    Jimi Hendrix Experience - Smash Hits
    Metallica - Master Of Puppets

  • knewjakknewjak 1,231 Posts
    Megadeth - So Far So Good So What
    Not the best musically speaking, but it was my first 'adult' tape at age 8.

    The Misfits - Walk Among Us
    Best sk8 rock record of all time. Love live vert. ...and skulls.

    Nirvana - In Utero
    Nevermind was huge, but this one never left my walkman for a year straight.

  • LoopDreamsLoopDreams 1,195 Posts
    Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin. Found a copy in my parents record collection when I was 15 and was smoking pot within the month

    The Doors: Strange Days again, in my folks records. I pulled it out and was like "Who the fuck are these freaks?" before I knew it I was becoming an introspective pot head. Thank god they didn't have any Nick Drake.

    Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dreams a record that was on Constant rotation in the last year of high school, we played that shit to death and then listened to it again.

  • jleejlee 1,539 Posts
    I was a hardcore hip-hop head growing up as a kid, and in an attempt to be a defiant little punk, I almost made it a point to not like rock music. My older brother was way into college rock circa late 80's though (and then grunge), so I was well aware of what was going on (REM, Husker Du, B-52's, etc.). that said, these 3 albums are the first "rock albums" I recall that I really liked even though I "wasn't trying to".

    1. fugazi - 13 songs
    2. hemet - meantime
    3. jane's addiction - ritual de lo habitual

    Aside from fugazi, i don't really listen to the others that much, but these bands def got me open to realizing that a one genre lifestyle was not the way to go.

  • Recently bumped into an old friend who got me into good guitar based music late 80s with

    Doolittle - Pixies
    The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths
    Surfer Rosa - Pixies

    Prior to that I was only buying hip hop.

  • GibboGibbo 124 Posts
    This really had me scouring the memory banks... but as a kid I guess these three would have had the biggest influence on me or at least the ones I bought with my own money and played heavily before hip-hop took over.

    Iron Maiden: Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
    Guns and Roses: Appetite For Destruction
    Nirvana: Nevermind

  • skelskel You can't cheat karma 5,033 Posts
    Blondie - Parallel Lines
    The Jam - Setting Sons
    Thin Lizzy - Black Rose

    First album I loved all the way through
    First one that opened my ears to varied soundscapes within a cohesive concept and captured the Local Experience to boot
    First gateway into the GOAT band

  • jane's addiction - ritual del lo habituel
    jeff beck - blow by blow/wired
    hendrix - radio one and live at winterland in particular



  • leonleon 883 Posts
    The Crass - feeding of the 5000
    Jimi Hendrix - in the west
    Prince - purple rain

    We could argue if punk and funkrock are allowed for this top 3.

  • ppadilhappadilha 2,233 Posts
    Pink Floyd - Dark Side/Wish you were here/Animals - these 3 were on heavy rotation so I can't single one out, but they were the "mature" music I was into in high school

    Led Zeppelin - IV - first LZ album I got

    Chico Science & Nação Zumbi ‎– Da Lama Ao Caos

     - for a kid who was only into english language hard rock and heavy metal this was the album that got me into Brazilian music in a real way. Hard to classify it as a pure rock album but its heavy metal influences were what got me hooked, while the rest of the styles they mixed made me realize there was so much good music out in the world and the vast majority of it wasn't rock and wasn't in English. Blew my 15-year-old brain wide open.

  • FrankFrank 2,370 Posts
    The Birthday Party - Prayers

    Scientists ‎– This Heart Doesn't Run On Blood, This Heart Doesn't Run On Love.
    ??

  • magneticmagnetic 2,678 Posts
    1.The Police - Reggatta de Blanc
    2.Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring
    3.Megadeth - Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?

  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    Can I put up three more?

  • The Who - Live at Leeds
    The Clash - London Calling
    The Stooges - Fun House

  • tripledoubletripledouble 7,636 Posts
    im going to omit the beatles/stones/doors/dylan that were in my parents collection

    metallica- kill master lightning ( like duke said) helped me channel my pubescent angsty awkward boy rage. thankyou metallica. ride the lightning ifn i had to choose one.
    ledzep first 5...helped me get vaguely mystical and stoned out in late high school days. if i had to pick...it would be the first one.
    white album...one of the rock records ive listened to the most in the last three years. they run thru the rainbow of moods on this one. strangely, its one of the only ones not in the house when i was growing up so it was somewhat new to me (altho i vaguely recall listening to it on a walkman when i was ten)

    sorry to be boring and repetitive, but those are classic albums for a reason

  • SunfadeSunfade 799 Posts
    The Clash - Combat Rock
    When a counselor at camp laid this on me as a child I realized you don't have to define what kind of music your band represents. It drew from so many influences (although at the time I was unaware). Plus the synthesizer sounds in Rock The Casbah, to me, were the coolest things ever...

    Murphy's Law - Back With A Bong
    This band captured my heart when I was a teenager hitting hardcore shows in Boston. Another band that melded styles together (signs of early sampling bug?)

    Warlock Pinchers - Circusized Peanuts
    If you haven't heard it...I'm so sorry...the only band to ever get the rock/rap thing right...many styles melded. I was starting to get obsessed with sampling...which warlock pinchers incorporate jaw droppingly on there...here's one of my favorite songs off it...

  • asstroasstro 1,754 Posts
    The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta
    I grew up as a kid in a typical black neighborhood, rock music was for whiteboys, period. Classic rock especially, totally missed me. I hated (and still don't have much use for) the Beatles, Stones, Who, etc. Then this record came out and Frankie Crocker was playing "Voices Inside My Head" on WBLS everyday. I couldn't deny that I loved it. I went and bought this record, and even though I dug the shit out of it I would hide it from my friends so they wouldn't see it in my room and clown me. The shame of the secret rock fan.

    General Public - General Public
    I've told this story on here before, but this record was weirdly enough the gateway into all of the punk rock, hardcore, reggae, etc. That I ended up becoming obsessed with. I saw their video on MTV and liked this record and when I read about the members being from bands called the English Beat and The Specials I had to go find those records and hear them. And from those records I went backwards to the Clash and Public Image. And also back to Desmond Dekker and The Skatalites. And it just kept going...

    Bad Brains - ROIR Tape
    I had heard some hardcore and was kind of underwhelmed. The Dead Kennedys were funny and all but I wasn't in love with the genre, too whiteboy for me again. Then someone told me about these rastas who were the baddest band ever. Holy shit did this take my head off. They inspired me so much that I decided I had to learn guitar so I could play like them. And I'm still trying to do it, almost 30 years later.

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Joe Jackson - Look sharp

    Fishbone EP

    Replacements - sorry ma
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