15 Albums... My list.

Think of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world.


1. KISS - Dynasty (First KISS album, I always wanted to be Gene Simmons)

2. Metallica - Master of Puppets ("Frayed Ends of Sanity" is one of the best songs ever)

3. Billy Joel - Glass Houses ("You May Be Right" was a sort of theme song)

4. David Garza - Eyes Wide Open (One of the few musicians my sister turned me onto. He's sctuallyon the cover of INsite (insiteaustin.com) this month... "Fallen Angel" is the perfect love song.)

5. Darrell Scott - Aloha From Nashville (Amazing singer-songwriter who sings with more feeling than most I've heard)

6. Ruthie Foster - Runaway Soul (In 2002 I was covering the Old Settlers Music Festival and her producer, Lloyd Maines, told me she recorded the vocal tracks on this stellar album in one take. I didn't quite believe him..until I saw her live. Wow.)

7. Los Lobos - Just Another Band From East LA (The 2-CD set that everyone should have.)

8. Suicidal Tendencies - The Art of Rebellion ("I Wasn't Meant To Feel This/ Asleep At The Wheel" is awesome.)

9. Mark Chesnutt - Too Cold At Home (This was the album that made me start appreciating country music. "Brother Jukebox" is probably my favorite on an album of gold)

10. Terri Hendrix - Wilory Farm (It's been a pleasure to have known of Terri most of her career, and this is one amazing album.)

11. Styx - Kilroy was Here (I had this on tape as a kid, I wore out the first side.)

12. Guy Forsyth - Love Songs: For and Against (I placed this CD in my player and didn't take it out for about a year. "Heart Shaped Hole" is a monster.)

13. John Prine - Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings (In college a friend introduced me to this one. I had only heard "Ain't Hurtin' Nobody" before... but when I heard this one my whole image shifted)

14. N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (Opened my little anglo suburbanite mind to a whole different world)

15. Edwin McCain - Honor Among Thieves (Between "Solitude,"Jesters, Dreamers, and Thieves" and "3 A.M." this is one is more amazing each time I hear it.

There are quite a few more I could cite (Vallejo, Willie Nelson,Bay City Rollers, Ozzy, Walt Wilkins, Slayer, Oak Ridge Boys, Terror, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Green Day, George Carlin, Alligator Records, Van Morrison, Jonny Lang).. but these give a good representation... Yes, I'm a goofball.