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. Tag along if you want…

The challenge: do this in fifteen minutes; as if nobody is judging your answers…

1. Magical Mystery Tour – The Beatles — This is where I started my musical foundation – on a 45. It’s also where my fave Beatles song came from (I am the Walrus)

2. 12 Greatest Hits Vol. 2 – Neil Diamond — I spent a lot of my early childhood driving around to stores with my mom. This cassette was always on in the car.

3. Totally Krossed Out – Kris Kross — If not for this, I may have listened to those 3 Neil Diamond tapes forever.

4. Doggystyle – Snoop Doggy Dogg — I was probably already listening to the radio at this point in my life, but for some reason rap was big, so I bought my first parental advisory tape.

5. Sixteen Stone – Bush — After already buying my first CDs (Ace of Base, Boyz II Men, TLC), I switched to my first passion, rock. This was during middle school and every song was a gem to me.

6. 311 – 311 — This was during the start of high school and again, every song was a gem. It was me listening to popular music, in the face of everyone thinking I was truly a nerd.

7. Cracked Rear View – Hootie and the Blowfish — This got me to buy my first guitar and learn to play that soft-pop-rock (a la Goo Goo Dolls, etc). I knew this album inside out and it brought me to my first concert.

8. Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind — Semi-Charmed Life was a huge single in High School and this album got me to buy my first electric guitar. During the time, I found it was musically different and lyrically great.

9. Dig Your Own Hole – Chemical Brothers — This album inspired my willingness to accept electronica into my life, as a new form of Jazz. If not for this, I probably wouldn’t have accepted New Deal, Tiesto, Disco Biscuits, or any number of other artists.

10. The Best of 1980-1990 – U2 — Sadly, I never really grew up with U2 in my life except for what was on the radio. This was the second U2 album I bought (after All That You Can’t Leave Behind), but it’s the body of songs that’s responsible for me into U2. I love Edge’s early guitar work.

11. Kid A – Radiohead — The start of my formative college years brought the explosion of alternative music to my collection. This was my first Radiohead, experimental, innovative, and sonically blowing out anything I’ve heard. I singularly owe the past 8 years and expansion of my musical tastes and cd collection to this album.

12. Tourist – St. Germain — The only album I can think of in my collection that I could listen to on repeat for the rest of my life and not go psychologically insane. I’ve spent countless hours studying and chilling to this album and it never gets old.

13. Parachutes – Coldplay — I never really got into Oasis beforehand because I found them Beatles-imposters (but reversed course about 3 years ago). This album was Britpop phase 2 and was sweet, acoustic, well-placed music. It’s still a stand out, eight years later.

14. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco — I bought this album because it got good reviews and it wasn’t bad. But I watched the documentary of the making of the album, and between hearing the business side of the album and the writing/recording side of the album, I gained a completely new appreciation for how Wilco worked.

15. The Bends – Radiohead — After starting off with Kid A, I went backwards through the Radiohead discography to see what I was missing out on. Although OK Computer was one of the most seminal works since The Beatles’s Sgt. Pepper’s, The Bends was really the core of what Radiohead was doing.

I could easily put another solid 5, but they said 15, so I put what I’ve listened to most of my life, in chronological order. And I’ve left rane off the list because that wouldn’t be fair.