Don't Get Too Excited...
I have finally gotten here! When I joined this forum about 4 years ago I remember reading through loads of the archived 'Top 50' lists and discovering some great albums. I always planned doing one of these and life just always got in the way. I have hosted a roulette and also completed a few other threads that took a fair bit of time and effort. A couple of years ago I even had a 'Top 50' list all ready to go (which has since been revised).
It's only because Evermind has just starting doing his second list that the thought of doing my own list is back in the forefront of my mind. So you can thank (or blame) him for this.
Before I start I just want to give a little background to my musical journey and how I got here, with the tastes that I have. This list features what I consider to be my definitive (at this point in time) list of my top 50 albums of all time. I deliberated as to whether I should use a *one album per band* rule, as I know some of you have in the past. For me though, it just wouldn't work as I do want this to be a true list of my favourite all time albums. Basically, a lot of what I consider to be my favourite bands have just released too many stellar albums. Anyway, on to how I got to DTF, and this list...
Back when I was a kid I wasn't into music, like at all! I was obsessed with computer games (which will become apparent later) and football. I just didn't care for music, even though my Dad, older brother and older sister were all massively into music, which also had a big influence on my tastes, even though I didn't know it at the time. By the time I hit about 17 (which was in 2000) I started to develop an interest in hip-hop and rap. This was partly due to my brother making me a mix tape which featured Eminem, among others. My musical taste was also being influenced by computer games at the time (mainly Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Crazy Taxi, both of which had punk rock soundtracks). I started to actually enjoy listening to music. I moved out of my Mum's later that year and moved south to live with my Dad. I got my first job and my journey continued from there. I was still mainly into hip-hop but all the alternative music getting radio play at that time (Sum 41, Linkin Park, Blink 182) started changing my tastes and I started to want to listen to actual bands playing instruments and the call of the electric guitar had me.
Around this time a guy I used to work with brought in an album (as he often did) and started playing it at work. I was like "what the fuck is this? I know all these songs, this shit is amazing!". Turns out it was Metallica's 'Black Album'. My older brother, who is 8 years older than me and a massive metalhead, played that album to death in the early 90's (along with another album that will feature on this list later). I wasn't even aware as a kid that Metallica resonated with me so much, but they ended up being my gateway band. From here I went on a path that lead me through Metallica's discography (almost exclusively). I have a vivid memory of the moment when I left hip-hop behind and became a metalhead. I was in HMV, like a week after I'd heard 'The Black Album' at work, and I had 'Stoned Raiders' by Cypress Hill in one hand and 'The Black Album' in the other. I obviously went with Metallica and never really listened to hip-hop again. Around this same time I also started hanging out with a whole new circle of friends, leaving childhood friends behind and cementing friendships that have been really strong over the last 15-16 years. Two of my friends at that time used to listen to Green Day, ALL. THE. TIME. I was already open to punk rock and that band became a big deal to me. It also paved my way to getting into ska, ska punk and reggae. I continued for years following this to follow the path of metal and get into various sub genres.
That leads me to 2014, when I joined this incredible forum. I'd been on a bit of a Dream Theater kick (I'd been into them since 2005 but there were still some albums I'd never listened to) and ended up just exploring all the stuff I hadn't heard. I don't even know why I ended up here as I've never been one forums really (other than Wheel of Time ones). I just got to the point where I was fed up of hearing the same old thing and needed to find new bands out of my usual circle.
Anyway, all of this is just a bit of a back story. This list will be fairly different to a lot of 'Top 50' lists as mine features quite a lot of punk rock. I mean I have discovered some amazing music on this site but most of what I consider my favourite all time albums are albums I discovered before ever coming here. There are very few albums I discovered in the last four years on this list. Even though this list isn't really representative of my current tastes it does list the albums that have impacted me most.
I want to start with some honourable mentions as my list ended up totalling 66. I'll split them up into either two posts of 8 or for posts of 4. I'll get this started tonight and try to keep the pace up as best I can but work is always kicking my ass...
tl;dr basically...
WHEN I WAS A YOUNG BOY
Topic: Twosuitsluke's "Top 50 Albums" #44 - Is Only For the Weak... (Read 6754 times)