Top 10 Influential Albums from Teenage Years

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

So here’s the corollary to my pre-teens top ten. There's a theory that the music you listen to in your teens is the most influential, though not necessarily what you will listen to long-term; and that the music you listen to in your mid-twenties is likely to be what you listen to for the rest of your life. I've compressed the theory somewhat, but google will help you if you want to read more.
Every couple of years social media this theory gets passed around in the form of lists of the ten most influential albums from one's teenage years. I definitely think the influences from pre-teen experiences are just as important, and possibly even more so. While I can identify how my music tastes changed in my teens, what I was exposed to in my pre-teens remains very much present in my current tastes.

Strangely, I found this lost harder to compile than that for me pre-teens, which again makes me wonder if the influences of teenage influences are perhaps overstated, and those of the pre-teens overlooked unduly. The first thing I had to think about, though, was how to work out what my teen years were, so long ago they were! 😱

Technically they are from the end of 1988 to the end of 1995, but it made more sense to me to look at the period from 1 Jan 1989 to 31 Dec 1995, rather than from 5 Sep 1988 to 4 Sep 1995, as educational years run from Jan-Dec in New Zealand. Thus, 1989 was my first year of high school, and due to not going to university immediately after high school, 1995 was my first year of university.

When I started thinking about this period, a lot of albums immediately came to mind - and I mean, a lot! It took quite a bit of thinking to whittle them down. But I think the following are quite representative of the most influential albums of my teen years.

I was already listening to bands and artists like Genesis, Rush, Queen, Roxy Music, and David Bowie (to name just a few) that were within the greater prog universe, before my teen years, and they actually became less significant in my teen years. Mainly, because my teen years were (for the most part, and with the odd exception) thoroughly miserable.

1. Singles OST
2. The Crow OST

These two soundtracks spoke to the miserable teenager that I was, and introduced me to so much music I was, and would have likely remained, unaware of. I might have heard of some of the bands, but had never bothered to investigate. I bought several albums from bands featured on these soundtracks, without listening to them (because that was what we did in those days), just because I loved so many of the tracks on the soundtracks. The bands from The Crow, especially, started to broaden my musical horizons considerably.

3. Dirt - Alice in Chains

I had heard of Alice in Chains, but not heard anything from them until I bought the Singles soundtrack. I bought Dirt, and I was blown away. If anything could speak for teenage misery, this could. This may well have been the most-played album of my teenage years. It also spurned a somewhat addictive phase of buying many bands from the Seattle or Pacific Northwest area. And given that, despite a media-given label, most of these bands sounded nothing like each other, again my musical horizons were broadened.

4. Greatest Hits II - Queen
5. Outside - David Bowie

I hadn't really listened to either Queen or Bowie for years, despite both being some of my first musical purchases. But after Freddy's death, I (along with many others, I'm sure) went out and purchased Greatest Hits II on cd, and then started buying my way back through their catalogue. (I already had Greatest Hits, Queen, Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack on cassette, which were some of my earliest musical purchases, but in my Queen spree, I upgraded these albums to cds) I think my mum was quite glad of this slightly addicted musical phase I went through, as it was some of the only music I listened to that wasn't black and dark and depressing!

In terms of Bowie, I had liked him for ages, but the last thing I had bought from him was (again, on cassette) Never Let Me Down. I sort of lost interest in him, probably because the NZ media had lost interest in him too. I don't recall ever hearing any Tin Machine on the radio, and the only song I ever heard from Black Noise was Jump. Outside was the album that brought me back into Bowie, and remains one of my favourite of his albums (second only to Blackstar). Technically, it was released outside my teen years (albeit only by a couple of weeks), but there's no doubting the influence of this album, in my future musical life.

6. Neil Young - Sleeps with Angels

I never disliked Neil Young, but I wasn't really familiar at all with a lot of his discography. Until Sleeps with Angels, I associated Neil Young with the songs like Heart of Gold that were played on the radio, and assumed that's what he always sounded like. This album blew me away, and I ended up buying quite a bit of Neil Young. When his next album was released with Pearl Jam as his backing band, a couple of my musical worlds briefly collided.

7. Extreme - III Sides to Every Story

In my pre-teens, and probably the first couple of years of my teens, listening to longer songs was not unusual, because of the bands I listened to. But as I became older, shorter songs became the norm. I think teenage years are often those when angry young folk turn to punk or metal, etc. Because "grunge" hit during my teenage years, then those bands were my punk/metal.

Regardless, even though I knew, owned, and enjoyed longer songs, it wasn't until Extreme and Neil Young (above) that I started listening to longer songs again. Extreme was also influential for me, in that they were not really a socially acceptable band to like. (Not that I was a socially accepted teen anyway, but generally speaking a lot of what I listened to, was what a lot of other people listened to also.)

And a realisation, I guess, that I didn't really care what other people thought of what I listened to. That's a pretty important realisation to come to, and one I think a lot of people never do. After all, how often do you hear someone ask about or talk about a "guilty musical pleasure". I have no guilty pleasure. Why should I feel guilty about listening to something I like?

8. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine

Like nothing else I owned or listened to. Although I enjoyed quite a bit of the hip hop I heard - and particularly the New Zealand hip hop which sounded noticeably different to my ears than the US hip hop, it would be a few more years yet before I bought any hip hop (and yes, I do have a lot of hip hop albums in my collection), I have a feeling Rage Against the Machine was really my gateway into hip hop, even if it is not really a hip hop album per se.  I don’t think I would likely ever have made the effort, despite enjoying heat I heard, had I not bought RATM.

Like Korn (below), this album is influential in how much it forced me (or, I guess, I forced myself) to expand my musical horizons. I think after RATM, I never dismissed an album without listening to it again, nor ever told someone what I thought they listened to was alright, but not really for me. I think I finally realised that there is something for everything, even if it wasn't for me. And, equally, that a lot of the stuff out there might be for me, too, if I actually gave it a chance.

9. Korn - Korn

This is a weird one, and it's only influential in retrospect. I certainly never realised at the time, what this album purchase would do for me. It's also an album, that shows me just how different an influential album list can be from a favourite album list. This would never be on a favourite albums of my teenage years, but I can't deny it a place on a list of the most influential albums of my teenage years.

I'm pretty sure I didn't even like this when I bought it. I think I bought it as a protest or a statement, or some equally silly miserably teenage idea. It was the heaviest, angriest thing I'd ever bought, and the vocals were the harshest I'd ever bought. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't managed to get used to the vocals in Korn, I'd never have managed to listen to Opeth, who were my gateway drug into a world of extreme metal. In more general terms, listening to Korn, generated an interest in heavier music in general. Up until Korn, the heaviest you'd hear in my music would be Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, or some of the heavier Seattle bands.

10. Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons

This is the luckiest album on the list, as I didn't purchase it. A friend brought it back from Japan. He'd bought it over there, and found it not to his taste, so gave it to me because he thought I would enjoy it - which I did. (He's changed his mind subsequently, and I think he did end up buying the album again, for himself.) Again, this was released outside my teenage years by a couple of weeks, and it was another couple of weeks or so before it was mine - but I still stand by my reasoning that sticking to the educational years in which my teenage years existed makes more sense than when I actually turned 13 or 20. As aforementioned, I already liked Rush, so this wasn't completely unfamiliar to me - but it was like Rush on steroids. Dream Theater were not easily available in NZ at the time (and I have no idea if they are now, since I now live in the UK), so one of the first albums I bought while visiting the US in Dec 95 was Awake.

A couple of honourable mentions, now. I decided to ignore any albums which I listened to, that were not released in the period I have ascribed to my teenage years - no matter how influential they might have been. One of those was a compilation released in early 1995 (and therefore in my teenage years), but as it was of music released before my teens, I ignored that. Other influential, but out of time, albums I first listened to in my teens:

Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Joy Division - Permanent
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Other albums which were contemporary, but didn't quite make the list:

Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
nick_h_nz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Collaborator Prog Metal / Heavy Prog Team Joined: March 01 2013 Location: Suffolk, UK Status: Offline Points: 6737	Post Options Post Reply Quote nick_h_nz Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Top 10 Influential Albums from Teenage Years Posted: January 19 2021 at 12:28
	So here’s the corollary to my pre-teens top ten. There's a theory that the music you listen to in your teens is the most influential, though not necessarily what you will listen to long-term; and that the music you listen to in your mid-twenties is likely to be what you listen to for the rest of your life. I've compressed the theory somewhat, but google will help you if you want to read more. Every couple of years social media this theory gets passed around in the form of lists of the ten most influential albums from one's teenage years. I definitely think the influences from pre-teen experiences are just as important, and possibly even more so. While I can identify how my music tastes changed in my teens, what I was exposed to in my pre-teens remains very much present in my current tastes. Strangely, I found this lost harder to compile than that for me pre-teens, which again makes me wonder if the influences of teenage influences are perhaps overstated, and those of the pre-teens overlooked unduly. The first thing I had to think about, though, was how to work out what my teen years were, so long ago they were! 😱 Technically they are from the end of 1988 to the end of 1995, but it made more sense to me to look at the period from 1 Jan 1989 to 31 Dec 1995, rather than from 5 Sep 1988 to 4 Sep 1995, as educational years run from Jan-Dec in New Zealand. Thus, 1989 was my first year of high school, and due to not going to university immediately after high school, 1995 was my first year of university. When I started thinking about this period, a lot of albums immediately came to mind - and I mean, a lot! It took quite a bit of thinking to whittle them down. But I think the following are quite representative of the most influential albums of my teen years. I was already listening to bands and artists like Genesis, Rush, Queen, Roxy Music, and David Bowie (to name just a few) that were within the greater prog universe, before my teen years, and they actually became less significant in my teen years. Mainly, because my teen years were (for the most part, and with the odd exception) thoroughly miserable. 1. Singles OST 2. The Crow OST These two soundtracks spoke to the miserable teenager that I was, and introduced me to so much music I was, and would have likely remained, unaware of. I might have heard of some of the bands, but had never bothered to investigate. I bought several albums from bands featured on these soundtracks, without listening to them (because that was what we did in those days), just because I loved so many of the tracks on the soundtracks. The bands from The Crow, especially, started to broaden my musical horizons considerably. 3. Dirt - Alice in Chains I had heard of Alice in Chains, but not heard anything from them until I bought the Singles soundtrack. I bought Dirt, and I was blown away. If anything could speak for teenage misery, this could. This may well have been the most-played album of my teenage years. It also spurned a somewhat addictive phase of buying many bands from the Seattle or Pacific Northwest area. And given that, despite a media-given label, most of these bands sounded nothing like each other, again my musical horizons were broadened. 4. Greatest Hits II - Queen 5. Outside - David Bowie I hadn't really listened to either Queen or Bowie for years, despite both being some of my first musical purchases. But after Freddy's death, I (along with many others, I'm sure) went out and purchased Greatest Hits II on cd, and then started buying my way back through their catalogue. (I already had Greatest Hits, Queen, Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack on cassette, which were some of my earliest musical purchases, but in my Queen spree, I upgraded these albums to cds) I think my mum was quite glad of this slightly addicted musical phase I went through, as it was some of the only music I listened to that wasn't black and dark and depressing! In terms of Bowie, I had liked him for ages, but the last thing I had bought from him was (again, on cassette) Never Let Me Down. I sort of lost interest in him, probably because the NZ media had lost interest in him too. I don't recall ever hearing any Tin Machine on the radio, and the only song I ever heard from Black Noise was Jump. Outside was the album that brought me back into Bowie, and remains one of my favourite of his albums (second only to Blackstar). Technically, it was released outside my teen years (albeit only by a couple of weeks), but there's no doubting the influence of this album, in my future musical life. 6. Neil Young - Sleeps with Angels I never disliked Neil Young, but I wasn't really familiar at all with a lot of his discography. Until Sleeps with Angels, I associated Neil Young with the songs like Heart of Gold that were played on the radio, and assumed that's what he always sounded like. This album blew me away, and I ended up buying quite a bit of Neil Young. When his next album was released with Pearl Jam as his backing band, a couple of my musical worlds briefly collided. 7. Extreme - III Sides to Every Story In my pre-teens, and probably the first couple of years of my teens, listening to longer songs was not unusual, because of the bands I listened to. But as I became older, shorter songs became the norm. I think teenage years are often those when angry young folk turn to punk or metal, etc. Because "grunge" hit during my teenage years, then those bands were my punk/metal. Regardless, even though I knew, owned, and enjoyed longer songs, it wasn't until Extreme and Neil Young (above) that I started listening to longer songs again. Extreme was also influential for me, in that they were not really a socially acceptable band to like. (Not that I was a socially accepted teen anyway, but generally speaking a lot of what I listened to, was what a lot of other people listened to also.) And a realisation, I guess, that I didn't really care what other people thought of what I listened to. That's a pretty important realisation to come to, and one I think a lot of people never do. After all, how often do you hear someone ask about or talk about a "guilty musical pleasure". I have no guilty pleasure. Why should I feel guilty about listening to something I like? 8. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine Like nothing else I owned or listened to. Although I enjoyed quite a bit of the hip hop I heard - and particularly the New Zealand hip hop which sounded noticeably different to my ears than the US hip hop, it would be a few more years yet before I bought any hip hop (and yes, I do have a lot of hip hop albums in my collection), I have a feeling Rage Against the Machine was really my gateway into hip hop, even if it is not really a hip hop album per se. I don’t think I would likely ever have made the effort, despite enjoying heat I heard, had I not bought RATM. Like Korn (below), this album is influential in how much it forced me (or, I guess, I forced myself) to expand my musical horizons. I think after RATM, I never dismissed an album without listening to it again, nor ever told someone what I thought they listened to was alright, but not really for me. I think I finally realised that there is something for everything, even if it wasn't for me. And, equally, that a lot of the stuff out there might be for me, too, if I actually gave it a chance. 9. Korn - Korn This is a weird one, and it's only influential in retrospect. I certainly never realised at the time, what this album purchase would do for me. It's also an album, that shows me just how different an influential album list can be from a favourite album list. This would never be on a favourite albums of my teenage years, but I can't deny it a place on a list of the most influential albums of my teenage years. I'm pretty sure I didn't even like this when I bought it. I think I bought it as a protest or a statement, or some equally silly miserably teenage idea. It was the heaviest, angriest thing I'd ever bought, and the vocals were the harshest I'd ever bought. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't managed to get used to the vocals in Korn, I'd never have managed to listen to Opeth, who were my gateway drug into a world of extreme metal. In more general terms, listening to Korn, generated an interest in heavier music in general. Up until Korn, the heaviest you'd hear in my music would be Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, or some of the heavier Seattle bands. 10. Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons This is the luckiest album on the list, as I didn't purchase it. A friend brought it back from Japan. He'd bought it over there, and found it not to his taste, so gave it to me because he thought I would enjoy it - which I did. (He's changed his mind subsequently, and I think he did end up buying the album again, for himself.) Again, this was released outside my teenage years by a couple of weeks, and it was another couple of weeks or so before it was mine - but I still stand by my reasoning that sticking to the educational years in which my teenage years existed makes more sense than when I actually turned 13 or 20. As aforementioned, I already liked Rush, so this wasn't completely unfamiliar to me - but it was like Rush on steroids. Dream Theater were not easily available in NZ at the time (and I have no idea if they are now, since I now live in the UK), so one of the first albums I bought while visiting the US in Dec 95 was Awake. A couple of honourable mentions, now. I decided to ignore any albums which I listened to, that were not released in the period I have ascribed to my teenage years - no matter how influential they might have been. One of those was a compilation released in early 1995 (and therefore in my teenage years), but as it was of music released before my teens, I ignored that. Other influential, but out of time, albums I first listened to in my teens: Black Sabbath - Paranoid Joy Division - Permanent Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Other albums which were contemporary, but didn't quite make the list: Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog
	Reviewer for The Progressive Aspect

Lewian Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: August 09 2015 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 14103	Post Options Post Reply Quote Lewian Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 13:53
	That's a hard one because my musical taste exploded at age 13-15 (that'd be from 1980 onwards). The biggest influences that come to my mind now Manfred Mann's Earthband - Watch (the album that started it all) Pink Floyd - "Two Originals" - that'd be a double album from their first two, released at the time that a friend had who got into prog at about the same time as me, and Animals Tangerine Dream - Rubycon (this opened a totally different world of sounds to me) Eloy - Live (they became my favourite band for some years) King Crimson - Discipline (another eye opener for how music could be done) I also discovered some post punk: The Cure - Faith The Comsat Angels - Sleep No More The first "classical" thing that really hit me (even if it is not correctly labelled "classical") was Stravinsky's La Sacre Du Printemps, I think this was still in my teens. Ah! Actually I could really name all kinds of great stuff that I heard for the first time in my teens... Can - Soon Over Babaluma, Kate Bush - The Dreaming, my first Art Zoyd and Amon Düül II listening experiences, Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring (a band that I had been following for a few years before they finally hit it big time with that one),... Edited by Lewian - January 19 2021 at 13:55

Logan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum & Site Admin Group Site Admin Joined: April 05 2006 Location: @ wicker man Status: Offline Points: 32601	Post Options Post Reply Quote Logan Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 14:16
	Pink Floyd (everything up to and including The Wall) Led Zeppelin -- especially Houses of the Holy and Physical Grafitti Das Boot soundtrack Midnight Express soundtrack Cat People soundtrack The Cure - Disintegration Kitaro - Oasis and others Laurie Anderson - Big Science Kate Bush - The Kick Inside Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsies and Are You Experienced? Santana - self-titled and Abraxas Cream - Wheels of Fire Yes - Fragile Midnight Oil - Dirt, Dust & Diesel various Simon & Garfunkel
	Just a fanboy passin' through.

Nogbad_The_Bad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum & Site Admin Group RIO/Avant/Zeuhl & Eclectic Team Joined: March 16 2007 Location: Boston Status: Offline Points: 20177	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nogbad_The_Bad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 14:20
	Rainbow - Rising ACDC - Highway To Hell Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast Leonard Cohen - New Skin For The Old Ceremony Neil Young - After The Goldrush King Crimson - Larks Tongues In Aspic Roy Harper - HQ JJ Cale - Troubadour Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
	Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/

Psychedelic Paul Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: September 16 2019 Location: Nottingham, U.K Status: Online Points: 34698	Post Options Post Reply Quote Psychedelic Paul Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 14:47
	Top 10 Teenage Years Albums ABBA - Arrival Boston - Boston Camel - Moonmadness The Eagles - Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning Demis Roussos - Forever and Ever Tangerine Dream - Stratosfear Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth I still like all of these albums now, over 40 years later, so my tastes in music haven't really changed that much over the years - they've just broadened out more. Edited by Psychedelic Paul - January 19 2021 at 14:52

Shadowyzard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: February 24 2020 Location: Davutlar Status: Offline Points: 4506	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shadowyzard Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 15:07
	Bruce Dickinson - Balls to Picasso Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth Great White - Once Bitten (My first CD, others were all in cassette format.) Therion - Theli Therion - Vovin Cradle of Filth - Dusk... and Her Embrace Cradle of Filth - Cruelty and the Beast Megadeth - Youthanasia Amorphis - Tuonela

Tancos Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: January 03 2021 Location: Emerald City Status: Offline Points: 463	Post Options Post Reply Quote Tancos Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 15:16
	Simon and Garfunkel, Bookends Buffalo Springfield, Retrospective The Beatles, "White Album," Sergeant Pepper The Nice, "America" (Just the one tune, but it was an ear-opener. It would be several years before I found any Nice albums in the imports bin.) Procol Harum, Shine on Brightly The Wurst of P.D.Q. Bach I was still technically a teen-ager when I started college, so from my freshman year: Songs by Tom Lehrer Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Inner Mounting Flame Fairport Convention, Liege and Lief Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One, first half. (Isolde Ahlgrimm, harpsichord) Edited by Tancos - January 19 2021 at 15:59

progaardvark Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Collaborator Crossover/Symphonic/RPI Teams Joined: June 14 2007 Location: Sea of Peas Status: Offline Points: 48652	Post Options Post Reply Quote progaardvark Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 15:30
	My teen years were spent saving up money and walking about 2 1/2 miles to a record store on Saturdays. This would have been in the 1980s, but I was still buying a lot of 1970s stuff. I'm just guessing here at a top 10 because I'm sure by 1988 (age 19) I must've had about 250-300 LPs. I'm going to ignore the albums I listed for pre-teens and give a whole new list. Some of those albums from pre-teens were just as influential in teen years Pink Floyd - Ummagumma Genesis - Selling England by the Pound Genesis - Duke Rush - Grace Under Pressure Yes - The Yes Album Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth The Fixx - Shuttered Room Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers Pete Townshend - White City David Gilmour - About Face
	---------- i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag that's a happy bag of lettuce this car smells like cartilage nothing beats a good video about fractions

Tapfret Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 12 2007 Location: Bryant, Wa Status: Offline Points: 8571	Post Options Post Reply Quote Tapfret Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 15:37
	So 1982 thru the beginning of 1989. A lot of stuff was happening. Mostly the painful blooming of unrealized individuality, the birth of my political awareness, acne, and untimely erections. All conspiring to form this stew of delights (again, chronologically by discovery): Heavy Metal (OST) Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind Black Flag - Everything Went Black (compilation) Circle Jerks - Group Sex Venom - At War with Satan DRI - Dealing With It Slayer - Haunting the Chapel Red Scare - Then There Were None Pink Floyd - The Wall Subhumans - Worlds Apart Rush - A Farewell to Kings Slayer - Reign in Blood Peter Tosh - Equal Rights Voivod - Dimension Hatross Michael Hedges - Live on the Double Planet Edited by Tapfret - January 19 2021 at 15:39
	Bandcamp

Shadowyzard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: February 24 2020 Location: Davutlar Status: Offline Points: 4506	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shadowyzard Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 15:54
	I wanted to add Children of Bodom - Something Wild too. I bought its cassette in 1997 or 1998 (teenage years). I was listening to it all the time while reading Stephen King's legendary The Dark Tower book series. R.I.P. again Alexi Laiho. Thanks for enriching my imagination!

JD Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: February 07 2009 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 18371	Post Options Post Reply Quote JD Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 16:07
	Old fart weighing in here... Teen years officially started in 1971. To that end it was ELP's first that first caught my ears the summer before and I couldn't get enough of them going forward.Obviously being a teen of the 70's should tell you all you need to know for someone who is a fan of prog rock. My older cousin (by 4 years) was turning me onto some heavier stuff that she listened to, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk, Black Sabbath etc., as well as bands like Humble Pie, Allman Brothers, James Gang, Long John Baldry. Pre-teen it was semi psych (Tommy James & The Shondells' Crimson and Clover or Tom Northcott's Who Planted Thorns In Miss Alice's Garden type stuff) and, admittedly, some bubble gum bands (The Ohio Express Yummy Yummy Yummy type stuff).
	Thank you for supporting independently produced music

someone_else Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: May 02 2008 Location: Going Bananas Status: Offline Points: 23993	Post Options Post Reply Quote someone_else Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 16:15
	1972-1979 were my teenage years. In most cases, I mention the albums by the respective bands that I first heard: Pink Floyd - Relics (anything actually, but my prog collection started with Relics) Yes - Close to the Edge Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells Genesis - Selling England by the Pound ELP - Brain Salad Surgery Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick Tangerine Dream - Ricochet Klaus Schulze - Mirage Camel - The Snow Goose UK - Danger Money Honourable mention: Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (I heard Nick Drake for the first time less than a month before my teens ended) Edited by someone_else - January 19 2021 at 16:16


Man With Hat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Collaborator Jazz-Rock/Fusion/Canterbury Team Joined: March 12 2005 Location: Neurotica Status: Offline Points: 166178	Post Options Post Reply Quote Man With Hat Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 16:38
	It was 2004-2005 where my love of music really exploded, coinciding with my being introduced to prog. There is still a little bit prior to this which involved albums that I really loved (and listened through all the way, multiple times, day after day) which I'm sure influenced me to enjoy how prog thinks (at least in terms of it being 'album' music and not singles music). I'll try to limit the prog here, as I can easily make a top 10 with just prog, as once I discovered it I was pretty much running full out and influencing was more or less over. They Might Be Giants - Best Of (as I said in the other thread, this was probably around the break point for the two threads, but I'll include this here, as I included Nirvana's Nevermind in the previous one) Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant (this one is also on the boarderline) System Of A Down - Toxicity and/or S/t Flogging Molly - Swagger Lee Press On And The Nails - Swing Is Dead Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot The Industrial Jazz Group - City Of Angels King Crimson - Discipline Gentle Giant - Interview Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick I gave one extra, as I shortchanged the other thread.
	Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.

The Dark Elf Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: February 01 2011 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 12656	Post Options Post Reply Quote The Dark Elf Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 16:40
	Hmmm...distilling it down to ten albums in my teens would be difficult (I could just say every album released by Floyd, Tull, Yes, Sabbath, Zeppelin, etc.), but I'll give it a go... Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti: the first Zeppelin album I could say was legitimately "mine". Bought it on the day of release, loved it ever since. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here: again, like Physical Graffiti, we were at the store on day one and took it home and listened over and over. Jethro Tull - Songs From the Wood: I could have easily said Aqualung, Thick as a Brick or Living in the Past, all which I really loved, but SFTW was my first Tull concert tour. Neil Young - Harvest: It could well have been After the Gold Rush, but I think the first Young song I played on acoustic guitar was either Heart of Gold or Needle and the Damage Done. Yes - The Yes Album: I just remember the Starship Trooper outro going on forever, and I didn't want it to end. Traffic - Low Spark of High Heeled Boys: I still listen to this to relax. beautiful and trance-inducing. Alice Cooper - School's Out: the gateway drug to the Coop's earlier darker and best albums Love It To Death and Killer. Saw Alice for my first concert ever, and immediately picked up the guitar (if you could do THAT onstage, then I was all in). Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: First Sabbath tour, enough said. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King: If you were a teenager and stoned in the 70s, this album was undoubtedly on the turntable. The Beatles - White Album: I didn't get to hear it in it's entirety before my teen years. Immediately became my favorite Beatles album. Five Bonus Live/Compilation Albums -- Deep Purple - Made In Japan: A monster on release, still one of the great live albums. *The Allman Brothers - At Fillmore East:* The album that instilled my love for the blues. Jimi Hendrix - In the West: Hendrix plays a 13 minute version of Red House. Jesus Christ! The Doors - Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine: If I was up at 3:00 am in the morning, chances are this was playing. Jethro Tull - Living In The Past: No one in the States considered this a compilation album back in '73. It was Tull's new album with a few old standards thrown in. Edited by The Dark Elf - January 19 2021 at 16:45
	...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...

nick_h_nz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Collaborator Prog Metal / Heavy Prog Team Joined: March 01 2013 Location: Suffolk, UK Status: Offline Points: 6737	Post Options Post Reply Quote nick_h_nz Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 19 2021 at 16:46
	Man, some of these lists are awesome. I was definitely not listening to such cool stuff when I was a teen. Perhaps I might have been had grunge not hit like it did, at more or less the perfect point of my life where I didn’t really want to live, but didn’t have the balls to kill myaelf. (Whoever said suicide is the coward’s way out has clearly never been that low. Suicide takes bravery, not cowardice.)
	Reviewer for The Progressive Aspect

Sean Trane Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Prog Folk Joined: April 29 2004 Location: Heart of Europe Status: Offline Points: 19597	Post Options Post Reply Quote Sean Trane Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: January 20 2021 at 00:51
	OK, as I said in the other pre-teen topic, I started my record-buying career with the greatest prog album, starting with Crime of the Century (first bought and on the day of release), DSOTM, Fragile, TAAB, Aqualung, SEBTP, ITCOTCK, ITLOG&P, (and many more) and needless to say that they've been highly influential in what I am today. Of course my "teen years" (which I'd personally qualify as from 74 until 81), not only prog albums influenced me: such albums like Sad Wings Of Destiny, Rainbow Rising, Babylon By Bus, Handsworth Revolution, Paranoid, Ricochet, Outlandos d'Amour, London Calling, Bat Out Of Hell and plenty more. However, in terms of modifying a bit my life (in philosophocal terms), I'd say Sergeant Pepper (my english teacher used that record to teach us the English language), Crime Of The Century (alienation) , Dark Side (also alienation) Bat Out Of Hell (rebellion and teen life), Babylon (ganja smoking), Outlandos Calling (rebell stuff) certainly helped shape me. Neil's Rust Never Sleeps (the tour that was captured on Live Rust) also had a deep impression on me. =============== When veering in my third deceny (or decade) at 20, I wasn't fond of 80's soniics and I +/- turned the radio (and MTV) off and went on to discover JR/F and Jazz. I would return to rock arounf-d the grunge and RHCPeppers, and the Swedish prog trimlogy in the early 90's. A couple of years later I discovered most of the avant/RIO prog bands.
	let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword

Ronstein Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: October 13 2020 Location: Wiltshire, UK Status: Offline Points: 1275	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ronstein Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 20 2021 at 05:21
	My musical education was from three strands. When I moved from a small local Primary School to a Grammar School in a town, I was exposed to all sorts of conversation about music I'd never heard of (all of which was stuff I 'must' listen to). Through this I started listening to Radio Luxembourg and the UK Pirate Radio (in my dad's car, as the radio in the house was for adults only!!) and heard a load more stuff. Then the friends locally all started to get into different stuff as they moved on to other senior schools, which created a huge melting pot of music. As this was 1964 onward, it really was a melting pot too. Then there was going into record shops and listening booths (remember those!!). Album swaps (I swapped a Lemon Pipers album for Safe as Milk by Captain Beefheart with no idea what I was getting) also led to exposure to new stuff and then, a few years later, gigs came along. As a result, I enjoy music from most genre's and, especially, enjoy live music. It also tempted me to pick up the guitar and tinker around on the piano which I still do 50+ years later. Caravan - If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You Genesis - Trespass Pink Floyd - Piper At The Gates Of Dawn Beatles - Revolver John Williams - 20 Studies For The Guitar Stravinsky - The Rites Of Spring Aaron Copeland - Rodeo The Allman Brothers Band - Eat A Peach The Monkees - More Of The Monkees Various - Morris On Edited by Ronstein - January 20 2021 at 05:57

SteveG Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 11 2014 Location: Kyiv In Spirit Status: Offline Points: 20474	Post Options Post Reply Quote SteveG Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 20 2021 at 05:56
	Good thing you didn't swap the Lemon Pipers for Trout Mask Replica. My metalhead son loved The Wall but could never get into any other Floyd album. Rats.
	This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State.

Ronstein Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: October 13 2020 Location: Wiltshire, UK Status: Offline Points: 1275	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ronstein Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 20 2021 at 06:03
	That was Beefheart's only album at the time, but TMR would have definitely been too big a jump (and still is!!)

Nogbad_The_Bad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum & Site Admin Group RIO/Avant/Zeuhl & Eclectic Team Joined: March 16 2007 Location: Boston Status: Offline Points: 20177	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nogbad_The_Bad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 20 2021 at 06:04
	I should probably add I was listening to quite a lot of punkier stuff in my teens Joy Division - Closer Fischer Z - Word Salad Stiff Little Fingers Inflammable Material Devo - Are We Not Men? Stranglers - No More Heroes
	Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/