15 albums

Think of 15 albums, CDs, LPs that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life. Dug into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Royally affected you, kicked you in the wazu, literally socked you in the gut, is what I mean. Then when you finish, tag 15 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill.

These are all albums I know every note of. I'm a gaywad; be warned.

1. Amy Grant, Unguarded – in fifth grade I got this album and so did Natalie Lane and Ashley Rogers. We listened to it constantly and made an Amy Grant scrapbook and had sleepovers where we only listened to this and we practiced our signatures to look like Amy’s and did our hair like hers.

2. Michael W. Smith, The Big Picture – I got this in sixth grade and had a ginormous poster of the cover in my room that was bigger than my door.

3. U2, Joshua Tree – I read in a magazine about this when it came out. I was 13 and it was the first “secular” album I bought. I listened to it a lot and One Tree Hill would make me cry. I know.

4. Nirvana, Nevermind – I got this in 1992. I used to listen to this on my walkman (walkman!) when running for soccer.

5. James Taylor, Greatest Hits – in the summer of 1993 I was at a Christian thing in Colorado Springs all summer and this was the only non-christian music they let us listen to, so this is all we listened to.

6. Alice in Chains, Dirt – I got this in 1993. It was never out of my reach for about four years after that.

7. Smashing Pumpkins, Siamese Dream – my roommate Morgan had this our freshman year and it’s all we listened to that whole semester.

8. Green Day, Dookie – I bought this the summer of 1994. I couldn’t get enough of it, it always made me happy.

9. Helmet, Betty – I got this without wanting it from the Columbia record company but when I listened to it I was in love and listened to it constantly from Sept. 1994 till the end of the summer 1995.

10. Primus, Pork Soda – I bought this my sophomore year of college in 1995 and listened to it every day for a year. I loved how the bass and drums sound together.

11. Beck, Odelay – I bought it the summer of 1996 and it didn’t leave my car cd player for at least a year.

12. Radiohead, OK Computer – I got this in 1998, right before when David and I were getting together. That’s what it reminds me of.

13. Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen – David had this and I was obsessed with it. His lyrics and his playing and the song “Song For The Dumped” and “Evaporated.”

14. Foo Fighters, The Colour and the Shape – This became my favorite album the summer of 1997 when I lived in Dallas and hated life and this album kept me going, more or less.

15. Supergrass, In It For the Money – I bought this in spring 1998 after I read that Dave Grohl said that Supergrass was the best live band he’d ever heard. It became my favorite album and it’s still my favorite album of all time, ever.

I'm adding one more:

16. Supergrass, Diamond Hoo-Ha Man – This came out last year. I love it so much I think it has altered my brain chemistry.