Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. I’ve been asked time and time again things like “What did you listen to growing up, Bradley?” and “What music made you into the person you are today?”. Well, I’m here to answer that, as I’m discussing 100 of the albums that have had the most impact on me. Keep in mind this surely isn’t my top 100 favorites list, or top 100 albums of all time – it is simply a list of 100 albums that made me the person I am today. Without any of these albums, I wouldn’t have the musical diversity I currently enjoy. No matter what kind of music you enjoy, I also stress the importance of listening to new music you may not have heard before. There’s nothing better than discovering the next superstar.
I’m not going to waste your time too much, because I could go on all day about each one of these albums, and thousands more. Here’s a little background, though. I’m 25. I grew up watching the FUSE channel, and that channel is the singlemost reason why I listen to much of the music I do. That channel had everything – Steven’s Untitled Rock Show and Uranium were the two best ones, especially since Uranium had all the great extreme metal bands. I think the first video I watched on there was one of the big Story Of The Year singles, back in 8th grade in 2003. That was a time. I didn’t really use the Internet for much except playing games at the time, so I was still glued to the TV jamming tunes. And I still had Linkin Park, Jerome Bettis, and Albert Pujols posters around my uncle’s house. I truly miss these days.
Anyway, enough about that. I won’t go through every album, but I’ll highlight a few dozen of these for your enjoyment.
*The line in Alexisonfire’s song “Sharks and Danger” gets me every time. “Anxiety chokes me like razor wire. Who will keep me from lashing out?”
*I quite literally know every word to Linkin Park’s first two albums. I’m not sure a more memorable record exists for me than Hybrid Theory, at least as far as memorizing the lyrics go. I’ve also listened to Hybrid Theory more than any other album in my entire life. Protip: “Points Of Authority” and “A Place For My Head” are two of the best tracks LP ever wrote. Teen angst, personified. To give you an idea of how much LP means to me, read this article.
*In general, Deftones opened up a whole new world of music to my much younger self, but it was White Ponythat took me so long to explore and understand. Every time I listen, it’s the rare album I discover something new. Diamond Eyes was a shot in the arm and it reinvigorated my love affair with the band. Seriously, the number of bands influenced by Deftones is almost without measure.
*This list is strangely devoid of pop-punk, but that’s because it’s not a genre of music I was too fond of until a few years ago. YM@6’s Take Off Your Colours and Man Overboard’s Real Talk weren’t necessarily great records (the latter suffering from not very good lyrics), but they’re two of my favorite pop-punk records. Hearing the former in my first year of college made the boredom go by much faster. Seriously, the first half of that record is kickass. “Jealous Minds Think Alike” was the best choice for a single they could make, but the second half of the album doesn’t lag, either.
*Where do I start on Thrice? They’re one of the very few bands in history that changed their trademark sound around, reshaped it, and created something entirely new and unexpected (Deftones and Carcass are the two other notable examples). But Vheissu is a musical and lyrical masterpiece. It’s their White Pony, essentially, containing some of the most powerful songs in their catalogue (“Red Sky”, “For Miles”) and the most experimental (“Of Dust And Nations”, “Atlantic”) that are buoyed by atmospheric electronics. What a change from their previous post-hardcore sound. The Alchemy Index contains many of the ideas initially explored here, which makes it an even more special record.
*Underoath was an important band for me, especially Define The Great Line. Growing up in a Christian household was awkward at times, but I always felt good listening to Underoath. There’s so many religious bands that were just copying popular trends, but Underoath set them. “Writing On The Walls”, upon first listen, never wavered in its emotional impact on me, and it still doesn’t. “It’s all worth reaching for.”
*A Day To Remember, Anberlin, Poison The Well, Limp Bizkit, and Trivium all make me proud to be from Florida.
*I wasn’t really into black metal before I listened to Alcest and Deafheaven, but once I did, it was kind of a gateway to the more difficult stuff (Emperor, Altar Of Plagues). Alcest also made me want to discover even more obscure shoegaze bands (dear Lord, The Boo Radleys are overlooked).
*I can’t go without mentioning Atreyu. Seeing them once and only once, in 2008 (thanks, Nicole! I can never repay you for that) was one of the best moments in my life. First Atreyu song I ever heard was “Nevada’s Grace”, and I can thank a misclicked Limewire download for that discovery. The Curse rules, it’s got lyrics about vampires, broken relationships, and guitar solos everywhere. Perfect. “Who’s sleeping on my side of the bed tonight?”
*More metalcore jams – Eighteen Visions, Darkest Hour, Bullet For My Valentine, Funeral For A Friend, and especially Killswitch Engage. Timeless albums for me, especially Alive Or Just Breathing. Its positive lyrics backed up by Jesse Leach’s iconic vocals were exactly what I needed at the time. Howard Jones is also a fantastic vocalist, so this just boils down to personal preference to me.
*The classics are always important. Thanks for raising me right, dad! Van Halen and Boston come to mind – both iconic debut rock n’ roll records. Everyone who listened to Van Halen I wanted to shred on guitar. Even me, but sadly, my musical talent is lacking.
*First hardcore records I ever jammed? Hatebreed’s The Rise Of Brutality, Comeback Kid’s Wake The Dead, and Strife’s In This Defiance. I’m not the biggest hardcore fan, but there’s something about the energy and passion that keeps me coming back to it. These 3 records are super important to myself, for introducing me to bands like Defeater, Snapcase (also an important band), and Modern Life Is War. I was even lucky enough to interview Comeback Kid last year, which is obviously a huge milestone for me.
*The reason I listen to indie/electropop at all is because of Metric. So thanks for that, because it seems to be all I listen to right now. M83 to an extent – Before The Dawn Heals Us is a seriously brilliant record with touches of spacy shoegaze, too.
There’s dozens of other records here to check out. All of them have had a massive influence on me for one reason or another. What are some of yours?
