Growing up I always had go-to albums. These were the discs I perpetually turned to, wearing out the grooves. As I got older, my relationships and budget gave me the opportunity to diversify and expand my tastes. But looking back, there were 15 albums (all since converted to CD or MP3 and still in the rotation) I played day in and day out.
In alphabetical order, because it's impossible to rank these:
1. The Beatles "Meet the Beatles"
The first album I ever owned. Enough said.
2. Black Sabbath "Paranoid"
Under many starry summer nights in the summer of '72 .
3. Boston "Boston"
The soundtrack to junior year of high school.
4. Deep Purple "Made in Japan"
Most of these listens were on 8-track in a hippie van.
5. Peter Frampton "Frampton Comes Alive"
This was everywhere in 1976 and 1977.
6. Grand Funk Railroad "Caught in the Act"
Mark Farner was so cool. A very underrated front man.
7. KISS "Alive!"
I painted a mural on my bedroom wall of this album cover.
8. Lynyrd Skynyrd "One More From the Road"
The pinnacle listen of my Southern rock stage.
9. Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon"
This is probably on everyone's list with good reason.
10. Rush "All the World's a Stage"
These three kids from Canada blew me away.
11. Bruce Springsteen "Born to Run"
Perhaps one of the most perfectly recorded albums.
12. Steppenwolf "Live"
In the early '70s, live albums really sounded live.
13. The Who "Quadrophenia"
Hands down, my favorite album of all-time.
14. Frank Zappa "Joe's Garage, Acts I, II and III"
I loved blaring this out of our dorm window at Geneseo.
15. ZZ Top "Deguello"
This is all I listened to in 1980.
