Here are 25 albums that changed my life, or had an impact anyway. This is a list I made for facebook.

1,2. Lester "Roadhog" Moran and His Cadillac Cowboys "Alive at the Johnny Mac Brown High School" & Midnight Star "No Parking on the Dance Floor". These were the first two albums I bought with my own money. I earned a couple bucks cutting grass and my dad took me to The Music Room in Greer. I don't know what made me pick these two but I spent all my money that day and I think it set the stage for the wide range of music I've enjoyed since then.

3. The Beastie Boys "License to Ill" I remember getting ready for school one morning I was in the the kitchen and the radio was on rock 101 WCKN. I was just about to walk out when "Fight for Your Right" came on. It was the best song I'd ever heard! I like Paul's Boutique" better but "License to I'll" was so new and I think had a bigger effect.

4. Metallica "Master of Puppets" Years ago there was a bad ass metal band called Metallica. They put out some amazing music. "Master of Puppets" was their greatest achievement. Then in 1986 disaster struck. While on tour the bus wrecked, the entire band was killed. Metallica, however, was still under contract. The record label allowed Cliff Burton's death to be reported but pretended the rest of the band was alive. Disney was hired to build robot Metallica. Fortunately the band had a record 90% finished. "...And Justic for All" was the last real Metallica album. One of the ways to tell the difference between Metallica and Robot Metallica is robot James Hetfield ends every line with raaaahhhh. That and robot Metallica sucks!

5. Violent Femmes "Violent Femmes" I think Matt Fischer turned me on to this one. He had an older brother and was able to introduce me to tons kinds of bands. This was an album that seemed to be written about the same feeling, insecurities, and awkwardness that I felt on a daily basis.

6. Pink Floyd "The Wall" Vince Harris and I failed Geometry because of albums like this. I think this is the first album I studied. We spent class time discussing which Pink Floyd album was best, was Syd Barret or Roger Waters Floyd better, what the lyrics meant, and all the voices and sounds you could hear with headphones. Today, I don't like Pink Floyd and I cannot listen to "The Wall". I can only listen to so many songs about dad dying in the war.

7. Slayer "Reign in Blood" I think Aaron Smith introduced me to Slayer. At the time it was the most evil, the heaviest, the fastest, most badass music I'd ever heard. If my folks didn't like Iron Maiden, they were gonna HATE Slayer! At some point I grew out of my metal phase. Just a few months ago I dug up my copy of "Reign in Blood". Holy shit! How did I not listen to this cd for so long? It is once again one of my favorites! This one held up over all those years. I've been listening to them a lot lately. Even the new stuff is good. Slayer is a band that just didn't change, sure they evolved but you can still tell its Slayer.

8. The Gourds "Ghosts of Hallelujah" I was working and had 88.7 WNCW on the radio when "Fine Leather Truck" came on. I don't know what it was about that song but it made me a country fan. I never gave country a chance, it was one of the things I rebelled against. The Gourds opened a whole new world of music to me. Although I don't listen to them much anymore, when they come on I don't change it. Their albums up to "Bolsa De Aqua" are great!

9. Dr Dre "The Chronic" I remember riding around in Todd Verdin's Pathfinder listening to "The Chronic" for the first time. Most rap albums have 3 decent songs at best, this one was good all the way through. I don't think gangtsa rap made any of us feel any harder but it did make us laugh. The drug references, and ridiculously violent lyrics were perfect. There are a couple tracks from that one I can still listen to and enjoy. Every time though I think about riding in Todd's truck with Matt and Jeremy..... good times.

10. R.L. Burnisde "Ass Pocket of Whiskey" I was living in Boone NC and a guy named Greg played it at his place. I had gotten tired of blues. Most of the blues I heard were Chicago blues, which for the most part sucks. Its just way too polished and clean. Then comes RL Burnside, Jon Spencer plays on this album, it is one of the rawest, dirtiest, most rockinest blues albums ever. I love every song on this disc. I quickly bought every RL album I could find. That wasn't enough, I started buying every Fat Possum album I could get my hands on.

11. The Dead Kennedys "Bedtime For Democracy" Jonathan Dobson and I used to skate in high school. We argued music all the time. He was the one that turned me on to tons of punk and hardcore bands. One of the first was the Dead Kennedys. I didn't get what they were talking about, it was all this political stuff that wasn't covered in Coach Flemming's Government class. What sticks with me about this album in particular is that it made me start to ask questions. I logged hours in detention, study hall, and i.s.s. trying to figure out what the hell Jello Biafra was trying to tell me. Oh and the cover of that tape pissed people off and I kinda dug that part too.

12. The Cramps "Bad Music for Bad People" I remember buying tapes based on the band name and album cover. When I saw this, I thought this is going to be some of the most hard core music out there. I played the tape and was horribly disappointed. It wasn't hard at all. Later I gave it a second chance and it was... ok. This one grew on me and after about 3 or 4 times I loved it! I still love it. I think I like The Cramps more today than I did when I first got into them.

13. Jane's Addiction "Nothing Shocking" This is another album I have Matt Fischer to thank for. I have a distinct memory of being at his house with Vince Harris listening to this album and singing along while Matt Played guitar. There wasn't a song on this album that I didn't like.

14. Nine Inch Nails "Pretty Hate Machine" I wore this tape out more than once. Again this is an album I could relate to. I remember head like a hole being played at Church Hill's. Now days, NIN seem to whine a little too much and Trent Reznor gets on my nerves a bit, but at the time it was exactly what I needed.

15. Rage Against the Machine "Rage Against The Machine" Monty Reece first played this tape for me. It was so new and different that there was a sticker on the tape that said there were no keyboards used. I loved it! Like the Dead Kennedys, Rage sang about a lot of stuff I knew nothing about so I had to start reading up. They hit such awesome grooves and were angry as hell! It was the first time I heard rap and rock mixed since Anthrax "I'm the Man" and before that was probably Run DMC "Walk This Way". I was sold. Some of those bass lines still get stuck in my head. I recently listened to this one for the first time in years and was surprised I knew every word.

16. Tom Waits "Night Hawks at the Diner" This is the first Tom Waits album I bought. I'd heard of him for years. Judging by album covers of Bone Machine, Mule Variations, and Blood Money I figured he'd be pretty twisted. I don't know why I picked up Night Hawks, maybe it was a recommendation. Anyway it floored me! The stories, the beat influence, the jokes, just everything about it was beautiful! I don't know who to compare him to so, I ended up with 40 Tom Waits albums. I still love Night Hawks.

17. The Pixies "Doolittle" This one holds up better than most. I wanted Kim Deal and I wanted to be Frank Black, sorry I meant Black Francis. I worked at a a camp and a kid I worked with, I think his name was Scott? He turned me on to this album now 20+ years later it is still in regular rotation. 20+ years ago? WTF? That doesn't sound right at all... I'm gonna need to lay down for a while.

18. Bongwater "Too Much Sleep" WNCW used to have an overnight show called ARC (Alternative Radio Coalition). I'd fall asleep listening to that show. They played so much stuff that I'd never heard before that I started recording the show as I fell asleep at night that way the next day I'd remember the bands. That's where I heard Bongwater. They made me want to write. I love the way Ann Magnuson writes. Songs like "Bad Review", "Talent Vampire", and "Then the Babies Return" are smart and funny and sarcastic. "Too Much Sleep" isn't even my favorite I prefer "The Power of Pussy" but it was the first Bongwater tape.

19. Angry Johnny and the Killbillies "Hankenstien" I picked this disc up without knowing anything about the band at all. I dug the cover and the band name. I just wanted something different. What I got was the most violent, angry, country cd ever. Every song is about love gone wrong, killin, drinkin, prison, and the devil. It was like they took what I liked in metal lyrics and put it in a country song.

20. Louis Prima "Capitol Collector's Series" I first remember hearing Louis Prima on the soundtrack for "Smoke!". This disc is so much fun! I wish big band would come back for real not in a gimmicky way. Louis Prima rocks, his band is so solid and his voice is awesome. He sounds like he's having fun, you can almost hear his smile.

21. Drive By Truckers "Gangsterbilly" / "Pizza Deliverance" It's hard to say which one made the bigger impact. I got them both at the same time. I think I got them the day I bought Angry Johnny's disc. I didn't know anything about DBT either. Turns out they are pretty damn good. These two disc are pretty much country, after this they started playing the southern rock more. Just more of that awesome songwriting. Patterson Hood talked about growing up rebelling against the music around him and later on he gave it a chance only to find he loved it. I guess that's kind of where I was when I picked these up and maybe some of that came through in the songs.

22. Wu-Tang Clan "Enter the 36 Chambers" There was a time all I listened to was the rap music. It became frustrating because typically there are 2 or 3 good tracks out of 20-25 on a rap cd. Wu Tang was different, they had 57 people in the group. For a summer Nate, Roundy, Shane and I communicated through Wu-tang lyrics and mostly Old Dirty Bastard. Old Dirty Bastard was a profit. A lot of the things he rapped about happened! Those were some good days.

23. Lou Reed "New York" Again Matt introduced me to this album. I think before this "walk on the Wild Side" was the only Lou Reed I'd heard. If you're ever feeling too good, put this album on and sit back. He has the most depressing songs on this album but its written so well. The liner notes say that it is meant to be listened to in one sitting like a book or a movie. It is a complete album with a beginning a middle and an ending.

24. Bruce Springsteen "Nebraska" I felt like I'd already seen Natural Born Killers when it came out because of this album. The title track alone. "They wanted to know why I did what I did/Well sir, I guess there's just a meanness in this world". It also includes songs that Johnny Cash covered.

25. 16 Horse Power "Sackcloth n Ashes" This album kind of got my dark gospel kick going. From this one I got Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Munly, Woven Hand, and Reverend Glasseye. Really good stuff. With 16 HP I've gotta be in the right mood for it. At times there is nothing else that sounds as good. You've just gotta check them out.

Really though I think the mix tapes we used to pass around in high school influenced me more than anything.
list, influential, lester road hog moran, midnight star, the beastie boys, Violent Femmes, Metallica. pink floyd, slayer, the gourds, r.l. burnside, the cramps, janes addiction, anthrax, dr dre, drive by truckers, 16 horse power, bruce springsteen, lou reed, wu-tang clan, louis prima, angry johnny and the killbillies, bongwater, the pixies, tom waits, rage against the machine, nine inch nails