20 influential albums, all unwrapped

(The following is a FACEBOOK exercise, reprinted here. Normal ROUTE 1 service will return soon -- as soon as my antibiotic cocktail really kicks in!)

Think of 20 ALBUMS that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, months, weeks and years. These were the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world.

1. Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic -- Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf"
My childhood introduction to music. Well, besides the Alvin & The Chipmunks records.
2. The Beatles -- The Beatles Again
An LP compilation that actually belonged to my dad, it offered a strange mix of tunes, from "Can't Buy Me Love" to "Old Brown Shoe." It taught me The Beatles were great.
3. Cheap Trick - At Budokan
"This next one is the first song on our new album. It just came out this week and the song is called 'Surrender.'"
4. Elvis Costello and The Attractions -- Armed Forces
The other kids in school were listening to an album by some band called "Van Halen" or something. I wonder whatever became of them?
5. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
The polyrhythms and African highlife references were way over my head at the time, but correctly pointed the way toward my future musical interests. Who knew?
6. Simple Minds - Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call
Simple Minds were MY BAND in high school, and this album sounded unlike anything else they would ever produce.
7. XTC -- Drums and Wires
Quirky and weird. How about that? I had an album during my high school years that was exactly like I was.
8. Various artists -- More Intensified: Original Ska 1963-67
I don't know how I did it, but I managed to fall in love with vintage ska and rocksteady long before I ever heard Bob Marley. This compilation from my early high school years made me a fan of Jamaican music for life.
9. Sam Cooke -- A Man and His Music
Something about the songs on this compilation resonated deep within me. Maybe that's why they call it "soul?"
10. Jimmy Cliff -- "The Harder They Come" soundtrack
This compilation is really a beginner's guide to Jamaican music, and should be heard by everyone.
11. The Smiths -- How Soon is Now?
A self-professed worshipper at the feet of Johnny Marr, I am nonetheless not bowled over by the sprawling title track of this early compilation. Every other track whips me into a frenzy, though.
12. Various artists -- Soul Shots: A Collection of 60s Soul Classics
Not many people go to college in Iowa and discover soul music. I did, thanks to this compilation that kicks off with "But It's Alright" by J.J. Jackson.
13. Echo & The Bunnymen -- Never Stop extended play cassette
The year I graduated high school, I purchased an Echo & The Bunnymen cassette containing "Never Stop," "Rescue," "The Cutter," "The Back of Love" and "Do it Clean (recorded live)." I think I played that tape at least every other day during my freshman year in college.
14. Joy Division -- Unknown Pleasures
My early years of college found me sweeping the subterranean passages linking campus buildings -- hence my nickname, "Tunnelman." Those work-study duties seemed positively pleasant when compared to the dark, powerful sadness on my Unknown Pleasures tape.
15. The Undertones -- All Wrapped Up
I played the crap out of this "best of" album (pictured) when I was in college. Feargal and the lads accompanied me everywhere.
16. The Byrds -- Sweetheart of the Rodeo
I know it seems so strange, but I "discovered" George Jones and the Louvin Brothers after listening to Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Thanks Gram!
17. Miles Davis -- Kind of Blue
I resisted jazz -- my dad's music -- until after my dad passed away. Then, I heard albums such as "Kind of Blue," and I realized I had been such a fool to avoid this beautiful, intelligent music.
18. Pavement -- Slanted & Enchanted
Best band of the 90s? I think Pavement were for me. I always thought Nirvana sounded too much like the Pixies.
19. The Fall -- Totally Wired: The Rough Trade anthology
No list of my profound albums would be complete without a contribution from Mark E. Smith.
20. Horace Silver -- Song for My Father
The title track serves as my cellphone ringtone and a reminder that the world is full of good music. So keep looking and listening with an open mind.