15 ALBUMS

Originating in answer to one of those Facebook memes that go the rounds, this list of "15 albums that left a major impression" picks up on something that has put a snag in my cataloguing of the good ol' CD collection: my preference for chronological rather than alphabetical listings, and an even greater tendency, perhaps, to autobiographical sequencing. In other words, it would be more interesting to me to go through the collection as I have it arranged, from the earliest music -- Dylan and The Beatles (classical and jazz are in separate ghettos, respectively) -- to the most recent releases, which right now are Tom Petty's MOJO and The New Pornographers' Together, or, as this list does, in order of my first hearing of and immersion in a given album. Granted, not all LPs or CDs lend themselves to that sort of thing, many are acquired more or less "by the way" -- you don't remember when you got them or how often you heard them, you got them to fill out the collection or to give a listen to other work by someone who released something major, so you're just filling in the gaps, hoping lightning will strike twice. If not, no harm done, but there the album sits, not, as they say, "fully absorbed."

These 15 are not only fully absorbed, they are touchstones, lodestar albums I steer my creaky ship by. They all burned their respective tracks into my brain before I turned thirty, which I think is the only way to really count for "major impression" status. There are lots of things I got to know after that landmark age, but, since this is rock music we're talking about, I'm aware that most of that is by people my age or younger, and when that becomes the case, you can speak of what the best of "your generation" is, and what the best of the younger generation is, but it's not likely to leave the same kind of mark. As to the few albums that my elders have released that might rival something on this list, well, that would be yet another list I suppose, of second or third acts.

1. Highway 61 Revisited--Bob Dylan (released August, 1965; my first hearing, spring 1970)

2. Who's Next--The Who (released July, 1971; first heard August, 1971)

3. Exile on Main Street--The Rolling Stones (released May, 1972; first heard summer 1972)

4. Zuma--Neil Young with Crazy Horse (released Nov., 1975; first heard spring 1977)

5. Vintage Violence--John Cale (released March, 1970; first heard fall 1977)

6. Marquee Moon--Television (released Feb., 1977; first heard Dec., 1977)

7. Astral Weeks--Van Morrison (released Nov., 1968; first heard spring 1978)

8. New Skin for the Old Ceremony--Leonard Cohen (released August, 1974; first heard summer 1979)

9. Get Happy!--Elvis Costello and The Attractions (released Feb., 1980; first heard Feb., 1980)

10. Remain in Light--Talking Heads (released Oct., 1980; first heard Oct., 1980)

11. London Calling--The Clash (released Dec., 1979; first heard winter 1981)

12. Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)--Brian Eno (released Nov., 1974; first heard winter 1983)

13. Fables of the Reconstruction--R.E.M. (released June, 1985; first heard June, 1985)

14. Rain Dogs--Tom Waits (released Sept., 1985; first heard spring 1986)

15. Honky Tonkin'--Mekons (released 1987; first heard fall 1987)