Nirvana- "From the Muddy Banks of the Wishka" (DGC, 1996)
My sister Gina was the first person to get me into music. Before she forced me to listen to Nirvana every day between 1993 and 1996, I didn't even care about music at all. I was lucky enough to have an older sister to bare witness to the mania surrounding this band first hand and they really were something special. No band since the Beatles had the world by the balls. I was immediately enthralled by Kurt Cobain, he was everything I wanted to be and I felt like every word he wrote was written to me personally. When he died in 1994, Gina took the day off from school and cried as if a family member had died. We watched Courtney Love read the suicide note on MTV that day and we knew the world had lost someone special. She was so depressed she gave a lot of her memorabilia away. I managed to snag a copy of "Muddy Banks..." during this time and, although it's not my favorite Nirvana album, it is definitely irreplaceable for its sentimental value.
Wu -Tang Clan- "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers" (Loud, 1993)
The greatest hip hop album of the 90s and my one irreplaceable hip hop record, 36 Chambers is a classic in every way shape and form. Although still highly respected today by younger fans, Wu-Tang was the group in the 90s and absolutely no one could touch them bar for bar. Everything about this record reflected the group's unique abilities, philosophy, and message that transcended rap and entertainment and drastically influenced who I would become and what I would eventually spend hours in college studying.
Misfits- "Walk Among Us" (Plan 9, 1982)
The quintessential Misfits album, "Walk Among US" is certainly irreplaceable for any fan of punk or hardcore. This band was among the first bands I really ever got into and certainly one of the first bands in the underground music culture that I fell in love with. Everything about their image, music, and art fit my interests. As a huge horror movie fan, I fell in love with the band and still love throwing this album on with friends and yelling the lyrics.
At the Gates- "Slaughter of the Soul" (Earache, 1995)
By the time I was starting high school I was already a full on metal head. My best friend Anthony and I were rabid collectors of death, thrash, and black metal. Each month we read Terrorizer magazine like it was the Bible and learned as much as we could about different genres of extreme music. This is the best extreme metal release of all time and arguably the best metal record in history. You may disagree, but know that you are wrong.
Pig Destroyer- "Prowler in the Yard" (Relapse, 2001)
The most vicious record of all time with the angriest vocal delivery known to man, "Prowler in the Yard" was a game changer for me and helped me transition from a death metal obsessed nerd to a fan of other styles of music including grindcore, hardcore, and powerviolence. One of the most eclectic records in Relapse history, the second full length by Pig Destroyer set the bar for every band that followed them playing this style of music. Legendary shit to say the least.
Ulver- "Nattens Madrigal- Aate til Ulven I Madden" (Century Media, 1996)
Although I've only had a passing interest in black metal over the years, Ulver's "Eight Hymns to the Wolf in Man" is the best personification of black metal ever released. The best low-fi metal album ever, Hymns' ferocity is unmatched to this day. I could have picked any Ulver album for this list since they are one of my favorite bands ever, but their last piece of the black metal trilogy made me a fan and they've been impressing me ever since. The riff at 1:50 is the most evil thing ever recorded in human history.
Negative Approach- "Tied Down" (Touch and Go, 1983)
Negative Approach is the first "old school" hardcore band that I ever got into and they are the very best hardcore band ever in my not so humble opinion. I don't have anything else to say about them or this album. Own it.
Eyehategod- "Take As Needed for Pain" (Century Media, 1993)
I never picked up an Eyehategod record because, well, they have the lamest name in music history. The second I heard the walls of feedback, the heroin-soaked vocals of Mike IX, and the bluesy Black Sabbath wrestling the Melvins at a Discharge show riffs I knew I made a huge fucking mistake. I also knew that I would be listening to this band for the rest of my life. As my friend Matt Bolles always says, Eyehategod is "Rock Bottom Rock," the kind of shit that only the drug abused and downtrodden can make perfectly. Although massively influential, no other band has been able to capture the mood and aura of Eyehategod. When I was in college and battling crippling depression, I realized how powerful this album is. Sometimes it made me look at the knife and think it all needed to end, sometimes I headbanged in delight and loved life to the fullest, sometimes I chilled out and jammed it, sometimes it was just background noise. No matter what, it was always there for me and always will be.
Poison Idea- "Feel the Darkness" (American Leather, 1990)
"Soul of washrag, you show no sadness. Face of poker, you show no fear. Overwhelming, you show no mercy. Mediocre, you show no tears." Dedicated to everyone who has ever broken my heart. Poison Idea's "Feel the Darkness" is my favorite punk / hardcore / whatever genre you want to call it record. Every song is an anthem and has more conviction than anything else calling itself punk.
The Stooges- "Funhouse" (Elektra, 1970)
"Funhouse" is an album that my Aunt Joanne told me that I would absolutely love when I was older, but was too young to really understand at the age of sixteen. She was right, this is the best rock n' roll album ever made, period. Dirty, ugly, obnoxious, and chaotic, The Stooges were at the top of their game when this came out in 1970. People didn't get it then, and the fact that it took until 2010 to induct this band into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame is evidence that many people still don't.
- Joe