it takes a nation of millions to hold us down.

1. Same as above. PE – ITANOMTHUB
2. Operation Ivy -Energy
3. Johnny Cash – Live at San Quentin
4. Ani Difranco -Not so Soft
5. Mofro – Blackwater

Honorable mentions to Nina Simone, Minor Threat,Hank Sr., RATM, and Jimmy Buffet.

Dismemberment Plan- Emergency & I:
- This record is my #1 favorite of all time. It didn’t come along at a particularly important time in my life, but it really just struck me as so different from everything I was listening to at the time. For anyone who hasn’t heard it, the creative/good/insightful/artistic lyrics, the danceable rock way before danceable rock was cool sound, the spot-on drumming, and the refusing-to-be-pigeonholed variety in the songs made this an instant classic for me.

- Aesop Rock Bazooka Tooth/ El-P Fantastic Damage:
- I put these two together because they came into my life at roughly the same time, give or take a few months. Both these records were just so different from all other hip-hop. In fact, at first I didn’t much care for either of them beyond a few songs, but I think that is the sign of any incredible album; something this good is going to take a while to digest. The dense rhymes, the bombastic production, the overall complete difference from all hip-hop that was popular at the time (seriously, compare one of these to Nelly or some of the shit that was so popular in 2000-2002), made these so compelling to me. Plus, the Aesop Rock record has one of the single most mind-blowing verses ever: in a song about a summer when he and a friend did a bunch of acid, the word pattern goes ‘L…S..D” (e.g.: “Lazy summer days/Like some decrepit land shark dumb luck squad dog lurk sicker diluted/Last sturdy domino lean secluded./Don’t let stupid delusions lessen super-duty labor students dragnet lifer solutions.) And that continues for probably two minutes. This shit was revolutionary.

- Dinosaur Jr. Where You Been?
First heard this record driving to school with my brother, when I was in 7th grade. It was 94 and grunge was king. But, my adolescent mind wasn’t aware of many bands beyond Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Sonic Youth. So, when my brother put this on, I was blown away. Puberty was hitting, I was confused, and the songs seemed to be speaking to my feelings and situation exactly. I had no idea that these guys were, by that time, pretty much just one guy, or that he/they were widely respected and revered. To me, they were some random band with the best songs I had ever heard.

- Blink- 182 Chesire Cat
When I got this, they were just Blink, and they were the best thing my 16 year old self had ever heard. Catchy as hell punk songs about girls, or, more specifically, not getting girls, and farts. Summed up my world about perfectly at that point. Songs by immature white suburban guys who surfed and skated for immature white suburban guys who surfed and skated. Despite what the band became later, I am an unabashed lover of this record.

- Ice- T Original Gangster
Like Blink above, Ice-T’s present persona/reputation doesn’t do this record (or, for me, tape, because that is how I got it) justice. I didn’t know much about hip-hop when I got this tape, but I loved it. It’s kind of funny, now that Ice-T is on ‘Law&Order: CSI Hospital’ or whatever, but this record is largely responsible for my present liberal political beliefs. Everything about this tape was revolutionary to my middle-class white boy perspective, and it intrigued me enough to check out Public Enemy, Ice Cube, and NWA.

Joe, Hey man! Thanks for the comnment of your Top 5’s. In the first post I mentioned that submissions should be emailed, I probably shoudl do that for every post. If you want to add some content as to why these 5 records changed your life and email them to me that’d be great. Thanks!