Maybe you’ve seen the Facebook posts, maybe you’ve been challenged yourself, maybe you have or haven’t followed through when tagged in a post that says, “name 10 albums that have influenced my musical taste and upbringing. One album per day for the coming 10 days. No explanations, no reviews, just the cover art. Every day I am supposed to nominate someone to do the same.”

I was nominated by an old elementary school friend, but to be honest, remember to do a post 10 days in a row, and being committed enough to follow through on it seemed daunting – so I put them all in one post here instead.

Some of these albums are older than me and informed and influenced my taste in music moving forward from when I learned them. Some were released at the perfect time in my life to connect with me when I needed them. And one was released when I was 32, but showed me something I wanted to see, so it makes the list too.

I also decided I needed/wanted to do a little more than just drop in album covers without any notes. Thanks to this tweet from Donovan Woods for cementing that idea for me.

You people posting the covers of 10 records that influenced you on Facebook, what’s with the “no explanation” part? That’s literally the only thing that could make that shit interesting.

— Donovan Woods (@DonovanWoods) April 26, 2020

So, for Cynthia and all of you, here are 10 albums that influenced me and my taste in music and fandom. Leave a comment to let me know if any of my albums are on your list too.

Barenaked Ladies – Gordon

I played the hell out of this album on cassette when I was about 10 years old (and for a few years after that). I knew all the words to all the songs, even The Flag, which I didn’t really like or understand at the time.

Barenaked Ladies hooked me with Gordon, and it’s still one of my favourite complete albums.

Eagles – Hotel California

CDs were already everywhere when I picked up a cassette copy of Hotel California at an antique store in Port Hope, ON. I was in high school and stopped in at the store once every couple of weeks to kill time and look at cool (affordable) little knick-knacks. One day the woman at the cash register told me I could have the tape as I was walking around, it made my day.

By that time I already knew the title track, New Kid In Town, and Life In The Fastlane. But it was that cassette that taught me Wasted Time, Victim Of Live, and Pretty Maids All In A Row.

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

When we do 5 Quick Questions interviews, we ask artists which album they would reach for to play without skipping songs. My answer is Rumours.

We could fight about there being better albums to choose or our individual musical tastes – but at the end of the day, I’d still put it on and start with Second Hand News and finish with Gold Dust Woman. This album is a classic, these songs are classics, and if you haven’t listened to Rumours lately, now is a great time.

Garth Brooks – Double Live

I’ve talked in the past about Garth Brooks being the reason that I write about music, this album (and the Live in Central Park concert I watched on HBO) were huge for me. It was a time when I was listening to a lot of rock and pop music because I wanted to be different or have my own taste (my parents listened to a lot of country), but Garth Brooks captivated me and these songs and performances allowed me to find a balance and accept that I did like country too, and that was okay.

Matchbox Twenty – Yourself Or Someone Like You

Before the time of iPods (or me having the money for a good discman and CDs) I used to sing to myself as I walked home from work in high school. One of the albums that I sang a lot of songs from was Yourself Or Someone Like You.

Push, 3AM, Real World, and Back To Good were all in my head, I didn’t need the music to sing along too, I could just do it. If I get that feeling from music now, I know I’m in.

Our Lady Peace – Clumsy

This album is special to me. I listened to it like I listened to Gordon and sang the songs like I did with Matchbox Twenty.

4AM connected with me more than most songs of that era. Clumsy remains an all-time favourite. Superman’s Dead, Automatic Flowers, and Hello Oskar all got a lot of play too. It was a winner then and it’s still a winner now.

Shania Twain – The Woman In Me

Shania Twain made country music cool at a time when it wasn’t cool to be a teenager listening to the local country music radio station. Yes, traditionalists thumbed their nose at her, but I didn’t care – it was country enough, it was played on country radio and CMT, and I loved it.

It doesn’t hurt that the album had eight singles that were all pumped into my brain or that it sold a bazillion copies. It also doesn’t hurt that non-country lovers love Shania too.

Taylor Swift – 1989

Yes, the album came out when I was 32 years old, but it still inspired me. 1989 was Swift’s complete departure from country and move into pop. It was a career risk, an opportunity to follow her own path, and it’s full of bangers.

I love Taylor Swift and I love artists making the music they want to make, following the paths they want to take, and giving me results I can listen to and sing along with.

Empire Records Soundtrack

I have loved Empire Records since the first time I saw it on TV in the mid-90s, so when my mom got me the soundtrack on CD for my birthday (16 or 17) I was super happy.

The songs on this thing are perfect for the time and vibe and energy of the movie and characters – and they were perfect for me too!

Big Shiny Tunes

Big Shiny Tunes was the very first CD I ever bought with my own money to play in my crappy discman. I bought it because I couldn’t choose a full album of a single artist, and decided to trust the curated list of jams from MuchMusic instead.

I was never a giant fan of Scooby Snacks or Aeroplan, but the way I listened to and sang along with the rest of the songs on the CD more than made up for that.

Related: An Alphabetical List of Every Artist on Every Big Shiny Tunes Album

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Joshua Murray

creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.