What were your first albums and what do you think of them today?

[Mr. Swordfish]

When I was about 7 years old my two older brothers left home and I inherited their record collections. A couple hundred 45s and about 50 lps. I don't remember all of them, but some memorable albums and what I think today:

1. Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks - still one of the great rock and roll albums. Funny how that band's records don't sound as dated as almost everything else.
2. The Beatles - Abbey Road - as a child I liked "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Octopuss' Garden", and almost never listened to the other side. Now, while I appreciate what the Beatles did re studio innovation, I find their music sappy and trite. There are no Beatles albums in my collection.
3. The Fugs - Virgin Fugs - Wow! It was like the perfect record for a 7 year old - noisy, irreverent, boisterous, unhousebroken, and full of dirty words. Now, while I own a copy, it's not something that's worth listening to other than for nostalgia.
4. Janis Joplin - Cheap Thrills - Now that I've heard a whole bunch of much better blues albums, this one doesn't stand up.
5. Credence Clearwater Revival - Mardi Gras - the one and only CCR record I owned until a few years ago, I thought this was the definitive CCR record only to find out that everybody, even the band, thinks it's mediocre.
6. The Four Seasons - Vault of Gold Hits - I guess I liked this crap as a child, but now those dudes are like fingernails on a blackboard.
7. Various Artists - Crusin' series - these were compilation albums of top 40 hits from the 50s presented as a 40 minute radio show with a DJ announcer and commercials from that year. It prepped me for the coming 50s nostalgia (Happy Days, etc). Don't have these anymore and don't really have an interest.
8. The Ventures - various albums. The Ventures cranked out many albums of instrumental covers of pop songs, most of which are forgettable. Don't have any Ventures records today, but of all the rock shows I've been to (and I went to a bunch when I was working in the sound business) the best rock band I've ever seen live is The Ventures. They rocked.
9. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - I remember the cover, but don't think I listened to it more than once or twice. I didn't get it then, still don't get it now.
10. Donovan - Greatest Hits - well crafted brit pop that's still worth a spin. Trivia note: the beverage Mello Yello was named after the song "Mellow Yellow" which in turn is about a dildo. You can thank me for telling you this next time you drink a Mello Yello.

I think the first album I bought with my own money was ELP's Brain Salad Surgery, which led me into exploring many forms of music beyond pop music. Haven't listened to it in years though. My vinyl copy is quite beat up, and I haven't bothered to replace it.

 

[Axo1989]

Cos I consider it utter bilge and nothing but noise, posturing and facial contortions - perfect for kids who wish to annoy their parents, in early 1992 my musical eyes and ears were opened by MDMA whilst down visiting my cousin, she took me to my very first rave near to Thatcham (outside London) and ever since then its been techno...techno....techno....big fish....little fish....cardboard box ever since

“Cos I consider it utter bilge and nothing but noise, posturing and facial contortions”……………pretty much what some folk think of my techno/electronic music

pop music, in other words.

Except for Motörhead I'm not that big on 2nd wave HM, although my wife is, or what followed. But I don't get the exclusion. The best of early 90s techno and ambient is glorious but for me that only adds to the options, it doesn't remove anything at the same time.

I'm rarely averse to electronic, from experimental/ambient to hardcore techno but I do very much like the odd metal-adjacent artist/band: screamo revival from La Dispute, deathcore/metalcore from Bring Me The Horizon, nu-metal+industrial from Poppy—each of those have a genre-diverse repertoire which is a reliable indicator. Not so much the big hairy Germans/Swedes.

Now first albums are tricky because I borrowed heavily from my older sister, notably Aqua when I was 9 or so.

No one else need be embarrassed by their early musical taste. Not bad as satire tbh but possibly not one I listen to now.

Albums meant CDs of course. And my first player was a hand-me-down CD Walkman. Before iPod really made the scene—or at least before my parents' stocking-stuffer budget stretched to iPod Shuffle? The first album I paid for? Mezzanine. Not a new release when I bought it maybe 2003 when I was 14, but I was totally taken by dark/moody Bristol sound. The first new release? Hail to the Thief the same year iirc. With the very nice paper slip cover (jewel cases were a pox).

They hold up I reckon. Obviously.

 

[Axo1989]

Ok I had to brush aside the cobwebs and dig that one out. A bit worse for wear but ... omg memories.

And who says CD can't do cover art?

 

[pjug]

Really can't remember a first album -- maybe a Bachman-Turner Overdrive LP or whatever our neighbors with a pool table were playing and I liked. Was this Canadian band, BTO, as popular everywhere as it was in the Baltimore area? What I know is that I almost certainly would have bought any first album at Woolworths. Whatever it was, I'll say I wouldn't want to listen to it now.

Before that I bought a lot of 45s and I wish I still had those even though they would be all scratched up and mostly lousy songs. But I am pretty sure I had "Killer Queen". I could not have had any idea what was going on with those lyrics.

Before that it was Disney crap my parents got me. And read-alongs. Boop turn the page.

 

[Chrispy]

Never recorded any. OTOH first ones I purchased were the Bill Cosby comedy albums (and listening a lot to my friend's Allen Sherman album (Hellow muddah hellow faddah?). Music came later....many 45s in between.

 

[Karmacoma]

1991. Deee-Lite - World Clique

I was very young, my big brother lobbied me to pay half of it, very good advice, I thanked him way later for this.
Today I think this album is cult, and I'm not alone to think that.

 

[Chrispy]

1991. Deee-Lite - World Clique

I was very young, my big brother lobbied me so I pay half of it, very good advice, I thanked him way later for this.
Today I think this album is cult, and I'm not alone to think that.
View attachment 534440

Makes me feel so old. Most of my first ones are from early 60s.

 

[Chris A]

I shined shoes at a barber shop for this one (the most degrading job I ever had--because I found that barbers are generally not very educated or nice people). But the music absolutely captivated me. (As a clue: my mother was a master's-level organ student and church organist; I listened to many JS Bach preludes and fugues in my youth):

(More JS Bach preludes & fugues here: Your Sunday Afternoon Bach Organ Fix via YouTube)

The 1968-1969 school year (6th grade) was a big one (I threw newspapers 6 days/week from a one-speed bike for these):

and in 1970 (7th grade)...

I still listen to all of them...

Chris

 

[CDMC]

Styx - Kilroy was Here- First Tape.
Van Halen 1984 and Ghostbusters- First Vinyl
Pink Floyd- Momentary Lapse of Reson- First CD

 

[Chrispy]

BSW&T and Chicago were favorites (and still are).....

 

[wadude]

It was in between 8th and 9th grade when I bought my first album. That was 1970. I had plenty of experiences hearing records my siblings had. I could put them on myself. But it was still a big deal buying my first album.

 

[EJ3]

I shined shoes at a barber shop for this one (the most degrading job I ever had--because I found that barbers are generally not very educated or nice people). But the music absolutely captivated me. (As a clue: my mother was a master's-level organ student and church organist; I listened to many JS Bach preludes and fugues in my youth):

Wendy, at that time was Walter. Not sure when she transitioned (maybe around the time doing the sound track for Clockwork Orange, before 2001: A Space Odyssey).
At any rate:
Carlos doesn't get enough credit for her influence on music; classical and otherwise. She should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Consider how much we wouldn't have had she not taken synthesizers into the mainstream.
Many of the improvements that Robert Moog added to early generations of his synthesizers were a direct result of her feedback, input, and ideas.
ALL of Walter/Wendy's MASTERS were done in 4-channel/4-track as she stated in a Keyboard Magazine article in the early 80s.
Would be interesting to hear those today, now that we have such high resolution home theatre gear available!
And with that, I'll proceed to one of me earliest purchases (another heavy synthesizer user):
In late 1972, Winter brought together Dan Hartman, Ronnie Montrose and Chuck Ruff to form The Edgar Winter Group, who created such hits as the number one "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride" Released in November 1972, They Only Come Out at Night, peaked at the number 3 position on the Billboard Hot 200 and stayed on the charts for 80 weeks. It was certified gold in April 1973 by the RIAA and double platinum in November 1986.
Winter invented the keyboard body strap early in his career, an innovation that allows him the freedom to move around on stage during his multi-instrument high-energy performances. And should also be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

 

[DanielT]

As it stands now. Most people in the thread still like the first music they bought from what I can see. You can interpret that as you want, then teenagers, now (many of us) middle-aged or older.

Well, how is that possible? Other things about likes and tastes change with time and aging. Eternal music classics that still hold up? Hold up because of nostalgic reasons? Maybe both, or something else?

 

[Audionaut]

Well, how is that possible? Other things about likes and tastes change with time and aging. Eternal music classics that still hold up? Hold up because of nostalgic reasons? Maybe both, or something else?

Both
There are actually quite a few studies on this topic. The phenomenon is usually referred to as the “musical reminiscence bump” or, more generally, the “reminiscence bump.” This refers to the observation that people develop unusually strong memories, emotions, and preferences for music they listened to during their youth and early adulthood.

 

[Mart68]

Both
There are actually quite a few studies on this topic. The phenomenon is usually referred to as the “musical reminiscence bump” or, more generally, the “reminiscence bump.” This refers to the observation that people develop unusually strong memories, emotions, and preferences for music they listened to during their youth and early adulthood.

Or we just never grew up; but then who wants to do that?

 

[Chris A]

ALL of Walter/Wendy's MASTERS were done in 4-channel/4-track as she stated in a Keyboard Magazine article in the early 80s.

A picture of her later studio (with four flying Klipsch Cornwalls):

I was aware even back then that while my musical tastes occasionally connected with Billboard top-100, my tastes weren't really "widely popular". I also was playing Wendy Carlos' Sonic Seasonings (1972) as much as anything else (which you apparently can't find on YouTube):

Chuck Mangione:

Mahavishnu Orchestra...

Tomita...

Deodato...

The Modern Jazz Quartet...

and several other baroque period albums (J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, Purcell, etc.)

There are actually quite a few studies on this topic. The phenomenon is usually referred to as the “musical reminiscence bump” or, more generally, the “reminiscence bump.” This refers to the observation that people develop unusually strong memories, emotions, and preferences for music they listened to during their youth and early adulthood.

Yes...but my friends weren't playing a lot of the stuff I spent time listening to. I attribute that to simply being exposed early in life to music that was better than the Billboard Top-100.

Chris

 

[Mart68]

Had a pal at school who was youngest of nine, his eldest sister turned 40 when we were still 16.
All but one of his siblings had moved out but they all left their records going back to mid 1960s.

Big house with a pool table and a cheapo Sharp music centre in one of the rooms. We'd go round Friday nights to play pool, get drunk on his homemade wine, and listen to those old records. So although it was the 1980s we all got into the 'old' stuff via that record collection.

 

[DanielT]

Both
There are actually quite a few studies on this topic. The phenomenon is usually referred to as the “musical reminiscence bump” or, more generally, the “reminiscence bump.” This refers to the observation that people develop unusually strong memories, emotions, and preferences for music they listened to during their youth and early adulthood.

Both... , sound reasonable. Here are some who didn't experience the music when it was new. Which suggests that the music still holds up. At least for the ones in the video, starting at 3:19:

At the beginning of the video, starting at 1:03 a little nostalgic about Live Aid.

 

[Audionaut]

Both... , sound reasonable

Yes, I asked myself the same question you did a few years ago, because I keep going back to “my records” myself - and so I began to read about that.

Over time, more and more music have been added, but the most formative years, musically speaking, were clearly from age 15 to 21 and, to a slightly lesser extent, from about 21 to 35.
These days, streaming is adding a lot of new stuff to the mix, but I see it more as a supplement to my taste.

The rise of techno in Germany and the Love Parade in Berlin were pretty exciting for me because, aside from punk and Neue Deutsche Welle—both of which I find interesting but not 100% great—it was something “right in the middle.” I loved it, and even today I still listen to a really wide variety of music included the old Techno Tapes.

Beethoven, Chick Corea and Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock, ZZ Top, Moby, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Boymerang, Carl Cox, Tool, Rammstein, Oomph, Pressure Drop, Leftfield, Massive Attack, etc.
Anything goes, but it always really depends on my mood.

 

[Redacted]

I'm a geezer but I play a ton of stuff that is from bands that have only existed say, in the last 10 years, as well as my good-taste classics. I have the time to play more these days.

In fact, while not dissing people's taste, I'd like a thread that was only "music I'm playing now from bands of the last 10 years", so I can find new things, rather than think "blimey, that old tripe again?"