Throughout middle school, high school, and your college years you’re always in an evolutionary state. Everything from music and art all the way through science and religion will influence you in ways that are unimaginable. If you’re a music junkie like me then you know that one of the things that will always take you back in time will be the sweet or bitter melody of a song that defined a certain stage in your life. I grew up during a great time where music (or pretty much anything you can think of) was starting to become as accessible as the air we breathe through the use of the internet and P2P programs such as LimeWire and Napster (I graduated High School in 2004 so you can do the math). A time where if you had a computer with CD-R capabilities you were considered wealthy and God forbid you had a CD-RW because that’d mean you were richer then Uncle Scrooge (a stuntastic, swimming in a vault full of gold coins mo’fo who wipes his ass with a roll made of hundred dollar bills and gives less fucks then a coked up rabid Honey Badger).

Now, before you go off and start an international debate as to why my list is flawed and go into detail as to why you think Oasis or The Spice girls or whatever you still have on your 1st Gen Ipod or Zune (which is now considered one of the long lost artifacts right after the Dead Sea Scrolls) is better than anything I chose I think you should read my previous post about Life Lessons here and at the very least scroll all the way down and read point number 10. Once you’ve done this make yourself a fresh cup of coffee (vodka optional) and come back ready to accept that we are all different and as a wise man once said “opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and everyone else’s stinks except yours”. So without further ado, I present part 1 of Music albums you HAVE to listen to before you die:

1. Blink 182- Take Off Your Pants and Jacket: Blink 182 is arguably one of the most if not THE most influential band of the punk/rock/pop era that took over during the late 90’s-early 2000’s. They hit the spotlight at a time when music was too serious and successfully reinvented the industry by making satirical catchy songs about everything from teenage angst all the way to having sex with your grandfather (that’s right, there’s a song on this album about incest with grandpa and how he likes to rub his dick in broken glass). What made them so iconic was the fact that they were irreverent and didn’t take anything, including themselves, seriously. They helped create a fun era where being the class clown was celebrated, being the underdog was cool, and where even complete morons could become celebrities (if you don’t believe me just remember one word, Jackass…..enough said). Listen to this when you need a good laugh. Songs to look for: Online Songs, The Rock Show, Time to Break Up
2. Papa Roach- Love Hate Tragedy: Although their previous album “Infest” is regarded by many as their best work I feel that they hadn’t really found their own unique sound and direction until “Love Hate Tragedy”. Their combination of going back and forth between singing and rapping mixed in with some aggressive guitar riffs helped set them apart from other rap/rock artists of their time. The thing I love the most about Papa Roach is how the singer/writer, Jacoby Shaddix, pours his own life into the lyrics and tells a story that continues to unfold with each passing album. They are the only band on this list, in my opinion, that has a great repertoire of awesome albums and is still pumping out amazing music that doesn’t sound dated or regurgitated. Listen to this if you’re in the mood to hear a story told through rock music. If you really want to go all out, start with their first album “Infest” and continue all the way through to their latest which is “F.E.A.R.”. Songs to look for: Time and Time Again, Decompression Period, She Loves Me Not
3. The Used- In Love and Death: When emo bands became mainstream the rock community was divided; you either loved it or you absolutely hated it and wished it would die via a shotgun to the dick then burn in the fiery pits of the 8th circle of Hell along with all the rapists (because of course, you felt that they mutilated and raped music in every form imaginable). This is arguably one of the music genres that has received the most hate since its mainstream success in the early 2000’s. Was I into the emo scene? No, but I certainly didn’t hate it either and if anything good came out of it, it was a band named The Used. Although “The Used” is arguably more post-hardcore than emo, it still received a lot of hate from music “purists” who associated the band with the emo movement due to their appearances and having music that sounded somewhat emo-esque.  Nonetheless they delivered a mixture of sound and lyrics that was unlike anything else at the time. This album delivers the perfect balance between mellow and bat shit insane; if I had to take a wild guess at what someone with “Borderline Personality Disorder” has to live with on a daily basis this would be it. Listen to this when you’re in for a rollercoaster ride and don’t care about whose listening. Songs to look for: I’m Melting(In your eyes), Light With a Sharpened Edge, Sound Effects and Overdramatics

To Be Continued…

Written by: Del Rivers