Photo: G. Brown/The Denver Post (Getty).
This may be the most difficult list I’ve ever had to write, namely because importance is truly a matter of opinion. What’s noteworthy to me may not necessarily be important to you. However, I’m fairly certain that most of my picks are fairly universal.
I do recommend playing at home though. It’s quite the test of one’s musical roots to establish which bands took hold of you seminally, necessarily, and vitally. Forced their way in, burrowed themselves deep, molding the passages of your own mind, heart, and soul. Once open to such greatness, it’s more easily recognizable in others. Because of these giants, a wide world began to unfurl itself. And it became a far more rocking place.
Again, I’m pretty sure I’m right about the utmost importance of the bands below — certainly in the subjective realm of how they’ve molded the man you read before you. I could not have evolved to the fan I am today without the sturdy musical shoulders of these giants. And of course, I owe a certain debt of gratitude to my older brother, who used to beat me and stuff dirty Kleenexes down my throat if I listened to Top 40.
The Single Most Definitive Album From The 10 Most Important Bands
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Most Definitive Album 10 Most Important Bands
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Led Zeppelin, 'IV' (1971)
Seventh grade was the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll school for me. That’s when I discovered Zeppelin. And like the dutiful dude I was, I started with "Zeppelin I," and moved numerically up. When I got to “Led Zeppelin IV,” aka “Four Symbols,” -- aka “ZoSo,” aka “Runes” -- my mind was forever opened to Satan’s intoxicating influence. It’s true, I’ve been kind of bad ever since.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives (Getty).
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The Beatles, 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967)
When I was in high school, The Beatles provided entertainment on a purely trippy level. Though I eventually went back, I skipped their early, subtly subversive fare and went straight for the obviously LSD-laced stuff. And boy, did it penetrate. It tuned me into the technicolored possibility of following your whimsy. Now I can’t seem to hold down a job.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives (Getty).
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Beastie Boys, 'Paul’s Boutique' (1989)
After spending my entire middle school and high school years fighting anyone who tried to tell me there was another form of music other than classic rock, I finally went to college and checked my head. I showed my roommate The Beatles. He showed me the Boys. I’ve been much more fly ever since.
Photo: Brad Barket (Getty).
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Bob Marley & the Wailers, 'Catch a Fire' (1973)
If you come at me with “Legend,” I’ll have to fight you, despite Bob’s appeals for peace. It’s just plain offensive to call a greatest hits album “definitive.” Here, you have to go with “Catch a Fire” -- their first Island recording, and the first to truly go global before Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh bowed out. It doesn’t get more definitively reggae than that.
Photo: Charlie Gillett/Redferns (Getty).
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Rolling Stones, 'Exile on Main Street' (1972)
When the Stones fled England for tax purposes, they ended up exiled in a mansion in France. Don’t feel bad for them, though, because there was still plenty of drugs to keep the party going deep into the night, when most of their best tracks were laid down (generally featuring anyone who could keep up with Keith). Falling at the tail end of the Stones’ most vital stretch -- “Beggars Banquet” (1968), “Let It Bleed” (1969), “Sticky Fingers” (1971) -- “Exile” (1972) put an exclamation point on the fact that no band has ever had such a run. Because of those albums, and the Orangemen reaching the Final Four, by the time I became a senior, I really knew how to party. And that’s important.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives (Getty).
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Pink Floyd, 'The Wall' (1979)
Tough one, right? “Dark Side of the Moon” or “The Wall”? Have there ever been two better albums to drive through the desert to? (followed closely by Roger Waters’ first solo effort, “The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking”) Since I love a good story, “The Wall” has had a more lasting effect on my own sick self. Probably because suicidal Pink always makes me feel much better about not achieving the fame I rightly deserve. Even though “Vera” makes me cry every time.
Photo: Rob Verhorst/Redferns (Getty).
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The Clash, 'London Calling' (1979)
Before I’d heard “London Calling,” I thought The Clash was just punk. Definitive punk, but still, punk. That isn’t always the most accessible genre if you’re not really angry. But there’s deep blues, folk, early rock, and particularly reggae influences all over this album, all presented as something wholly new: Revolution Rock.
Photo: LEON NEAL/AFP (Getty).
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Nirvana, 'Nevermind' (1991)
It wasn’t until I moved to Seattle, three years ago, that I truly began to appreciate Nirvana. I was never so depressed that I related to Kurt Cobain. Seattle certainly brought that out in me, and I’ve appreciated his impact ever since. Though, I still moved to avoid a similar fate.
Photo: Samir Hussein (Getty).
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U2, 'The Joshua Tree' (1987)
As a little guy, I just marvel at how huge a short guy Bono became. He’s, like, Pope huge. That’s inspiring stuff. Because of him, I wear raised shoes.
Photo: Ebet Roberts/Redferns (Getty).
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Pearl Jam, 'Ten' (1991)
If there’s a bigger rock star alive right now than Eddie Vedder, it’s Jack White. Though Jack’s been in a number of great bands, not one of those qualifies for this list. After all, we’re not talking about important individuals here; we’re talking about important bands. Eddie’s only been with one band -- and though he takes some side trips to go surf and play ukulele – he’s been kicking audience’s asses with that band for over 20 years now, showing no signs of slowing down or hiring a cheaper crew.
Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage (Getty).
