A few weeks ago, some friends went on Facebook to post the "Most Influential Albums of My Younger Days." Reading their lists was fun, so I decided to do the same. "Younger Days" is pretty nebulous, but I'm using the range between 12 and 25 years old.
» "Queen II." I can't even imagine how many times I listened to this album. I still think it's Queen's best. They were a straightforward rock/hard rock band at this point, not having gotten into their genre-hopping days. But this is the album that truly established their multilayered sound. I have every one of its songs on my iPod.
Shawn Ryan» "Quadrophenia." The Who. I know "Tommy" was more influential and the songs on "Who's Next" more iconic, but "Quadrophenia" sticks with me. While I'm drawn so much into Pete Townshend's personal story of Mods and Rockers in 1950s England, the music is stunning, rocking, emotional and regal.
» "The Beatles (The White Album)." The first LP(s) I ever bought. I wore it out when I was 12 years old. It may not be their best; I go back and forth between "Revolver" and "Abbey Road" on that count, but it was the start of a lifelong love.
» "Have a Nice Decade: The '70s Pop Culture Box." Garage rock. Bubblegum rock. Righteous soul. Pure pop. Shameless silliness. Seven CDs; 160 songs. Some of this music came through the transistor radio hanging from the spider handlebars on my banana-seat bike when I was 12 years old. Rhino Records was nice enough to put it all in one package.
» "Force It." UFO. Although not an immovable stance, I was pretty much a straight hard rocker through most of my high school and early college years. Start to finish, "Force It" is one of the greatest hard rock albums ever.
» "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway." Genesis. It took me years and hundreds of listens to figure out the plot of this concept album and I'm still not sure I have. It was Peter Gabriel's last album with Genesis and, while there were tensions in the studio that may have led to the album's edginess, they didn't detract from its otherworldly beauty, either.
» "Souvenirs." Dan Fogelberg. Call me a wuss. Don't care. This album made me appreciate the softer, more melodic side of rock. Great for playing on dates, too. Still one of my favorite artists.
» "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." Elton John. Has anyone ever put out two albums with so many different styles of music? Elton was a major part of the soundtrack of my teenage years, and I still know all the words to all the songs on this album.
Contact Shawn Ryan at mshawnryan@gmail.com.