Nine Inch Nails Downward Spiral really opened up a new world of music to me and my pals.
Primus Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Best Primus album ever.
Pearl Jam Ten. We wore the snot out of that album. Probably my favorite album of all time.
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Another great album to be exposed to at such a young age. Gave me more of an appreciation for different styles of music and great musicianship.
The Go Go’s
**Kajagoogoo and other One Hit Wonders of this era ** which I now have on a 3 disc compliation that would have saved me a buttload of cash back then if they just cut to the chase and did things like that then. But, I have loads of 45’s.
Bruce Springsteen
**Barbara Mandrell & Dolly Parton ** cause I was country when country wasn’t cool.
**Hank Jr. & Hank Sr.
Marty Robbins **
**John Denver, Harry Chapin **
Indiana Jones & Star Wars soundtracks. Music to clean house to, now.
Records from the 30’s ( folk and blues, that ironically a few of them appeared in that great movie with George Clooney that I cannot remember now.
**Big Band music time. **
Loads of classical stuff. all from the Columbia House selection of the 50’s.
This would be 1979-1989ish.
Then I moved on to Broadway and Irving Berling and the newer country.(Garth Brooks)
Now, I’m in a folk, classical, accordian and Ethel Merman phase.
Its fun being me.
After re-reading the thread, I realize that we have a lot in common, musically. You reminded me of all of the above, which I forgot about, and reminded me that it was Pretty Hate Machine that got me started on NIN.
Thanks!
Jimi Hendrix, the Ramones, Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse, Joe Satriani, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Eric Johnson, Metallica, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Robert Cray, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Danny Elfman.
Duran Duran - Same / Rio / Seven & the Ragged Tiger
INXS - Swing / Kick / Listen Like Thieves / Shaboo Shoobah
Prince - Purple Rain
Van Halen - Jump
Go-Go’s - Beauty & the Beat
Beverly Hills Cop - Soundtrack
Ghostbusters - Soundtrack
Arcadia - So Red the Rose
Huey Lewis & the News - Sports
Anything on MTV
Posssibly. I was at Fayetteville High in 79-80 and 80-81, moved to Harrisburg just before my senior year (81-82). Ended up going to Hendrix College in Conway after that; graduated in 86.
Heh.
Blue Oyster Cult, and lots of it. Aerosmith. Pink Floyd. Rush. Black Sabbath.
Y’know, I never listen to that stuff anymore.
Although a few months ago my wife and I stopped in at a pizza joint that had some old arcade games in the back, the radio tuned to classic rock (which I never listen to anymore). “I’m Burning For You” comes on the radio, and it’s 1980 again.
In the late 50’s things were in a genuine state of flux. Most of my classmates were well into the early efforts of Rock ‘n’ Roll from the likes of Elvis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, and other groups like the Del Vikings, The Coasters, and even the crossover C&W artists like Sonny James, Eddy Arnold, Ferlin Husky, Marty Robbins, Jim Reeves. It was about that time that Ray Charles came out with “What’d I Say” and that had a big impact.
“Folk” was beginning to make itself known and it covered a wide range from The Kingston Trio through The Weavers to Harry Belafonte and Odetta.
I was into jazz pretty much but had a fairly limited exposure until later into the 60’s. George Shearing, Henry Mancini, Stan Getz, Horace Silver, The Jazz Messengers were favorites. It was later before I got into Miles and Brubeck.
Then there were the MOR orchestras like Percy Faith, Mantovani, Ray Conniff, Norman Luboff, Norrie Paramor.
I had a fairly broad range of things I liked. More than most of my classmates. But we did listen to the late night R&B stations out of Nashville and New Orleans and got exposed to stuff they didn’t play on the Top 40 local stations. Records were mostly 45’s but a few 33 1/3’s were being heard, too.
I had a minimal exposure to “light classical” as well. Stuff like Bolero, Danse Macabre, Night on Bald Mountain. That sort of thing.
In order, I’d say. . .
Led Zeppelin (everything)
Pink Floyd (DSOTM, WYWH, Animals, The Wall)
Rush (many titles)
Jethro Tull
Frank Zappa (we played Joe’s Garage all the time, and other things)
G 'n F’n R (we sort of had a bias against anything not “classic rock”, but it couldn’t be denied)
I was listening to all of these as well. I’m not sure what dates they all came out, but they were standard play for our gang.
Let me see, would have been about '92 and '93 for me. Oddly enough, I’ve been rehashing this part of my life quite a bit the past few months, so I know the answer to this one!
The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. I got made fun of for it then and I still do when I drag them out to relive those days, but I care not, dammit! coughcoughtheyrockedcough
Alice in Chains - Dirt. Been meaning to pick this up again. Perfect high school music, dark and brooding.
The Cure - Pornography. My boyfriend had broken up with me, and there was about two months where all I wanted to do was kill myself, or him, or both of us. This music helped. Helped me want to kill him, that is. 
King Missle - Happy Hour. Got into it because a boy I was crushing on made me a tape of it. I picked this up again recently out of nostalgiac curiosity and, you know, it ain’t half bad!
Nirvana - Bleach, Nevermind and In Utero. The latter came out in '93 and blew the first two away, but I listed to all three in regular rotation.
The Cranes - Wings of Joy. Pretty and melodramatic. I wish I still had this one. I’m off to Amazon right now to look for it!!
Singles movie soundtrack. Had many of my favourites like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, etc. Also had some goofy love songs that I used to quote endlessly in my cheesy journal.
That’s about it for 15-16. By 17 and 18 I was much cooler, listening to Christian Death, Tones on Tail, Skinny Puppy and Sisters of Mercy, but that’s another story. 
In and around 1993, lemme think…
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Collective Soul - Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
Greenday - Kerplunk, Dookie
Offspring - Smash
Nirvanna - Nevermind, Incesticide, In Utero
U2 - Achtung Baby, Zooropa
Crash Test Dummies - God Shuffled his feet
GAH! This is the one I forgot! (I was thinking of it while writing my post, then it drifted out of my reach and I thought, “Damn, what was the band I was just thinking of?” and lost it, so shrugged it off.)
The little brother of my best friend used to mishear the lyrics as, “God shuffled his feet, and danced around”. Good times, good times.
There were songs that played in the background of those years, for me, that no one disliked enough to turn off, but no one cared enough to buy the albums - so some of the more popular ones are ingrained in memory forever, and when I hear them, blow me back in the past for the duration of the song. Some of these bands were: the Offspring (*Self Esteem * and Keep Em Seperated), Our Lady Peace (Naveed), 54-40 (Blame Your Parents, Ocean Pearl), Ace of Base (The Sign), Real McCoy (Another Night), John Mellancamp w/ Me’Shell(Wild Night), US3 (Cantaloop), Pavement (Cut Your Hair), Blind Melon (No Rain, later Galaxie), Beastie Boys (Sabotage - later I became a much bigger fan, but this caught my ear and planted the seed), The Flaming Lips (She Don’t Use Jelly), The Cranberries, Cake, Enigma, Liz Phair, Sloan (I didn’t become a fan until several years later), Stone Temple Pilots, Ween, Weezer, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc.
D’oh! I forgot that one. Few things gave me as much pleasure on long car rides as subjecting my poor mother to “Hairspray Queen”.
Led Zeppelin: # 4 (Although it had been our a few years by then)
Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Paul McCartney & Wings:* Band on the Run*
John Lennon: Walls and Bridges
David Bowie: anything
This would have been between '73 and '75.
Christian Death - “Only Theater of Pain” and “The Wind Kissed Pictures” (among many others)
Sisters of Mercy - “Floodland” and Sisterhood - “Gift”
Bauhaus - “1979 - 1983” and “The Sky’s Gone Out”
Skinny Puppy - “Bites” and “Rabies”
Ministry - “The Land of Rape and Honey” and “The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste”
It was quite hard to narrow it down to five bands but these are definitely important ones. There was also NIN, The Cure, Cocteau Twins, Einsturzende Neubauten, Depeche Mode, you get the idea. The gothy stuff. Ah, the good old days.
mid-90s. Alternative rock ruled and then there was a lot of rap that we would listen to at parties.
Urge Overkill
Liz Phair
Oasis
Belly
They Might Be Giants (big, since they went to Lincoln High School and I grew up in Lexington)
U2
Depeche Mode
Cure
REM
all the shoegazing bands
Veruca Salt
Tribe Called Quest
N.W.A.
Public Enemy
among many many others. Most of us seemed to start on Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and moved on from there…my high school years were all about WFNX 101.7 Boston. It kind of sucks now, except for Julie Kramer. But back then…
Husker Du - New Day Rising
The Replacements - Tim
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians - Fegmania!
R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
Around 1973:
Brothers & Sisters - Allman Bros.
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Quadrophenia - The Who
Houses of the Holy - Led Zepplin
Goats Head Soup - Rolling Stones
and the same stuff as Gail.
I rememberwe ceremoniously trashed a copy of Passion Play by Jethro Tull because we all hated it.
Hank Williams, Jr. LOTS of Hank Willimas, Jr.
Charlie Daniel’s Band
Statler Brothers
Oak Ridge Boys
You get the picture