Essential Listening

I’ve been an album collector since I was 10 years old. The first records I brought home were Jethro Tull’s Aqualung, Black Sabbath’s Vol. 4, and The Beatles’ White Album. Many of these albums came into my life before I ever picked up a guitar, but looking back, I know they played a big role in leading me to it

What follows is a list of 50 albums that have stayed with me—not just as favorite listens, but as part of the music that shaped me as a musician.

10cc “Deceptive Bends”
Annie Lennox “Diva”
The Beatles “White Album”
Billy Joel “The Stranger”
Black Sabbath “Vol 4”
Bob Dylan “Bringing It All Back Home”
Bola Sete “Ocean”
David Bromberg “David Bromberg”
Elvis Costello “Imperial Bedroom”
Jackson Browne “For Everyman”
James Taylor “One Man Dog”
Jean Michel Jarre “Equinox”
Jean Michel Jarre “Oxygene”
Jethro Tull “Thick As A Brick”
Jethro Tull “Thick As A Brick”
Jim Hall “Live”
Joao Gilberto “Live in Montreux”
Joe Jackson “Look Sharp”
Joe Jackson “I’m The Man”
Joe Pass “Virtuoso”
John Abercrombie “Timeless”
John Scofield “Bar Talk”
John Scofield “Still Warm”
Joni Mitchell “Hejira”
Kenny Wheeler
“The Widow In The Window”
Led Zeppelin “IV”
Leo Kottke “My Father’s Face”
Michael Hedges “Breakfast In The Field”
Miles Davis “Kind Of Blue”
Miles Davis “Man With The Horn”
Neil Young “After The Gold Rush”
Oregon “Crossing”
Pat Martino “We’ll Be Together Again”
Paul McCandless “Heresay”
Paul Simon “Paul Simon”
Peter Gabriel “So”
Pink Floyd “Animals”
Ralph Towner/Gary Burton “Matchbook”
Rush “Hemispheres”
Seals And Crofts “Summer Breeze”
Simon & Garfunkel “Bookends”
Sonny Rollins “The Bridge”
Steve Vai “Flex-Able”
Stevie Wonder “Talking Book”
The Who “Quadrophenia”
The Who “Tommy”
Thelonious Monk “Criss Cross”
Wayne Shorter “Speak No Evil”
Yes “Fragile”
Yes “Close To The Edge”

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