Dewy's Album Picks

I love music. A lot. I've already published a post about my personal Dewy! playlist and you can catch me as The Radio Demon in Residence at RPM Underground, but I wanted to share a few albums that really shaped my tastes through the years.

Now, there are a lot of songs and individual tracks that have meant a lot to me too. But this list is just albums and I'm limiting myself to one album per artist. Okay? Okay.

Let's go!

10: Abbey Road - The Beatles

Cliché? Sure. But it's a classic for a reason. Indeed, the Beatles remain the best-selling music act of all time (and, because of the shift to streaming music instead of buying albums, it's unlikely that their record will ever be broken).

Picking a single Beatles album was surprisingly easy for me. Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of different Beatles songs, but this is an album you can listen to the whole way through and just enjoy it the entire way. I used to put "Carry that Weight" on repeat because it was just that catchy. I also quite enjoy the inclusion of the twenty second song "Her Majesty" at the end just for fun.

Also, if you look at my art (specifically To Those that Insist), you may notice a bit of an homage there...

9: Living in the Past - Jethro Tull

While I rebelled in my musical tastes from my parents in some ways, I also very much took some of them in. Jethro Tull is my father's favorite band (or at least, it was the one that got the most playtime in the car and he had all the albums on CD and vinyl and also saw them countless times). Unlike The Beatles, it was quite difficult choosing a favorite album among the lot. I went with Living in the Past mainly because it includes "A Song for Jeffrey", but I also enjoy "Christmas Song", "Sweet Dream" and the titular "Living in the Past" (that one has a great bassline intro). Overall it's an album you can both put on in the background as well as really dig into the lyrics of.

8: Leftoverture - Kansas

Though (almost everyone) knows "Carry On My Wayward Son", this is an absolutely fantastic album. It's another that you can just put on and let it go. This was one of the few CDs I actually had full custody over and I played it to death. I particularly recommend "Miracles Out of Nowhere" and "What's On My Mind" (though I used to think the chorus said "pardon me my penis is showing" but shhhhhhhhhhh).

7: The Strange Case Of - Halestorm

Moving into artists that I didn't hear from my parents, we have Halestorm, who remain one of my favorite artists to this day. Indeed, I credit Lzzy Hale in breaking my egg a little bit even though I didn't know that's what was happening at the time (I also listened heavily to "The Steeple" when I came out as trans, but that was from another album). This was also the first album I bought on my own with my own money.

So many standout tracks here, from "Freak Like Me", "American Boys", "Rock Show", "You Call Me a Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing", "I Miss the Misery" and "Daughters of Darkness". It also does a good job of spanning many kinds of vibes from the heavy "Love Bites (So Do I)" to the very soft "In Your Room" or "Break In". No filler here. "Here's To Us" also makes for a fantastic karaoke song.

I also really enjoy Halestorm's most recent album (Back from the Dead) too but I can only do one album per artist.

6: Genesis - Genesis

Though not everyone knows Genesis, I guarantee you've heard something from their drummer/singer Phil Collins (he did the soundtrack for Tarzan as well as "In the Air Tonight", which is the song that goes "Da Da... Da Da... Da da... Da da... Dum Dum"). But this album was their first and it's quite something. From songs that are clearly tongue-in-cheek like "Illegal Alien" to straight up bangers like "Home by the Sea", "Silver Rainbow", or "Just a Job to Do", there's something here for everyone.

5: The Shrek Album - Various Artists

Somebody once told me...

I didn't say they would all be serious! But this was one of the first movies that I enjoyed both as a film but also the soundtrack. Plus, the mark that Shrek has left on the collective consciousness is rivaled by few other creations. Heck, it was referenced many times in one of my favorite blog posts to date!

4: Apocalyptic Love - Slash (featuring Miles Kennedy and the Conspirators)

Slash is considered one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time ever since he was in Guns N' Roses and just continues to prove that he deserves the title. I have a lot of respect for him as he has managed to put out genre-defining performances for decades on end.

This album in particular is a masterpiece in composition. Each song is complicated enough to be interesting and have remarkable depth while remaining surprisingly accessible. Slash's signature guitar work is on prominent display, perfectly balancing slow, soulful licks with incredibly technical fast sections. Also I think Miles Kennedy's voice works better with Slash than Axl Rose. Sue me.

If you have ever wondered if you'd like rock, this is honestly a great place to start. If you don't like this album, you might just not like the genre.

3: Box Set Disc One - Led Zeppelin

I absolutely love Led Zeppelin. Heck, I was even in a tribute band called Essence of Zep where I played bass. Honestly, I may try to do that again. It was sooooooo much fun.

This is a bit of a stretch to call an "album" but it was definitely a strong influence in my taste in music. Chalk another up to "this was the CD that we had in the car on repeat." This disc mainly contains songs from Led Zeppelin I and II (which, if you're looking for a recommendation, those are two great albums). One of my favorite tracks off of this specifically is "Hey Hey What Can I Do", which I didn't realize was never on a studio album until I was in the tribute band.

2: Are You Experienced - Jimi Hendrix (US Reprise Version)

A classic. It's hard to say much about an album and artist that is so iconic. Saying "Purple Haze" is a good song feels dumb because of course it is! It's Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix!

This has the honor of being one of the first albums I ever listened to. Full stop. As in, when I was still a baby, I'd crawl over to the speaker this was playing out of and pull myself up onto it to hear it better. They call me The Radio Demon for a reason!

1: A Thousand Suns - Linkin Park

My favorite album of all time. Not only do I love Linkin Park (I do like the new singer and album but there will never be another Chester. RIP), but this is an album you should not listen to tracks from. You should experience it as it was intended: starting at track one and letting it play out. It's relatively short at roughly forty-ish minutes, but you are taken through a thought provoking commentary on nuclear war and institutional power. The instrumentation evades description but to say it is unique is an understatement.

You have never heard an album like this. There will never be another album like this.

And, as The Radio Demon, more songs from this album may be popping up at RPM Underground soon. Got to use my powers for good sometimes, ya know?

***

As I'm wrapping up, I'm noticing how dominated this list is by classic rock. Even though I do listen to everything, we definitely all have our comfort zones. In fairness, the genre really pioneered what it means to release an "album".

I hope you enjoyed this walk through of the music playing in my head and hopefully gave you something to check out that you haven't heard. Keep rocking!