My CD Collection from A-Z

You will notice upon browsing my CD collection that there is music from many different genres.  While my love of music has always been a constant in my life, the types of music I listen to changes from year to year, day to day and minute to minute.

I was an 80’s kid and I listened to all the normal popular stuff on the radio at the time---Madonna, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Van Halen, ZZ Top, Quiet Riot, Duran Duran, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard.  I also remember hearing a lot of the now “classic rock” songs back then too.  I remember ending out the 80’s being heavily into the B-52’s.  I had all their albums on vinyl.  Also around this time, I had a penpal from Holland (we still keep in touch) and he got me into a band called Mucky Pup.  Although they were from New Jersey, they had a much bigger following in Europe.  Anyhow, I have all their tapes and CDs and I still love them today.  Van Halen and ZZ Top also survived the test of time.  I even listen to Michael Jackson once in a while when I'm dancing.  Although I don't listen to the others on a regular basis, I still have an appreciation.

Then came the 90’s, and that’s when I got into a lot of punk, grunge, and alternative rock---Skinny Puppy, The Misfits, The Exploited, Nirvana, Bauhaus, Jane’s Addiction, Ministry, Skin Yard.  This is also when I succumbed to peer pressure and began finally buying tapes instead of records (I was the last of my friends to convert---I hated having to wait to rewind and fast forward songs with tapes and I guess I wasn’t as much into quality then because I didn’t mind the ticking and crackling sounds of the record, and I would just tape my records to listen to in the car and edit out the songs I didn’t like).  Also at this time, I was into Fishbone and Operation Ivy, more ska-based music.  I also got into the Doors, Hendrix and Pink Floyd around this time.

1992-1995 was a big turning point in my life.  I started hanging out with a different group of friends (it was my senior year and many of my friends were older than me and were not at my high school anymore).  I became very much into rap---Cypress Hill, Lords of the Underground, Ice Cube, Ice T, Bone Thugs and Harmony, Outkast, the Beatnuts.  This was around the time that I probably did the most damage to my hearing.  I had some 18’s in the trunk for a while until they stopped working.  Then I got some 15’s.  There was just nothing like the sound and feeling of driving around with the windows down and the bass booming.  I wish I could still experience it (but my hearing is too bad now and I could never listen that loud again).  I did occasionally listen to other things, for example, Joe Satriani is a musician that I loved then and still love today.  Also, in 1995-1996, I also got into jazz music---Herbie Hancock, Chieli Minucci, Kenny Burrell, Doc Powell. 

Then came The Steve Vai Fire Garden Tour.  It was in late 1997 when I saw Steve Vai in concert.  One of my rap-loving friends actually took me to the show, saying I would like this guy, even though I’d never heard of him in my life.  After that show, I bought every Steve Vai album there was and it was about 75% of what I listened to on my own time.  In fact, when I got the Ultra Zone album, it didn't leave my car CD player for about a year.  I knew every aspect of it by heart.  The only other thing that happened at this time that changed my music interests was my job at a facility that made metalworking fluids.  I was involved in the chemistry part of it---testing everything to make sure it met the specifications using different lab equipment.  Anyhow, if it was my time to listen to the radio in our lab, I wasn’t allowed to listen to my “hard rock” stations because that was just too much for the other employees (a bunch of squares), so they were willing to settle for classic rock.  So during this time, I learned 99% of the classic rock song titles and artists.  I even got into some of the bands and bought CDs.  Since then, I’ve been on a mission to see a lot of the classic rock artists in concert, since it may soon be their last show.  Some examples of bands I've seen are The Who, Elton John, Peter Frampton, Carlos Santana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, Deep Purple, The Doobie Brothers, Grand Funk Railroad, Yes, Steely Dan.

August 1999 marked the biggest turning point in musical direction in my life thus far.  It was my introduction to Frank Zappa by a new friend made at a camping and music festival.  He was a Zappa fanatic and transferred all of this to me.  I remembered back in high school someone had asked me if I liked Zappa and I didn’t even know who they were talking about.  They responded that I seemed like someone who would like his music---I guess they were right.  Had I explored his music back then, I may have listened and dismissed it because I was not ready for it yet.  I'm glad I had the chance to experience so much other music first.  When I found out from my new friend that Steve Vai (my absolute favorite musician at the time) played with Frank Zappa in his bands, I was even more surprised that I’d never listened to him before.  Anyways, his music changed my whole life.  I bought several new CDs every week (there were over 70 to choose from).  I bought all the DVDs and VHS tapes I could find (and continue to do so), including items from E-bay unavailable anywhere else.  I’m not kidding when I say that I listened to about 97% Zappa for about 4 years.  In 2003, I created my art car dedicated to him because he has brought me so much listening (and viewing) enjoyment and was such an amazing person beyond his music (as I found out after also reading extensively about him and buying every book I could find, the best being his own autobiography).  I have never found anyone to surpass what he has done for music and I don’t think I ever will.

During 2004-2006, I finally started listening to other musicians again besides Zappa (after driving my friends crazy for years with my fanaticism).  Mostly guitar-based music though, like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, John Scofield, Santana, Vinnie Moore.

2007 is when I got more into funk music.  I think it started with me listening more to Parliament Funkadelic and buying some of their albums.  Then I just branched out to listening to Roger and Zapp, the Gap band, The Dazz Band, the Commodores.  I also bought some rap albums this year.  At the end of 2007, my car CD player broke and I had to listen to old tapes for a while.  I discovered I still liked some of the old bands and replaced some of my favorite high school tapes with CD versions.  I re-purchased some Skin Yard, Corrosion of Conformity and Ministry.

2008 cannot be described by any particular genre of music.  I’m listening to all kinds of music this year.  I will update this if I make any other new discoveries.

As of 7-7-08, I have 860 CDs, listed below...