[Spyglass]

Boris' Flood and Feedbacker gave me something special to look for in my least favorite style: drone. Without them, Tim Hecker might have flown over my head.
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Do it yourself and let me play my music: https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=61802

[AAL2014]

Stevie Wonder's greatest hits then Talking Book and Songs In the Key of Life at very first and then Jimi Hendrix shortly after. Both artists used songwriting and production to impact their songs that blew my mind. Tons since then but they were the first. I wouldn't have developed my ear as a listener or musician the same way without them.
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Attention all planets of the solar federation: We have assumed control.

[Skinny]

Ghostface basically started a lifelong obsession with Wu-Tang Clan, and a particular brand of cold, uncompromising, New York street rap in general, and his impressionistic story-telling, full of small but inconsistent details and absurdist turns of phrase, really opened my eyes to the kinds of writerly genius that some rappers have. Before, I'd probably subconsciously considered the hip-hop that I had heard, whilst being great, of being overly reliant on outsized boasting and heavy-handed social critique, but ever since first hearing Ghostface I feel that I now see rappers - at least the very best ones - as creators of their own worlds, and I honestly regard the best rappers as kind of on a par with the best fiction writers in that sense, at least to the extent of what they do within their given mediums.

Public Image's Metal Box gave me a massive jolt when I first listened to it, and was probably the first record where I consciously started to take account not just of songs and songwriting and technical proficiency, but also just of how sound was sculpted, how certain types of sound(s) - more than certain melodies or riffs - had, even before that point, clearly had a huge impact on the types of music I enjoyed. It also opened my eyes to how dissonance could be beautiful, and of how open space could be used super effectively in music. It was just super formative in terms of learning to think of recorded, (what is in essence) pop music not just in terms of, "wow, I like that song", or, "I love his/her vocals", or, "this just sounds cool", but in terms of, "this sounds cool to me because of the sonic choices they've made in that particular moment".

I'll probably add more to this thread at a later date. (Famous last words.)
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.

[Spyglass]

I can mostly relate to the part that concerns technical proficiency, but progressive rock albums like Close to the Edge and Selling England by the Pound were what opened my mind. I probably would have hated The Dreaming and Pom Pom unless I had progressive rock in my life to teach me that consistency through experimentation was a valuable asset in recording full albums. Thanks to prog rock I've grown out most one-track-minded releases like many modern pop and post-grunge albums I can name.
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Do it yourself and let me play my music: https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=61802

[pctrooper]

For me it was Elliott Smith. His albums made me realize that understated pop music could be very personal and profound. Previously I was listening to 90% epic 70's rock. Since I have come to appreciate many pop/country/folk songwriters I overlooked before.

[mickilennial]

i was always open minded

/s

But no, jokes aside I suppose one of the biggest artists was Merzbow whom opened my mind to noise beyond noise rock (Big Black, Shellac, Jesus Lizard, etc) which would eventually allow me to appreciate music that was more chaotic, experimental, and industrial. It helped strengthen my ear for avant-garde and also allowed me a new perspective with grindcore-type of things.

[Trendall]

It's happened a few times

Age 4 - DOS games and the film L'Opera Imaginaire
Age 10 - Nu-metal in general and WWE titantron music
Age 11 - Marillion
Age 15 - Dave Matthews Band
Age 19 - A Tribe Called Quest
Age 20 - Miles Davis
Age 24 - James Ferraro & Macintosh Plus

Wonder what the next one will be

[SuedeSwede]

bladee, charli xcx, a.g. cook
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[Spyglass]

2nd LP by Dropdead taught me to accept batfuck insanity as a natural part of the music spectrum. I fucking love punk.
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Do it yourself and let me play my music: https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=61802

[LedZep]

Opeth's Blackwater Park changed my perspective on music quite a bit. I was against growls, against anything heavier than Iron Maiden and a bit of a dad rocker early in my life. I think I was 15 when I tried Blackwater Park, and about 2-3 minutes into the album I turned it off. "Those vocals are awful." Yet somehow the music I heard in those 2-3 minutes was interesting enough to make me listen to the album again, a month or so later. It's one of the best albums I've ever heard, and it started my appreciation for music that "wasn't my thing". Turns out a lot of stuff is your thing if you give it a try. From there I changed the "extreme metal is not my thing" mindset, "rap's not my thing" and "mainstream music is not my thing" too, and a whole lot of others. All of that could be (in)directly traced to Blackwater Park, which you may or may not believe. Would I ever hear Illmatic, The Mantle and Zeit if it wasn't for Opeth? Maybe so, but certainly not as early as I did.
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Overall chart
Fake overall chart

2020s