The music that got me into each genre

[Fischman]

I have a wide variety of musical tastes and have acquired each taste at a different point in my life, but I can easily recall which artists and/or songs first cemented my love for each genre. I grew up in a rural area with little radio reception, so I was originally mostly limited to the country the locals listened to (which never grabbed me) and the most popular pop that would occasionally come across the airwaves when I got a signal. Even though I didn't smoke, I started hanging with the few stoners we had in the school, because they had much better musical taste and some great albums i couldn't hear on the radio, so rock was my first foray beyond the local hickjams.

ROCK artists and their key album that first grabbed me (not all are still with me though)
Led Zeppelin: IV
Kansas: Leftoverture
Boston: Boston
Doobie Brothers: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed
Foghat: Stone Blue
Eric Clapton: 461 Ocean Boulevard
Black Sabbath: Paranoid
Jethro Tull: Aqualung

My love of rock ultimately led me to the Blues, especially after Stevie Ray Vaughan appeared on the scene.
BLUES artists and their key albums that hooked me
Buddy Guy: Damn Right I Got the Blues
Albert Collins: Cold Snap
Johnny Winter: Let Me In
Son Seals: Living in the Danger Zone
Albert King: Born Under a Bad Sign
Jimmy Johnson: Bar Room Preacher
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood

In my late 20s, I discovered classical. I was living in Boston at the time and would listen to WCRB on my evening commute to night school.
CLASSICAL artists and their key works that got me hooked on classics
Bach: Concerto in D Minor for 2 Violins
Dvorak: Symphony #9
Brahms: Symphony #3
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite 2
Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia
Martinu: Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani
Mozart: Symphony #40
Haydn: Symphony #98
Rodrigo: Concerto de Aranjuez

In the late 80s through the 90s, rock was becoming a wasteland for me, but I found some solace in thrash metal. Ironically, after being introduced to new age by my brother, I took a liking to it as well. I fell in love with two genres at the absolute opposite ends of the sonic spectrum.

THRASH albums that got me moshing:
Death Angel: Act III
Metallica: Ride the Lightning
Testament: The Legacy
Flotsam and Jetsam: No Place for Disgrace
Slayer: Reign in Blood

NEW AGE albums that made me mellow:
Michael Gettel: Skywatching
Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai: Natives
George Winston: December
William Ellwood: Renaissance
Michael Hedges: Live on the Double Planet

My most recent obsession is jazz. I always dabbled, but in recent years, Jazz has taken over the lions share of my listening time.
JAZZ albums that converted me from dilettante to devotee:
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: Moanin'
Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder
Freddie Hubbard: First Light
Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio: Smokin at the Half Note
McCoy Tyner: The Real McCoy
Kenny Burrell: Midnight Blue
Grant Green: Matador
Kenny Dorham: 'Round About At the Cafe Bohemia
Oscar Peterson: Night Train
Pat Martino: El Hombre

[turnlakeswords]

This is such a good list! It's cool to see how someone's tastes can grow and change over time. It'll also be helpful for people like me who are trying to find where to start with new music. Thanks for the post!