Robert Johnson, Sessions
Miles Davis and John Coltrane - Kind of blue
Elvis Presley - Sun Sessions
Beatles - Revolver
Bob Dylan - Blond on Blonde
Jimi Hendrix - Are you experienced?
Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street
Marvin Gaye - What's Goin On
Led Zepplin - 1
Stevie Wonder - Songs in the key of life
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
The Clash - London Calling
Kraftwerk - Trans-Euro Express
David Bowie - Low
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Prince - Purple Rain
Run DMC - Raising Hell
Pixies - Doolittle
Nirvana - Nevermind
Rage Against the Machine - self titled
Radiohead - OK Computer
Strokes - Is this it?
This is my list of albums that I think had the most influence on music culture as we know it. At least, it's what I think had the most influence on me and the way I view the development of music.
Here is my problem with certain artists:
NWA. No Whites Allowed. Spawned a new kind of hatred in this country. Created a new style of rap that, to me, created a monster and ruined rap. Tupac only flamed the fan though he has some incredible ability to muster up damn near anything and make it sound good, the thug life would be responsible for the deaths of thousands of black people all over the country. Music that spawns death isn't music, it's propaganda. Groups like The Roots and Jurassic 5 are the real rap artists of today and they don't need to sound like jackasses to be good.
Korn. What exactly did they invent? Bad rock music? They took what was already there and created something that appealed to anyone with only a miniscule amount of music smarts. They ripped off Rage and made it more pop.
Linkin Park. Possibly the all-time most overrate bad in the history of music. There is nothing intelligent about this crap. The lyrics are something a 5 year old could write and their idea of creativity is adding a piano key and 2 violin chords as an extra sound in the chorus.
I used to love NIN, but I can't say they truly invented something extrordinary. Bands like Moby, Skinny Puppy, and Ministry were already making that kind of music. Reznor made it more poetic and depressing, but I still loved the guy.