Have you ever sat down with music playing and just related to something and then entirety of that music has you feeling? I don’t know how to describe the feeling but it’s strong and an overwhelming wave of emotion comes over me and it changes me - it helps me. These albums changed the way I think and how I feel. Relating to them is such a bittersweet feeling and I’ll explain why. A lot of the albums come from the same bands, that’s why I discuss specific albums and not the bands as a whole. They are in no particular order.

1. “Chasing Ghosts”

The Amity Affliction released this album in 2012. They’re one of my all-time favorite bands for so many reasons. Mostly because they are the band that I use to cope when I find myself thrown into a seemingly bottomless hole of despair. I’ve listened to this album over and over countless times. There are so many lyrics that pick out the parts of me that I have difficulty confronting. The overall theme of the album is preventing the death of individuals who feel like they have nothing to live for, and honestly the way they convey it is so flawless. They don’t use guilt as a tool; they use personal experiences to tug on your heart strings. One of my favorite lyrics from the album is “But I found life left in these limbs and found the strength to start again, I found my heart right in my hands and found relief in all my friends.” You see, my closest friend in the world introduced me to this band because he knew how I struggled and was always looking for a way to fish me out when I get down, so he handed me this band on a silver platter and I eat up every single word that’s screamed and sang. Warning: Album contains incredibly explicit content and very sensitive topics.

2. “Sempiternal”

In 2013 Bring Me the Horizon released this album and the amount of support and love for the album that they received was overwhelmingly positive. This band has gone through a roller coaster of sound changes and honestly fans that have been listening to them since their first EP “This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For” will tell you that they will barely recognize them as the change was so drastic. There are so many reasons as to why this album means the world to me, but like “Chasing Ghosts”, the content makes me feel and really makes you think. Warning: This album also contains explicit content and sensitive material.

3. “The Devil and God Are Raging inside Me”

In 2006 Brand New released this album. Honestly, this is one of the saddest albums I’ve ever listened to and for some reason I'm a huge sucker for a sad album and I think that’s what draws me to it so much. When a song from this album comes on while in my car, I can’t bring myself to skip it. There’s just so much raw emotion and feeling drilled into each and every word and you can feel your heart constantly rising and falling while listening to it.

4. “Take off Your Pants and Jacket”

In 2001 blink-182 came out with this. This album isn’t so much about the content. It’s not the lyrics or emotion hiding behind them. What this album did for me is it kept me smiling. It’s an album that I love and will continue to love for years to come. I’ve listened to this album in its entirety countless times. There's nothing more rare than finding an album that you come to find you love each and every song that's on it. I remember talking to my friend about the “play count” for tracks that iTunes displays and each song had well over 1,000 plays. Blink-182 is my favorite band; anyone that knows me knows that they’ve been my favorite band for well over 10 years.

5. “A Lesson In Romantics”

It was released in 2007 by Mayday Parade. This album means a lot to me in a number of different ways. The biggest reason being it’s one of the first albums I ever purchased with my own money. As in, my parents didn’t lend me $15 to buy lunch at the mall but I instead walked over to the nearest For Your Entertainment and bought the album. It was money I got on my own and it was one of the greatest ways I’ve spent my money. The content of the album was somewhat relatable seeing as I was 14 and thought I’d experienced copious amounts of heartbreak. Surprise: I hadn’t. Regardless, the album produced an emotional reaction and I fell in love with it immediately.

6. “With Roots above and Branches Below”

In 2009 The Devil Wears Prada released the album, but I hadn't really given the album a genuine listen until 2015. At first I couldn’t say I was a huge fan of this band. There was always something a little off-putting about their vocals. Eventually I decided to give them another shot and I am SO glad I did because it went from an album that never in a million years would I listen to, to one of my favorite albums of all time. The lyrics are fantastic and I just love the absolute raw sound in their unclean vocals; they have a very distinct sound. They’re not the easiest to understand but if you find the lyrics you’d really understand what I mean.

7. “How We Both Wondrously Perish”

This was a 2014 release by Being As An Ocean. s soon as I heard this band I instantly fell in love with their “spoken word” style, and it’s really difficult to pick one album that really meant a lot to me from them. The aggressive sound they have isn’t as intimidating as it is inspiring. Mixed with the cleans they incorporate provides even more meaning on top of a warm, welcoming sound. They have so much meaning drowned into each and every song they produce. Their music and the lyrics stitched and woven into their style gives me chills every time I’m met with one of their songs. It's so poetic and is truly some of the most beautiful music I've ever come into contact with.

There are my seven favorite albums of all time. The one’s that really mean absolutely everything to me and I’ll be listening to all of them until I’m gone.