I've been arriving at a loss on what to write this week since its been a stressful one. I've been doing a barrage of papers and classwork for my final week of summer school this semester and have been trying to keep my spirits high as I transfer to essentially start a new life in another state. As I ponder what to write this week less than twelve hours before the deadline, I think of the only thing that's really been there for me all my life: Music. No matter how lonely I have been, no matter how much stress I have endured, no matter how much I've been rejected, no matter how much I've felt hopeless, the one thing that I could count on was music. Because of this, I'm going to write about the ten music albums that are most important to me right now. This is by no means a top ten albums of all time list, just the ones that mean the world to me. I do recommend some of these albums though, because they're all terrific.

1. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob Dylan)

This album has always been my favorite album of all time. It's the album that showed me the power of music. When I was a kid, I was discouraged to learn the guitar because I thought you had to be extremely gifted due to albums like the Beatles my dad would always play. Their skill seemed unattainable and out of my grasp. That's when I saw The Watchmen with my dad in 9th grade and heard Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are-A Changin." With simple down strums on his Martin guitar, Dylan created a more powerful sound than I've ever heard the Beatles do with clever lyrics that challenged most things I've heard before. Afterwards, my dad showed me the only one of Dylan's albums he owned, Highway 61 Revisited. From the opening snare shot of "Like a Rolling Stone", I felt spiritually liberated. The Hammond Organ swirled above Dylan's snarling vocals that were almost rapped in a time signature different than the rest of the music. The lyrics were the most poetic and flowing yet powerful and challenging I have heard up to that point. The album took me on a journey all the way to the final song "Desolation Row" which is my favorite song ever. The eleven minute long epic filled to the brim with biblical, literary, and historical allusions is one of the most chilling things I've ever heard. I could really write a novel about this album, but I'll choose to cut off now. The point is, this album is the reason that I want to be a musician at some level or other.

2. The Queen is Dead (The Smiths)

There are few albums I know all the lyrics by heart without even having to hear any instrumental tracks. This is one of them. Morrissey's lyrics are at their most sardonic on this album. Every word I've ever tried to write after hearing it has been trying to capture Morrissey's oddness. More importantly to me; however, is Johnny Marr's guitar playing. For those of you who don't know, Johnny Marr posses the ability to lure even the most battle hardened roid monster into a peaceful trance with his prepossessing and flowing guitar playing. He knows exactly when to switch to open, major seventh, and barred chords in a way that is totally unpredictable and really can't be copied. Like Noel Gallagher of Oasis said about him, "Even Johnny Marr can't play like Johnny Marr." That may sound confusing, but it's very true. Johnny Marr's guitar speaks to my soul and it comes through best on this album. His composing of the music in general is at the most masterful on this album. "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" my second favorite song and the greatest love song ever written as far as I'm concerned, has an unforgettable flute riff that I could listen to on repeat all day and still be dazzled by it. The only complaint I have is Morrissey lyrically defiling Marr's master guitar work on "Some Girls are Bigger Than Others," but it is what it is.

3. Bringing Down the Horse (The Wallflowers)

I'm getting a bit long winded here, so I'll be more concise here on out. I got this album for Christmas one year and was amazed by the atmosphere wrapped in the music and lyrics. Plus the solo at the end of "One Headlight" was one of the first solos I learned to play.

4. Dookie (Green Day)

This was a tossup between American Idiot and this one, but the former is a bit too drawn out in its entirety. This album is a great way to let out pent out emotion while at the same time being able to appreciate unique melodies, lyrics, and harmonies. The only thing I don't understand is Billie Joe Armstrong trying to be a blonde. It must be his confused Ellen DeGeneres stage.

5. The Joshua Tree (U2

This was another tossup between this and War. Overall, I have to choose this because of the pure emotion on this album. Bono does his most sincere and powerful singing and doesn't seem to get carried away with how important he deems himself to be. "Where the Streets Have No Name" is one of those light at the end of the tunnel songs that shows a place where you can eventually end up if you suffer long enough. "With or Without You" is also one of my favorites with some of my favorite lyrics. "Red Hill Mining Town" is also a cutting love song that shows how important it is to hold on to what little you have, because it could mean everything to you.

6. Electric Warrior (T. Rex)

Marc Bolan's 6th album (that's like the 2nd album that anybody really cared about from him) is one of my favorites due to its mix of conceit and humility. Marc is aware that the songs he is writing aren't these towering rock ballads, but mostly short and rough songs. "Bang a Gong (Get it On)" is one of my favorite songs ever. It never ever ever gets old to me. The song has always hypnotizes me into a groove that takes me out of the real world for four and a half minutes. It's describing a girl with using pretty much no real description about her. "Cosmic Dancer" is a haunting ballad that seems to spin around inside a hollow emptiness. "Jeepster" is also a fun song that makes about as much sense as sautéing toast in a shoe (like many of Marc's songs). It was the first album that taught me how to play lead guitar, which was something that I struggled with up to that point.

7. Reckoning (REM)

Speaking of lyricists that write words that make less sense than a balloon juggler (that was a pun, you can laugh), Michael Stipe's lyrics paint a perfect picture of nonsense coming to your door and staring you in the eyes. This is okay, as the words in this album do more to paint a picture. Stipe being a visual artist over an actual singer, the lyrics are almost like a paintbrush in action over the canvas that is the background music. Peter Buck's jangling and Roger McGuinn inspired guitar work very much create a rippling effect that fit well with Stipe's water injury. Though later songs like "Losing My Religion" and "Everybody Hurts" affect me more than anything on here, all these songs together put me in a trance. My favorite here is between "Pretty Persuasion", "So. Central Rain", "Harborcoat," or "Don't Go Back to Rockville" (a song which gives me discomfort about moving to Tennessee when I listen to it).

8. Who's Next (The Who)

If I had to pick my favorite true classic rock album, this is definitely it. Pete Townshend's beyond genius composing rivals about anybody that's ever played music before. You may doubt me, but just listen to "Won't Get Fooled Again" or "Baba O' Riley." Pretty much every note of those are composed by him. The banging crash chords dropping out of the sky on a sea of rippling keyboards perfectly relax you in an instant just to get back into the hard rock that takes you into a world of its own. "Behind Blue Eyes" has always spoke to who I thought I am on an emotional level over who I am to the world. Roger Daltrey's powerhouse voice is very versatile as well as he can sing these various types of songs believably and efficiently.

9. Transformer (Lou Reed)

Because of David Bowie's relatively recent passing, I've been thinking of which one of his albums I want for this list. Transformer, an album by the artist that most inspired Bowie before this album, is made great in part by Bowie's intervention. This album has always meant a lot to me in that Lou's effortless half sung half spoken vocals seem to flow smoothly as an ice skating rink under a Snoop Dogg concert. "Walk on the Wild Side," a very risqué song for its 1973 release date, is one of my favorites ever. It tells a story of hustlers and gender benders that somehow is totally relatable despite very few people being able to relate to it. The saxophone riff at the end lulls the listener slowly out of the song. "Perfect Day" is made complete by Lou's broken vocals on the verse to the powerful croon on the memorable chorus until the song ends with Mick Ronson's powerful instrumental build up. "Satellite of Love" is also high up there for me largely because of Bowie's epic vocal showdown with himself at the end. His soaring effortlessly to the top of his vocal range gives me shivers every time.

10. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (The Smashing Pumpkins)

This one was difficult for me as there were so many albums I wanted to put. In the end, I put this double album from the 1990's. Billy Corgan effortlessly flows together extreme hard rock with delicate acoustic alternative and even orchestral music. What is best is none of them sound forced. "1979" is one of those songs that makes you remember all the glory of your past before the song really even starts. "Thirty Three" is arguably one of the most beautiful songs ever written while "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" balances soft chords to a powerful musical build up on the chorus. Some songs, like "Tales of a Scorched Earths" rival the hard rock of modern day metal bands. This album has a lot to it and makes my mind wander no matter which song I pick to hear.