Life is full of a lot of beautiful moments. Sure, there are your sunsets, rainy days, first kisses, first loves, baby kittens, etc. But one of my favorite memories was when traveling the California coast with my family in 2001 we were stopping at a lot of seaside towns. One particular town we stopped at was a great mix of bohemian surf culture, locals, and just the right amount of touristy stuff to really get a feel for the vibe of the town. While the rest of my family was off in some of the other shops looking at seashell picture frames or some bullshit that would end up on the garage sale in 6 months, I had asked a local where the town record shop was. I walked a few minutes to it and perused. I didn’t have much time to browse as thoroughly as I wanted, but I found an original Hum poster (you know the one the aqua green background with the Zebra on it). I quickly snatched it up and went up to the counter to pay. Ahead of me at the counter were a dad and son. The dad looked like your regular happy, sun-drenched Cali dad and the son must’ve been about 8 years old. They were in the store to start the kid’s music collection. The dad was so excited and it was clearly being parlayed to the kid’s face too. He had picked out Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” and a couple of Beatles records (some great essentials if you ask me.) It was just really cute. It made me remember the first few albums my dad bought me. It was odd because I didn’t have to harp or beg, he just – bought them with a smile.

So, what were the first few albums you bought or that your parents bought for you? Did they have an influence on where you ended up musically? What are the first 10 “essential” albums you’d purchase for your children?

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