how do you rank your top ten artists of all time? i mean, in jr. high, all i wanted to listen to was MxPx, and Supertones. then in high school i moved to Five Iron Frenzy and Ghoti Hook. a kid being thrown into whatever my friends listened to (although i still hold that Ghoti Hook is awesome). and then, a great day, as i discovered classic rock: Boston, Kansas, Styx. liquid gold flowing from the guitars and vocals of the classics. but, senior year of high school, one band changed everything. layers and layers of guitars, dynamic drums, effects effecting effects, powerful falsetto vocals, and a sound that was intentionally raw with sounds i didn’t know existed.
Radiohead (the Bends, OK Computer and Kid A (at that time)) really began my love for great, artistic, original, interesting music. they made me realize that songs weren’t just a composition of chord progressions and melodies, but a moment of art where all parts are working together to create atmosphere, mood, and emotion. the next big thing for me was Jeff Buckley. gut-wrenchingly emotive vocals and amazing guitar work influenced by music all over the world. the third part of the puzzle was discovering Sigur Ros. before them, i didn’t understand dynamics. they can spend 4 minutes building and you think they can’t get any bigger; but, then they spend another 4 minutes building. seeing them live in an opera house was what solidified my desire to make music my whole life. the final influence of this four-part flow in my life was Sufjan Stevens. he brought the banjo, folkyness, multi-instrumentation, and 1-minor5-4-1 chord progression.
SO: Radiohead–Jeff Buckley–Sigur Ros–Sufjan Stevens. there were hundreds of other bands in that process, but these four set the stage for where i am at now.
with that, here are my top ten albums of all time:

1. In Rainbows | Radiohead
1. Grace | Jeff Buckley
2. Kid A | Radiohead
3. Takk | Sigur Ros
4. Illinoise | Sufjan Stevens
5. The Bends | Radiohead
6. Control | Pedro the Lion
7. OK Computer | Radiohead
8. In Reverie | Saves the Day
9. Clarity | Jimmy Eat World
10. Love is Hell and Gold | Ryan Adams
11. Abbey Road | The Beatles