And then again, for something else totally unrelated...

The ever cool, New Wave-lovin' Emily challenged several bloggers to come up with their top 15 albums of all time. That's a really, really tough one. But I'll stick to 15 albums that changed my life (lord--how cheezy does that sound?).

In no particular order:

1. Floodland by The Sisters of Mercy: A much cooler, older friend at my school made me a cassette tape of this record, and I remember slipping it in my walkman, hiding the girl's room (we weren't allowed to have walkmen at my mean school), and being absolutely, totally blown away. Goth at its glossy, dark, soul-searching best, with anthemic massive songs perfect for those moments of adolescent hormone-driven angst. I think this was the first album I was really, truly obsessed with. I longed to live in it.

2. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division (note the pattern here?): This spare, depressing, yet at moments mysteriously hopeful album... It's the sound of the city I grew up in at night, half-deserted and economically depressed. I still listen to it. But don't mix with alcohol. Very, very bad.

3. Aion by Dead Can Dance: This is their best album, and I will wrestle anyone who claims otherwise to the ground. Based on Catalan and other 13-15th century music, it's their most carefully crafted, least cheesy, more gorgeous record.

4. Secrets of the Beehive by David Sylvian: Poetry, with amazing production and arrangements. And I love this man's voice.

5. Billy Holiday's Decca Recordings: She just knows how to tell a story, that gal. And I love her dark humor.

6. Passion Sources by Peter Gabriel: This CD, along with Dead Can Dance, got me into so-called "world music," which makes up a huge chunk of my listening today. Has cool tracks by Djivan Gasparian (Armenia), Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Pakistan), and Baaba Maal.

7. Filligree and Shadow by This Mortal Coil: Okay, this is getting all out of order, but I love this album. Dark, lush, sad, and very beautiful, with great vocals.

8. Victorialand by Cocteau Twins: my favorite album of theirs, when Elizabeth Frasier was at her best, imho.

9. Speaking in Tongues by The Talking Heads: This is a family favorite, one my dad and I would listen to and sing along to and dance around to.

10. The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter by the Incredible String Band: I am a huge fan of the British roots scene, actually, the English roots scene (Celtic stuff doesn't do much for me, actually). This album is by a bunch of wigged out Scottish hippies who made absolutely, bizarrely beautiful songs with rambling yet touching lyrics dedicated to things like water, the waltzing new moon, ice skating, and bats. But it works, I swear.

11. No More to the Dance by the Silly Sisters: June Tabor, another fixture of the British roots scene, has the best voice ever, and for this album teams up Matty Prior of Steeleye Span for amazing vocal work. The kind of tight harmonies and soulful phrasing that sends shivers down my spine.

12. Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy: This album made me finally get hip hop, oddly enough while on a trip to the (soon to be defunct) Soviet Union. Don't ask me why; it's not the best, though it has its moments, most certainly. But thanks to PE, I eventually got into everything from Lyrics Born to Wutang to Missy E. Love me some Missy E on a bad day.

13. Club da Esquina by Milton Nauscimento, Lo Borges and company: If you like Brazilian music, you have to hear this album. It's basically what happened when a bunch of kids from Belo Horizonte heard the Beatles. Kind of a more restrained Os Mutantes (another band I highly recommend from the psychedelic era in Brazil). Beautiful vocals, lovely guitar work, cool percussion.

14. Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris: I know, I know. I listen to NPR. I'm a woman from the Midwest. Ergo, I love Emmylou. But I do. She's awesome, and this album, produced by Daniel Lanois, puts her in a whole new light. Got me through a lot of breakups. This one mixes pretty well with alcohol, preferably in a space where you can sing at the top of your lungs to the sad songs. I like classic country, too, thanks to my man, who turned me on to Ernest Tubb. Hell, I even like George Jones now. Just not that shit on the radio nowadays.

15. Transnadezhnost' by Zvuki Mu: Glasnost in Russia was a very wierd time. People were brewing their own booze out of processed cheese and cologne (I kid you not). Record stores were private apartments where you could go and dub rock tape imported from abroad. Wierdos like Zvuki Mu ("The Sound of Moo") played school gyms and clubs. They wrote eerie, disjoined songs about sinister tourists, seances, and polar exploration. There are lots of other great rock/pop/whatever underground bands from this era, but these guys are my personal favorites. Alisa, Akvarium, and Auktyon are some others worth checking out.

Of course, I love Bach and Arvo Part, and ridiculous amounts of other stuff, but these were what came to mind. I'll shut up now. What are your life-changing albums?