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I get asked about my influences all the time so I thought I'd put together a list of some of my must have albums. I could really make a list of about 50, but this is a good start. This is in no particular order....
Sonny Rollins - The Bridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridge_(Sonny_Rollins_album)
One of my biggest influences... on this album he plays stylish but not smooth and he gets outside in a very nice way... one of the best jazz albums of all time. He wrote theses songs on the williamsburg bridge... they say his wife was pregnant and he didn't practice at home.
Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Baker_Sings
Chet was already a famous trumpet player... his manager heard him singing and talked him into recording... my favorite vocal jazz album of all time. He has a darkness and depth to his vocals that I've never heard any where else.
Bob Dylan - Desire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desire_(album)
Some of my favorite Bob Dylan... although I love EVERY Dylan album. This album is a big influence on the outlaw radio show album and also on the way I sing mary jane's last dance.
The Dwarves - The Dwarves are Young and Good Looking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dwarves_Are_Young_and_Good_Looking
This is one of the only punk rock albums that I grew up on that I still listen to. I used to listen to this on the way to high school every day in 11th grade. It's edgy and poppy all at once. Definitely a punk rock masterpiece.
Bob Marley - Exodus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_(album)
Every Bob Marley ablum is a masterpiece... this just happens to be one of my favs. I like the line "Woe to the downpressors: They'll eat the bread of sorrow" on guiltiness.
Dr. John Gris-Gris
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gris-Gris
Dr John's first album... a mixture of african percussion and new orleans tradition. One of my most influential albums.
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kind_of_Blue
This album is considered the birth of modal jazz. You can really hear Miles play the silence on this.
Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Tubby_Meets_Rockers_Uptown
One of the first Jamaican dub albums... I listen to this a few times a week and have for years.
Beck - Midnight Vultures
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnite_Vultures
I can almost say that this is the only real funk album from the last 20 years.
John Coltrane - Live at Newport 1963
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_%2763
This is my favorite jazz album. Coltrane and Eric Dolphy were breaking new ground here... this performance is one of the most artistic I've ever heard.
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_Soul
Listen for the fuzz bass on Think for Your Self. This is one of the best beatles albums... all of thier albums are great.
Leonard Cohen - The Songs of Leonard Cohen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Leonard_Cohen
Cohen's first album. I love everything he's done but this one is the must have for someone that hasn't been exposed.
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Those are all landmark ledgens, I would put in