The Musical Journey - From Start to Present!

Hey all! Recently while in the “Listening to Tonight” thread, an interesting and potentially fun idea was born. Inquiring minds want to know:

  1. What was the first album that you ever bought for yourself?
    And
  2. What was the last album you bought for yourself?

As one who had a big brother 10 years older and a budding musician, I had a good head start on the journey. So at like 8 years of age I was already getting the influence of 60’s and 70’s rock. As I started to be more self-aware, at like 14 (Circa 1975) I wanted to forge my own path. And so, the first album I ever bought for myself was this!

As you can imagine, as we travel down the road of life you get exposed to all kinds of new things etc. and my musical tastes grew by leaps and bounds. The result? Well, here is the album I bought a couple of months ago:

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It just goes to show you never know where life will take you. So what about you? Where did you start and where are you today? Share with the group!

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My first album purchase was Machine Head by Deep Purple. I was 13 years old and in grade 8. It was the start.
My most recent New purchase was actually a pre-purchase last Friday of an album coming out this Friday:
Amen, by The Heavy.

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First album I bought: The Doors “Greatest Hits” in 1980. I was 15. Although I did get Jackson 5’s “Greatest Hits” as a Christmas present when I was 8 or 9.

Last album I bought: No clue. I haven’t bought any individual music units in close to 20 years due to, ahem, “Internet borrowing” of music during the 2000s and early 2010s and being a Spotify and/or Qobuz customer since the mid-2010s.

I’m also clueless on the last album I added to my Spotify and Qobuz libraries. I get new release reviews from a variety of sources every week and bookmark the reviews of albums that interest me, listening to all of them during the week and saving what I like and discarding what I don’t. I probably listen to close to 10 new albums per week. One of the many beauties of streaming services.

Now, for those who want to burn me at the stake because I don’t buy music and “support artists,” pump the damn brakes. I attend quite a few live shows per year and end up buying some sort of merch at close to half of those shows.

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Agreed. Personally, I used to think that streaming was crap and I swore I would never do it. Oh how times have changed! Today, I stream music constantly. I love having the variety and flexibility that streaming provides. It has opened my eyes to all kinds of new music I would have never heard before.

That said, I also like to have a strong local collection and means to play it as well. I mean… what if the Internet goes down for a prolonged period of time? And, since I don’t go to shows anymore the way I used to due to health reasons, the purchases I make help support the artists I love. It all works out in the end.

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First was Dire Straits - Love Over Gold on vinyl.
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Most recent was RPWL - Crime Scene as a FLAC download.
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And if I can add a 3rd category, band I’ve bought most albums from - Pink Floyd

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The first album I bought was John Coltrane’s masterpiece Giant Steps on CD when I was 7 years old at the recommendation of my music theory/saxophone teacher. He gave me a Yamaha CD transport, a Teac DAC/Amp, and a pair of AKG K501s, showed me how to hook them up and use them, and then handed me a piece of paper with a list of jazz albums and told me I needed to pick at least two per month to purchase and listen to. He would have me pick my favorite tracks off of each then teach me music theory lessons while transcribing my favorite tracks with me and teach my jazz sax lessons by having me learn to play them. Obviously, when I was that young the transcriptions were basic and often dumbed down, but by the time I was 11 or so I could play many of my favorite tracks by Coltrane, Parker, Rollins, Shorter, Gordon, Adderly, etc by heart. The real work came with learning improvisation…:saxophone::notes::sunglasses:

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The last album I purchased myself was actually today. I placed a pre-order for the CD and digital download of AVKRVST’s upcoming album (June 13th release date), The Approbation. I just discovered these guys through a single they released that I kinda randomly stumbled across. Apparently two singles is all they’ve released, but it certainly sounds like their full length release coming out in June has potential to be a great prog-metal album. I’m definitely looking forward to it. :metal::sunglasses:

Avkrvst-The-Approbation-CD-DIGIPAK-133224-1-1681477124

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LOVE the early story! :+1:

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I don’t remember my first or last album purchases as I’ve been streaming music since mp3’s first came out…however, my introduction to music was from my grandfather who gave me an old tube radio. I would listen to that thing all the time. I don’t remember what happened to it either…all that time period has been lost / damaged from the amnesia caused by my mtb crash.

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I really can’t recall the first for sure but this would be a safe bet…

or maybe Tubular Bells or Bad Co Bad Co :man_shrugging:t2:

As for the last? absolutely no idea I’ve been streaming way too long.

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The first album I bought after throwing a fit in a music store, forcing my dad to give me the money:

REO Speedwagon: worth temper tantrums from a 10-year-old :laughing:

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The last album I bought was last week, a live album from Martin Sexton I could only find on bandcamp.

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That is a fantastic album. It wasn’t my first and I was a little bit older than 10 when it came out, but yeah taking me back to my youth and some good time memories jamin out to the speedwagon. Heavy on your love I think my fav track on that record.

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I live in the Syracuse area. Martin Sexton is a proud Syracuse native!

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I live in the Syracuse area too. In Clay.!

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No shit? Marcellus here. Small world! I see a beer sometime in our future. :slight_smile: PM me!

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Woah! That’s rough, man. Must’ve been a bad wreck. I’m just glad you’re here to enjoy music and share your experience with us. Cheers to that! :beers:

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Can’t recall now which one of these two was first (hell, the year they were released was a wee while ago!):

Last one I bought:

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Great thread by the way - I have Alive! on red vinyl, and no recollection when/where I got it!

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Excellent! I’m glad you are enjoying it. It’s great reading the responses. I know for me it sparked a cool stroll down memory lane. While taking that stroll it got me thinking about the first show I ever saw. Perhaps we should make that another thread, I don’t know, but that is a VERY cool story, man. Quite the star-struck adventure for a wide-eyed 16 year-old!

HINT - It involves Peter Frampton… :sunglasses:

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I don’t remember anything of the crash or the following two weeks as I was either in a coma or conscious but not lucid. I was told I was like a 5 year old and having vivid hallucinations. then one morning when I woke up I was ‘aware’ but groggy, befuddled and easily confused and this will be 25 years this coming August 21st. I call that, ‘the day I don’t remember but the date I will never forget.’

anyhow, I had bought a new bike and was on it’s first ride in the boonies with a buddy of mine and something happened that made me clamp the brakes leaving an 80ft skid, jump a 20ft hill, land and then skid another 40ft before I crashed into the sage brush and boulders when I couldn’t make the S curve on the road and was tossed head over the handle bars where my friend said I cartwheeled at least another 30ft smashing my head into said boulders before landing in the only clear spot.

they went for help and by good fortunes the first door they went to was a GP. they called 911 and then he hiked up to me. the RCMP and fire dept has to 4x4 to my location and the paramedics parked at the doctors house and hiked up to me. they called in a medivac and flew me to the hospital. I made the front page of our local newspaper, which was me on a stretcher with my arms and legs hanging off the sides because they had to sedate me after I became combative when I came-to, a very common thing after severe head trauma.

I had just turned 19 and was still living at home, but my folks were out of town visiting friends so my buddy let some of the elders in my congregation know what happened and they said the swelling / bruising was so bad that I was unrecognizable. when my parents got back, my mom said my head was swollen, purple and the size of a basketball. I had a helmet on, which is likely the only reason I survived the crash. the RCMP used their crash equation and estimate I was going no less than 80kph (50mph) when it happened.

so yes, I was lucky on top of luck that was already there. TRIPLE TRIPLE TRIPLE LUCK! LOL! I know this as the type of injury I survived is called a DAI or Diffuse Axonal Injury which has a 90% fatality rate. these types of injuries don’t have lots of single point damage but rather spread throughout the brains structure causing deficits to almost every process / function of the brain. the fatality rate is so high because the damage disrupts the brains ability to manage the body and you die from ‘everything’ failure.

I know all this from the stories told to me by my friend and family. my dad actually went to the crash sight and wrote down all the crash sight details and drew me a diagram of what happened and despite the fact I have so much memory damage of my past and so many issues with my short term memory, this story is burned into my mind.

but you know…I’m glad this happened to me as it caused a dramatic personality change and it was for the better. it turned me from being an asshole to someone nice and considerate. I don’t remember this asshole, I only know I want to be and like to nice and helpful since I woke up in the hospital.

NOW…back to original programming, :smiley:

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