I would have to say Turin Brakes - with their optimist LP and possibly Jack Johnson with On & On. Both great albums with a unique style and simple songs , blew me away.

John Martyn's 'Solid Air' and Jeff Buckley's 'Grace' are two albums I go back to time and time again. I remember the first time I heard each of them, I had to sit down. There is something so desperate in both of their voices and it carries through in the guitar as well. Both are really precious records that I can only listen to every now and again because I get too bogged down in them sometimes - I don't think any other records have touched me in that way.

Lucinda Williams, "Essence".

Lou Reed 'Transformer' Bruce Springsteen 'Nebraska'

"Antisocial" by Turn. Anyone who's heard the album will prob know what I mean when I say so many of the songs like "My Orbison" have an effect on me so I don't need to say any more!

Nik Kershaws Greatest or Jeff Buckleys Grace. Both are pure genius, even if one is a greatest hits.

the Prayerboat - Polichinelle ( simply amazing)

Tom Waits 'Closing Time' John Lennon 'Wonsaponatime' Joni Mitchell 'Court And Spark' The Beatles 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' Loads of songs that jump out straight away like 'Sittin On The Dock Of A Bay' by Otis Reading, 'John Walkers Blues' by Steve Earle....way too many to list off. I'd have to set up my own website and just turn it into a jukebox.

Nice one re: John Martyn and Jeff Buckley posts. Some that stand out for me: Jimi Hendrix - voodoo chile Cream - sunshine of your love (shivers up the spine) Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream Tom waits - 'heart of Sat night' Red House Painters - rollercoaster album

This is probably gonna make me look a little shallow, but my first choice would have to be hearing The Chemical Brothers for the first time shortly before the release of "Exit Planet Dust". It just seemed to be all the really exciting bits of rock, hip hop and house rolled into one, you didn't have to think too hard about, it just neatly bypasses the concious mind and hits you in the gut quite literally as it pounds out of your subwoofer. I love what one pitchforkmedia reviewer wrote: "A good Chemical Brothers track should bulldoze any form of criticism simply because it's a strictly visceral experience-- you press play and send the frontal cortex to its room to play with blocks for a while."

Am going to roll with my favourite song of all time here. "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead. Lyrically i relate to it. The slow build from an acoustic intro into crashing high octaves and strings in the crescendo hits me everytime. Incredibly powerful song and at times, very overwhelming.

well recently i have to say the new album by KingBathmat http://www.kingbathmat.com and Dungen http://www.dungen-music.com well worth buying either of those albums, psychedelic songwriting genius on both.

Most recently: The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium Kind of artsy/prog/high pitched vocals stuff. I absolutely love it. This band has a ton of influences that are all readily apparent yet they're entirely their own thing (at least to me). Check out a live video here: http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/universalmotown/universal/mars_volta/video/00_taketheveilcerpintaxt-live.asx Opeth - Damnation Has to be one of the best written, best executed albums ever. They're a death metal band, but this is their "acoustic" album--strings, normal vocals, complicated song arrangements, just excellent. Converge - You Fail Me These guys are a hardcore band, screamed vocals, VERY abrasive, and it builds to a great climax in the 7th song.

I absolutely love Tim Buckley's "Buzzin' Fly", don't really know why it's just always been one of those songs that really touches me. Ok that sounds reallly sad but it's the only way to explain it, this song is just so sad yet so beautiful at the same time. More recently I really love Locusts, such an amazing song, especially when you know what it was written about, it really makes you think.