#unless youre making a really narrow kind of art and that DOES include music and writing

[chewwytwee]

.

[obeymematches]

Hello ♡

I hope you're doing well! I've been following your blog for a while now and I've finally gained enough courage to send in a matchup request. This is my first request here so I hope I did well in describing myself! Also, I'm sorry if my grammar's bad ^^'

To start off, my mbti is infp-t while my enneagram is 4w3. I'm a really private person and it can be quite challenging to really know me - which explains my small social circle. Those who are close to me has said that I'm actually really hard to read (I swear it wasn't intentional! I really thought I was easy to read but I was wrong after all lol). In social settings, I'm often quiet and prefer observing rather than engaging myself with other people. I would give them a smile to be polite though but I won't talk unless it's about something important. I'll always make sure to think twice before I talk too, so that I wouldn't offend anyone by accident. While I'm not much of a talker, I won't hesitate to speak up if anyone disrespects my beliefs and personal values.

Despite how unapproachable I may appear, I'm a huge emotional mess and I have a deep interest in trying to understand other people. I do have the desire to be noticed by others but at the same time, I kinda didn't want to draw too much attention on me. When I'm around people that I'm comfortable with, I won't even bother to hold back my feelings. I love trying to make people happy and I'm always ready to listen to other people's problems, hoping so that I could lessen their worries and burdens. As an empath, I can absorb other people's emotions and put myself in their place - though, it can be overwhelming for me sometimes. I'm also quite affectionate and goofy once I'm comfy with the person.

I'm protective over the people I love and will do anything I can to defend them if things go wrong. While I dislike arguments and conflicts, I won't hesitate to fight someone if they bother the ones I'm close with. I also have a really huge soft spot for children lol. I'm quite adventurous and a curious person by nature. I always try new things for new experiences since I get bored easily. I had to admit that I have the attention span of a goldfish. Also, I'm pretty ambitious but I gotta admit to my laziness. Also also, I'm simultaneously am and not competitive. Honestly, I'm a walking contradiction (I'm literally confused with my own personality sometimes).

My bad qualities would be that I can be too idealistic and I'm also procrastinative. I can be impractical too. There are also times when I let my insecurities overtake my mind and during those times, I will become more distant. I'm also prone to taking things personally and is easily offended. When I'm offended, I'll become very sarcastic (I'll even act all petty if I'm too offended and honestly, it wasn't something that I'm proud of at all). I can be pessimistic too when things are rough and I tend to underestimate myself a lot. I'm also an overthinker and easily distracted. I can lose track of thoughts while I was speaking if I'm too excited about the topic because my brain will go all over the place and become scattered. ^^'

I love expressing myself through art! I'm still in the process of improving my skills for digital paintings tho. My hobbies include drawing, listening to classical music and lo-fi, daydreaming and reading. I'm also really interested in learning languages and psychology. Other than that, I find it fun to learn about other people's beliefs!

What I look for in a partner is someone who is confident, would take the time to really understand me for who I am and someone who is just as adventurous as me! I would love to explore new things and get ourselves lost in a huge city together or something ya know 😂 I thought that it would be so much fun and thrilling to figure things out together while learning new stuff. Other than that, I want them to accept me for who I truly am without any judgement. I'm more than open to making a few changes in my lifestyle in order to improve myself for them, but I really hope they'll be able to do the same thing for me ^^ I really appreciate it when someone's matured, respectful, open-minded and thoughtful. Since I can be really non-confrontational during conflicts, I would also really appreciate it if they have the effort to pull me out from my headspace and talk things out with me and resolve the issue. I also appreciate intelligence and patience in a partner.

Thank you for taking the time to read my description and thank you for the matchup! I'm sorry if it's too long for your liking tho! I really love your blog so keep up the good work ♡

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Hi!!!

Thank you for sending in a request! awwwwww i’m happy you worked up the courage <3

I hope you like the result! 

I have Simeon, Diavolo, Solomon and Satan on my mind..

Okay so I decided to match you with Solomon!

Here is why: 

So you mention confidence is super important to you so that narrows down the circle to him and Diavolo. Solomon has no issues with being confident and spending time around him would probably boost your own confidence as well. 

Similar to you, Solomon is also someone who keeps quite a lot to himself and it really takes time to get to know him. Both of you being the same in this regard will probably slow things down a bit, but he is good at reading people I believe. (he is probably not on the same level as Satan but he is still really good at it) 

I think he can be quite a bit talkative, but again he does it in a way that you don’t acually get to know much about him, even when he talks a lot. This balances out the relationship well, as one of you is a bit more quiet when the other is more talkative. 

I have a feeling he would be the one to start conversations for a while. You declare yourself an unapproachable but thats ok! in his eyes that just makes you stand out more and he likes that! 

I think he would find it interesting that you are so quiet or only talk when you must, and he would probably ask you about it. like were you not feeling well? but when he learns that you are just more of an observer he would find it adorable. he kind of makes it his secret goal to make you more confident in social settings. however when its just the two of you, he is always eager to hear you out!  

I don’t think he would talk much about his worries or burdens to you even after you two open up more to each other. Definitely not major issues. But he always appreciates that you are there to listen to him in case he wants to talk about something!  Or if he does he does it rather slowly, like always telling only one part of an issue. I think he is rather independent.

Oh, he could tell you a lot about many different stuff to keep you from being bored, so no worries! like witchcraft, magic, and the like

Another reason why I picked him for you is that he is rather realistic, so he could balance out your tendencies to be idealistic. 

He is very quick to catch your changed behaviour and would notice you becoming more distant when your insecurities are taking over. But I don’t think it would make him insecure and question your relationship, like i definitely don’t see him sitting and thinking if you are about to break up or what. Instead he would make time for the two of to be private asap and he would directly ask about you acting differently and if you want to talk about it. 

Another reason why I think he is good for you is that generally he is not offensive? like some of the brothers can be, but I don’t think so it’s true for Solomon. So it’s a safe choice and there wouldn’t be any conflicts about that. 

In case someone else offends you I think he would curse them without you knowing 

Your hobbies are not exactly the same but in a healthy relationship that shouldn’t be an issue right? idk what part of of the human realm he is from but theres a chance he is not from the same country as you, and if that is the case the two of you could teach the other your mother language!

 i have a strong feeling he knows ancient latin. 

I think he is also someone who thrives to know as many stuff as possible. but like he is probably a Faust 

Oh he is very much into adventures! idk where you are at in the story so i don’t want to spoil anything but in canon he is known to have visited all the realms at least once. 

[bookgrotto]

Okay, I got tagged in two of those awesome “11 Questions” posts (aaaages ago, oh dear.) and I will cheat a bit and answer them all in one go. Mostly because I probably wouldn’t be able to come up with 22 questions. Or 22 people to tag.  Will put most of it under a tag, though... because I know long text posts can be super annoying. 

First, the questions by @theweirdwaysoftheweylandsreads (Who I just saw tagged me on my birthday without knowing, ha!). Thank you! 1. Ents or Golems?

Ents. Way comfier to sit on, better protection when it cains and the chances of seeing fluffy baby birds is probably higher.

2. Water sprites or forest dryads?

Water sprites. I’ve covered the forest with the Ents. Also, they might know mermaids.

3. Favourite film?

Uh. I’m not like... a film-fan or anything (more of a casual watcher) but I don’t think I can narrow it down to one. It also depends on my mood, since I mostly watch movies when I’m sick.  And the more I think of it, the more come to mind (Lord of the Rings, Les Chanson’s d’Amour, A League of Their Own, Practical Magic, several Disney, anime and superhero movies...)

4. Do you read/write fanfiction? And what fandom? I read fanfics for basically every fandom I’m in. Or at least I try, but sometimes there either aren’t any or I don’t like the ones I see (especially in anime fandoms). I used to write a few fics ages ago (for Lost, Naruto, Captain Tsubasa, Kyou Kara Maou and a German tv series called Doctor’s Diary) but I haven’t written anything in probably a decade? 

5. Art? yay or Nay and what type?

Yay. I guess? 

6. Favourite music genre?

Uh. I’m not a music person. I like music. I appreciate music. But I don’t have some vast collection or anything. I don’t really care about artists (I do get sad about thinking some who died way too young). I don’t have a favorite. I just have favorite songs. And most of those are somehow related to movies/tv shows and stuff like that. If I had to guess, it would probably be pop?

7. Last song you listened to?

Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is A Season) by The Byrds was on the radio earlier before I turned it off. (See? I LIKE that song. I’ve listened to it quite often... because of a tv show aka Cold Case. I still had to google the title and artist.)

8. Audiobooks? I use them to fall asleep. Which is also why I only listen to books I’ve already read. Who could fall asleep to a new story? One would need to pay close attention to not miss anything!  Sadly, this is also the reason why my collection is still quite small. There are a lot of books I’d love to have as audiobooks, but they simply... don’t exist. Or are just for download. I want them as CDs.

9. Film or tv adaptations of books?

Depends on the book and who does the adaption/how much money will go into it. I mean, in general I would say “TV show!” but then I think of some of the ones currently on TV and go “Let me adjust that a bit.” ... aka I would prefer all books to be adapted into mini-series of 4-12 episodes (per season if it’s a book series) depending on how much one would need to do the story justice.  And then let me rent a cinema and watch them on the big screen. 10. Video games?

I don’t own any... except Final Fantasy X-2. So random, I know. I assume that I could get really into them, if I ever started but I don’t think I will.

11. Your worst injury.

Luckily, I’ve never been seriously injured. I did fall down a stone stair case when I was 18 once, though. As in, I slid down the stairs on my shins all the way down to the bottom. I still have a scar, but it could have been way worse.

And now to the question @bibliophilecats came up with! Thank you! 1. Do you listen to music while reading?

Only if I have to aka when I’m in the living room and my mother is listening to music and situations like that. Never when I’m on my own.

2. Do you keep a list of all the books you own?

No. I mean, Goodreads counts I guess? But I don’t have all my books added there.

3. First-person or third-person? Third person. There are of course a few books in first person that I love, but it takes a special kind of author/story to make it work for me. 

4. Do you find it easier to identify with a main character of your own sex?

No.

5. If you own an eReader, what do you like most about it (especially if it’s something that is not usually advertised)?

*shifty eyes* I can put my favorite fanfics on it and carry them around.

6. If you own an eReader, how do you decide if you get the physical copy or the ebook?

Sometimes I can get an e-book really cheap and use that opportunity to check if it’s worth starting a series, because just having the first book in a series standing around on the book shelf just looks weird if I don’t like it. 

7. If you know you’ll be reading in public, do you try to take an “impressive” book?

No. I’ll take the book I’m currently reading with me. Unless it has an embarassing cover. Why do erotica books for example have those horrible covers? 

8. Do you listen to audiobooks? Radio dramas?

Since I already answered the audiobook question above, I will just add that yes, I also listen to Radio dramas (sadly not as often as I’d want to). I just listened to some of the Torchwood ones for example.

9. If you do listen to audiobooks, which is an audiobook everyone should listen to? My favorite audiobooks (because BOTH the story and the voice acting are A+) are: The Fire’s Stone by Tanya Huff (read by Bill Hensel) and Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh (read by Gabra Zackman and Jonathan Davis) Tintenherz/Tintenblut/Tintentod by Cornelia Funke (read by Rainer Strecker) I actually wish Goodreads would allow a seperate ratings for audiobooks, because I think a narrator can make or break a story. (If anyone has listened to the audiobook of a book I have given 3 stars and more to on Goodreads and loved it, please tell me!)

10. If you could decide on the new cover of any one book, which book would you choose and why?

Oh, there are several actually (basically almost every fiction book with real people on the cover)... but I’d probably have to go with the Tony Foster books by Tanya Huff. Every time I rec them to people (which is a lot), I tell them to ignore the new covers, because they’re so generic and nondescript. The old ones were better, but could still use a makeover.

11. Is there a poem you really like? Which one? I like them when I see them... some move me more than others... and then I usually forget the title/author and never see them again. So yes, I like them and respect the people writing them a lot (I have zero talent in that area) but I’m not INTO them. As in, I probably wouldn’t buy a book full of poems (never say never, though.)

Phew, okay that was a lot. Now my questions:

1. If you could bring one (or three if that makes it easier) dead character (book, tv show, movie) back to life, who would it be? (Don’t forget to spoiler tag of course) 2. Do you think there should be age restrictions on books, like there are on movies? 3. If you could change the ending of one book, which one would it be? 4. Do you include books that you don’t own (yet) on your TBR? 5. We had vampires, werewolves, zombies etc. Which fantasy creature do you want to be the next big THING? 6. Was there ever a hyped book that you disliked or simply refused to read because you knew you wouldn’t like it? If yes, which one? 7. What book (series) deserves a bigger fandom (or one to begin with)? 8. What magical creature would you NOT want to run into? 9. Would you buy a second (or third, or fourth...) edition of a book you already own, because you like the cover better? 10. What author (dead or alive) do you want to meet the most? 11. Assuming they’d be well written, which tv show should have a book adaption?

Tagging some people on my dash: @riversrunningfree @just0nemorepage @bookscatsandprettythings @munakatareishi @bookandwords @buttermybooks @beckisbookshelf @bookstacksonstacks​ @faerielament @happybibliosaurus @jaimedsworld

[audio-luddite]

Number 2

Speakers.

I have been an audio enthusiast for decades.  I have heard a lot of good stuff. I think the equipment I own today is good.  I am often bemused by the claims of pundits and reviewers who do not actually have to pay for the equipment they praise. Then there are people who invest so much on new equipment or accessories it must be good to justify the investment. Too often there is psychology involved.  For some people it is bragging rights.  For others it is desire to achieve the unachievable at any cost.

Once I was in a high end audio shop looking for some equipment and they were demonstrating a very expensive setup.  It had Wilson Watt / Puppy speakers (If you heard of those you know it’s expensive, and good if stupidly named) Mark Levinson electronics (also good and expensive) playing a very good CD.  It sounded awful. The system cost a fortune. It may have been the room or something broken, but it was horribly harsh and it hurt my ears.  A serious and well-heeled client was listening intently and the salesman had all but convinced him this was nirvana.  I said nothing but left the room to stop the pain.

The interaction between various components is complex and very often the results are imagined if not due to some obscure electronic interaction. That interaction may happen in setup A but not in setup B. Very high end boutique devices are often unstable under certain conditions. If the effects are real they are probably due to hidden incompatibilities of equipment.

Then there is the phenomenon of confirmation bias and prejudgement. Confirmation bias is negating evidence that does not agree with your pre-existing opinions and giving exaggerated weight to things that support it. There were famous blind auditions of equipment where experts failed to discern which premium device is which. Apparently it is easy if you can see the labels. Myth and legend are real factors in this world.

Very subtle issues can justify often extraordinary expenditures.

So we come to speakers. They are arguably the most difficult equipment to design and build well.  They can be very easy to build mechanically, but the quality of performance is the issue. Electronics can be tested and measured and certified to be almost perfectly faithful to the signals they process.  Speakers have distortion and response errors several orders of magnitude worse.  An Amplifier may have 0.01% distortion and be considered poor.  A Speaker can have 15% - 30% distortion and be considered great. It is a kind of art. Part is the art of persuasion.

Speaker designers are therefore somewhere between artists and engineers.

The artist side interprets some fundamental concept then the engineer side executes their best try to achieve it.  The fundamental issue maybe be based on observation or even science, but the interpretation is usually something else entirely.  Being guided by skill or experience I prefer to call it art as science tends to focus down to a common point and eliminate bullshit with numbers. In that case they would work to a single optimum solution and there would simply not be the huge variety of devices sitting in people’s homes. There are many philosophies resulting in a large variety of products.  

There are successful and respected speakers built using many different approaches. One designer will advocate an idea that others will cheerfully ignore.  Sometimes it makes little difference in the marketplace as there are always some people who enjoy the particular result.

One idea is that Omni-direction is the secret.  You want a perfect driver that puts out the full range of sound in every direction. There are two variants of this. The first is the ideal Sphere, the second is the perfect line source.  One represents an idealized mathematical point the other being a mathematical line. There has been a lot of effort put into these with varying degrees of success.  You can buy examples of serious attempts on it.

Many speakers are measured in anechoic chambers to determine and adjust their response to maximize quality and performance.  An Anechoic chamber is a profoundly unnatural condition and unless you make your listening room anechoic it is also an invalid design assumption for speakers for your home.  It is interesting that many affluent owners will have large sound absorbing arrays installed in their rooms to help their systems sound better.  They try to approach the anechoic condition or at least compensate for the problems in the basic speaker design philosophy.

The concept of omnidirectional speakers came out of those chambers.  A famous example is the Ohm Walsh drive.  It is a narrow cone of various materials mounted vertically and you listen to what would conventionally be the backside.  The usual front of the cone in enclosed and the “back” is now outside and visible and radiates 360 horizontal degrees.  It is a conceptually brilliant execution of Omni direction. It is a difficult speaker to place and power.  It is good only if the underlying concept is valid, which it really isn’t.  I explain why later.

Another classic design is the imperfect and famous Bose 901 speaker.  The foundation principle was the observation that 90% of the sound in a concert hall was reflected from the walls and only 10% was direct from the performer to the listener.  Dr. Bose the designer was an MIT professor in Boston and just as brilliant as one would expect an MIT professor to be.  Boston has a famous concert hall which may be where he made his observation or discovery.   Thing is this 90% - 10% factor is not a scientific test result.  It was just something he thought of.  

If you go to a concert and hear an orchestra the proportion he claimed may have been true from some seats. But if you listen to an opera singer and you have a good seat the proportion may be reversed.  Also for chamber music or jazz or any recording that does not involve a big concert hall it is simply an invalid assumption.

The 901 had 8 small full range speakers on the back intended to bounce 90% of the sound off a wall and one speaker of the same type shooting forward.  It also had an electronic equalizing circuit to correct the bass and treble compensating for the limits of the drivers.  It was well thought of and basically worked if you had a suitable sound reflecting wall to use. Those people that liked them liked them a lot. Those that did not, did not.  The material and finish of your back wall had as much effect on the sound as the speaker drivers.

Another philosophy is a perfect sound producing sheet.  Imagine a curtain between a performance and the listener which radiates the perfect image of a recording. This has been tried in several products. Most electrostatics and planar magnetics start from this philosophy.  They have fans and detractors.  All have some degree of compromise or putting a positive spin on the “optimization” of features. It is a play in the physics of drivers. Usually the size is the main compromise as they have never produced a full room width of speaker for a consumer. They have come close. Large planar speakers are really large. The major flaw of this approach is that these are dipole radiators. Everything coming out the front is also coming out the back inverted and reflecting on the walls of the room. That moves a lot of air and is a seductive effect.  Moving a lot of air is a good thing and helps to create “presence”.

I know this concept intimately. I once built full range electrostatic speakers with a full one square meter of radiating surface per channel.  The finished devices were 4 feet tall, 4 feet wide and 8 inches deep. They were in many ways spectacular but in others they fell short. For a time I loved them, but I knew there were problems including taking up huge chunks of apartment space.  I still have most of the parts for them in storage.

A fundamental advantage large planar speakers have is they move a very large area of air and couple to the room well.  This can be expressed as good acoustical impedance matching.  Good matching means the speaker energy is very well transferred to the air in the room. Yet the dipole effect is not really an advantage due to reflected waves and cancellation.  There is just as much sound coming off the back as the front and those waves bounce around and interfere with the sound in front.  Fans of the type will say it is all about placement, but that is an avoidance strategy.

Often the physical construction of large planar speakers has its own sound.  I once auditioned a large expensive and successful electrostatic speaker that if you tapped the frame you heard a distinct “bong” sound.  It was a combination of the metal frame and the fact it was a drum head in its own right. Not good behaviour to have, yet a highly respected and expensive speaker.

The place we return to time and again is some type of box with some kind of motor that pushes air around. This is easy to build and convenient to live with in most cases. The box can be simple or extremely exotic.  I saw one spectacularly expensive box that looked like an enormous scale model of the inner ear canal. It was very artistic, very expensive, and very silly.  The motors were high quality examples of the ordinary cone stuff you get in common boxes. It was still a box, and likely the shape was pure artistic interpretation as there is no logical reason to mimic it.

Every speaker I have heard has some starting idea be it the perfect sphere of sound or the infinite line of radiation or the curtain of truth.  You have to buy into the idea to justify the cost of execution.  The single biggest problem is actually the room you place them in.  A close second is you have to live with them and if married you need that person to buy into it too. Ugly and large is not good in that case.  I take this seriously.  I have built my own speakers for decades. I do so as I firmly believe I can buy better parts for a given price than in a commercial product.  I have learned some tricks.   Some things work, some do not.  I do not think there is a single perfect solution. Specifically I have never seen or heard one.

Almost a century ago a clever man named Klipsch designed a speaker that took very little power and used the walls of the room in such a way that the room became part of the speaker. It was primarily driven by the fact that in that era the power of amplifiers was very limited.  He used horn loaded drivers which use power much more effectively than cone drivers because the horn is an acoustic impedance matching device. The problem he solved was limited power of amplifiers and this required a large horn for the bass frequencies. Using the room walls was expedient. They also are in many ways spectacular but in others they fell short. They produce the bass tone of drums and tone of brass instruments magnificently, but the human voice is distorted. They require you have a decent size room with available corners. He is long dead but his company lives on at least as a brand and you can still buy the Klipschorn speaker.

This is a dynamic field for manufacturers and hobbyists.  Some solutions work fairly well but look weird.  I have seen a popular hobbyist design that looks like an awkward assembly of plumbing parts. It may sound good to their ears, but it looks embarrassing. There is an emotional tie in for the hobbyist.  If you invest much time and money as a consumer or a hobbyist you are not likely to admit your system is less than ideal. My giant electrostatic speakers were the result of long hard effort and expense so I was emotionally invested in praising them even if they performed marginally in some respects.  And there is the question of what actually is good.

If you listen to live music it is not radiating from perfect spheres or planes or lines.  Usually it is from one or two people or a large group of performers doing what they do on a stage or in a room.  Speaker design philosophy is not considered on stage or in a recording studio for that matter. Can a speaker create a convincing image of a jazz singer with just a piano accompanist and of a big band, or even a symphony orchestra? That is quite a trick for the speaker.  I have a small inexpensive speaker set that does the solo jazz singer voice very well, but would go up in smoke if you asked for the orchestra or a rock band. Also recall that aside from full choirs and classical ensembles most performers sing or play directly into microphones that catch just them and are “mixed” into stereo channels by another person in the chain. You hear what they let you hear. Realism is not really important to that chain.

There are a few recordings out in the wild that are different and try to be true to the idea of honest sound.  Many recordings from the 50’s and 60’s for classical music tried to preserve the concert hall experience.  There are newer attempts. One example is, “Trinity Sessions” by the Cowboy Junkies. It was recorded in 1988 using a single multi-channel microphone direct into a digital recorder.  It was done in a Church in Toronto famous for nice acoustics and natural reverberation.  The band was set up around the microphone and had amps and guitars and PA basically as it would be in a small club. If you listen to it with honest speakers you hear a room and a band as you would have heard if you had been there.  To hear this you need honest speakers.

I consider all dipoles and line source and reflecting speakers as dishonest.  Add to those any speaker set far enough from a wall to create reflections that vary with direction. The simple reason is that you are hearing things that are not in the recording but may be pleasant effects.  They may sound good, but they are not on the recording. A dipole sends significant energy out the back which bounces off a wall back to you and makes at best a clumsy reverb. At worst it upsets the tonal balance with cancellation of waves.  It is an accepted truth that reverberation sounds nice which is why every Karaoke bar uses it to tame the evil squawks of the average customer.  It is mixed into popular singers voices like sugar on breakfast cereal.  Since all dipoles do that they can sound unnaturally nice and let’s call it sugar coated.

Same thing for omnidirectional speakers with the difference being the rear wave is in phase rather than out of phase.  It is still a reflected sound reaching your ears that is not on the recording. This is additional information created by the interaction of the speaker and the room. This is not just limited to speakers as the normal type of distortion in Vacuum Tube circuits is even harmonics and is often described as “air”. If you add tube amps to dishonest speakers, as many audiophiles do, you get a double dose of sugar. These things are popular and sound pleasant but they are not honest.  The question then devolves into one of honest vs dishonest. Real sound or sugar coated.

The source of the problem is not the quality of the equipment or its execution. It is the philosophy of the design and how it works in the room.  Speakers that have significant reflections off of walls are to be avoided.  That includes box speakers set away from the walls or that have extra drivers pointed in strange directions. (I have built those too.)

[coriwilbur-blog]

20 Essential Albums to Take Your Record Collection From Novice to Noble

One thing I have learned from record collecting is that it is a lifelong commitment. One’s record collection is never complete – there is always a record you don’t own. Collecting and acquiring yet another vinyl can become addicting – I am a full-blown addict at this point. However, it can also be an overwhelming process – having to choose between which record to buy makes my head spin.

This is why I have created a list to help make this decision easier, especially if you are fairly novice at the art of vinyl collecting. I have been collecting since I was 16, having been blessed with a substantial starting point from my parents. Over the years, I have expanded their collections exponentially, having delved into further pockets of classic rock they never dared to explore before. In contrast to the direction the majority of other “albums everyone should own” type lists, I tried to avoid the trite, the most popular, the most obvious choices – going for more of a deeper-cut, heavy hitting and unique list of sorts. Here are the 20 albums I think everyone should own.

1. The Beatles - Revolver

As every music junkie knows, from the amateur record collector to classic rock expert, a record collection is not a record collection without The Beatles. No band has been able to surpass them in their music accomplishments and influence. And no one else has come up with an album nearly as good as Revolver – unless maybe the Beatles themselves. But what makes 1966’s Revolver so critical to a vinyl collection is that it marks the point in the Beatles’ work where they began to venture off, expanding their appeal past the hearts of teenage girls. This was where they showed how much more they could offer than just “yeah yeah yeah.” The themes are darker, deeper and wilder than anything they had ever done – including the George Harrison staple “Taxman,” one of Paul McCartney’s greatest achievements “Eleanor Rigby,” the most identifiable Ringo tune “Yellow Submarine” and of course, the show-stopping “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

2. The Beach Boys - Surf’s Up

Sure, sure Pet Sounds is technically the most significant Beach Boys’ work but take a listen to Surf’s Up and you will understand why it is on this list. Think Beach Blanket Babylon meets Kent State University – in fact, there is a song on here about student protests called “Student Demonstration Time.” Since Pet Sounds, the Beach Boys had been moving away from their “surfer” image, taking a similar path as the Beatles circa 1966. “Feel Flows,” a piece created almost entirely by Carl Wilson, paints a dreamy wonderland, ‘enveloping missiles of soul.’ Where all of their traditional Beach Boys sounding albums were light, meant to evoke nothing more than a feeling of endless summer, The track “Surf’s Up” hits you like a high-tide and shows that the water isn’t always surf able and eventually, summer turns into fall. The entire Surf’s Up album allows you to get to know the intellectuals behind the beach bums.

3. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd is my favorite band of all time and own all but one of their albums, so you can imagine how difficult it was for me to choose the one most critical for an awesome record collection. If you can get your hands on any Floyd album, you’re off to a great start. The obvious choice would definitely be Dark Side of the Moon so I’m going to recommend Wish You Were Here instead. Like, Dark Side – or any Floyd album, really – Wish You Were Here is a concept album, inspired by the mental demise of founding member Syd Barrett. Wish You Were Here is also a giant “fuck you” to record companies – I have a huge soft spot for anything with an anti-establishment message – with the tracks “Welcome to the Machine” and “Have a Cigar.” But the really shining moment is on the title track “Wish You Were Here,” where the band strips down to an uncharacteristically acoustic sound. “We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl, year after year” laments David Gilmour – so eerie, so dark, so Pink Floyd.

4. David Bowie - Lodger

The third album of Bowie’s “Berlin Trilogy” – who doesn’t love a collaboration with Brian Eno – is also his strongest. (Although, unless you are a devoted Bowie fan down to the core, you may or may not recognize any of the tracks right off the bat). Bowie albums are extremely hard to find for a reasonable price since his death a year ago and what not, so if you are going to splurge on one – pay over $20 for a record – make the purchase count and grab Lodger if you have the pleasure. Truly a “Fantastic Voyage,” 1979’s Lodger showcases Bowie’s musical abilities that no other one of his albums truly does – experimenting with African drum sounds on “African Night Flight” and paying homage to Lou Reed’s obsession with noise at the end of “Boys Keep Swinging.” Other highlights include “Move On,” “Red Sails,” “Look Back in Anger,” “Yassassin,” “DJ,” Repetition” and “Red Money.” Oh wait, oops, I just listed every track. Moral of the story: buy Lodger.

5. Talking Heads - Remain in Light

I am a firm believer that Brian Eno brings out the best in any already other-worldly gifted musician. The last of the three Heads-Eno collab albums, 1980’s Remain in Light was the Talking Head’s effort to prove that the other band members weren’t just back-up for frontman David Byrne. Listening to this album dispels any of such accusations. The commercially successful track is obviously “Once in a Lifetime,” but there’s so much more to this album than meets the eye. “The Great Curve” is the unsung hero here – the entire album a remarkable transition from the late 70s into the 80s. “You may say, this is not my beautiful house,” but why go for what you know, when you can have the Heads at their musical best.

6. Billy Joel - The Stranger

Out of all of the albums on this list, 1976’s The Stranger is one of the only one’s stylistically perfect in essence – seriously, it’s that good. From the get go you can tell this album is something special when you hear the beginning notes of “Movin Out.” And it’s just an upward slope from there, obviously hitting a climax with “Vienna” and “Just the Way You Are.” What’s so good about Billy Joel albums is that he sticks with a concept without being a “Dark Side of the Moon” level of obviousness or complexity – The Stranger is clearly about a young man emancipating himself, struggling to adopt an identity (“The Stranger”), finding masochistic love with a destructive woman (“She’s Always a Woman”) and seeing a dim light at the end of the dismal tunnel that is life (“Everybody Has a Dream”). Optimistically pessimistic is a good way to put it – take “Only the Good Die Young” for example; melding longing and belonging if you will. There is nothing cool about Billy Joel. Actually he’s downright hoaky and well, kind of lame. But there is something about his ability to sing about hopelessness and morbidity in such a hopeful and lively way that gets me going every time. I love him for all of his cheese and splendor; this album is a huge part of the reason why.

7. Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy

I was basically born mandated to love Steely Dan so it was very hard for me to choose which album is “the most important,” but since I am being forced to pick, my vote is for their sophomore work. Countdown to Ecstasy, the follow-up to a seemingly impossible to follow-up Can’t Buy a Thrill, is a remarkable home run. Steely Dan, a band that every parent seems to have had some weird obsession with in the 70s, is way more complex than any music writer’s ability to analyze. Yet, I still find myself able to relate to tracks like “Showbiz Kids” and “My Old School” – the latter more so than any other song in this world. The key is to not try to understand Steely Dan so much as treasure them, just like any other one of your parents’ odd quirks or idiosyncrasies.

8. The Clash - Sandinista!

“The only band that matters,” The Clash’s Sandinista! came out in 1980, a follow-up to London Calling – a  seemingly impossible record to beat. But Sandinista! goes one step further – it is a triple album – creating a whole new level of punk triumph. Sure, the album could be about ten songs shorter but, hell, why should it be? The Clash, who took punk, contorted it into a pretzel and turned anarchy into poetry, proved with this three record masterpiece that they could not be stopped – or at least until Mick Jones’ departure left us with Cut the Crap. Starting off solid with “The Magnificent Seven,” Sandinista! takes you on a wild journey – is the album, punk or reggae? Most of the time the answer is both but honestly, who cares? The band adopted an obsession with ‘dub’ – a form of reggae remixing – and was able to implement some of their previous tracks – “Police & Thieves” – in a new and exciting way. The ultimate stars of the show are obviously “Police On My Back” and “Charlie Don’t Surf,” but there’s so much else in between (and after) that is worth it that you easily lose yourself fand before you know it, you’ve spent the last two plus hours listening to punk rock.

9. Neil Young - Decade

I know the idea of even one triple album seems overwhelming but hear me out. Decade is Neil Young’s Greatest Hits album, so it can be listened to in full, in parts, out of order, however the hell you want to enjoy your Neil. The main point I’m trying to get across is that you need at least one Neil Young album and if you didn’t get graced with a father who worshipped the guy – meaning I have every single one of his albums known to man – you might as well pick one where you can have a collection of most of his best tunes compiled together. “Cinnamon Girl,” “After the Gold Rush,” “Old Man,” “Like a Hurricane,” “Harvest” and of course, “Heart of Gold” are all included. For a dude with such an expansive career, it’s amazing he was able to narrow the album down to just three discs!

10. Prince - Purple Rain

What Beethoven’s 9th Symphony was to him, Purple Rain is to Prince. Single-handedly one of the, if not the, most important pop music achievements to come out of the 80s, Purple Rain is Prince’s magnum opus. Now more than ever, mostly due to the artist’s untimely death last year, people ransack record stores for this album, and nearly pounce on me when I say I uncovered a copy for less than $20. And I’m all for the enthusiasm...obviously. From “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy” and the eponymous “Purple Rain,” to lesser known (but equally great) tracks like “The Beautiful Ones” and “Darling Nikki,” this album is the epitome of Prince’s musical and sexual genius. Not to mention that it is also a soundtrack to the movie of the same name.

11. The Doors - L.A. Woman

Not having acquired the Doors’ self-titled debut, L.A. Woman was going to have to do. And let me tell you, L.A. Woman, ironically their last before Jim Morrison’s untimely death, is better. By the time this album was released, the Doors had been banned from much receiving much airplay due to Morrison’s obscene and erratic behavior. Despite all the scandal, L.A. Woman contains some of the band’s biggest hits – “Love Her Madly,” “L.A. Woman” and “Riders on the Storm.” A concept album of sorts about life and love in Los Angeles, L.A. Woman was a great note for the Morrison-led era to end on, if it had to end.

12. Bee Gees - Bee Gee’s 1st

Long ago, before the dawn of “Saturday Night Fever,” the Bee Gee’s were just another 60s pop band. In fact, they had an extensive career before Tony Manero. Chest hair and disco fever aside, this album is nothing but pure, clean, simple pop music without a doubt – and really good pop music at that. The most notable track is definitely “To Love Somebody,” the song that ultimately put them on the radar in the first place, but there are so many other tunes that are equally as delightful – “Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy of Arts” and “Close Another Door.” Bee Gee’s 1st is evidence that the Brothers Gibb from down didn’t need to be clad in polyester pants to produce enjoyable music.

13. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain

Is it funk? Is it heavy metal? No, it’s Funkadelic! The god child of George Clinton and a band that refuses to be defined by traditional funk music rules – not that I could define them if I wanted to. Funkadelic’s piece de resistance, Maggot Brain is something from an entirely different universe – two minutes into the opening title track and you will be asking yourself “Who slipped acid into my coffee?” Next you will be saying, “Wait, I didn’t have any coffee! What the fuck is this?” But trust me, when the funk riff of “Can You Get to That” takes hold, you will be glad you joined the Soul Train from Mars.

14. The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out

The only live album on this list, Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out makes you feel like you are actually at a Rolling Stones concert. And boy, is it a great experience. Riding off the wave of Beggar’s Banquet, the Stones released this live compilation before the release of Let it Bleed. Ya Ya’s is everything you could ask in a live album and more – “Jumpin Jack Flash,” “Honky Tonk Woman” and “Sympathy for the Devil” all make appearances. However, it is the nine minute rendition of “Midnight Rambler” with the extended harmonica solo that earned this record a spot on this list above other Stones’ works.

15. The Grateful Dead  - The Grateful Dead

Nearly impossible to get used anymore for a remotely reasonable price, the 1967 debut, self-titled album from the Dead is worth the money, just ask any self-proclaimed Deadhead – I got lucky and acquired this album as a hand-me-down, unbeknownst of its value. Containing the influence of founding member Pigpen, who died in 1972 (RIP), the album comes at you strong from the first track “The Golden Road,” and continues to take you on a splendid, psychedelic journey, ending with a bang on the 10-minute long “Viola Lee Blues.” It’s a wonderful introduction into the “grate” career that was the Dead. Every collection needs at least one of their albums and if you strike gold with a copy of this one, grab it and guard it with your life.

16. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

The third installment of the band’s self-titled album series, Led Zeppelin III marked a turning point for them. This was where they began to divert from their heavy metal-esque sound – the genre that happened because of them – and what they created instead was something from an even further away planet than both of the albums that precede it – a place I like to call “Fern Gully Rock” (i.e. “Gallows Pole”). Weirder, rougher and more Lord-of-the-Rings-ish than anything they had ever done up to this point – 1970 to be exact – Led Zeppelin III is the godliest of the holy trinity. What truly makes Led Zeppelin the metaliest of the metal bands is their ability to start an album with something like “Immigrant Song” and then say ‘fuck it’ and follow it with a beautiful work of poetry like “Tangerine.” And let’s not forget the last track on the first side “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” where Jimmy Page literally puts you into a state of hypnosis with his guitar solo. Definitely the most underrated of the four self-titled albums but by no means is it any less magical.

17. The Cars - The Cars

It’s so easy to dismiss The Cars as another “decent” band to come out of the 80s, you forget a couple of things: a) The Cars actually are a part of the late-70s New Wave movement (this debut album came out in 1978) and b) they are clean, tight and innovative musicians – just listen to that riff a la Benjamin Orr from “In Touch With Your World.” This album is almost like a “greatest hits” type compilation, consisting of hit after hit like “Good Times Roll,” “My Best Friend’s Girl” and “Just What I Needed;” the plot twist is that it’s not a “greatest hits” album, but in fact, it is their debut, which put The Cars on the map as punk-new wave pioneers. A part of a movement alongside acts like Blondie and the Talking Heads, it is easy for The Cars to fade into the background. But they shouldn’t and this album will instantly become one of your most played in your collection.

18. Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding

With so many important works under his belt, from Highway 61 Revisited to Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan was obviously going to make an appearance here. John Wesley Harding is definitely way more underrated than it should be. Recorded after his miraculous recovery from that motorcyle accident, John Wesley Harding is more “down to earth” in its lyricism when compared to the wordy nature of his previous albums – “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest” is the only relatively lengthy, Dylan-esque ballad. Another remarkable characteristic of this album in particular, is the use of society’s “rejects” as a central figure in the subsequent tracks “Drifter’s Escape,” “Dear Landlord” and “I Am a Lonesome Hobo.” The album also includes his original version of “All Along the Watchtower” – the sole reason I bought this album in the first place. The reasons to purchase John Wesley Harding go way beyond that point, however. Constituted from a dark and simple place – this record is Bob Dylan sans his rambling riff raff, allowing you to truly hear why he is regarded so highly.

19. Supertramp - Breakfast in America

Supertramp, a band with one great albums and a few other, eh not so great ones. But when it was great, it was really really great – case in point, Breakfast in America. Both of my parents managed to contribute a copy of this 1979 record, which is exceptionally remarkable given that they followed two vastly different musical paths in their time. It’s easy to understand why they both loved this album, however, with tracks like “Goodbye Stranger,” “Take the Long Way Home” and obviously, “Breakfast in America.” Even if you have no idea who Supertramp is, I can guarantee you’ve at least heard “The Logical Song” once in your life. A seemingly random choice to be included on this list, give it a chance and you’ll understand why I have deemed it a necessity.

20. Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

The last album of folk legends, Simon and Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water is flawless in every sense of the word. What sets Simon and Garfunkel apart from the other musicians of their time is that they don’t just make music, they create art – Bridge Over Troubled Water being their Mona Lisa. “The Boxer” is a triumph, not just for the duo, not just for folk, but for all rock. Other notable tracks are “The Only Living Boy in New York,” “Keep the Customer Satisfied” and obviously, “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The last on the list but certainly not the least by any means, this album is guaranteed to make you feel some type of way.

Every list is going to be biased depending on what the author’s collection contains. I am going to be honest, my list is completely biased. However, I’m going to impart it on you anyways because I believe I am an expert on the matter.