I took my daughter to a Rob Zombie concert because we workout together to his music. She took me to Taylor Swift; I took her to Rob Zombie.

Music is an index fossil.

You’ll see from this list of my favorite albums, my approximate age, likes, and a specific period of my life. Is it odd that my favorite all-time albums are all from a certain period of my life?

I still listen to music today, but now, I like everyone else stream the music. 

The list is my top 5 game changer albums.

Why game changer? Well, these all left a huge timestamp in society! These are the albums that could be played today and whatever song was on still crushed it.

I wrote this because I guess I want my athletes today to see another side that still reveals awesomeness.

Heck, any artist current or past that could release an entire album of quality music earned my respect. That’s the equivalent of having a great season and career rather than just a good game.

Put together your list, I’d love to hear yours.

•   Jane’s Addiction (LIVE)-    The iconic hit “Jane Says” leads this entire parade of songs that mesh the different kind of guy that Perry Farrell was along with the rock sound that this album enveloped. Release date was 1987 although I didn’t first listen to it until much later. It was a Hinge moment but new label, Epitaph records, was going to sign either Jane’s Addiction or another hollywood band, Thelonious Monster. They chose to sign the latter, eeeeeek. 

•  Beastie Boys (Paul’s Boutique)–  This hip-hop album is by far the best one of the Beastie Boys’ and it was a follow-up to License to Ill. Shake Your Rump is the party type favorite on this album, but there are sweet hits galore from these three guys from Brooklyn who earned my respect especially because they played their own instruments. Hinge Moment, but these guys were all punk, and actually had a fourth member before refining their craft and releasing License to Ill. “Dropping science like Galileo dropped the orange.” 

• Bob Dylan (Blonde on Blonde)– Of course, the greatest song writer of all-time was going to be on this list. The issue was, which album? This was the 1st Dylan album I ever listened to, it was a double-album, and it also had my favorite tune, Visions of Johanna. It’s the closest thing to perfection from a song standpoint. “We sit here stranded, but we all do our best to deny it.” 

•  Bad Religion (No Control)– I don’t know what type of punk music reigns supreme in today’s landscape. This is Bad Religion’s best album and close to the best punk album of all-time. You’ll need the lyrics to keep up along with a dictionary, no joke. Fast, angry, politico, & still relevant today. “If you came to conquer, you’ll be king for a day,
  But you too will deteriorate and quickly fade away.
  And believe these words you hear when you think your path is clear…”

• Nirvana (Unplugged)-  MTV had acoustic sets from some of the best bands during this time. I watched this album live, and probably the last time I watched MTV honestly. Check it out. It remains such a riveting show, because it had killer covers, and displayed the genius of Kurt Cobain, which made his death not long after such a unbelievable event at the time… “Jesus don’t want me for a sunbeam.” 

Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology Coach. His company DRB & associates coach executives and professional athletes and is based in Indianapolis. Some clients have included three winners on the PGA Tour, Indy Eleven, University of Notre Dame, Marriott, and Walgreens. 

Please Check out all the books and the mental toughness podcast - 15 Minutes of Mental Toughness as we interview expert athletes and coaches about Mental Strength and their Hinge Moment. New blog posts are published weekly.