Alex's top 20 favorite albums

I've never done any of these 'favorite movies/music/books' lists before, and thought it might be fun (can you tell it's a slow day here at the office?). So...here's the list of my top 20 favorite albums.

For the record, musical taste is an area in which I deviate sharply from SMAG ideals, so the following is very atypical and should not be considered representative of SMAG's in general.

These rules apply:
- These are personal favorites, not necessarily what I'd consider to be 'the best'. The fact that there are probably a few musical misses here isn't nearly as important as the fact that they all still manage to evoke a visceral reaction in me, every time. I could pop any of these albums into my CD player right now and be as delighted to listen to it them as the first time I heard them.
- In addition to the nostalgia factor, every album was somehow significant in the development of my taste in music.
- I'm not including classical or hip hop here, and nothing that came out after 2005, with the exception of "Boxer," which is so amazing that I just had to break my own rule.
- These are roughly listed in the order in which I love them.
- I realize the content and format of this list makes me sound like a pretentious a-hole, and I really don't care.

Here goes...

Wire - "Pink Flag" (1977)
Television - "Marquee Moon" (1977)
The Replacements - "Let It Be" (1984)
The Pixies - "Come on Pilgrim"/"Surfer Rosa"/"Doolittle" (Ok, I cheated here, but whatever)
Pavement - "Slanted and Enchanted" (1992)
Husker Du - "Zen Arcade" (1984)
Fugazi - "13 Songs" (1989)
The National - "Boxer" (2007)
Gang of Four - "Entertainment!" (1979)
Mission of Burma - "Signals, Calls and Marches" (1981)
Minor Threat - "Complete Discography" (1989)
Minutemen - "Double Nickels on the Dime" (1984)
At the Drive-In - "Relationship of Command" (2000)
Nirvana - "Nevermind" (1991)
Sonic Youth - "Daydream Nation" (1988)
Uncle Tupelo - "Still Feel Gone" (1991)
The Strokes - "Is This It?" (2001)
Sleater-Kinney - "The Woods" (2005)
Frank Black - "Teenager of the Year" (1994)
Sunny Day Real Estate - "The Rising Tide" (2000)

Ok, Lydia...your turn.