5. Relationship of Command: At the Drive-In

I mostly listened to grrl rock like Tori and Fiona, but something about the rawness of lead singer Cedric Bixler’s (now of the far inferior Mars Volta) voice and the frantic intensity of the music really appealed to me. Maybe it was an outlet for my teenage anger and angst, or maybe it just made me feel cool. Either way, the album still kicks ass.

4. Rated R: Queens of the Stone Age

I listened to this album over and over after I broke up with my first boyfriend. It’s not an especially sad album, so I don’t know why it brought me so much comfort, but it really became a security blanket. I can’t listen to it now without feeling a little sad and really, really nostalgic. Which is a shame, because it also kicks ass.

3. The Blue Album: Weezer

The World Has Turned and Left Me Here was the theme song of my junior year, also known as the year of awful braces and being overlooked for a good part in the school play. I was a nerd, and Weezer understood that–they spoke for me in the most beautifully simple and poignant way a band could. Sadly, I’ve listened to this album so many times that I cannot listen to it ever again.

2. Doolittle: The Pixies

Immediately when I heard this album I knew without a doubt that the Pixies were going to be my favorite band. And seven or eight years later, they probably still are.

I wore out every Pixies album I could get my grubby little hands on and I never, ever grew tired of them. Doolittle was schizophrenic brilliance and I felt better, smarter, just listening to it. It made me want to leave my small town and strike out, it made me want to dance, and it gave me one of my most persistent role models in Kim Deal. Minus the whole alcoholism thing.

1. Boys for Pele: Tori Amos.

This album will always make me think of my best friend in high school, and driving around at all hours in her old car that hardly ran. We listened to this album and talked about our lives, our fears, our crushes, our futures, loving Tori’s impertinence, her boldness. She was the adult version of what we wanted to be, wiser for all of her youthful indiscretions.

The album, too, was all about frustration with men and relationships, and although our situations were greatly different, I felt like I understood everything she sang about.

What albums defined your teenage years? Can you still listen to them?

[Photos from Wikipedia]

Since their debut on the scene in 1994, reviews of Weezer’s subsequent albums have paled in comparison. Fans, myself included, have stood by the band as Pinkerton, The Green Album, Maladroit and Make Believe saw occasional commercial success with pop-like singles but nothing lasting.

But we held out. We found and embraced the good stuff (Pinkerton’s been in my heavy rotation since high school) where snooty reviewers and the general public saw weak pet projects. And now, for Weezer and music fans alike, the long wait may be over.

A few days ago, the band released their 6th disc, (a third self-titled album dubbed The Red Album), and early reviews of the album are positive. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping Weezer may finally get the respect they deserve.

One telling lyric says it best, “Timbaland knows the way to reach the top of the charts/Maybe if I work with him I can perfect the art.” It didn’t take production mastermind Timbaland, just a return to the riffs, attitude and fun that made Weezer famous. In the same vein, the video for Pork And Beans celebrates YouTube superstars with a veritable galaxy of accidental celebrities. Perfect, for the band’s return to critical and hopefully commercial success.

Before diving in to the new disc, take some time to embrace how far these fellas have come. I put together a playlist of some of my favorite Weezer tracks and you can listen to it online. I promise you’ll be a believer in 40 minutes or less.

Is anyone else out there a long-time Weezer fan? Or do you have experience following a band religiously despite sour albums, or bad press (I’m talking to you Guns N Roses fans)? And is anyone else excited to to purchase the Weezer album and the new one from Journey today…not that I am…I’m just wondering if you are…oh gosh nevermind.