The first album I bought with my own money was Love Will Keep Us Together, by The Captain and Tennille. The title cut was a big hit in 1975. Today, my preference would be for “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division, but at the time I only knew what was on the radio in central Vermont. It was either this, or Glen Campbell.
What was the first album you bought?
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“The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees,” summer 1968. Less than two works after buying it, I left it on the unprotected turntable of my Show and Tell player, and the morning sun beat down on it, warping it badly. Ten years later, I got a playable copy, but of course couldn’t get rid of the warped one, it being the first album I bought and all.
Luckily, the first album I ever purchased with my own money (as opposed to Styx’s “Kilroy Was Here,” which I seem to recall my sister purchasing for me) was “Synchronicity” by the Police. I say “luckily” because it was very nearly Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health,” a decision which I am firmly convinced would have drastically altered the course of my life. I never did get that one, but I believe that number two was “Pyromania,” thus making Def Leppard my first Favorite Band, sad to say.
The first album I ever bought without knowing a scrap of music from anybody involved, in the meantime, was Big Star’s “Third,” which was a horrible, horrible mistake that was only rectified when I later bought “#1 Record/Radio City” to give it some context. Why I bothered to dig deeper into Big Star when I couldn’t make heads or tails of the one album I had is a mystery that ultimately, I think, explains a whole lot about me.
Elton John’s Madman Across the Water. Great album – still holds up today IMHO.
Eagles Greatest Hits. I played it on my stack-and-drop record player until it wrecked the hole and started to play off-round. It was released in 1976 and I think I bought it in 1977. Might even still have it around buried in the vault.
LL Cool J’s “I’m Bad”. I think listed to it for about 72 hours straight.
I honestly don’t remember my first purchase, which is a shameful thing to say as a lover of music. But, in my defense I had two older brothers who both worked at a little independent record store in town, so although I never bought them on my own, I laid claim to all that they had… when they weren’t home of course. I lucked out having those two to lay down the foundations of good taste early on, and spending all of their paychecks on vinyl so I didn’t have to.
I do, however remember the first album someone (other than kiddie stuff my parents may have) bought for me: Cassette. For my birthday. Samantha Fox’s first album, Touch Me. Yep. Seriously. (Maybe she even got it from her BMG Music Club membership? Heh.) Oh, to grow up in the 80s.
I played that cassette over and over and over again, only when my oldest brother was home. It was awful, and I was hoping he would tell me that it sucked and buy me a record (and not punch me for using his record player), but alas, it never happened.