The first album that I truly loved was Dookie by Green Day. It permeated my 10-year-old soul and introduced me to the concept that music has the power to shape one's entire sensibility.

Even though I've moved on to more sophisticated artists, I am still affected by the songs on Dookie. I don't even really respect them. After spending enough time listening to Dylan and Lou Reed and Patti Smith and Radiohead and Leonard Cohen and Neil Young, Green Day are not terribly interesting. Still, even though my 20-year-old brain knows the boundaries between high music and low music, and knows where Green Day fall on that spectrum, I am nevertheless moved by Dookie.