Facebook recently reminded me of a post a friend tagged me in 15 years ago asking me to name 15 albums that “has such a profound effect on you they changed your life. Dug into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Took you somewhere. Now list them.” We’ve all seen everyone share these before, and usually I don’t participate in these types of posts, but this caught my 21 year-old eye and I did it.

Here are the 15 albums I listed in 2009:

1. Upbeats & Beatdowns – Five Iron Frenzy
2. Pop – U2
3. Beautiful Midnight – Matthew Good Band
4. Absent Friends – Divine Comedy
5. Jordan’s Sister – Kendall Payne
6. Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind
7. Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt – Augustana
8. No Name Face – Lifehouse
9. And You Think You Know What Life’s About – Dishwalla
10. Twentysomething – Jamie Cullum
11. The Beauty & the Tragedy – Trading Yesterday
12. Self titled – Sixpence None the Richer
13. Ohio – Over the Rhine
14. O – Damien Rice
15. Jesus Freak – dc Talk

I’m surprisingly not ashamed of this list over a decade later. If limited to albums that came out prior to 2009, I’d only change 4,5,10, and 11.

4) Absent Friends is a good album, and I think I listed it at the time because I had just discovered The Divine Comedy and was enraptured with how different they were. But I don’t think I’ve listened to it in a decade, so clearly it hasn’t had long term staying power for me. 4 would now be Love is Hell – Ryan Adams. “I am in the twilight of my youth, not that I’m going to remember” is a line I haven’t gotten out of my head for years. It’s so true.

5) Jordan’s Sister connected for me in high school as I did homework in my room but didn’t last too far beyond that. I probably hadn’t listened to it in a year or two back when I made this list, and now it’s been at least 13-14 years and I have no desire to go back for it. 5 is now Everything in Transit – Jack’s Mannequin. Not sure how this didn’t make it on there at the time, I had (still have) that album burned on my brain.

10) Twentysomething…I’m ashamed this was on there. I guess it was because it was the first “jazz” album (I use that word very loosely) I liked…? I don’t know. It shouldn’t be here. 10 should be Rocking the Suburbs – Ben Folds.

11) The Beauty & the Tragedy is a beautiful (ha!) and easy to listen to album that this post prompted me to go back and listen to again for the first time in about a decade. And while it is good, the fact I almost forgot about it, doesn’t bode well for its permanence in my consciousness. 11 is now Urban Hymns by The Verve. When I want to sit down and have a glass of wine and just listen, this always seems to be one of the first albums I reach for.

Let’s do this again, opening up the list to include albums post 2009 now. Some things never change though. (In no particular order.)

1. Love is Hell – Ryan Adams
2. Beautiful Midnight – Matthew Good Band
3. Pop – U2
4. Self titled – Third Eye Blind
5. Carry the Fire – Dustin Kensrue
6. Urban Hymns – The Verve
7. O – Damien Rice
8. Transatlanticism – Death Cab for Cutie
9. Self titled – Sixpence None the Richer
10. Everything in Transit – Jack’s Mannequin
11. Rockin’ the Suburbs – Ben Folds
12. Drunkard’s Prayer – Over the Rhine
13. Mhmm – Relient K
14. Details – Frou Frou
15. Self titled – Citizens

Five out of fifteen the same, with one additional artist just changing albums. Doesn’t mean the other six I didn’t already discard are not still favorites, but this list is pretty solid on long-term connections with a couple of recent discoveries thrown in.

This list contains some of my favorite songs. It contains some of my favorite lines. But I’ll single out one new selection, because it restored my desire to play church music.

The first album from Citizens is a declaration that indie rock style, musical skill, and good lyrics can actually coexist in a way that is accessible for congregational worship.