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A Music Meme for Friday courtesy of the ladies from The Music Memoirs:

Top 5 Albums you couldn't live without when you were growing up.

When I was a youngster, I took part in the age-old ritual of rebelling from everything your parents represent and listened to a lot of hip hop and urban-style music. I suppose I wanted to be "cool," and cool back then was rap and hip hop. That should explain the albums on this list.

1) DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince - He's the DJ I'm the Rapper
One of the more important albums I listened to when I was a kid. I loved that album and I still have it on CD.

2) MC Hammer - Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em
I think this is what started it all. My young impressionable mind saw the genius that was the "You Can't Touch This" video and I was hooked. Hammer was one of the more parent-acceptable rappers back then, so I definitely had all of his albums back when I was around 10 and 11.

3) Technotronic - Trip On This! The Remixes
I don't think many of you would remember this group. Basically they were a euro-pop/club group, producer-driven and image concious. A friend of mine got me into them, and so I bought their remix album. It had a REALLY weird-looking cover, some woman with a funky pattern on her. I think I mostly bought it because of that cover, but the music was pretty kickin' too.

4) Tag Team - Whoomp! There It Is (Cassette Single version)
This was THE anthem when I was in seventh grade. My friends and I just loved this song and "Whoomp! There It Is!" became a serious catchphrase for us. I even used it as the soundtrack to a hockey highlight video I made that got shown on our school TV system. Yeah I was a dork. Anyway, this song was very important to my middle school life.

5) New Edition - Heart Break
Bobby Brown could have easily gone here as well, after all he used to be a member of New Edition. But I think this album was a bit better than the Bobby Brown albums I had. Mostly this album kicks butt because of the gem that is "If It Isn't Love." I think that song could make the charts even today. I don't know how or why I got into Bobby Brown, but I do know that knowing he started with New Edition got me listening to New Edition. I was a ten year old kid listening to pop groups with young black males. Wow.

Honorable Mention: Bobby Brown "Don't Be Cruel" and remix album; "Ghostbusters II" Soundtrack; DJ Magic Mike "Bass Is The Name Of The Game"; Another Bad Creation; All the rap compilation albums I had.

I'd just like to say, in conclusion, that making this post really brought back some memories for me. I had to think quite hard about what I actually listened to when I was a growing up. Honestly, I think I'd be willing to put each of these albums on a few times more, even now. I may have more sophisticated listening tastes now that I'm an adult, but you can't beat childhood memories.