Money Mark / Mark's Keyboard Repair Lp (Release in 1996 on Pinto Records/ MoWax)

Keyboard Money Mark is one of my main musical mentors. I was lucky enough to spend so much time learning from him on tour. He made this record on an 8 track recorder and mixed it on headphones. It's a very adventurous record that goes from instrumental grooves, latin percussion tracks, rock songs, to lovely ballads. I remember when he would play "Sometimes You Gotta Make it Alone" on tour and it would captivate the audience each night. 

De La Soul / 3 Feet High and Rising Lp (Release in 1989 on Tommy Boy Records)

This was a revolutionary album. It sounded like nothing else before it. I've listened to this album more than any other hip hop record. It was fun and completely unique. It showed me there are always new and surprising directions for music to go. I still listen to this album now and even decades later, it still reveals new things with every listen. 

Beastie Boys / Check Your Head Lp (Release in 1992 on Grand Royal Records)

I listened to this record everyday in high school. I love the mix of different styles from the hip hop, punk, and instrumental live jams. Mario Caldato's and Money Mark's contributions are wonderful also. I really enjoyed the raw and distorted sounds they were able to capture in the studio. But most of all I love the wonderful live energy of this album. 

Puzzle Broken Record (Release at Synergistics Research Corp, date unknow)

This is not actually a vinyl record, but I found it in a used record store many years ago while I was on tour. After having dug through the crates for several hours that day, it was a surprising thing to find in the crates and it still makes me laugh. The puzzle is actually quite difficult to put together.   don't know if this company ever did anything else in this style. It says it has 219 pieces. I found that information was a little odd and very specific.

Coldcut / White Label (Release at Ninja Tune/ Ahead of Our Time, date unknow)

Coldcut's album What's that Noise? changed my life. It was one of the reasons I started getting into making music and started saving up my paper route money to buy a turntable and mixer. It was an absolute dream come true when they invited me to record for Ninja Tune. I learned so much about music and deejaying from touring with them. I also love how artistically daring their albums are and the DIY spirit of the label. 

Public Enemy / It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back Lp (Release in 1988 on Def Jam)

Still one of the most advanced albums in my opinion. There's not much I can say about this album that hasn't been said already. The first hip hop 12" single I ever bought was "Night of the Living Baseheads" which was from this album. The music was mind blowing and didn't sound like anything before or since. It was just a full throttle audio assault on the speakers and was truly an epic album!

Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday / The Newport Years (Release in 1973 on Verve)

Here are two of my favorite singers. My parents would often play jazz records in the house when I was growing up. I have listened to Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald more than any other artists. I found this album recently and it has a live recording from each of them when they both performed at Newport '57 festival. It was a historic occasion for the two of them to appear at the same festival and I'm glad it was documented here on vinyl. 

My daughter's record present : Alphabets and Counting Ep (Release in 2015 on Private Press)

This is the rarest record in my collection. It's a one of one 10" vinyl that my two daughters made for me when they were around 4 and 6 years old. On it you can hear them singing the alphabet as well as counting to 20. It's very adorable. Each side has original artwork they made for the center stickers. This was a gift for my birthday and it is my most cherished record!