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In my early teens, I used to say that I loved all music except opera and country. Two albums changed that.

I bought Teresa Stratas sings Kurt Weill because, having grown up with the Threepenny Opera, I loved Weill/Brecht's social consciousness and provacative attitude. Hearing her classically trained voice allowed me to relax and understand that style of singing - next stop Verdi, Wangner, Britten, Mozart!

While I am still limited in my taste for country, hearing Big City by Merle Haggard opened me up quite a bit. The clever lyrics and pithy solos made me realize that there was more to explore in the genre.

Lastly, I always liked Bowie songs on the radio when I was a kid. When Changes Two came out I gave it to my brother for Christmas. I listened and thought, hmm, all these songs are so different but they're all good and they span several years...let me look into this Bowie character. That was it - I fell for Bowie completely and soon had all the albums.

Great topic!

To be a gateway record typically it has to have a gatefold cover. That said Sandinista from The Clash opened me up to a whole new world of music and culture.

one of the great gateway albums in music history Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music...partly responsible for the folk revival movement in the late 50s and 60's

The Beatles got me into Indian music. Well, truth be told, I thought I would get high listening to Ravi Shankar. But the taste stayed with me.

John Renbourn's "Lady and the Unicorn" led me into a life-long adoration for Early Music, as it did for many of the current players.

Zappa's "Absolutely Free," with its numerous quotes from Stravinsky and others, gave me energy to explore new music.

Gateway GENRE:

In the early 90s I was a DJ playing a lot of the "golden era" Hip Hop records. I was blown away by the creativity of people like Public Enemy, De La Soul, Main Source, DJ Premier and many others. I wanted to know how in the world the made the sounds I was hearing!
I started to look up the tracks that were sampled which lead me not only to James Brown and Funkadelic but to Herbie Hancock, Bobby Bird, and then to smaller and smaller branches of Soul and Funk - The Winstons, The Afro Layfaette Rock Band, Eugene McDaniels, Eddie Bo, Third Guitar, Odetta, The Kashmere Stage Band and on and on...
Hip Hop was my gateway into Rare Soul and Deep Funk which is almost all I listen to today...

Back in the 80's I was a towney doing an electronic music show [on vinyl] at a local university and borrowed Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa which led me to other works of his along with works featuring Gidon Kremer and the music of Giya Kanchelli, Schnittke and others.

When I was 22, I drove my sophisticated New Yorker husband, four years older and oh so erudite, crazy with my love for punk. I refused to worship jazz. One evening he played a Charlie Christian album, just guitar riffs, and I was floored. "That's so punk!" I told him. My husband was thrilled. Soon after that, we went to a movie on the Kansas City Devils and the score included Lester Young. I turned to my husband and said, "When he plays, everything stops." We took the trolley (we lived in SF) to Tower and he bought me a Lester Young album.

So, you could say that punk led to jazz. I still listen to jazz, but I divorced that man 25 years ago.

Also...

Beleza Tropical, compiled by David Byrne, the first Brazilian album in my collection (I now have about 25gigs of Brazilian music). Completely seminal!

In the twenty years since it came out the David Byrne compiled, Brazil Classics, Vol. 1: Beleza Tropical, is responsible to more additions to my collection than any other single album.

Replacements: Alex Chilton from Pleased to Meet Me made me a Big Star fanatic.

A Tribe Called Quest's albums led me to, well, everything. I barely listen to hip hop anymore because I just want to listen to the amazing old soul songs they were all sampling...

The comedy series "Yacht Rock" opened my eyes to a whole period of truly smooth music.

Hooked on Classics

Philip Glass's soundtrack to Koyanasqatsi in college opened my mind to all kinds of music I'd never heard before... world music, opera and even a backwards glance into classical music like Mozart. The structure of music changed in my mind as a result.

Sonic Youth's "EVOL" turned me on to all things guitar-based, noisy and dissonant. Up to that point I was a synth pop and prog rock fan and I played synthesizers. Soon afterwards I bought myself a guitar and a distortion pedal.

For me the late 70's K-Tel "best of " albums turned me on to Hank Williams and Jerry Lee Lewis , and I couldn't even afford to buy them! Just the 10 second portions they played on TV opened my ears to Sun Records and Country music . At the time you just didn't hear this type of thing on the radio.

Lucinda Williams's CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD turned me on to alt-country (No Depression), which led me to back to old-school country (Hank, Johnny, Merle), which led me back to Dust Bowl-era folk, country, and blues (Harry Smith's anthology).

A life-changing record, as this kind of stuff is almost all I listen to these days. I agree with the previous posters about Gram Parsons too.

My Gateway Album was Music from the Jasmine Isle, Javanese gamelan music. It led to my dropping in at the Indonesian consulate, which led to an invitation to join their group, which led in a couple of years to a trip to Java to perform. A wonderful experience!

And also - I must admit I went 6 or 7 years ago to what I THOUGHT was a Kelly Hogan show here in Atlanta, and it ended up being a GREAT GREAT show of Andrew Bird, I thought he was just the opener!!! What a rocking show... That's not an "album" mode of introduction, but the whole opening act can be a great bridge to new diversity.

Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart. 10 years old and fell in love with country music, old and new.

New Kids on the Block - gotta love boy bands!

My older brother drove me to school listening to a lot of Squirrel Nut Zippers, and one day he brought in a CD called "Thrills" by Andrew Bird. It was MY gateway album for the incredible artist I'd never heard of before but completely changed my view of great music.

Mine was Steppin' with the World Saxophone Quartet, their first on Black Saint, after I'd been listening to folk-rock for years -- the WSQ led me to the Art Ensemble, to Third Stream, and then on to traditional jazz.

The Clash : "Sandanista" "Black Market Clash" "Combat Rock" introduced me to reggae and dub. In general The Clash opened up a lot of doors for me including : dub, reggae, funk, spoken word (Alan Ginsburg) not to mention politics and non-conformity.

Brian Eno : "Music for Films, Music for Airports" Eno made tracks that took up the entire side of a 12" record. My first exposure to long form music and the concept of "ambient".

Also, around this time I discovered Bitches Brew by Miles Davis. Again, I loved getting into long compositions. An entire side of a 12" record was a long song. I loved this!
Best listened to when it is raining.

The gateway albums I recall are the ones I picked up for one sound, but was then introduced accidentally to another, like The English Beat's Special Beat Service, with the pop song being Save It For Later, but a good bit of the other songs being ska and toasting. A whole new world! Long story short, I was later a DJ for WEGL's reggae specialty show. Or something like Yesterday's News, a single from Whiskeytown, convinced me to give "country" sounds a second chance. (Yes I loved Replacements too but was still not able to admit they were countrified at all) And credit should also go to Jason and the Nashville Scorchers for sort of the same thing; using one genre to trick folks into exposure to a totally different genre. I thought they were punky enough to be cool, though the covers they chose would have made me cringe at the time to hear the originals....

The debut Emerson, Lake & Palmer album titled "Emerson, Lake & Palmer". More specifically, the synth solo on "Lucky Man". Instaneously hooked me on any synth sound that could be produced and have always kept abreast of the technical progress that has spawned from it. In the 70's it was monophonic synths (Lucky Man) and then it's progress to Polyphonic which in turn made it available to musicians to reproduce an orchastra-like sound needed for their music ala, Yes, Moody Blues, Genesis, etc. And now, of course, there just wouldn't be any "artists" without a synth or that form of technology (samplers).

Yup, I like anything that makes the "WeeeerrooooooWeeeroooooooorrrrrrrwwwwww" sound!

Also -

Peter Gabriel's "Music and Rhythm" compilation explored World Music before it even had a name - Balinese, African, Carribean music with western pop that were exploring these rhythms.

Listening to punk and hardcore music back in the 1980s and 90s, when none of the truly underground stuff was covered in magazines (even fanzine coverage was sparse) and there wasn't the Internet yet, etc, one of the main ways I would find out about new bands was through album "thank you" lists.

These lists were ubiquitious in the liner notes of punk records, and if I found a band/record I really liked, I'd look over the thank you list and start seeking out the other artists that those bands thanked. In a sense, if I liked a band enough, I trusted that they played with and befriended other bands that I'd enjoy equally. This led me to many amazing finds that I never would've discovered otherwise.

The Clash's London Calling proved to me there could be more to punk than loud, fast guitars, and sparked an interest in reggae, ska, classic rocknroll, and world music that would lead me to discover artists like the Specials, Toots and the Maytals, Chuck Berry, and countless others.

I'm sure Eno's "Music for Airports" helped sell a million Arvo Part, Reich, Kronos, and Bang on a Can albums.

Emmylou Harris has been a premiere gateway artist for me into the sounds of country, especially her "Live at the Ryman" album - which I came to when it came out. She introduced me to Bill Monroe and Steve Earle on that album, made Hank Williams hip, later introduced me to Lucinda Williams, Gram Parsons, the Louvins.

My intro to jazz was through Miles Davis's "In a Silent Way," which took me to Zawinul, McLaughlin, Shorter and Corea and their fusion projects before I want back into Miles' past and into Coltrane, Bird and all the rest.

Gram Parson's Tribute Album by Emmy Lou Harris raised the profile of this great writer to the world. Session at West 54th had a show with performances that exposed Gram to a new generation. Let's not forget Brother Where Art Thou that helped rise the profile of Blue Grass Music. Bruce Springsteen Seeger Session's Album brought back great music.

My gateway album was actually a couple of radio episodes back in the mid-80s. The show in question was actually New Sounds (thanks John!), and there were two episodes that I recorded and that served, in retrospects, as the crankhandles of a huge amount of my later musical tastes and collection.

At this point in my life, I was very much a reggaehead, and was starting to listen to King Sunny Ade and folks like that. Late one night, New Sounds introduced me to a whole passel of performers I'd never heard of: Lata Mangeshkar, Sergio and Odair Assad, Om Khalthoum, Kalahari Surfers, DjurDjura, Bauls of Bengal - even My LIfe in the Bush of Ghosts... an entire world of music that was new and immediate, and to my receptive musical mind like a catalyst which send me in a thousand directions. I pursued each of these performers in the bins at Tower, and began to check out all their neighbors...

Once again - Thanks, John!

Hip Hop exposure as a youth was my gateway genre to almost every other type of music I listen to. Jazz is one example:

E.G. DJ Premier's incorporation of Charles Mingus' "Haitian Fight Song" for Gangstarr's "Speak Ya' Clout, leads me to Charles Mingus' "The Clown" and "Pithecanthropus Erectus" etc, which in turn leads me to Mingus, Ellington, Roach, "Money Jungle," which leads me to Max Roach and Clifford Brown's work together...on to Wayne Shorter, Monk, etc.

howe about a gateway LABEL --
when i was in college i discovered the cocteau twins thanks to the programmers at VA tech's college station where i was a dj. that turned me on to loads of artists - you couldnt go wrong on 4AD.
Windam Hill the same.

Earlier on in 1983, it was seeing Paul Bley near Sheridan Square with Paul Motion and Steve Swallow. Later, it was the Ligeti String Quartets by the Arditti Quartet.

Zappa: Weasel's Ripped My Flesh has "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" on it, which got me into Dolphy...and I read about Zappa and found out he was into Edgar Varese, so I checked him out, I traced Zappa's bandmates from other albums like Jean Luc Ponty into some of the contemporary jazz violin, or traced Adrian Belew into his 80s King Crimson stuff, which led to me earlier Crimson, and on and on...

Edvard Lieber's Music to Paintings, based on interpretations of modern paintings, not only opened the gateways for me to 20th century music, but helped me to understand abstract paintings as well!

Ravi Shankar's "Portrait of a Genius" inspired a curiousity about world music and a lifelong passion for India.

How about Sound d'Afrique: Soukous released on Mango/Island in late '80s. Opened my ears to afro-pop and I never looked back. I went on to work at Stern's African Music Centre in London and later opened my own world music record store- Round World Music- in San Francisco (1990-1998). I know Juan Luis Guerra borrowed the song Dede Priscila for his mega-hit A Pedir Su Mano. Viva L'Afrique!

the Clash "Police and Thieves" lead me to Junior Murvin's original and from there Jamaican records in general

I am really excited to hear so much mention of Alan Lomax, I love his recording of the Angola Prison Spirituals.

Two gateway books that influenced my music loves
Fortress of Solitude introduced me to Brenton Wood and many other great musicians.

The book by Alan Lomax, THE LAND WHERE THE BLUES BEGAN

When I was a very little kid I heard the Beatles "Help!", which lead me to the anthology. I was 8 years old and now I'm 23 and its been a life long love affair all thanks to that compilation.

The Pogues Red Roses For Me - Turned me on to celtic music big time. I started listening to WFUV's celtic shows, "discovered" the Chieftains, Wolftones, etc. and even took tin whistle lessons.

I was into hard rock, Boston, etc in the late 70's, then I was blown away by Billy Cobham's Spectrum.....and then onward to jazz fusion.

Brad

The Byrds, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, in the early seventies was a gateway into country, by following Gram Parsons into country, even to Merle Haggard through Gram Parson's, Hippie From Misl...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Their album "Ass Pocket of Whiskey", a collaboration with blues artist RL Burnside helped spawn the Fat Possum Records phenomenon.

For me, it was the mid 80's, I was 21 and Tom Waitts "Blue Valentine" was a complete revelation. I don't know why I initially bought it but from the very first track it completely blew me away.

Frank Sinatra's Strangers in the Night. As an 11-year old in 1971, I had been listening to the Top 40, when suddenly this album of my parents transformed me into a huge fan of Sinatra. This opened up the whole world of the American Songbook and its masters to me. I still miss William B. Williams great radio show.

Paul Winter and George Winston: my Gateway to new age music

Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto (featuring Astrud Giliberto) 1963 album: my Gateway to Bossa Nova.

Fela Kuti's "Expensive $^%&" - opened up an entire world for me.

Glenn Gould's Bach Goldberg Variations --> Gould doing Bach's Well Tempered Clavier --> Bach's 2 and 3-part inventions. Sublime.

I was quietly content in my R&B/hip hop scene until someone gave me Debut by Bjork. It opened up so many other genres that I had never had exposure to--leading me to the female voices of Tori Amos and PJ Harvey. Then it led me to Tricky and a true love affair with electronica and to the NYC experimental vibe of Soul Coughing and Sonic Youth. And that led to an appreciation of rock and indie music of all kinds that I never thought back in the day would define my love of music.

And yes, I had Legends in college.

David Byrne's compilation O Samba, back in the 90s, got me started listening to all kinds of Brazilian music. I missed about 10 years of American pop music by finding this wonderful stuff.

"dolmen music" by meredith monk made me want to own everything she has ever recorded.

For jazz, the Dave Brubeck Quartet's Time Out opened a hundred doors for me, from Mose Allison to Sun Ra, and every person I played it for.

Lightnin'!
By: Lightnin' Hopkins

The Buddy Holly Stroy: Buddy Holly

3 gateway albums for me:

The Real Folk Blues: Muddy Waters

The Buddy Holly Story: Buddy Holly

Lightnin'!: Lightnin' Hopkins

honkey dorey...david bowie
love it to death....alice cooper
out of step...minor threat

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" turned an entire generation onto bluegrass and early country through the music of The Carter Family, Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, Merle Travis, et. 30 years later it is still one of my favoties recording!

History of Eric Clapton -> King of the Delta Blues Singers (Robert Johnson)

Almost Blue (Elvis C.) made me realize that country could be worth something.

Live at Leeds (Who) opened up rockabilly with Eddie Cochran's Summertime Blues, and the soundtrack for Quadrophenia introduced the Phil Spector early sixties, which made me more receptive to Motown. Mr. Azzerad's own "That Motown Band," however, sealed that alliance.

"Energy" by Operation Ivy has been a gateway record for punk rockers of all (sub) genres for at least the last 15 years or more. The record itself came out in 1989 and by the time I found it in 1997 at age 13 it was well established as such. Almost every punk I've met since then had a formative experience with the record, but diverge on the secondary gateway band. Some liked the Dead Kennedys, others Black Flag etc, but all of us listened to Op Ivy.

It is unique though in that its the second gate; where most people I've talked to found a radio punk band like Green Day first. In fact Green Day used to (and might still) cover the first song off of Energy.

To this day it is record that people who mostly listen to hardcore, and people who mostly listen to ska can all agree on - good for parties. Its also one of those albums that people who don't even like any of the punk rock offshoots can enjoy, truly the perfect gateway record.

For me, "Passion Sources"--Peter Gabriel's compilation of music that influenced his soundtrack for The Last Temptation of Christ-- on RealWorld, was an excellent introduction to many different artists and styles of music from around the world; Baaba Maal, Shankar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Musicians of the Nile, Hossam Ramzy,
Armenian duduk music, et al.

Soft Machine. From there Kevin Ayers and the Canturbury music scene such as Caravan, and Hatfield and the North.
Also from Kevin Ayers I discovered Mike Oldfield and from him Lol Coxhill and David Bedford.
Also from Soft Machine the great Robert Wyatt and almost anything on the Harvest record label.

Listening to Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" in 1970 then "Jack Johnson" set me off on a lifetime of listening to jazz .... blends of rock and jazz later morphed into "Fusion" which I now find unlistenable, but those two albums were my "gateway" to a lifetime appreciation of modern jazz. Thank you Miles, thank you John Coltrane, thank you Ornette.

Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Crossfire" fired me up to dig into Blues; "Graceland" led to Ladysmith Black Mombazo and the world of African music; a TV broadcast of Beethoven's Ninth compelled me to discover Classical (still at it, in fact); Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" changed my mind about Country; and, like so many others, "Kind of Blue" was my first Jazz album.

Prince's second album "Prince" turned me into the BIGGEST Prince fan which in turn, lead me to follow many of his protégés/spin-off acts like, Vanity 6, The Time, The Family, Andre Cymone, Dez Dickerson, Madhouse, Sheia E. and Jessie Johnson.

Hey, Lead Belly wasn't a "bluesman." He was a folk singer. Think "Goodnight, Irene," "In the Pines," "Midnight Special," "Rock Island Line," etc. There are surprisingly few blues songs in his catalogue.

The great pianist Van Cliburn playing Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto. A haunting work that I only later discovered through the movie Brief Encounter, it opened the door to piano works by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mozart and countless others.

James Blood Ulmer - Freelancing. Got me into harmelodics, and going back to Ornette Coleman and so much branching out from there.

Anything by Harry Belafonte. Got me into everything Afro-Caribbean.

Syncro-System by King Sunny Ade. Got me into Fela Kuti and all afro pop and trad african music from all over.

The Beatles - Sergeant Pepper. Got me into lierally everything musical and started me on a career in music at age 8.

A big gateway album for me was "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?" by The Unicorns (released in 2003). The album was not a gateway that caused me to delve further into the genre, but rather allowed me to discover Alien 8 Recordings (Canadian label that put out the record).

After finding my way to Alien 8's website in 2003, I started discovering Japanese Noise through their releases of Merzbow, Massona, Acid Mothers Temple, and others. This is to the credit of the diversity of the artists they support. Had they not released the sugary lo-fi pop of the Unicorns it may have been years later until I discovered harsh noise.