In chronological order...
1. Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
Carried me through a lot of teenage years. How many times did I burn with the child of the damned?! Not the cathartic experience it once was, but I still love it due to the energy.
2. Yes - Going for the One
Yes was my favorite band in my late teens; this album contains the first truly beautiful music I had ever heard. I would shiver in awe listening to tracks like "Turn of the Century" and "Parallels".
3. Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
Here's the one band of my youth that I absolutely loathe now. This one pulled my heart out onto my sleeve, setting it up to be crushed later. Ah, the "romantic" years...
4. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
...and enter the drug years. _Lamb_ remains my #1 album, and I'm still not sure why. The album is far from flawless, other groups cover the emotions, humor, and musicianship better than Genesis does here, but somehow the way they ambitiously pulled it all together really connects.
5. Skinny Puppy - Cleanse, Fold & Manipulate
_Mind_ got played more often, but the original mix of "Addiction"... >>brr<<. The first music to really tap into the sickness inside me. Puppy (temporarily) became my favorite band, and I'm still a fan of industrial music to this day.
6. Godflesh - Pure
Mid-afternoon on a summer's day, I fell asleep to "Spite" and "Mothra", and woke up in the middle of "I Wasn't Born to Follow". It was a Red Room moment, and totally changed how I lived my life. This list could be overrun with Godflesh albums, but I restrained myself to the one that introduced me to my favorite band.
7. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
MBV is the greatest influence on my own music composition. When the final refrains of "Soon" fade away, I envision a swarm of pixies, after giving me a glimpse of the magical world I dream about, are leaving me behind in this awful world. I've listened to this album ~100 times, and it breaks my heart every time.
8. Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse
All I can say is, when you move from the Northeast to the Northwest, black metal loses a lot in the translation. Not the same without snow driving through the barren trees; now listening to BM just makes me ache for home even more.
9. Autechre - Tri Repatae
Did you know that machines can make music? Did you?
10. Main - Hz
Damn, there is a lot of great electronic music out there, but this is the one that evokes the most images and emotions from within me.
Painful omissions: Helmet - Meantime; Ministry - TMiaTTtT; Mahler - 5th & 6th Symphonies; Public Enemy - ITaNoMtHUB; Metallica - And Justice For All...; Techno Animal - Reentry; Joy Division - Closer; Boards of Canada - Geogaddi; Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas; Anthony Philips - Slow Waves, Soft Stars; David Sylvian - various; and so on and so on and so on...
both Streetcleaner and Pure are so damn heavy. what do you mean "Red Room moment"?? (i want to have one, too) 
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