I followed #timstwitterlisteningparty last night to read along (not listen) to Dog Man Star and realised I could still hear almost every note in my head. Got me thinking about times in my life where I properly listened to full albums, didn't just have radio on in the background

Earliest album listening: in the car as a kid, so my parents' choices of music. We didn't have many tapes so they are ingrained in my mind: the Beatles, Help and Rubber Soul; a compilation of the Rolling Stones (Rolled Gold, in 2 vols); a copy of Brothers in Arms from my uncle

A whole load of Clannad for a long period in the 1980s, plus the odd tape which I can't swear was an album but included Gordon Lightfoot, Neils Sedaka and Diamond. Think that was it for that period, until my brother discovered music...

Much of this I can date to c.1989 as we moved from Kent to Lancs then and spent a lot of time in the car looking round: this period includes INXS Kick, U2 Rattle & Hum, probably more Clannad and no doubt complaints from mum and dad

Very early 90s: listening in the house. In my bedroom to the very few tapes I bought/borrowed between having enough pocket money & shopping trips to buy music and discovering indie music. Probably included Enya, Enigma up against sounds from brother's room next door...

(younger) brother always cooler than me, so blasted G'n'R in particular, later RHCP and RATM. Seem to remember listening to INXS Listen Like Thieves a lot as well. Then came indie music and everything changed. The Only One I Know, The High, Box Set Go esp.

6th form years: school was 40+ mins away and I often drove there/to visit friends locally so listened a lot in the car. Housemartins, then Beautiful South, Wonder Stuff, JAMC - so much JAMC - often copies from friends. Still have these tapes in a shoebox...

Followed by uni years - lots of listening in my room, often to get to sleep to. Charlatans, Up to Our Hips features heavily in this, then introduced to Leonard Cohen. Still tapes only, I was a very late CD adopter!

mid-late 90s, indie and Britpop (more the former than latter). Dog Man Star prominent here; should have mentioned Stone Roses 2 tweets ago. Blur less of an album listen for me after debut, but had lots. The Bluetones briefly. also moving into Massive Attack round about now

After that it's probably predictable from my earlier tastes, and compounded by sharing a CD collection. Pulp, Different Class stands out as album-listenable, Tricky Maxinquaye too. All of these take me back instantly to where I first heard them

Into the 2000s and it gets a bit hazy. I guess I didn't listen to as many albums in full, though PJ Harvey, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (along with To Bring you my Love) still key, along with a move to folk: Eliza Carthy in particular, Anglicana then Rough Music

After this it's back to albums (CDs now) in the car: between getting fed up of radio 1 and getting a digital radio for 6 Music... Charlatans Wonderland is in the car for ages, as is Dog Man Star. Missed Maxine Topley Bird from early 2000s: not for driving but love her 1st album

Having to share choices in the car moves things away from my own music a bit (not far), and eventually the kids also take over with demands for their favourites (now on Spotify via Bluetooth). I miss listening to whole albums though, and some of the ones above in particular

I still have an old but functioning tape player (thanks to my uncle sprucing it up) so might have to dig out some of these later... Honorable mentions also to Amorphous Androgynous (early-mid 90s), DJ Shadow (late 90s/early 2000s), and Bellowhead (2000s onwards).

The shoe boxes, after I scraped half an inch of dust off. Shout outs particularly to the House of Love, the Levellers, William Orbit, Screamadelica and esp. Spiritualized for more album-long enjoyment

With photo this time...

Shout outs also to the handwriting on the tapes: at very least I can make out/identify Sass, James, Chris, Becky, 2 Amys, Christian, and my own terrible scribble on copies from my vinyl and my parents' tapes esp. Paul Simon...