5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Ani DiFranco

Update: The Black Keys Scrap Fall North American Tour Dates
Update: The Black Keys Scrap Fall North American Tour Dates

Name  Ani DiFranco

Best known for  Shredding acoustic guitars, running my own label, dressing down.

More from Spin:

Current city  NYC.

Really want to be in  Tuscany. I’d be eating and walking real slow.

Excited about  My Unprecedented Sh!t album [released on May 17].

My current music collection has a lot of  Bonnie Light Horseman, Gregory Alan Isakov, Brittany Howard.

And a little bit of  Leikeli47, Bobby Charles.

Preferred format  Streaming. So I can listen while I’m walking around.

5 Albums I Can’t Live Without:

1

22, A Million, Bon Iver

I love all things Bon Iver, but for some reason this one just really got under my skin.

2

Spirit of Eden, Talk Talk

Before there was Bon Iver, there was Talk Talk. This album has a special place in my heart—and in my past.

3

Sketches of Spain, Miles Davis

And before there was Talk Talk, there was Miles Davis. I love all things Miles, but this one is one I reach for again and again.

4

Solid Air, John Martyn 

Sticking on the theme of incomprehensible singing (Justin Vernon, Mark Hollis), here’s a good one. This album meant everything to me as a teenager, and I can still feel why.

5

Journey in Satchidananda, Alice Coltrane

Alice’s meditative music is one of my go-tos for long nights of not sleeping. This album has an extra special place in my heart because I have played it as the walk-out music at my shows for years. Now when I hear the opening bars of “Journey in Satchidananda,” my life in rock ‘n roll flashes before my eyes.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.