The Black Keys : Magic Potion (2006)

We started dating in the summer of 2006, nothing serious, but we were close enough to exchange Christmas presents. He gave me “Magic Potion” on vinyl and I knew he was the one to keep! Without me telling him anything, he had seen my record collection and noticed I had the previous CDs by the Black Keys but none of them on vinyl. We got married in 2010 and our first dance was “You’re the One”.

The Sugarcubes : Stick Around For Joy (1992)

She was a big fan of  Björk and once she found out I had no idea who the Sugarcubes were, she gave me this album and said that if I wanted to continue dating her, I had to listen to it.

I didn’t like them as much and turns out I didn’t like her much either. We broke up after dating 4 months, but for some strange reason, I kept the CD and liked it more as I grew older.

I still own it and listen to it every once in a while.

Sigur Rós : Ágætis byrjun (1999)

He gave me this album as a gift in January 2000, it was our first year anniversary and it was the very first album he ever gave me. I could not stop listening to it, I had never experienced a band like Sigur Ros and all the emotions they made me feel whenever I listened to this record.

Almost 13 years later, we’re still together and we have seen Sigur Ros four times, and I hope I get to see them many more times with him by my side.

Amy Winehouse : Frank (2003)

We met at a Starbucks, she spilled her coffee all over my backpack and I offered to buy her another cup. We started talking and turns out we went to the same school but at different hours. We exchanged numbers, had dinner and eventually we started dating.

She gave me this album as a Christmas gift, and I remember her telling me that Amy was going to be huge very soon. After listening to it, I realized she was right.

After two years dating, we broke up on good terms because she took a job at a different city and I wasn’t ready to move. We’re still talking and exchanging music, our friendship has lasted 8 years and it keeps getting stronger. And I’ll never mind if she steals all my smokes…

Mazzy Star: She Hangs Brightly (1990)

We started dating in the early 90s, at first I didn’t think much of him because he had a reputation of being an asshole, but he was handsome and I gave him a chance anyway. He gave me this album on my birthday to show me his “sensitive side”, but I’m sure all he wanted was to get in my pants!

And you know what? It worked! Almost 20 years later and we’re still together!

The Doors: Waiting For The Sun (1968)

During the last three months of my senior year of high school, I dated a girl that was into 60’s psychedelic music and she loved The Doors. I told her all I owned by them was a “Best of” compilation, and she said that I HAD to own an actual album to really understand the band. She gave me “Waiting For The Sun” because it was her favorite album by The Doors. That summer she went away to college and we broke up, but we’re still in touch and I still own that album.

The Knife: Deep Cuts (2003)

In late 2004, I dated a girl that was really into the Swedish electronic movement, she had spent some time in Europe and picked up this album somewhere in London. We went out a couple of times, and at some point, she left this album at my place. After that, I didn’t hear from her for a few weeks. When she finally answered my call, she told me she was seeing someone else and I shouldn’t call her again. She never returned for her CD.

Placebo : Placebo (1996)

This album was given to me by a former lover, because Placebo was one of her favorite bands and she gave it to me a couple of weeks after we started dating. I had no idea who they were, but we ended up listening to this record many times, over and over. Later on we grew apart and realized the relationship wouldn’t work. We broke up and I never heard from her again.

Little did she know that she would turn Placebo into one of my favorite bands, I’ve seen them several times in concert and own all of their records and singles.

So wherever you are, thank you for introducing me to them. 

While reading one of my favorite Tumblr blogs, “The Books They Gave Me”, I started thinking about the records and albums given to me by friends and former lovers. I will post some of my own and suggestions by friends. I searched for a similar blog and couldn’t find one, so I created my own.

If you would like to contribute, please send name of the album, a link to a photo of it and the story behind it to: albumstheygaveme@gmai.com