"Little Earthquakes" by Tori Amos
This was the first Tori Amos album I bought. After hearing "Leather" on a friend's recommendation, I became immediately set on finding "Little Earthquakes" and playing it non-stop 'til it was scratched and scuffed into submission. There is so much artistry and thought put into every song on this album (the consequence of classical piano training) that it is impossible not to fall in love - if only a little. When I tracked down a disc copy at the record exchange, I did, as I had expected, play it non-stop. For around two weeks, until I became sick to death of everything on it and tucked "Little Earthquakes" away for a rainy day. Since then, there's been an impressive number of rainy days.
My favorite thing about Amos is that she is the anti-Midol; a perfect cure to anyone or anything who is trying to cheer you up when you don't want to be cheered. I'm a teenage girl: do the math. But hearing this record still has the same effect on me that it did around a year and a half ago, and I expect that it will have the same effect ten years from now - there's teenage angst, and then there's existential angst, which is much wiser and prettier. Amos sings and plays the latter.

Atlantic // 1991