I'd like to hear out your choices and most importantly - your motivation for the choices. Below are mine.

1. John Mayer - Heavier Things. (just speechless about his music. Since I first heard it about 5-6 years ago I almost never skipped a song by him in my randomly arranged playlists).
2. Coldplay - X&Y. (kind of mainstream, but these guys deserve every good word people say about their music. Beautiful and surreal stuff).
3. Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething. (this person has such an amazing quality of mixing jazz and pop into an incredible relaxing music. Just listen to his version of Singing In The Rain).
4.Sigur Rós - (). (Only in Iceland could such a beauty be created. The unique sound and atmosphere brought by this band just blows my mind and makes me feel in a different world for a while).

5. Keane - Hopes and Fears. (It's totally pop, but it seems to be the best pop to me, because I never got tired of a song by Keane. So, not to place another John Mayer album on the list, let it be this one, it's beautiful.)

I thought it would be easy to choose. Turns out it wasn't. But there we go.
1. Oasis (Oasis is my favourite band and I can't choose only one record, so... I'll just leave it at that)
2. Panic! At The Disco - Pretty Odd (no one ever agrees with me, but this is the best album of them. I don't even like the other ones, but I fall in love with Pretty Odd every time I listen to it. It's really really good)
3. Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials (well, I just love this album. It's so deep and transcendental. Florence's vocals are just insane)
4. Marina & The Diamonds - Electra Heart (THOSE LYRICS <3 I really like the way she composes and how she performs it and that's why she got the forth place in my list)

5. Imagine Dragon - Night Vision (I don't know much about this group, yet I'm digging their new album so I decided to give it the fifth position)

I'm downloading the "twentysomething", btw. I'll let you know what I thought of it.

Great, hope you like it:)
It seems that your choices are mostly contemporary (I mean last couple of years). Are you sure they won't go away in a year?
I can name many albums I was listening non-stop for months which eventually are just collecting dust on my hard drive, just don't deliver that much for me. And I also can't put something like Mylo Xyloto on the list because it's simply a too recent release.
On the other hand, those five albums keep raising some strong emotions after years of regular listening.

Well, I mean, these are the records I worship now. But as something less contemporary, I'd put Billy Joel - The Stranger instead of Florence's album; The Killers - Hot Fuss instead of Marina's; and Bon Jovi - These Days instead of Imagine Dragon's. Pretty Odd may be a bit recent but I just can't take it off of my list.

Yeah, I guess my formulation was not clear enough. Anyway, great choices! Will do some more research on Imagine Dragons and Panic.
Shame posts can't be edited or deleted here. Or am I missing something?

Here's my top 5 albums that I worship (in no particular order): Alice In Chains, Jar of Flies: this is a true masterpiece, both vocals and instrumentation are perfectly crafted, glorious.
Type O Negative, Bloody Kisses: pain, sorrow, this album is for you to let all your guts out screaming and then feeling relieved.
America, Greatest Hits: this album makes me go and drive alone to nowhere, just to listen to some beautiful songs.
The Cure, Disintegration: this album blew my brains the first time I listened to it. Another masterpiece.
Robi Draco Rosa, Vagabundo: Spectacular lyrics, maybe one of the most worshiped albums for latin rockers, no disappointment there.
And there you have it...

1) Nas- Illmatic.. didn't understand the depths until freshman year.. I love the grit and come-up story, this is real, and in my opinion best hip hop album of all time.
2) Blink182- Enema of the State.. this *was* middle school, I mean what kid (girl or boy) didn't idolize Travis Barker?
3) Garden State soundtrack.. I never considered myself an indie guy until I heard this. There's a reason it won a Grammy.
4) Frank Ocean-Channel Orange..Top to bottom my fave album in recent memory, any genre. Bought the hard copy when it dropped, and find myself lost in it weekly. This will be a Vh1 classic in 40 yrs.
5) Not an album, but Above & Beyond's TATW weekly podcast is pure gold. I look forward to this every Friday, they are the gods of trance.

I'm very likely older than most here so my albums will show my age but here it goes in no particular order:
A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory. I still listen to this album at least once a week from beginning to end. To me this album defined Hip Hop in the early nineties.
U2: Achtung Baby: I've bought this album about 8 times. Every time one my friend "borrowed" it, it never came back. Now I just keep a copy hidden and just listen to it on my iPhone.
Bob Marley: Legend: I usually don't buy greatest hits albums, but this is a must-have for music fans. The absolute very best of Marley. I used to wake up to this album every day in college, it drove my roommates nutty!
Linkin Park-Meteora: the lyrics, the music, the energy.

Continue-
Linkin: I absolutely love that album. I have 3 songs on my playlist, I have a copy in the car and one on my phone!
Silvia Rodriguez-Dias y Flores: even if don't speak Spanish, this album will change your views towards Cuba. I can honestly say that this album changed my life.

Never an easy discussion, but always fun and highly debatable.

(1) Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
(2) Pearl Jam - Vs.
(3) U2 - Achtung Baby
(4) The Beatles - White Album
(5) Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile

I've got it on my list to blog this topic personally. Just haven't gotten to it yet. I did do my Top 10 Songs recently, that's even harder to narrow down IMO. gisanders.tumblr.com

This is one of the hardest things to do for true music fans, it's like picking out your favorite kid.

My method was just looking at what I've been listening to lately. But there are days that I'm feeling old school and days that I like the latest and greatest.
@GISanders I like your top ten songs to, I might just make a playlist with it.
@Drew I love the Garden State soundtrack, if we did a top movie soundtrack album, that would be in my top 3!

@David thanks man! Nice to meet a fellow Achtung fan. I agree that this is hard. It's a yearly debate I have on a guys trip, inevitably it always comes up. I look forward to it

I gotta say there are couple of albums I truly appreciate from above: Vs. by Pearl Jam is outstanding and A Tribe Called Quest, very cool too...

@Drew I liked the Graden State OST, haven't seen the movie though, gotta make this right.

For me thosem5 would be

1. Balance 014 - Joris Voorn (it’s a compilation though)
2. DJ Kicks - Motor city drum ensemble (also great di kicks - erlend øye, kid loco)
3. Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething
4. The four seasons recomposed - Max Richter (came out recently, marvellous)
5. Yuna - Yuna

my favorite part of this thread is finding out new music... Marina & The Diamonds, Silvia Rodriguez- gotta check them out! And we could probably make a whole new branch about movie/tv soundtracks. Mine would also include (1) Drive (2) Jackie Brown (3) Entourage series (curated by Scott Vener who blogs at: brokemogul.tumblr.com)

headed to spotify for all these suggestions :)

A movie OST BRanch would be great. I just bought Twentysomething and America's greatest hits.

Wow, Twentysomething is making itself into a trend, that's incredible!
Finding out new music is really great this way. You know, you could just google up some random music but that's not nearly as much fun as following someone's actual recommendations.

1. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
Far and away the best rock album of all times, masterfully designed end to end.

2. Jeff Buckley - Mystery White Boy
I haven't seen him live - and it breaks my heart. Have you ever heard someone perform so intensely?

3. Radiohead - Kid A
Because after 100 listens you still can find nuances so innovative you wouldn't have dared to dream them.

4. Sonic Youth - A Thousand Leaves
The un-obvious choice for a die-hard fan of Sonic Youth. Maybe because it was the first album I bought immediately after release, having eagerly awaited it. Or maybe just because of Wild Flower Soul.

5. Foals - Antidotes
Complex, yet catchy. If this doesn't make you dance, then what will?

@ Hans-Peter that Jeff Buckley album is one the best live Albums of all times. Jeff died in 1997 and I never got a chance to see him, but you're so right about his intensity. He was incredible.

1. St Germain - Tourist
This album was probably the one that triggered my current interest in soul and jazz albums.

2. Röyksopp - Memory AM
Memory AM got me interested into more experimental mixes of electronic and non-electronic music.

3. Aloe blacc - Good things
A more recent album, but very important to me. It's probably the first soul-like record I got addicted to, several others followed.

4. The streets - Original Pirate Material
This record got me through my studies, and still gives me a positive working vibe every time I listen to it.

5. Sammy Davis, Jr. - Our Shining Hour
Discovered this jazz album some years ago, good mix of vocals and bigband jazz. A decent collection of jazz standards.

It's HARD to choose only five albums !!
1) John Frusciante - Niandra LaDes and Usualy Just a T-shirt
Hardly listenable, it made me realize that some people were suffering more than me when I was a teenager. It makes me dive in the very deepness of music. I will always be gratefull for that.
2) Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Masterpiece "We're just to lost souls swimming in a fishbowl year after year"
3)New Order - Get Ready
Very eclectic album. Opening title introduced by an awesome soul singer to turn into dancing rock. The last track is an absolute gem.
4)Mars Volta - DeLoused in the Comatorium
Concept album - Pure genius, awesome musicians. Even better in live.
5) Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
Rebirth of a genius (Trent Reznor).

Additional albums:
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
RHCP - Blood Sugar Sex Magik
RHCP - Californication
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of The Moon
Buck 65 - Secret House Against the World
Cardigans - 3 last albums
Hot Hot Heat - 3 last albums too

French :
Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg - L'homme à la tête de choux
Florent Marchet - Rio Baril
Emilie Simon - La marche de l'Empereur (OST)

In no particular order:

1. Both Sides of the Gun - Ben Harper
2. Take Five - David Brubeck
3. Crash - Dave Matthews
4. The Animal Years - Josh Ritter
5. Brand New Day - Sting

James Blake - James Blake
Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
Purity Ring - Shrines
Maroon 5 - Live Friday the 13th
John Mayer Trio - Try!

I guess that was six...

@anthonyashley @zchthms Sorry guys, I'd really like it if you explained why you chose those albums. Otherwise it's just like googling random music...

1.Both Sides is really two albums in one. Disk 1-simple acoustic songs & Disk 2-Electric Rock. Songs include: Morning Yearning-literal perfection, Better Way-where Harper screams the best scream I've ever heard, & Serve Your Soul-my favorite rock song of all time.

2.Take Five is a brilliant study in rare time signatures & innovative jazz. Don't try too hard to keep up with the beat or your head will explode.

3.Crash was the defining album of my teen/college years. Practically every song is perfection.

4.As a songwriter I want to throw up @ how ingenius Ritter's songwriting is. Girl in the War-enough said.

5.Sting is my greatest musical hero. In Brand New Day he turns the theology of romantic love into music that can't be topped.

@blackmail1807 theme throughout: changed my perspective on music.

James Blake's sounds are eerily beautiful. Can hear a real, vulnerable person behind the tracks. Was so refreshing, I could connect with it.

Sleigh Bells, Reign of Terror - Blew me away in concert. Tons of hair band influence, crazy sounds but not too much. If I were a woman, this would be my anthem music.

Frank Ocean, Channel Orange - His depth in music, the story he tells, the person he is. Raw, dirty and beautiful music.

Maroon 5, Live Friday the 13th - Forget the pop band you know, this band rocks. Gained so much respect for their musical ability. This album also helped me survive a breakup.

John Mayer Trio, Try! - Maybe one of the best breakup albums out there.