Definitive Records asks interesting Vancouverites to scour their sonic-led memories to pull out the three albums anchoring their musical tastes.

Today we hear from local food- and wine-loving audiophile, Jordan Westre. You may recognize Westre from her gigs at Burdock & Co. or Bar Gobo, but what you may not know is that (among other things) she also hosts her own radio show, called Slutlord Sunday School…

Grateful Dead | American Beauty

I did not grow up in a family of great musical tastes…at all. My mom loved easy listening-era Rod Stewart and Phil Collins, and my dad loved Jimmy Buffet. I was an emo kid throughout most of my school years. In my senior year I was warming up to some classic rock, but it was when I caught the Festival Express documentary on cable tv that I really had my mind blown open. Seeing the Dead with Janis Joplin, Buddy Guy, the Band, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, jamming together on a train ride across Canada, and the way they dealt with one another and their audiences – it really opened my eyes to something special. I could just as easily have chosen Janis Joplin’s Pearl for this list (her performances in that documentary are some of my favourite live recordings, period), but the Dead’s catalog is just infinitely rewarding. The autobiography of the drummer, Bill Kreutzmann, (Deal: My Three Decades of Drumming, Dreams and Drugs with the Grateful Dead) is also my favourite book.

Fleetwood Mac | Then Play On

I’ve never been so taken with one individual musician as I have been with Peter Green. I can’t even explain it. His tone and his pace and the soul! There’s no flash here – it’s really something. I purchased my very first records at Turntable in Fan Tan Alley in Victoria. To this day it is my favourite shop to dig for rare original pressings. Those guys put me onto Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac, and led me all the way down the Brit Blues hole. This is where I started to really find my curiosity with bygone eras and genres. I also happened to purchase an original 1970 German subway ad for a Fleetwood Mac poster from them, with money lent to me by my boss at the time. It’s my coolest possession by far. “If music be the food of love, play on.”

The Growlers | Hot Tropics

This 10” album started a sort of domino-tumbling motion in my life. I first heard it in a friend’s living room in Medicine Hat – thinking about it now, it must have been brand new. I became obsessed. I had to track this band down. My love for their sound led me on a pilgrimage to Austin for Austin Psych Fest (which became a yearly road trip for the duration of the festival’s stint at Carson Creek Ranch), and to Beach Goth in California as well. I discovered so many new groups from all over the world because of the inspiration this album gave me, and I met so many people along the way. The sound of “Hot Tropics” and “Are You In or Out?” underline a very important time in my early-to-mid-twenties that were way cooler than I ever deserved.