• Elephant (The White Stripes)

It's just epic riff after epic riff. Completely homemade sound that I like to mimic on my guitar myself is probably the reason why I enjoy it so much. My favourite track of all time is Ball and Biscuit and it makes Jack White one of my most influential people.

• Origin of Symmetry (Muse)

Alongside Jack White is Matt Bellamy. Possibly the first guitar God of the 21st century. He is one of those rare elite (I'm thinking Hendrix and Van Halen) who just outshines what everybody else does at the moment. He's not as outlandish as Hendrix but at least he's experimenting and Origin of Symmtery was his greatest experiment. Fuck Absolution, sure it was good, but there's just a special magic about Origin that takes me back to when I first heard Muse, when my dad proper bummed the album back when I was around 12-ish. Matt Bellamy made me pick up the guitar.

• Graceland (Paul Simon)

This album takes me to summer in my parents house. When they flung open the patio doors and played this really catchy album. I enjoy the african sueto beats and Paul Simons vocals.

• Empire (Kasabian)

I still think it's their best album (and by the sounds of the new one, I think it will be for a while yet). This album isn't recognised as one of the greatest ever, but it has personal groundings with me as I bummed it when I was in Florida for the best holiday I've ever had. I heard Empire (the single) before I went but now all I can think of when I play it is the tropical weather and carefree living in Florida.

• Rodrigo y Gabriela (Rodrigo y Gabriela)

It's hard not to tap your foot to this stuff. I've gotten quite into my 'world' music. Although to them it's not 'world' music at all. I mainly play it while doing work because there are no vocals. But it doesn't stop me from humming every guitar riff in fast motion, or at least trying.

• Odelay (Beck)

Beck is my creational hero. He takes experimentation and anally penetrates it. It's so alternative, it desperately needs it's own subgenre. Odelay is Beck. You want Blues? It's on it. You want dance? It's there. Country/Western? Yup. Simple acoustic? Yeah. He puts samples of shit all over everything to top it all off, which amazingly works.

• Beginners Guide to Ska (Various Artists)

Whoever doesn't dance around to ska music isn't alive. It may be a compilation but it makes it up there. I think Reggae, especially ska can bring people together. You play Bob Marley, even charvs bounce in. Ska is just reggae on red bull.

• Seventh Tree (Goldfrapp)

This is another album that makes me think of summer. The excessive use of reverb and 7th chords probably give the illusion of fresh air warmly wafting through the curtains leading out to the garden. The vocals are quite literally heavenly too. It's music like this that makes me love summer.

• Battle of Los Angeles (Rage Against the Machine)

I have my air guitar and air drum kit ready for this album all the time. I can't hear what the fuck he sings during the verses like but to be honest, Tom Morello kinda distracts you with the use of the legendary digitech whammy and numerous ohter effects that doesn't make his guitar sound like a guitar at all.

• Leaders of the Free World (Elbow)

One of my very favourites. Station Approach starts soft and then builds to an epic climax. The whole album is beautifully sung too and a lot more rocky than their other stuff. I'm just gonna be a hipster for a second and say that even though Seldom Seen Kid and Build a Rocket Boys! are their most well-known works, Leaders of the Freeworld is still my favourite because of the great talent and care it took to make it.