I'm kind of curious as to what it was that got Sifters into rock music (for those who are interested), so post away on your stories of what made you wanna rock. 
For me, I got into rock via Rush, specifically through the song "Red Barchetta" from Moving Pictures. My stepdad back in about fifth grade had a bunch of their CDs, and he let me borrow them to check them out. He was kind of a dick, but I do owe him for being the first person to really introduce and convert me to rock'n'roll.
How about you guys?
For me, I got into rock via Rush, specifically through the song "Red Barchetta" from Moving Pictures. My stepdad back in about fifth grade had a bunch of their CDs, and he let me borrow them to check them out. He was kind of a dick, but I do owe him for being the first person to really introduce and convert me to rock'n'roll.
How about you guys?
Now mostly I listen to Porcupine Tree on occasion. Most of the new stuff sounds too hipster for me, though some tracks from TV on the Radio and Bloc Party are really nice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBcY9HGqehE
Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes and Kansas were the bands I listened to in my earliest years, and to this day consider it the best music I was ever exposed to.
Now I'll listen to anything that sounds good to me, really, shunning following groups and simply cherry picking pieces of music I like.
My first rock'n'roll memories are of The Beatles, as they were the only rock group my parents would listen to. When I was about 8 years old I heard Metallica and G'n'R for the first time and from there on out: Rock & Roll, baby
...I don't know why I like hip hop or house music. That's just random I guess.
As a kid, anytime I was over my cousin's house in Vermont, my Uncle would put Abbey Road or Let It Be (sometimes one of Lennon's solo albums) into the tape deck, dump the huge bucket of Legos we had onto the floor, and we'd go to town building gigantic, moving cities on wheels with docking ramps/landing pads for all sorts of transport/attack vehicles and any other amenity you might expect a futuristic moving city to have. We'd sit there quietly (except for the occasional squabble over a choice Lego piece, usually some transparent cockpit covering or neon booster)for hours on end. Then we'd tear it the fuck down and start all over the next time.
I'd have to say the Beatles were my biggest rock influence as well.
As a kid, anytime I was over my cousin's house in Vermont, my Uncle would put Abbey Road or Let It Be (sometimes one of Lennon's solo albums) into the tape deck, dump the huge bucket of Legos we had onto the floor, and we'd go to town building gigantic, moving cities on wheels with docking ramps/landing pads for all sorts of transport/attack vehicles and any other amenity you might expect a futuristic moving city to have. We'd sit there quietly (except for the occasional squabble over a choice Lego piece, usually some transparent cockpit covering or neon booster)for hours on end. Then we'd tear it the fuck down and start all over the next time.
...we were 17 at the time.
I used to get all the demo records to bring home. I remember at one of my birthday parties (10th?) I gave out 45s as party favors. (Five to each guest.)
My mom had a collection of 5-600 albums and several hundred original 45s with songs like “Robert Mitchum-
Ballad OF Thunder Road (1958), Janie Grant-Greasy Kids Stuff (1962) 45’s by Jan & Dean, Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, Little Richard, Richie Vallens, Elvis and that era. I remember putting on CCR albums as young as 6 or 7 years old.
My personal first 45s were Kiss-Beth, Jerry Doucette-Mama Let him play, Eagles-Liyin’ Eyes. My first Albums were Kiss, Rock and Roll Over and Bay City Rollers.
Into grade eight, my favorites became stuff like, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kiss, ACDC, the Ramones, The Cramps, The Moody Blues, Meatloaf, Styx and so much more. At one point I amassed over 1000 albums…
I thinned my selection down after getting married thinning down to around 50-100 albums and cassettes and have regretted it ever since. Music has been such a large part of my and there is a story to go with every song I ever remembered.
My first Rock Concert was Red Rider, opening for them was (Don’t laugh) Honeymoon Suite !!!
Long live the Music!
Hearing "SON OF A BITCH!" in a song is pretty cool when you're 8 years old. In 1975. And lets not underestimate the power of the cow bell.
My first record was Billy Joel's 'Glass Houses', and then after that I bought AC/DC's 'Back In Black', Cheap Trick's 'Dream Police', Styx's 'Paradise Theater', Pink Floyd's 'The Wall', Rush's 'Moving Pictures', Van Halen's first album (aka 'Van Halen I'), sort of in that order, and then a lot more stuff after that, including teh AWESOME 'Dawn Patrol'.
In the late 70's, "arena band rock" finally got to the point where I couldn't stand it any more, and I remember hearing Talking Heads and a few others that were pushing the envelope.
Then I went to college in the 80's and U2, English Beat, New Order, Flock of Seagulls, etc. just stole my heart. Yazzoo, too.
I really can't listen to 70's rock any more for some weird reason.
Hearing "SON OF A BITCH!" in a song is pretty cool when you're 8 years old. In 1975.
I think your keyboard is broken, because it appears to be typing sevens when it should be typing fours.
guessed it yet? yes, it was the Woodstock tapes, and I'm addicted ever since
After getting over my horrendous Debbie Gibson/Tiffany phase, I picked up Queen, Guns and Roses, REO Speedwagon, The Motels and Joe Cocker from an uncle who had them lying around. Talking Heads and then, later, 90s grunge was the first rock I got into that felt like it was not inherited from someone else, and now I'm inclined to pretty much give a listen to anything at least once, because who knows what might be out there...
Current favorites at the moment: Death Cab for Cutie, System of a Down, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (though most of the new CD is kind of a drag), Weezer, Silverchair, etc.