Tegan and Sara's 25 Favorite Albums

The Canadian indie rock twins are back with a new album, but first, they share some their favorites from other artists.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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It's been just over three years since Tegan and Sara—the Canadian indie rock band and twin sisters—released their last album, Sainthood. Now, they're back with Heartthrob and a hot single "Closer," which dropped late last year. It's refreshing to see the duo, who've been making music for a decade-plus, still making music that's relevant to their both die hard audience and newer fans.

The two have never been shy to write about internal conflicts, paranoia, obsession with ideals, and failed relationship. The twins—who are both openly gay—have paved the lane for steady and strong female rock duos.

In light of their seventh studio album hitting stores today, the sisters submitted a list of some of their favorite albums. From Ani DiFranco's feminist ballads to Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/Love Sounds, it's clear that they're passionate, with a lot of influences. Here are Tegan and Sara's 25 Favorite Albums.

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Cyndi Lauper She's So Unusual (1983)

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Tegan: "We were a Cyndi Lauper household. I feel like some people were either into Cyndi or they were into Madonna. Of course some people loved both. But in our household it was just Cyndi. My mom had a blue Aerostar minivan and we used to be in it a lot (single parent, going back to school, day care, school, piano lessons etc) and we used to listen to She's So Unusual at top level a lot.

"I can still close my eyes and remember the feeling of fabric of the front seat and the smoothness of the volume dial of the cassette deck. Stand out track: "Time After Time." Great song. Simple yet multi-layered lyrics. Great arrangement. Sparse production. Definitely influenced us as writers."

The Replacements Let It Be (1984)

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Sara: "I still listen to this album all the time! 'Unsatisfied' is up there as one of my favorite songs ever. I was introduced to the album by Ryan Adams on tour in 2003 and I quickly learned the album back to front. I can't think of a band today that evokes the feeling I get when I hear Paul Westerberg's voice."

Dire Straits Brothers In Arms (1985)

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Sara: "This album had two lives for me. I remember it being a staple in our house as a kid, but I rediscovered it again as an adult. 'Your Latest Trick' into 'Why Worry' is still an important part of my falling asleep mix on the road."

Mike + The Mechanics Mike + The Mechanics (1985)

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New Kids On The Block New Kids On The Block (1986)

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Tegan: "We were six years old when this cassette came out. Sara and I lost our bloody minds. Everything up until that point had been our parents' music. NKTOB was our first obsession. Sara wanted to BE Joey and I wanted to BE Jordan. We had posters on our walls, the trading cards, the sleeping bags! We even saw them play in Calgary in 1989? Or 1990?

"This was definitely the first band that made me imagine that I was a performer. I loved all the harmonizing and vocals. I definitely imagined Sara and I up on stage dancing and singing together. Stand out track: "Popsicle.'"

Bruce Springsteen Tunnel of Love (1987)

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Tegan: "Every Bruce Springsteen record was on repeat in our household growing up. Tunnel of Love was released in 1987 when my mom and step dad Bruce started dating. I remember them playing it all the time. We used to drive to Vancouver Island every summer and listen to Bruce Springsteen nonstop the entire way and Tunnel of Love was always a stand out to me.

"As I got older, different Bruce records moved me and influenced me in different ways but Tunnel of Love is just a great quintessential Bruce record. Stand out track: 'Brilliant Disguise.' Huge influence on me as a writer."

Sinead O'Conner The Lion And The Cobra (1987)

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Tegan: "My mom would blast this record so loud in the van. I vividly remember us all screaming along with the track 'Just Like You Said It Would Be' and our best friend Christina and her brother covering their ears looking terrified. We were definitely influenced by a lot of female musicians growing up but Sinead was definitely a major vocal influence when we started writing and making our own music. Stand out track: 'Troy.'"

Nirvana Nevermind (1991)

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Tegan: "We were only 12 when this record came out so a lot of the pandemonium around the band, Kurt and the release was lost on us. But we loved the videos and the songs. I'm not sure why our parents initially let us listen, but they did.

"By 1993 with the release of In Utero, we were fully engaged in wild teenage angsty behaviour and a full-on love affair with the grunge movement (and style). Our rooms were covered in Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins posters. We listened nonstop to Nirvana records and drove our parents crazy with pleas to find bootleg cassettes of live shows of the band.

"Stand out track: 'Something in the Way.' This song sound exactly like what it feels like to be 14."

Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream (1993)

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Sara: "One of the most important moments of my teenage life was hearing 'Today' for the very first time. It was as if music was being piped in from a different galaxy. It sounded futuristic and I became completely obsessed with the band. I prided myself on being able to sing the entire album (including guitar solos) acapella."

Green Day Dookie (1994)

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Tegan: "This record came out in 1994. I remember being at our best friend Heather's house when the video came on Much Music. We were mesmerized. I can remember buying the CD and listening to it over and over and over again and imagining myself playing the songs. I think this was the first band that made me want to play guitar. This was also the first real concert we went to without our parents. We lined up for tickets and spent a day waiting with strangers from all over Calgary to buy floor seats.

"I remember we had a propensity to gravitate towards music that we thought might drive our parents nuts, but our dad ended up getting tickets and seeing the show (from a box seat though) as well! Stand out track: 'She.' I actually remember singing this song over the phone to a girl I liked and her getting her brother to listen and them telling me I had a 'good voice.' I literally am still cringing thinking about this story 19 years later."

Hole Live Through This (1994)

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Tegan: "Released in 1994, four days after Kurt Cobain killed himself, we consumed everything about this record we could. Obviously without the Internet we had very little knowledge of Courtney or her and Kurt's relationship. I remember reading about her after Kurt died, but not before. This record was a clue, a piece, some solace in the tragic aftermath of Kurt's death. We were being raised by a very strong willed, open minded, politically active, proud feminist social worker mother...and so we really started to embrace female-fronted music at this point.

"Along with Green Day and Nirvana it was Hole that truly started to cement our desire to write and make our own music. It was shortly after this record came out that Sara and I started to play guitar and write music. Stand out track: 'Miss World.'"

Erasure I Say I Say I Say (1994)

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Tegan: "This came out in 1994, as well. This was a very important year for music for Sara and I. We had a new radio station in Calgary called Mix1060 and it played everything from Soundgarden and Nirvana to Erasure and Green Day. I think Erasure was the first electronic leaning music we got into. It opened the door to New Order, The Smiths and full on dance music for us. Stand out track: 'Always.'"

Ani DiFranco Living In Clip (1997)

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Tegan: "In 1997, Sara and I were in our final year of high school and had officially started our own band. We used our Broadcasting and Communications class to record our first few cassette tapes with our band PLUNK. A girl in our Broadcasting and Communications class, who also wrote music and played guitar, suggested we check out Ani Difranco. Apparently, we reminded her of Ani.

"We took the record home and things were forever changed for us both. Ani was not only an incredible artist, musician and performer, but she was singing about being with women. Both Sara and I were about to come out and so this was a very important record/performer for us to all of a sudden become aware of. It was after hearing Ani that we started to transition from writing heavier punk songs to more acoustic driven songs. Stand out track: 'Untouchable Face.'"

Pinback This Is A Pinback CD (1999)

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Sara: "I loved the intricate guitar harmonies and was fascinated that the structures of the songs were unconventional, meditative. 'Loro' was a highlight."

The New Pornographers Mass Romantic (2000)

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Tegan: "This record came out in 2000. Mass Romantic was important not only because of the songs (which were all fantastic), or the instrumentation (because it influenced us to want more keyboards in our own music), or the style of music (truly the start of what was to become an education in "indie rock/pop" bands from Canada), but because of the production.

"It was the first time in our history that we sought out the producers of a record to have them work with us. JCDC agreed to produce our next record (If It Was You). This was a major turning point in our career as a band. If It Was You was our first foray into pop songs and the world of keyboards! Stand out track: 'The Body Says No.'"

Desaparecidos Read Music/Speak Spanish (2002)

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Sara: "This album got way over played in my headphones on tour. I would do my best to just lip sync in my mind but I'm sure there were times when anyone paying attention in our tour van would have seen my clenched fists and jaw nodding along in approval. 'The word is love/The word is loss/The words are damaged goods, that's what I am.'"

Against Me! Against Me! as The Eternal Cowboy (2003)

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Tegan: "Although this record came out at the end of 2003, I didn't hear it until almost the end of 2004. We were touring So Jealous (our fourth record) and Against Me's management at the time gave us copies when we were through their offices in NYC. I became instantly obsessed. Sara and I had gone through a punk, acoustic phase in our late teens and early 20s but it had started to fade as I entered my mid-20s.

As The Eternal Cowboy reignited that flame. This record was a major influence on the songs I wrote for The Con. The intensity of the vocals, the performance and the lyrical content were a constant reminder to pour everything I had into my music. Stand out tracks: 'Cliche Guevara,' 'You Look Like I Need A Drink,' 'Rice and Bread.'"

Blur Think Tank (2003)

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Sara: "I remember seeing Blur perform during this album cycle in Montreal and Damon was wearing a fancy suit on stage. I thought it was a perfect record. Still can go down the rabbit hole listening to 'good song.'"

Arcade Fire Funeral (2004)

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Sara: "I was heavily impacted by this band with their debut record. I was at once a fan but also terribly envious. I used to have anxiety dreams that involved this band for years and I was speechless any time we crossed paths. Truly amazing songs, but it was always (and still is) the spirit of the music that was awe inspiring."

Joanna Newsom The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)

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Justin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006)

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Sara: "This album got me back into pop music. I was floored by the production and the hooks. I hadn't wanted to BE someone so badly since my obsession with Joey McIntyre when I was 8 years old."

The-Dream Love Hate (2007)

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Sara: "'She Needs My Love' was on constant rotation for a year. I became a fanatic. This album has so many good hooks on it that I still shake my head in disbelief when I listen to it."

The xx xx (2009)

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Sara: "This record completely blew me away. I imagine it'll stand up for decades as truly original and a game changer."

Alicia Keys The Element of Freedom (2009)

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Sara: "I think she's my favorite pop star vocalist. The songs, the look, the composure in interviews; she's a dream boat."

Robyn Body Talk (2010)

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Sara: "I want to be 16 again so that Body Talk can come out and all of my friends and I can dance hysterically in someones basement mimicking the dance moves and hair cut of this truly amazing woman."

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