Five Albums That Changed My Life: James Durbin

Former American Idol finalist James Durbin is currently gearing up for a U.S. tour with Buckcherry and Drowning Pool which will kick off this Friday (June 29) in Tacoma, Wash. The California rocker will be out in support of Memories of a Beautiful Disaster, his debut album which was released last year via Wind-up Records.

The album has sold over 100,000 units, while his latest single, "Love Me Bad," hit the Top 30 on the Hot AC chart. Over 15 million people tuned in to watch James' recent performance of fan favorite "Higher Than Heaven" on American Idol which resulted in sales of the single jumping over 600% and catapulting the song into the top 5 on iTunes. Click here to watch the performance.

To help celebrate his upcoming tour, Noisecreep asked Durbin to take part in our 'Five Albums That Changed My Life' series.

International Superhits!, Green Day, The Best of, Motörhead (2001, 2000)

"This was my very first taste of rock 'n' roll ( on one burned disc haha!). Hard to believe that was 10 years ago. Thank you Green Day and Motörhead respectfully!"

Favorite Songs: GD - "Macy's Day Parade," MH - "Stay Clean"

One Day Remains, Alter Bridge (2004)

"I've always loved BIG voices. Singers that pack a whole lotta punch. Myles Kennedy is that exactly. One of my favorite singers of all time & one of my biggest inspirations!"

Favorite Songs: "In Loving Memory," "Metalingus," "Watch Your Words," "Down to My Last," "Shed My Skin," "The End Is Here"

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles (1967)

"Quintessential Beatles! I'm not saying you have to have a Beatles record in your top five, but you have to have a Beatles record in your top 5! I love this record because of the way it tells a story & we got a pretty badass movie out of it! Peter Frampton, Bee Gees, Alice Cooper, AND Aerosmith?! Bonus!"

Favorite Songs: "With a Little Help From My Friends," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," "When I'm Sixty-Four," "She's Leaving Home," "A Day in the Life"

Holy Diver, Dio (1983)

"The first "metal" I ever heard. Ronnie just had/has this timeless voice. He's such an incredible artist. The way he infused his soaring operatic voice over the music is just insane. Every night on tour, we've been paying tribute to Ronnie James Dio with a cover of his classic hit "Rainbow in the Dark". Thank you, Ronnie."

Favorite Songs: "Holy Diver," "Rainbow in the Dark," "Caught in the Middle," "Shame on the Night," "Don't Talk to Strangers"

Thank You (For Letting Us Be Ourselves), Hardcore Superstar (2001)

"My favorite band that hardly no one in the U.S. has heard of. They're from Sweden and they absolutely rock! They have such an epic style and we actually co-wrote a track on my record called "Outcast" which features Mick Mars. Before I started talking about them in interviews their music wasn't available on iTunes, but now that I have they've release six of their records in the U.S. and it feels great being able to buy them."

Favorite Songs: "That's My Life," "Not Dancin Wanna Know Why?," "Shame," "Just Another Score," "Summer Seasons Gone," "Do Me That Favour," "Significant Other"