Which meant it was the first time I got to listen to music that only I could hear (a monumental experience for a young teen in a conservative christian family). This also coincided with the emergence of CD burning. As a result, I had so many new artists and genres of music that I could dive into and immerse myself within - it was a beautiful time.
A few of the heavy hitters that come to mind are: dashboard confessional, guster, the rocket summer, death cab for cutie, weezer, and phantom planet.
