From rebelling against a religious upbringing by memorising Beastie Boys lyrics, to soul-stirring discoveries about dead loved ones – Guardian readers share the musical compilations that defined themIt was 2005, and I had just started going out with a girl who was way out of my league. I called on an old trick – the mixtape. Having been a music nerd all my life, I decided I could use some help from Miles Davis, Cinematic Orchestra, Stereolab and more to woo her. Making the perfect mixtape is an art form. You have to start strong, but you don’t want to cram all the best bits into the first 10 minutes. I needed to show myself as a man of the world – some more obscure choices, a bit of jazz. I sequenced them so they all flowed together nicely, and all this was done in an era where I had to rip the tracks from CDs. And in a final touch, I had to put in a track from a band that were playing very shortly – in this case, The Go! Team! – so I could invite her to the gig. Continue reading...