The most memorable song or album of my childhood? I don't know about "most", and actually don't know if memories can be ranked cardinally. Who is to say a memory is more than another?
But I will talk about a memory, and perhaps my first memory of music as something of my own. It was Christmas of 1992, and I had gotten two gifts: a Super Nintendo and two cassette tapes. I was 13 at the time, and was I think somewhat of a late bloomer. At 13, I was still thinking of the things of childhood: games. The things of adulthood (music, the first gateway into the larger culture) were just barely of interest to me, but I had recently gone beyond simply listening to what my mother was listening to, to listening to the oldies and classic rock radio.
So I had, for Christmas, asked for two albums on cassette tape. The albums I got? Herman's Hermits Greatest Hits and Magical Mystery Tour. And so, in the long cold month (or it seemed like a month, it could have been a week, time flows different when you are a child) following Christmas, I listened to my two new tapes over and over again, while playing Super Mario World. I also, for some reason, remember microwaved quesadillas. I think the microwave was also new.
It might be hard for people to remember now, but in 1992 or 1993, consumer electronics, including stereos or even one-speaker cassette players, were serious business. By selecting music to play, and by commandeering a device to do so, I was making a statement about controlling my environment. Obviously the formal aspects of music control were probably more important to me than the music I was listening to: even for a 13 year old, Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter isn't the most soul-resonating song. But even to this day, when I play or watch Super Mario World, Herman's Hermits start running through my head, and perhaps the smell of squishy, microwaved quesadillas...