My first introduction to Yes when I was young, maybe like 9-10 years old and just starting to get into guitar, my dad gave me a set of headphones and put on the Wurm part of 'Starship Trooper', and the stereo swirling of it was super cool. Of course that was Bill Bruford.
So when I was 12, I already liked Yes, but didn't really know the whole saga of the lineup. In 1994, my music teacher at school was a big EVH/prog guy and gave me a copy of the 'Talk' album, which he raved about being the first digitally-recorded commercial record. I loved that thing the whole way through and today is still some of my favorite Yes content. I know most people associate Bruford (and Howe) with Yes, but Alan White and Trevor Rabin will always in my mind be the guys that really got me into their catalog and prog rock in general.
Funny how that works, when you grow up and reach that age where you're finding 'your' music, listening to 'your' radio station, and hear new stuff from a band with an established catalog. It kinda skews your perception of the band. I really got into Yes via Talk, Rush via Roll The Bones, Metallica via Load, U2 via Achtung Baby, etc. So when people from a bit older generation bitch about how Metallica isn't the same band, coming in at the middle of their career gives you a little different perspective on where they came from I think.
All that to say, thanks to Alan White for being on the album that really got me into prog rock and down the road of music I'm still following almost 30 years later.
