Best Album Ever (...thread)

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I'm talking best ALBUM here. Not one particularly good album of your favourite band/singer.



I'm thinking of a best ALBUM, in the sense that it should show a good consistency in the 'storyline', something like an album that is a thousand times better than its songs on their own. Do you understand?



So, today I was out walking my dog, and for the umpteenth time this past year and a half, as I was listening to Disintegration by the Cure, it just hit me right 'tween the eyes. Shivers, shakes, heart out of tune, and the deep awareness of the fact that this album is, to me at this moment, the best album I know.



Now, I know that this is a very volatile concept. I will probably no longer agree with myself in five years, and another person will say choose another album for an equally good reason.



Why the Cure however? I never knew I was such a big fan, I only have this one album of them. I don't particularly follow them around, (not at all actually). I wouldn't know how many albums they released, or what they're up to now. I just came across this Disintegration album (the title on itself, it narrates the album - never was a title better chosen), and I love it.



It's the kind of album which, whenever I hear it, I want to take it to all the girls I silently or openly adore and let them listen to it.



One might claim this is a bit of a noir album, and a bit adolescent in tone. I am, however, no longer adolescent. Early bit firmly entered into adulthood. Maybe it has to do with this transition. But then, that might be going in deeper than I want to in this forum.



Anyway, any response please?



[ 11-16-2002: Message edited by: der Kopf ]</p>

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    Layla and other Assorted Love Songs- Derek and the Dominoes
  • Reply 2 of 13
    nijiniji Posts: 288member
    EITHER:

    stones: 40 licks

    OR

    moody blues: on the threshold of a dream
  • Reply 3 of 13
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    I've always loved The Beatles' "Revolver" (and, in a close second, "Rubber Soul").



    "Sgt. Pepper's..." and "Abbey Road" always get the glory and attention, but I've always dug the other two so much more.



    "Rubber Soul" is so acoustic-heavy and shows them starting to experiment a bit with other instruments (sitar, fuzz bass, more keyboards, percussion, etc.) and the songs are a bit more mature and complex than some of the earlier "I love you and you love me and we're holding hands and..." kind of stuff (which, of course, kicks plenty of ass as well, but just in a different way).



    "Rubber Soul" is wood and smoke. Makes me feel cozy and warm and makes me want to play my guitar.



    "Revolver", on the other hand, comes right before "Sgt. Pepper" and is, sonic-wise, on the total flip-side of "Rubber Soul". You've got backwards guitars, tape loops, weird vocal treatments, prominent/pumped-up bass and a real cool dry, brittle sound. You can see how "Revolver" bleeds into "Sgt. Pepper" and the whole 1967-68 stuff.



    I love the way the guitars sound on "Revolver" and I love the songs. John's finest moments, in my opinion ("Tomorrow Never Knows", "I'm Only Sleeping" and "She Said She Said").



    Then just when you think John owns the record, Paul pops up with "Here, There and Everywhere" and "For No One" (the most beautiful, aching song EVER) and you realize that NOBODY is making albums like this anymore.



    Throw in George's three little gems and you have, what I consider to be, a perfect album in every way.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    I dunno, I was just thinking about this while having a couple beers and I couldn't get away from REM's "Automatic for the People". I'm not sure what it is about that album. Granted, I don't have the longest spanning musical collection in the world, but it's a damn good album.



    I'm going to have to give Disintegration another listen and get Revolver though. Good thread, der kopf.



    ps- I'm loving the typewriter sound effects that I read about on macosxhints.com today.
  • Reply 5 of 13
    trumptmantrumptman Posts: 16,464member
    For a time when I was a disaffected youth, I really enjoyed Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime"



    When you talk about albums that they don't make any more... Van Halen's "1984" comes to mind. The last album with Dave comes to mind because on every VH album you could tell there were a couple of songs like House of Pain where they would be like... well we only have one verse and half a chorus.... screw it... let's just let Eddie do some crazy *ss stuff for like 5 minutes. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    Nick
  • Reply 6 of 13
    wish you were here - pink floyd



    many pf albums are awesome, but this one is particularly grand.



    "we're just too lost soles swimming in a phish bowl, year after year. running over the same old ground. but, have we found the same old pheers? wish you were here."



    funny thing is, i dont konsider pf my fav band. the dead is. but pf made some masterful albums.
  • Reply 7 of 13
    709709 Posts: 2,016member
    Hmmm.....this is a tough one. I have a lot of favorite albums, but I think the one that best meets the criteria of 'the whole better than the parts' would be:



    The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars



    Beautiful, storylike and cinematic. From the opening of 'Five Years' to the heart-wrenching finale of 'Rock N' Roll Suicide' this has got to be the best 'album' experience I've ever had.
  • Reply 8 of 13
    kelibkelib Posts: 740member
    1) Sticky Fingers - Rolling Stones

    2) Automatic For The People - REM

    3) Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd

    4) Excile On Main Street - Rolling Stones

    5) Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie

    6) Rain Dogs - Tom Waits

    7) Unplugged - Neil Young

    8) Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow

    9) (What's the story) Morning Glory - Oasis

    10) Mercury - INXS



    [ 11-17-2002: Message edited by: kelib ]</p>
  • Reply 9 of 13
    I'm going to have to put my vote in for a Mr. Bob Dylan. Take your pick between Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, or Blood on the Tracks. Or course entire books have been written about the narrative of the Basement Tapes. And of course others prefer the minimalism of John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline.



    Personally, I'd say my favorite is Highway 61 Revisited.
  • Reply 10 of 13
    [quote]Originally posted by der Kopf:

    <strong>I'm talking best ALBUM here. Not one particularly good album of your favourite band/singer.



    I'm thinking of a best ALBUM, in the sense that it should show a good consistency in the 'storyline', something like an album that is a thousand times better than its songs on their own. Do you understand?

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Not really, I can not select art in classes like good, better, best. Art, in every way, touches feelings, tries to stimulate emotions. So you maybe better ask for the fav. album for a special mood. But I agree with you, I also like Disintergration by the cure much. Some other favourite albums (concept albums) are :



    Stevie Wonder : Songs in the key of life

    Prince: Rainbow Children

    Miles Davis: A kind of Blue

    Björk: vespertine

    Mano Negra: America perdida

    Fishbone: the reality of my surroundings

    Kruder&Dorfmeister: The K&D sessions
  • Reply 11 of 13
    "Who's Next" - The Who. Even the worst song on it (My Wife) now gets a sentimental nod due to John Entwistle's death this summer.
  • Reply 12 of 13
    Holy Wood - Marilyn Manson



    There is no superb song in the album but they are all really good.The story line lyrically and musically goes along really well and it is really interesting (it is about an individual who is about to commit suicide and has a complex sequence of thoughts about life and death). All the songs are different but all have the distinct Holy Wood ambience, every song flows perfectly after the previous one.
  • Reply 13 of 13
    matveimatvei Posts: 193member
    My turn, my turn!



    This is tough... let's see...



    - Revolver (Beatles), as someone noted, is a glorious and varied album that is one of my favorites. Rubber Soul should be also remembered.



    - Ziggy (David Bowie), probably one of the albums I've listened to the most.



    - Goo (Sonic Youth), should have been the hit that Nevermind was...



    - Achtung Baby! (U2), a gem through and through. Especially since it redefined a band that could have been lost to the eighties.



    - The Stooges (The Stooges), from the bowels of detroit comes this outfit of misfits that changed music forever. Raw Power is also pretty much perfect.



    ... AAAHHH! this is impossible...



    ok. Let's pick one.....



    Songs of love and hate (Leonard Cohen). Perfect. perfect. perfect.



    ok. thanks. bye.





    [ 11-17-2002: Message edited by: Matvei ]</p>
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