What is the best album of all time?

[General Leitmann]

Exactly as the title says; 'What is the best album of all time?'

Not necessarily your favourite, but the best overall, and why, I'd like to hear your two cents. And now for mine:

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd.

Why? Well if the stellar flow of the lyrics compounded by the soaring guitar solos and eloquent rhythms, my next argument would be that all together, this album has everything. Ethereal almost psychedelic moods in Speak to Me/Breathe, deep, raw emotional power in Us and Them, a soaring Jazz song that master's musical mechanics in going from a 7/4 measure to a 4/4 back to 7/4 to allow for a climactic solo ripping apart the boundaries in the middle of Money, and the wailing cries of Claire Tory in 'Great Gig in the Sky'. Proof that this album has it all is in the proverbial pudding.

And if still I'd have to throw another argument out, I would say spending 14 years on the top 100 charts is simply unprecendented.

Though that's only my honest opinion, and it may be by my favourite band, it is NOT my favourite album. (That's a toss up between 'Wish You Were Here' and 'The Division Bell')

- The General

[Amotis]

What's with all the choosing threads? No one band, song, or musician is the best. That's like trying to name the best guitarist. Ain't gonna happen. Music is much too vauge and much to personal to make a extreme decision like "best."

[ZombieRockStar]

Sort of have to agree with Amotis there. But more on the basis of: by what criteria?

Historical importance, maybe? Musical inventiveness? Cohesiveness? Overall effect? Best to listen to?

By any of those criteria, you could get The Velvet Underground & Nico, Dark Side of the Moon, Nevermind, Sgt. Pepper's, The White Album, Highway 61 Revisited, and countless others. Not to mention that those are only within their own genres. To a person who listens to metal instead of classic rock...their list would be completely different.

To choose (because that is the point), I'm going to go with The Velvet Underground & Nico. It launched a band that subverted music more than the Sex Pistols, and inspired more artists than the Beatles. Creatively, it was unlike anything else before it, and it is amazing to listen to.

[ElfLad]

I have to throw my vote behind a few different bands in different categories.

Best Album
Abbey Road - The Beatles
Best is a difficult thing to define personally, but Abbey Road just has too many of my favorite songs. The songwriting is top-notch all the way through, the first half is full of amazing singles, and the second half of the album is awesome melted down in a forge of nifty and sculpted as a Sword of Righteousness.


Most Poignant Album
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
This is the most moving album I have. Wish You Were Here is one of the few songs that can make me mist up, Welcome to the Machine has an awesome atmosphere, Have A Cigar has some of Pink Floyd's best lyrics, and Shine On You Crazy Diamond is completely epic when I can sit through the whole thing.

Funnest Album
Boston - Boston
This is the only album out there where I can air guitar to every single song on there. Not to say that the guitar is all it has going for it. Brad Delp is an excellent vocalist, and Tom Scholz writes some damn catchy lyrics. This album exemplifies rocking out just to rock out.

Most Epic Album
Led Zeppelin IV/Four Symbols/Zoso - Led Zeppelin
LZ4 is the definitive album when it comes to the Zep's trademark soaring epics. Battle for Evermore, When the Levee Breaks, and Stairway to Heaven all on the same album is a recipe for win. Black Dog, Rock and Roll, and Going to California are all excellent also.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Bitches Brew. The first ever fusion album, and one of the greatest.

[pestilenceawaits]

It isn't my favorite album but I think it is one of the best made.
U2-The Joshua Tree

[Jack Squat]

Bat Out of Hell. This album is mexed very well, and it has a great overall feel to it. Plus in an interview about it, Jim Steinman was playing through the master track of Bat out of Hell. Some background vocals came on at the end that aren't on the song. He was trying to figure out where they came from. Then he said "Oh, I'm playing the master track. You know why that wasn't on the album? Because it sucks."

[Amotis]

Bitches Brew. The first ever fusion album, and one of the greatest.


Hehe, okay this works too.

[Ambrogino]

For best Album I think it's interesting that so far there are only two albums which have had every single song on them used in some form of advertsing - Moby's "Play" and Celldweller's "Celldweller". As a result I think these albums (rather than the individual songs) have probably been heard, at least in part, by more people than any other - not a bad idea for quantifying them as "the best", if there's any method for selection at all.

And Moby blows goats, so I'm going with Celldweller :smallbiggrin:

[General Leitmann]

@ ZRS, the whole point is what the best album in your opinion is. What in your mind really stands out among any other, and we're not closing this to any one genre here, lol. Your opinion on the best.

[cthulhu_waits]

I am gonna agree with General here and go with Dark Side of the Moon. Simply an amazing album. When I listen to it all the way through I feel like I've heard a discourse on the entire world, from time to money to war.

My favorite genre is heavy metal and for best heavy metal album I would go with the first one--Black Sabbath's first album, which is self-titled. Sabbath themselves never made another album quite like it, and no one else has, either. And any album that basically creates a new genre has to have something going for it.

[Hoggy]

Ooh, I have a number of favourites.

However... the one that springs to mind, over and over again, is The Adversary by Ihsahn. The guy is a musical genius, honest. Invocation kicks in hard, fast, extreme, prog-influenced riffs that you'd expect from latter day Emperor, whilst Called By The Fire has a more rockish (almost anthemic in parts) feel to it, before Citizen returns back to the proggy-extreme metal feel, with some awesome beats. Then is Homecoming, which despite the heavy intro, is a nice respite from the previous three tracks, being rather mellow in comparison. Some nice guest vocals from some bloke called 'Garm' too.

And then we hit the centrepiece, a musical mini-epic tour de force (I've always wanted to say that) called Astera Ton Proinon, a beautiful song about heretics and suchlike. The verses are fantastically written, and a very quiet contrast to the more enegetic chorus. It's sort of like metal written by William Blake; most certainly a masterpiece, and it also contains one of my favourtite guitar solos ever. Everything about this piece adds up, and the only critisicm I can make of it is that at just over 5 minutes, I am left wanting so much more. Luckily there's another 4 tracks yet.

Panem Et Circensis, a song seeming to be about the Coliseum and stuff in Rome, is another prog-metal masterpiece, and then ...And He Shall Work In Empty Places follows, which whilst not the title track per se, does bear some mention of "The Adversary". And then on to Will You Love Me Know? another musical masterpiece, another of my favourites on the album. It's also very musically complex, moreso than the rest of the album, with many a time change, and varying rythems. It also has a pretty awesome chorus/catchy bit, you'd knwo it if you heard it.

Last but by no means least, The Pain Is Still Mine (it's not emo honest!) starts with a deceptive haunting piano/symph intro for a couple of minutes, before slowly melding into something of a metal opera. It's truly brilliant. 10 minutes of bliss, a titanic ending, wraps up the album perfectly. Ok, at first listen, the album may not entirely make sense... but I like albums I need to listen to again... and again... and again...

Note: this is not a good review. I was doing history homework at the same time >.< so it's kinda sketchy and basic. Still, you get the idea. I love it. Andyone, anyone who likes progressive/extreme/symphonic metal NEEDS this album.

Other honourable mentions:
S&M - Metallica
10,000 Days - Tool
In The Nightside Eclipse - Emperor
Wintersun - Wintersun
Ghost Reveries - Opeth

[Amotis]

You know...I try to base how I like people on NOT their choise of music.

...

I do try, I do.

[Hoggy]

If you're referring to me by that, I honestly don't mind if you hate me based on choice of music right now, because you don't know enough else about me to hate right now :smallbiggrin:

But no, for the record I'm not into all that church-burning stuff, it's not cool. I just like the music.

[ZombieRockStar]

@ ZRS, the whole point is what the best album in your opinion is. What in your mind really stands out among any other, and we're not closing this to any one genre here, lol. Your opinion on the best.

Ah. What I think about what I'm trying to say, though, is that the category of "best" is just too open. I went with The Velvet Underground & Nico because I thought that it's the most significant, though it isn't my most absolute favourite listen, which is constantly shifting. (Right now it's Automatic for the People by R.E.M.)

And when I meant genre...for example, The Velvet Underground & Nico is in an entirely different classification than, say, my copy of the Berlin Philharmonic's recording of Beethoven's symphonies, conducted by the great Herbert von Karajan (if that counts as an album). Both are amazing recordings and a huge influence on the musicians that came after (in their respective genres), so how do you decide which one's better? You can't, really.

[General Leitmann]

Ah. What I think about what I'm trying to say, though, is that the category of "best" is just too open. I went with The Velvet Underground & Nico because I thought that it's the most significant, though it isn't my most absolute favourite listen, which is constantly shifting. (Right now it's Automatic for the People by R.E.M.)

And when I meant genre...for example, The Velvet Underground & Nico is in an entirely different classification than, say, my copy of the Berlin Philharmonic's recording of Beethoven's symphonies, conducted by the great Herbert von Karajan (if that counts as an album). Both are amazing recordings and a huge influence on the musicians that came after (in their respective genres), so how do you decide which one's better? You can't, really.

Great point. I do agree with you there, in that there simply are too many albums available that are he best in their own means. I, however, can say what, in my opinion the best album of all time is. Not that that's a true definition of the criteria of the best album is overall, that's just my vote.

[ZombieRockStar]

Okay, I get it. But that does border dangerously close to what your "favourite" album is. Although favourite is potentially just as murky as best.

Whatever. My choice still stands. I've yet to hear or hear of an album greater than The Velvet Underground & Nico.

[Amotis]

If you're referring to me by that, I honestly don't mind if you hate me based on choice of music right now, because you don't know enough else about me to hate right now :smallbiggrin:

But no, for the record I'm not into all that church-burning stuff, it's not cool. I just like the music.

Hehe, I just finished a rant in another music thread so I'll spare you my ramblings here. :smallsmile:

As long as you don't try to cram it down my ears I'm fine with it.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Props for mentioning Wintersun, though. They are an awesome band. I do not listen too to much black metal, normally just black/doom- I love slow atmospheric metal.

[Hoggy]

Hehe, I just finished a rant in another music thread so I'll spare you my ramblings here. :smallsmile:

As long as you don't try to cram it down my ears I'm fine with it.

/me scurries to find said rant:smalltongue:

EDIT: I think I found it :smallwink:

Nah, I'd never try that. I find it really annoying as well, and I try not to be a hypocrit, despite the occassional failure :smallsmile:

SotS: Yeah, Wintersun are cool. I heard about them in the queue for the Unholy Alliance pt II tour in Cardiff; got the album shortly after, can't wait for the next one:smallbiggrin: And for the record, I've downloaded A Desolation Song by Aggaloch; what song should I try and get next?

[Shadow of the Sun]

A Melancholy Spirit is a good one, as is The Wilderness, and You Were but a Ghost in My Arms as well as She Painted Fire Across The Skyline Parts 1, 2 and 3. All of their songs are good, but those are the ones I enjoyed the most.

[Amotis]

/me scurries to find said rant:smalltongue:

EDIT: I think I found it :smallwink:

Nah, I'd never try that. I find it really annoying as well, and I try not to be a hypocrit, despite the occassional failure :smallsmile:



See maybe I could see why some people like Aenima or Lateralus...but 10,000 Days?! Huh?

[Lord of the Helms]

Manilla Road - Mystification takes the cake, for the way it manages to conjure haunting, gritty horror atmospheres through its intense combination of the ugly and the beautiful, its atypical, progressive song structures with constant shifts and changes coming out of nowhere, raw chainsaw-esque guitars and twisted, downright screwed-up riffs alternating with some of the most gorgeuous clean chord melodies ever conceived. Completely out of this world.

Oh, okay, so maybe I could make a case for Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny for its tremendous influence and innovation.


That's like trying to name the best guitarist.

Pffft, that's easy, it's so totally Kai Hansen :smallcool:

:smalltongue:

[Deaddude]

I would have to say Pink Floyd the wall. Just the story is great. many people say that Dark Side of the Moon was the greatest Floyd album but I disagree, sure there were many good songs on that album but the Wall beats the hell out of it. In my opinion anyway.

[General Leitmann]

Blah, the Wall was social commentative tripe, just as much as DSOTM was, and that aspect I don't even pay attention to. I look for musical composition, and in that respect, DSOTM has it all.

[FdL]

There's not much of a point to these kind of arguments. But in any case I'm going to stand by ZombieRockStar and mention The Velvet Underground and Nico.

[Booster]

The Ramones self-titled debut album is my favourite record of all time.

[FdL]

The Ramones self-titled debut album is my favourite record of all time.

Yeah, that's a classic. In fact that's what we're talking about here (or should be), since no one can really say that an album is better than another.

I suddenly feel the need to name-drop two other classic albums that haven't popped up yet:

Big Star - #1 Record (and/or Radio City)
Television - Marquee Moon

[Logic]

It isn't my favorite album but I think it is one of the best made.
U2-The Joshua Tree
I have to second this.
And my vote for one I doubt will be mentioned by anyone else:
Audioslave-Audioslave

[Delcan]

Everyone can just admit that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the reason most of these other bands are able to exist.

But that's just my opinion. :smallwink:

[FdL]

Everyone can just admit that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the reason most of these other bands are able to exist.

But that's just my opinion. :smallwink:

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

[Amotis]

In responce!

Frank Zappa's We're Only In It For The Money

[ZombieRockStar]

Yeah, but flip that around and Paul McCartney has said that Pet Sounds is the reason why Sgt. Pepper's exists.

[Amotis]

Pet Sounds rocks. I love Brian Wilson. What a great album.

[ElfLad]

I love the Beach Boys, too. Their deeper stuff is, of course, great, but I usually prefer their mindless surf rock unless I'm in a really contemplative mood.

[ZombieRockStar]

Some of us are always in contemplative moods, though. Which is the problem.

[FdL]

Of course Pet Sounds is an excellent album. I was beginning to wonder if I had to bring that one up myself.

I have a problem with the Beach Boys, though. I try to like them, but when I try to listen to other albums, looking for something similar to Pet Sounds, I find that their other stuff is really bad. I like songs here and there, but each succesive album after Pet Sounds is worst than the one before. It's frustrating. I like their early, poppy stuff, but I like Pet Sounds best.

And also it's appalling how some bands from the sixties refuse to call it quits when their creative life is over, and go on releasing music, often with major changes in their lineup. IMHO the same happened with The Byrds.

And the last complaint about the Beach Boys is that after Pet Sounds and Smile and what could have changed them into a more psychedelic and creative period (which is the direction Brian Wilson was aiming for), they just killed it and became an awfully stale band. But worst of all (though coherent with that) they took a disgustingly conservative stance opposed to the movements of freedom and political revolution on the 60s. Let's put it this way: I don't forgive them for singing "Okee from Muskogee".

That's so sad and that's why I can't fully like them.

[Sewer_Bandito]

Third Eye Blind's self labeled debut album, Third Eye Blind is the best in my personal opinion. I feel that that album truly defines what 90's alt rock is, focusing on lyrically driven songs with a few hooks to them. And partly because I completely love 90's alt rock (my iTunes playlist is something like 50% ska, and the rest 90's alt rock) And partly because I think every song on that album is turly amazing.

[Amotis]

Of course Pet Sounds is an excellent album. I was beginning to wonder if I had to bring that one up myself.

I have a problem with the Beach Boys, though. I try to like them, but when I try to listen to other albums, looking for something similar to Pet Sounds, I find that their other stuff is really bad. I like songs here and there, but each succesive album after Pet Sounds is worst than the one before. It's frustrating. I like their early, poppy stuff, but I like Pet Sounds best.

And also it's appalling how some bands from the sixties refuse to call it quits when their creative life is over, and go on releasing music, often with major changes in their lineup. IMHO the same happened with The Byrds.

And the last complaint about the Beach Boys is that after Pet Sounds and Smile and what could have changed them into a more psychedelic and creative period (which is the direction Brian Wilson was aiming for), they just killed it and became an awfully stale band. But worst of all (though coherent with that) they took a disgustingly conservative stance opposed to the movements of freedom and political revolution on the 60s. Let's put it this way: I don't forgive them for singing "Okee from Muskogee".

That's so sad and that's why I can't fully like them.

Pet Sounds is their best album, that's probably why you haven't found one to best it. Like My Bloody Valentine trying to top their Loveless album or something like this, it probably (and didn't) isn't gonna happen.

As for their post-pet sounds/smile period, isn't that when Wilson was going through some drug and life problems? When the other members started writing the music instead of the manofthehouse himself? I know they tried a system where Brian would write the music at home because he was physically unable to perform and tour and such. That's probably why you're disappointed with their later stuff.

As for your complaints about bands who don't know where to stop (cough the stones! Who were never that good anyway) it also applies to Opera too...but let's not get into that. That point is that I'm more dissapointed with artists who have such great talent and creative juices...and bow out. Just when their career was getting mindblowing. And by bowing out it could be death or just simply leaving the music scene, like Jeff Magnum or someone like this. It's like nnnoooooo. Please come back. I miss you.

[FdL]

YeS! Mangum, and Kevin Shields and people like that. It's probably hard to understand if you're not a musician. They probably got tired of some aspect of it. A lot of pressure to make a good record. In the case of indie artists like Jeff Mangun, well, he's still making music actively, just not his band's records...Still it's a pity.

As for the Beach Boys, well yeah, it was all after Brian lost the leadership of the band. He got into drugs and obsession with his work, and just lost it. A shame, because as you say what came after was really forgettable stuff.

[Amotis]

Yeah, I've heard some of Jeff's new stuff and it really is sad that he won't be actively releasing records. Have you heard his field recording/sampling stuff? It's really wonderful and you can tell that he's only grown from the man who made Aeroplane Over the Sea.

[General Leitmann]

Everyone can just admit that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the reason most of these other bands are able to exist.

But that's just my opinion. :smallwink:

Well, maybe, but Pink Floyd were recording their first album, "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" while the Beatles were recording that one. In fact, John Lennon enjoyed going to the UFO club with Yoko and watch the four Cambridgeshire gents playing their freeform psychedelia.

[FdL]

Piper is pretty good, but it's no Sgt. Pepper. I mean, that record is not for everyone, and I don't consider universality a requisite for good music, but still Sg. Pepper has a wider appeal and it's more diverse.

But, hey, who wouldn't enjoy going to see that band play live with Barret at his best?

[twerk_face]

Oh Man, in terms of just my personal favorite?

It's a toss up between--

1) Blood Sugar Sex Magic, by Red Hot Chili Peppers
and
2) The Grand Pecking Order, by Oysterhead

but some of the best albums i think, in terms of musical "bestness" (lol), would be.....god, too many to name. All of Frank Zappas stuff, including the live stuff, along with all but the very earliest of The Beatles. Oh, and Dylan. Can't forget Bob. Lets see, also, i feel like my numbers one AND two up there has alot of musical merit. Listen and see. Oysterhead has Phish's Tre Anastasio, Les Claypool, and The Police's Stewart Copeland. You can't go wrong. That album never, EVER gets boring. Every time, you find something new.

[Ceska]

I really couldn't say. Right now I mainly listen to Aqualung by Jethro Tull and Together by Jane.

[Amotis]

Jethro Tull is very cool. Awesome band and just awesome frontman.

[karmuno]

There are so many awesome albums out there, but some of the best, in my opinion, are as follows:
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Close To The Edge - Yes
Sgt. Pepper's - Beatles
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - The Smashing Pumpkins (I'm surprised this on hadn't come up before)
Who's Next - The Who
Quadrophenia - The Who
Revolver - Beatles
White Album - Beatles
The Wall - Beatles

As for Dark Side of the Moon, that isn't really their best album, just their most popular. Don't get me wrong, it's one of my favorite albums, but they had a couple that were better.

But currently, from the above list, I'd have to choose Close To The Edge. If you have enough time to listen to the whole album all the way through, it's a very rewarding experience, and the first (20 minute) track flows seemlessly from one movement to another. I often find myself deep into it, thinking "whoah, how did that happen," like two minutes into a movement. It's just a shame that that band went and did 90125.:smallyuk:

[Amotis]

I'm pretty sure the Pumpkin's best album is Siamese Dream.

[ElfLad]

The Wall - Beatles

Comfortably Numb and Hey You are some of the Beatles's best songs. :smalltongue:

[Amotis]

"Little Fugue" in G Major - Beatles.

[ElfLad]

Third Stage - The Beatles
Leftoverture - The Beatles
Point of Know Return - The Beatles
Elv1s 30 #1 Hits - The Beatles

[Amotis]

Devil Went Down To Georgia - Beatles

[Ted_Stryker]

Straight Outta Compton - The Beatles

[Amotis]

Bill Hicks Live at Chicago- Beatles

[Mr._Blinky]

Exactly as the title says; 'What is the best album of all time?'

Not necessarily your favourite, but the best overall, and why, I'd like to hear your two cents. And now for mine:

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd.

Why? Well if the stellar flow of the lyrics compounded by the soaring guitar solos and eloquent rhythms, my next argument would be that all together, this album has everything. Ethereal almost psychedelic moods in Speak to Me/Breathe, deep, raw emotional power in Us and Them, a soaring Jazz song that master's musical mechanics in going from a 7/4 measure to a 4/4 back to 7/4 to allow for a climactic solo ripping apart the boundaries in the middle of Money, and the wailing cries of Claire Tory in 'Great Gig in the Sky'. Proof that this album has it all is in the proverbial pudding.

And if still I'd have to throw another argument out, I would say spending 14 years on the top 100 charts is simply unprecendented.

Though that's only my honest opinion, and it may be by my favourite band, it is NOT my favourite album. (That's a toss up between 'Wish You Were Here' and 'The Division Bell')

- The General
Whoa, dude, that's like an exact mirror of what I would have written.

After Dark Side of the Moon, I'd have to say Aqualung, by Jethro Tull. Runner ups include Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits), Stop Making Sense (Talking Heads), and Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd).

[karmuno]

Oops, I was just getting used to writing Beatles. But they could've written the Wall had they chosen to (and if John Lennon had gone crazy as a result of drugs and the pressure of constant touring early in their career, causing the band to take a darker turn in their music). The Beatles pwn everybody anyway :smalltongue:

[FdL]

Yeah, but it's such an easy answer that they should be banned from these polls :) No, really. I mean, if everybody took for granted how great The Beatles are, no one would bother making new music. I tell myself "ok, very well, but what else is there? is there a new Beatles hidden somewhere, stifled between the folds of corporate-run music industry?"

[Castaras]

It changes for me...

At the moment, I'm hooked on Seconds Out, but you never know, I might next week really like some other album...