Greatest Album from Front to Back?

suziko
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Wed Sep 11, 2013 4:29 pm

I can certainly relate to that. There have been albums that I have loved all the way through at certain times of my life that just don't resonate with me anymore. Not saying they're bad, just that they don't have the same appeal as they did when I was younger. Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville would be a good example of one.

And I have more recent albums, such as The King is Dead (The Decemberists) that I just adore and have for a few years. But time will tell if I'll love them as long as I've loved, for example, Wish You Were Here.


Hydroman52 wrote:

I have found that many of the albums that I once liked all the way through no longer retain that status. And, as my tastes broaden, music that I didn't like at the time I'm finding to be quite brilliant. It's all quite dynamic. I'm not as rigid in my tastes as I once was, and am able to change my opinion without feeling too guilty. Does that make sense?

Hydroman52


unclewalt
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Wed Sep 11, 2013 4:51 pm

Another possible entry (I hesitate to include many with absolute certainty -- it's not just "albums you like a lot," after all.): "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel.


thereshopeyet
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Wed Sep 11, 2013 5:42 pm

There's lots of albums I listened to all the time but haven't listened to it for ages.

Graham Nash - Songs For Beginners

Also

Speedy Keen - Y Know Wot I Mean

Dermot

:)

Edit
I notice and could name many albums that others have already named.
For that reason I am not duplicating those albums within this post.

I mention these two albums above because they are great top to bottom and I
haven't seen them mentioned before in any forum.


kelemenj
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Wed Sep 11, 2013 6:48 pm

oooh what a fun topic!

If I had to narrow it down to a few, I would go with.....

Nirvana - Nevermind
The Who - Quadrophenia
The Stones - Exile on Main Street
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (or Darkness, or The River, or Greetings, or Wild, Innocent..... )
The Ramones - First album
The Clash - anything from the first album through Combat Rock
The Beatles - White Album
Public Enemy- It takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
Grateful Dead - American Beauty


Too much being left out. I'll just leave it at that before the list gets out of control!

John


michelew
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Wed Sep 11, 2013 6:49 pm

suziko wrote:
I can certainly relate to that. There have been albums that I have loved all the way through at certain times of my life that just don't resonate with me anymore. Not saying they're bad, just that they don't have the same appeal as they did when I was younger. Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville would be a good example of one.

And I have more recent albums, such as The King is Dead (The Decemberists) that I just adore and have for a few years. But time will tell if I'll love them as long as I've loved, for example, Wish You Were Here.


Hydroman52 wrote:

I have found that many of the albums that I once liked all the way through no longer retain that status. And, as my tastes broaden, music that I didn't like at the time I'm finding to be quite brilliant. It's all quite dynamic. I'm not as rigid in my tastes as I once was, and am able to change my opinion without feeling too guilty. Does that make sense?

Hydroman52
It's funny how albums link you to periods in time; early Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Prince's Purple Rain remind me of high school. Tracey Chapman reminds me of Uni. And how certain albums remind you of certain people. Sue "The king is dead" always reminds me of you (all of their stuff actually, as does Wye Oak) and absolutely "DeJa vu" and CSN generally reminds me of Nessa.

Music is a powerful time machine and goes straight to any strong emotions you were feeling while listening to them. Magic, powerful stuff.

M


dennisg
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Wed Sep 11, 2013 6:59 pm

This really is a great topic. Like most people, my tastes have changed over the years. For example, I used to think Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill was one of the greatest albums ever made. Now I can't even stand to listen to it. But a lot of the old chestnuts have held up very well. So here is my vote for the best albums front to back ... and not just best albums. And no live albums, since they are essentially greatest hits albums:

#1: Tommy by The Who (a double album, and not a boring moment on it)
#2: Abbey Road by ... oh, I forget (this would have been #1 if it weren't for Octopus's Garden)
#3: Riverside by Luka Bloom (just an Irish guy, his guitar, and a whole bunch of terrific songs)
#4: Finally Woken by Jem
#5: Song for a Seagull by Joni Mitchell
#6: Harvest by Neil Young
#7 Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
#8: Nick of Time by Bonnie Raitt
#9: A Night at the Opera by Queen
#10 The White Album by The Beatles (would have scored much higher if not for Rev. #9. That one song encouraged me to buy a cassette player so that I could delete that song)


michelew
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Wed Sep 11, 2013 9:32 pm

Frankly, my memory is just too crappy to answer this question, as in which albums are great end to end. I definitely agree that lots of the ones listed are great (the ones I know). This thread has been a great source of either reminders about albums to listen to again or better still ones to purchase and check out.

Thanks Suz and everyone who's already contributed. My iTunes library is getting better all the time. ... No vinyl for me right now.

Ta

M


TGNesh
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Thu Sep 12, 2013 2:53 am

So are you guys saying that you like ALL the songs on ALL those albums, front to back, as Suzi was asking??? Every single one of them? :S


BigBear
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Thu Sep 12, 2013 3:14 am

suziko wrote:
Good choices so far! A couple that were named I definitely would pick because I like every song on them: Rumours, Dark Side of the Moon, Abbey Road.

Max- I do like Blue but it's not an album I would have picked for this list because there are a couple of songs that are, for me, kinda "meh." However, "All I Want" and "California" are two of my favorite songs ever.

Bear- good point about TAAB being a concept album. That's the kind of thing that is way more enjoyable on vinyl than when it comes up on shuffle on your iPod!! One I'd pick in that category would be Rush's Hemispheres. I love that album on vinyl. Not so much (excluding maybe "Circumstances" and "The Trees") on my iPod!!

Suzi
Good point! I hadn't thought about "shuffle play". TAAB would be horrible if it were shuffled. :cheer:


BigBear
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Thu Sep 12, 2013 3:19 am

kanefsky wrote:
Aqualung, Dark Side of the Moon, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (not necessarily in that order :) )

--
Steve
Steve- Aqualing is a great choice. I would put Benefit in there too because there isn't a bad song. Of course, Dark Side could be the greatest album of all time. It remained in the charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988.

:cheer:


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