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Topic: What is for you the best album ever ? (Read 385340 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #275
Sepultura - Under a Pale Grey Sky (LIVE)
That is indeed an awesome (and overlooked) album. A testament to the power that Sepultura had at their peak.
Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.


Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #277
Regarding classical music, I have always thought of the genre as more composition-oriented than performance-oriented, while jazz is at the other endpoint. Asked for the best classical works, one would name compositions. Asked for the best works in rock, one would name albums - and if you go "but isn't the live album [xxx] better?", quite a few would write it off as a compilation-thingy that does not really count.

And from a practical point of view, one needs a vast knowledge to start sorting among the best recordings of the best compositions. (Huh, how many recordings do I own of the BWV 565? Can I pick just one? At least it is easier to just name the work.)

Pretty much this. The second I sing praises of, say, Vänskä's new Sibelius cycle, I'll not only get people chiming in about how Mahler is better than Sibelius, but also people saying they prefer Vänskä's *other* Sibelius cycle, or some 1920s recording that is obviously the best because how dare a classical person use sound quality as a "best" criterion.

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #278
Next to impossible to choose a first place winner, but these guys finished for a close second:

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
Jane's Addiction - Nothing Shocking
Minor Threat - Minor Threat
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction
Deftones - Diamond Eyes
Clutch - Self Titled
Nirvana - Bleach
Queens of the Stone Age - Restricted
Bad Religion - No Control
Suicidal Tendencies - Self Titled
Rage Against the Machine - Self Titled
NoFX - War on Errorism
Tool - 10,000 Days
Pink Floyd - Darkside of the Moon
Reverend Horton Heat - Liquor in the Front
Melvins - Stoner Witch
Fugazi - Repeater

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #279
Great thread for discovering new stuff, some amazing music, thanks! In this regard, I'd like to list a few albums not mentioned yet:

Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Sessions (my top choice)
John Hammond - Wicked Grin
Dire Straits - On Every Street

also

Pink Floyd - The Final Cut
Supertramp - Crime  Of The Century
Beatles - Abby Road
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman

It's clear Pink Floyd' Dark Side Of The Moon is highly thought of, and one of my most listened to albums as well.

I'd also like to point out how little folk music made this thread, so I'll add:

Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant
Loreena McKennit - The Visit
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?  ;~)

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #280
I also should have mentioned Billy Bragg / Wilco - Mermaid Avenue and Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?  ;~)

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #281
It's really hard to narrow down, so I'll just throw out top mentions like everyone else:

Pop/Rock
Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair
Yes - Close to the Edge
Supertramp - Breakfast in America
Roxy Music - Avalon
Queen - II
Pixies - Doolittle, essential to my youth..
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
Genesis - A Trick of the Tail, but I could pick any from Foxtrot to Duke....
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours, cliche, I know.
Elton John - Captain Fantastic...
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Badfinger - Straight Up

Classical
Debussy - La Mer (There is a Karajan disc I adore with other selections..)
Grieg - Holberg Suite
Beethoven - 9th Symphony (Karajan '62)
Satie - Gymnopedie et al..

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #282

Roxy Music - Avalon
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours, cliche, I know.


I'd second these as well ... esp. rumours

many of these, and others, have been my favorites at one time or another ...
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?  ;~)

 

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #283
many of these, and others, have been my favorites at one time or another ...
There are many other artists I adore, but whose albums don't stick to my ribs in the same way. David Bowie and Pink Floyd, Leonard Cohen, as well... too many to start listing. One of my favorite albums to spin after a bad day at work is Rush - Signals, but for some reason or another I don't feel it belongs on this list. Maybe it should be.

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #284
Loreena McKennit - The Visit
With The Mask and Mirror being a strong contender, IMO.
When I hear that voice, I get goose bumps.

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #285
Loreena McKennit - The Visit
With The Mask and Mirror being a strong contender, IMO.
When I hear that voice, I get goose bumps.

You guys need to discover an album called The Book of Secrets ;-)

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #286
I have been pleasantly surprised seeing some positions in this thread, like I Robot or The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. They would be in my top 5, but the #1 is "Exposure" by Robert Fripp. 

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #287
1. The Rolling Stones triad :) - Exile on Main Street (original version from 1972), Voodoo Lounge (1994), Goats Head Soup (1973)
2. Paul McCartney - Flaming Pie
3. Kamelot - Vyznavaci ohnu (in Czech - my native language)

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #288
Far too many "best albums ever" for me to list (likely why no one is offering just a single title).

Rage for Order  has made appearances on this forum a few times but not often enough in my book, so I've listed it here.

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #289
Rage for Order

A deep one that does not really flash everything it has got.  Took me years to realize it was indeed more than just another good album.

Won't make my top 1, though. Not sure if I bother to really insist on one anymore. Last time I did, it would have to be Morningrise.

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #290
I really feel their latter albums benefited greatly from Fredrik Åkesson's guitar work (my current avatar), but Still Life is definitely also a gem.  Morningrise is still very raw but shows many of the elements of the brilliance they will later refine.  In keeping with my previous post it reminds me of The Warning or Awaken the Guardian.

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #291
FW ... argh, I should have been at Progpower this week. Just cannot make it to everything.

(That thing about Rage for Order is how it accomplishes the feature that Fates Warning would do all the time: disguise the progressiveness from the casual listener.)


Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #293
I don't think I've seen it here so I'll list Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek And The Dominos (1970).



Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #295
Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

I'm having a hard time putting that one down.

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #296
The best Arch album I think, with Under Stained Glass Skies probably being his highlight.
I agree.  Any Given Day (Strangers Like Me) is another.

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #297
Viola Beach (their one and only album and no more will be produced, too bad as these guys had talent, I thought it was a nice gesture for Coldplay to headline as this group at Glastonbury):



I am also enjoying Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again, also Love & Hate.

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #298
Depends. In terms of musical and lyrical quality (not so much of commercial success) and in no particular order:

- King Crimson: Lizard
- Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde
- echolyn: mei
- Yes: Relayer
- Mogwai: Mr. Beast
- Yezda Urfa: Sacred Baboon

I only included albums which I, having listened to them many times, still like to listen to every few months without being bored. Sadly, other great albums are too easy (e.g. Velvet Underground's "White light/White heat" and Gentle Giant's "Octopus") and I just know them too well.
But I guess my answer would be different ten years from now. :)
audiophile // flac & wavpack, mostly // using too many audio players

Re: What is for you the best album ever ?

Reply #299
Pink Floyd -- Wish You Were Here.