I often think about stellar albums. The ones where they’re really isn’t a skip-able track. Off the top of my head, these come to mind: The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Collective Soul Collective Soul (blue album), Bush 16 Stone, and Green Day Dookie. What are some of your perfect albums?
I’m late to the party but couldn’t miss putting Daily Bread’s album Invisible Cinema in the thread
A New World Record by ELO.
Tool - Aenima
Sky Cries Mary - A Return to the Inner Experience
Dead Can Dance - Spirit chaser
Depeche Mode - Violator
Faith No More - The Real Thing.
Blackwater Park - Opeth
A few I can think of right now:
AC/DC - If You Want Blood (maybe cheating a bit because it’s a compilation of songs from different albums, but it’s the best live album of all time to me and AC/DC at their rockingest.)
All Them Witches - Dying Surfer Meets His Maker or Nothing A The Ideal (both albums warrant a full playthrough almost always.)
Elephant Tree - Elephant Tree (my favorite album of the last decade)
Elder - Dead Roots Stirring (although Elder keep getting better and better, and are ever more amazing live, this album has a special place in my heart)
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (masterpiece from beginning to end.)
Mew - Frengers Architecure in Helsinki - In Case We Die of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? Tally Hall - Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum The Strokes - Is This It? The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Nightmare of You - Nightmare of You The Fiery Furnaces - EP The Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder Memory Tapes - See Magic
EPs Voxtrot - Raised by Wolves Locale A.M. - The Characters Miami Horror - Bravado
Nirvana - Nevermind
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David Bowie’s Low and Talking Heads’ Remain In Light are the platonic ideal of what an album should be
Ok, now that more people have posted long lists, I don’t feel so bad about mine ;)
- Arcade Fire – Funeral
- Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
- At The Drive-In – Relationship of Command (also their EPs Vaya and In/Casino/Out)
- Kae Tempest – Let Them Eat Chaos
- Mercury Rev – Deserter’s Songs
- My Morning Jacket – Z
- Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley
- Radiohead – OK Computer
- Radiohead – In Rainbows
- The Decemberists – Picaresque
- The Diggs – Commute
- The Dismemberment Plan – Emergency & I
- The Libertines – s/t
- The Mars Volta – Deloused in the Comatorium
- The Notwist – Shrink
- Tokyo Police Club – A Lesson in Crime (just a fantastic debut; barely an album though)
German:
- Deichkind – Niveau Weshalb Warum
Some may be an acquired taste (PSB?, also I know that The Libertines’ is not everyone’s favorite – but it’s mine :). The Arcade Fire, even though I don’t listen to them these days that much, is decade-defining for me, as is Radiohead’s OK Computer (together with Nevermind, although for some reason it didn’t make this list).
I agree with a lot of what people have already mentioned, so I’ll add a few I haven’t seen yet
- Turnstile - Step 2 Rhythm
- Signs of the Swarm - The Disfigurement of Existence
- Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas
- Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
- Meshuggah - Obzen
- Panic at the Disco - Pretty Odd
- Fall Out Boy - Take This to Your Grave
- Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated
- Oso Oso - Sore Thumb
- Polyphia - New Levels New Devils
Discovery by Daft Punk is a no skip for me. Also food and liquor by lupe fiasco.
“Gorillaz - Demon Days” It is like a story unfolding, where they really have fun with the music, and effortlessly meld through different genres.
Reading through these posts I’m totally blown away by the diversity of some of the posters’ selections. Also…a LOT of albums I need to check out!!
That was my goal! I’m in a bit of a music lull, looking for new stuff
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco
Twin Fantasy - Car Seat Headrest
Perfect from Now On - Built to Spill
+1 for Twin Fantasy. I haven’t listened to a lot of CSH’s discography but man that album… every time I hear a song I’m pulled back in and end up listening to the whole thing. It’s amazing how quickly those 15 minute songs seem to end.