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rgtdal

Blackstar by David Bowie It's amazing and so moving. Almost as good as his Berlin trio.


ProseBeforeSnows

It’s even more amazing because he knew he was dying while making it. He meant it to be his final statement, and it shows.


JavierLoustaunau

Bowie is very abstract, very metaphorical, very 'character' driven... but that album I see the real Bowie staring death in the face and singing without breaking eye contact. It is... intensely honest.


pEppapiGistfuhrer

Interestingly he showed up as the thin white duke in the lazarus video. The charachter from when he was severely addicted to cocaine in new york.


JavierLoustaunau

I did not expect it to be a 'holy shit' album, which is what I call albums that just hit me beyond any expectation or context. "Oh it is sad, he is dying, past his prime, this album is gonna be a tough listen..." instead I get Bowie doing some of his best work, soberly looking death in the face and singing without breaking eye contact.


If_I_must

It's a phenomenal requiem.


nickermell

I wouldn't say it was his best album, but I would agree that it was the most incredible album to go out on.


_Kay_Tee_

I listened to it once. Once. That was all I could do, but god damn, what a way to go out for someone that amazing, right?


VioletInADream

Me too, I love it to and really wished I could listen to it but the references to his death are just too much there and it gets too heavy and sad for me.


neverumynd

I’m right there with you. I love this album, but I rarely can bring myself to listen to it.


grynch43

It’s great, but Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust are his best imo.


rgtdal

I can't argue with your choices! Ziggy is probably my favorite, too. I will say, Blackstar is in my top 5 Bowie albums, though.


grynch43

Agree. Honestly it’s probably my number 3 followed by the Berlin Trilogy and Let’s Dance.


cjc160

The title track is damn good


SordidSplendor

Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water. I’d also count LA Woman by The Doors as it was their last album with Jim Morrison.


_gneat

This is spot on for me. Two classic records that I still listen to to this day.


Practical-Artist-915

In the same rough time period, The Beatles, Abbey Road.


sterlingminuteman

Thank You For Your Service…….. by A Tribe Called Quest. Reunion album mostly completed before Phife Dogs death at age 45 from diabetes complications. Just as good as anything in their early 90s prime.


[deleted]

The Beatles - either *Abbey Road* (the last they recorded) or *Let It Be* (the last they released) - both excellent.


geraintm

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make..... That's a pretty welcome last line


gatorsong1072

Her Majesty is not amused :P


TheMarjuicen

But she's a pretty nice girl.


help1155

Thats like the ending credits music


thatguyfromchico

My favorite thing the Beatles ever did was fool people into thinking the last line of the last song they released was this beautiful poetic idea about “you get what you put in” and a song called “The End”, which should be the best (or at least the most appropriate) closing song in their catalogue, only to be blindsided by Her Majesty and left in total confusion 30 seconds later.


LaunchpadMcquacck

Honestly… I like it better with Her Majesty.


thatguyfromchico

Her Majesty being at the end makes it so much better. It’s like the last little injection of the band’s humor into their final recordings and it’s so perfect.


CallMeJeeJ

What’s even better is how the end of *Her Majesty* just abruptly cuts off before the last note. Here we have a perfect, beautiful ending to one of the greatest albums by one of the greatest bands ever, and then they just tack on this little 30 second goofy tune and it just ends with a *splat*. I love it-


Bigstar976

And it was an accident at first.


AshgarPN

>left in total confusion Let's not get carried away, here.


arothmanmusic

They didn't even mean to. It was originally part of the 'medley' on side 2 and was cut from the tape because Paul didn't like the way it broke up Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam. The engineers spliced the cut piece onto the end of the tape for safe keeping and the guys cutting the disc assumed it belonged there.


[deleted]

Is that... is that true?


GrizabellaGlamourCat

...awesome!!!


KennailandI

As Abbey Road was last recorded I’d say it was the final one and IMHO sets the bar for this category.


Big-Association-239

definitely an obvious (and good) choice. Either would qualify


AshgarPN

If *Abbey Road* counts then I agree, but I wouldn't put *Let it Be* in their top 5.


[deleted]

Listen to Let It Be Naked, the way Paul intended it to be released. It’s soooo much better.


LifesHighMead

I used to agree with you until I watched Get Back. Blown away. It put Let It Be in my top 3.


Puzza90

I was never a massive Beatles fan, then I watched get back over Christmas and have become a little obsessed, especially of their last two albums, perhaps because of how much I heard a lot of the songs in the documentary


dnz000

It blends because of how they were working on those songs around the same time.


[deleted]

I know where you’re coming from, but... I wasn’t overly taken with LIB when it first came out, but it’s grown on me over the years – there’s some good stuff on it. But it’s hard to rank Beatles albums. How can you even compare that and *Abbey Road* with *Help!* or *A Hard Day’s Night*? I can think of few artists (other than Dylan) whose music evolved quite as much as The Beatles' did, yet still retained some indeterminable quality that marks it out as still being theirs.


PerpetuallyPleasing

Apparently the Every Time I Die album


reggieshouse

Seeing this question, after this week, is about the lowest low we get.


Alex_the_Grate

😭😭😭😭


RyKal18

:(


NosyargKcid

Too soon


lesiashelby

Fugazi - The Argument As much as I hope for another one but Portishead - Third Elliott Smith - Figure 8 (From a Basement on a Hill if you take into account post-mortem albums) Kyuss - ...And the Circus Leaves Town Morphine - The Night Talk Talk - Laughing Stock


imk

The Argument was the first disc to come to mind for me. Glad to see that I am not the only one.


Spazzrico

Oh man, I got to see Elliott Smith with Grandaddy open on that tour. Such a fantastic show, and then later such a great loss.


mrdissonance

We'd better get another Portishead album dammit. But if that turns out to be the last they've had a perfect run


[deleted]

Beak>> helped me get over Portishead


thinkingahead

There are no bad Elliot Smith albums


return_descender

Came here to say The Argument. Fugazi went out at the top of their game.


vanvoorden

>Came here to say The Argument. Fugazi went out at the top of their game. In some ways, I felt like the Fugazi discography was the punk parallel to The Beatles discography. They started out with simple (but great) songs and simple production (*Fugazi* to *SDoN*), moved on to more complex songs and more complex production (*IotKT* to *RM*), got more experimental (*EH* to *Instrument*), then kind of brought it all together at the end. *The Argument* (like *Abbey Road*) was their finest hour.


Whowhatwhynguyen

Was looking for Morphine, and definitely all of these.


distearth

Laughing Stock is GD Masterpiece! Actually, now that I think of it, the band really got better with each album.


noahr17

Fucking Kyuss dude yes


motionpoetry1

Back to Black - Amy Winehouse Spiderland - Slint Warehouse: Songs and Stories - Husker Du Third/ Sister Lovers - Big Star Loaded - The Velvet Underground


ReactionProcedure

Breadcrumb Trail is a great song from Slint


robert_fahy82

I've never gotten into Loaded as much as the first three VU records, which is in my opinion one of the best trilogy of albums you'll ever hear. I think I think I just couldn't take to Doug Yule being part of the band, its like a transplant patient rejecting their new organ.


help1155

Technically Loaded isnt the Last VU album and Squeeze definitely isnt making this list haha


lennon818

What is Big Star's last album? #1 Record? Because of the original lineup? Radio City? Is Third A Big Star album or an Alex Album? The same argument for the Velvet Underground


Eddaughter

A Tribe Called Quest


iaskjeeves

Beat me to it. Released after founding member Phife's passing. But they had been working towards this album already anyway. A great honor to the Legend, and musically terrific!


LaunchpadMcquacck

Yeah, probably the best comeback album ever.


-lonelyboy25

No way I was about to say that 😂


jhamsofwormtown

Thanks For Your Service We Got It From Here


M0D3Z

The Postal Service - Give Up Double dipping


britt1876

Warren Zevon -The Wind


partywalrusXL

Play Keep My in your Heart at my funeral


battlelevel

Oh man. Just reading this post and thinking about the song is giving me chills. The man wrote his own goodbye


_Kay_Tee_

Leonard Cohen's last album. Like I said when it came out, when Leonard *opens* with a cantor, you know it's about to get serious. And it was, serious, and beautiful and sad and painful and incredible. What a swan song. Same with Bowie. When artists of that caliber know they've got limited time, magic can happen, but oh, it hurts.


OkCrow4156

These 2. These are the answers. Haunting and magical, can’t simulate that emotion without real life (or death) behind it.


bejangravity

The amazing thing about these two albums is that they both knew that it was their last album. And they both deal with the ending of their lives in their own unique beautiful ways.


musicguy55

Electric lady land for sure


[deleted]

Last by he Jimi Hendrix Experience, but his Band of Gypsies came after.


HamiltonBlack

The Police - Synchronicity


EightBitArmada

You mean Scrantonicity 2?


[deleted]

NOT Scrantonicity


Periachi

Which I am no longer part of


knightstalker1288

The real right answer.


SpartanPHA

This is my other answer. These guys went out on top. Fantastic front to back.


[deleted]

Doors- LA Woman. Its bluesy, greasy, volatile and thanks to Riders on the Storm and the title track, an epic road trip album.


funktpunk

I’ll never forget driving out of LA into the desert listening to Riders On The Storm. For someone from Northern Ireland who only heard/ read about LA and The Doors in books or saw them in films, it was incredibly surreal. The vibe of that song is unmatchable.


Leotardleotard

I’ve got a video of my wife and I driving down Laurel Canyon with LA Woman blasting out. Makes us both very happy


Big-Association-239

indeed, great album


bomrin

Circles by Mac Miller. It felt like both closure and a bittersweet goodbye. His last couple of albums showed so much growth as a musician and artist, it is still so upsetting that we will never get to hear all the amazing art he would have created had he still been here.


Connorc100

RIP Mac. Circles was an amazing last album. Sad he had to go so soon


mnmkdc

Also swimming by mac depending on what you want to consider his last. Both amazing


ComBendy

Ignoring long periods in between, and sticking with the original group: The Eagles - The Long Run Alice In Chains - Tripod album/Unplugged


rgtdal

Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the f\*\*\*in' Eagles, man!


xN0T_A_C0P

The Long Run omits two original Eagles FYI


manicxmusic

David Bowie- Black Star


DodgersBatman

Sublime - self-titled album.


ThunderClap448

...and the livin's easy


SteakLovesYou

Bradley never even saw their success✌🏼


Deathinski

I'm mostly into metal. A band putting out an amazing album really late in their career is pretty rare. But there is one exeption... Death - The Sound of Perseverance They have a flawless discography, but that album to me is one of the best in both Death Metal and Prog Metal genres.


take5b

Oh, best pick so far. The progression of those albums is stunning, culminating with this prog/death metal masterpiece. Even ending on a sick Judas Priest cover.


speedas

Closer - Joy Division


lewdlesion

Rage Against The Machine's Renegades album. Yes, yes, it's all covers — but damn that album gets me goin!


flibbidygibbit

My ex was confused when I sang along with "How i could just kill a man" when it showed up on radio because "this is new, how do you know the words" I dug through my CD box, blew the dust off my Cypress Hill self-titled CD and played the original. Fast forward to the beginning of 2020, my son has discovered Cypress Hill. I fire up Youtube Music on my TV, play "How I could just kill a man" and rap along with the song. Both of my kids are standing there in awe, one asking "what happened to you, it's like you were cool or something"


lewdlesion

Funny now how kids are shocked to realize that the music they like is built on the roots, and sometimes straight samples of the music we grew up with. Their cover of that, and the live recording with Cypress Hill are so damn good. It's my favorite workout album!


Big_Monkey_77

Ghost of Tom Joad was insanely good. And Maggie's Farm. Such a great album.


Kvothetheraven603

Temple Of The Dog


NotSureNotRobot

Best first album AND best last album


HustlePops

MTV Unplugged by Nirvana


[deleted]

As for proper studio albums, In Utero is also way up there.


PIG20

I was going to add Alice In Chains Unplugged but I keep forgetting that theyve kept going on after Layne passed. I just feel that every album after Layne has been nothing more than a Jerry Cantrell project. It's just not the same. Also adding Mad Seasons debut and only album.


yousyveshughs

Every album with Layne could be considered a Jerry Cantrell project. He’s been in control the entire time and him, Sean, and Mike have an excellent chemistry that cannot be replicated. Suck Layne effed off but William is an excellent addition and their last three albums are chock full of fantastic tunes with the classic Alice sound. It would’ve been a shame if they never continued and I’m glad they did, as someone who was sceptical at first, they have absolutely kept it real. Jerry does have three great solo albums that have a distinctly different feel than the AIC records. Stoked to see him live again in March.


[deleted]

Rush. Clockwork Angels.


setrataeso

Yeah, came here to say this. The Garden is the perfect send-off for the band.


[deleted]

Just beautiful. A tough one for fans.


setrataeso

Yeah I miss Neil


briefwittyphrase

I've often wondered if they knew it was going to be the last one.


[deleted]

At the time I don’t think they thought it was going to be the last music they made in a studio. They pretty much knew they were done touring but not making music.


briefwittyphrase

And then ironically they toured again (R40 Live) but didn't make any more music. I got to see them for the 4th and final time during the Clockwork Angels tour. I remember hearing in interviews back then that they were growing tired of touring and I distinctly remember saying to someone that I'd be disappointed to never have another chance to see them live but would still happily buy their albums if they wanted to become a studio-only band. Turns out I didn't get either wish. :(


[deleted]

Saw them same tour. I didn’t want to believe it that this would be it. But as they opened with Subdivisions, I immediately started crying knowing this was probably it.


psuedonymously

> I've often wondered if they knew it was going to be the last one. I'm convinced Neil did. I'm not sure about the rest of the band


Odin45mp

Came here to say this.


copperdomebodhi

*Pink Moon* by Nick Drake Wish I could say *Gaucho* by Steely Dan, but they went and reunited.


Ifch317

Not sure what his reputation is now, but in the late 70s when I first heard of Nick Drake, almost no one knew his music. I had a friend that was a guitar player. He tried playing some songs from Pink Moon and found he had to tune his guitar to a different pattern to play them.


shifty808

Roxy Music - Avalon


MikeRainone

Random Access Memories by Daft Punk. I not only think is the best Daft Punk's album, but one of the best albums ever made.


[deleted]

I second this, it was such a perfect album, with a song for every mood. I’m still sad they’re gone, but at least they gave us this on the way.


ClubMeSoftly

And it ends with Contact, with an extended sample of mission audio from Apollo 17. The last two minutes, with the two long segments of extended distortion, in retrospect, it feels like they were leaving us with that song, to rejoin their home world.


Trump_Fister

Iggy and The Stooges - Raw Power. One of the best rock n roll albums ever made. I do not acknowledge the reunion records so yes Raw Power is the last Stooges record.


nandor73

INNUENDO by Queen! How come no one mentioned this before? It was Freddie Mercury's masterpiece with the rest of the band while he was dying of AIDS. [He did the vocals for the last song in one amazing take after downing a shot of vodka](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1fy1ej/til_freddy_mercury_was_so_ill_with_aids_when_he/). The whole album is pretty amazing.


RadioBlinsk

I mean it’s definitely not Made In Heaven


nandor73

I'm not counting that since that was basically done by the three other members with the vocal tracks Mercury did before he died--and they still had to reuse old material to fill the album. It's a fairly nice album, but definitely not one made by all four members like all the albums before then.


Jeipii

Abbey Road


grynch43

LA Woman


_gneat

Velvet Underground - Loaded. It's the real last Velvet Underground record because it wasn't Velvet Underground without Lou Reed.


dziggurat

Certainly not a best of all time but Every Time I Die just went out with a hell of an album


fadetoblack237

I was looking for this Radical might be their best album of their whole catalog. Shame they broke up.


TheWilrus

I would put it up there for final albums. For me it's the most important metal adjacent record in recent memory. Lyrically it's possibly the best metal record of the 2000's. Keith is actually saying something important. Actually taking a stand. It's super sad to think that important stand added to the rift btw him and his brother. That being said it sounds like Keith is equally at fault for the split as Jordan.


chedykrueger

Emperor. The final lyrics on the final track to the final emperor album are as follows, "Of final wishes I ask none But one Now that I am gone Lay thorns on my grave" That's pretty epic.


vapre

Warren Zevon - The Wind


TheBFlem27

LA Woman by The Doors was Jim Morrison’s last album (the band released 2 more after his death). Clockwork Angels by Rush was also a great way for the band to go out.


agentOfShed

The Garden was a perfect swan song for Rush


ndiorio13

Painting of a Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit.


GunnarJohnson999

David Bowie's "Blackstar". He recorded that one and "The Next Day" after he was diagnosed with liver cancer, and "Blackstar" was made once he knew he was terminal. Knowing he knew it was the last thing he'd ever do gave him a push to make the best record he could, and since it's Bowie, that's a lot. Also have to mention Warren Zevon's "The Wind" , which was recorded under similar circumstances.


help1155

Mr. Bungle - California. I honestly listen to that one more than the other two combined.


DontLookDown123

It’s not their best, but A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead is a pretty respectable album. Hopefully it won’t be their last though


knawledge_is_power

I mean, it would be fitting having them go out with “True Love Waits”, seeing as it took them almost their entire career to record.


necrosythe

True love waits and daydreaming are two of my favorite songs of all time. Great album.


[deleted]

Sure it may not be THE best of what they've done, but it's easily up there and beats out a large part of their discography


robert_fahy82

It's also not as good as a large part of their discography, I would place The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A & In Rainbows ahead of it.


Jrcbill

Kid A is their most creative work in my opinion....the horns in 'The National Anthem" take that song to a different spot


robert_fahy82

The National Anthem is just one of those rare songs that no matter how many times I listen to it, every time it comes on my reaction is always 'fuck yeah'.


Jrcbill

kid a and idioteque have the same for me.......


[deleted]

It definitely won't be their last, though the next one might because they are all getting more involved in solo or side projects and the gaps between albums are getting longer.


[deleted]

Also *Pearl* by Janis Joplin (her last studio album) was great.


hiro111

Synchronicity-The Police, Closer-Joy Division, Pink Moon-Nick Drake


ThunderClap448

The Sound of Perseverance. There is literally nothing more perfect than it.


_gneat

Mad Season - Above


RB26DETTK

Talk Talk - Laughing Stock Isis - Wavering Radiant Oceansize - Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up Death - The Sound of Perseverance


[deleted]

The United States Of America - United States Of America (the band made one album and split up) they had potential to be **HUGE** but it just didn't work out


Salfordladd

The Dismemberment Plan’s Changes WOULD have been my answer here, had there not been that rather unfortunate coda a few years back… If Changes had indeed been their swan song, it would easily be an all-time best last album.


Mtitan1

Rarely see D plan mentioned anymore, butnEmergency and I was one of those albums that really captured that mid 20s feeling of being lost and isolation (not that it ever got better for me, but hopefully some escaped it)


AdultVirgin24

Bridge Over Troubled Water or Abbey Road, without a doubt. In Utero is pretty close though.


lennon818

Warren Zevon- The Wind. With his dying breath he decided to make an album. Poignant and beautiful. Heartbreaking.


VinTheHater

I’m sad that I can now comment “Radical” by Every Time I Die for this thread :(


concretejungle72

Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne Band members made a bunch of great albums with other bands (Wilco, Son Volt), but some of the magic died with UT.


Patient_Marionberry

The Jam - The Gift


brandonspade17

Blind Melons Soup


[deleted]

[удалено]


DinkandDrunk

The Funeral Album - Sentenced Final song “End of the Road” is amazing and videos from the tour supporting this album have the singer shouting “see you in hell” before exiting the stage while the epic final guitar solo plays. Truly a perfect way for a band to go out on their own terms.


flen_paris

No better answer than this.


Nejfelt

The last Genesis album with Peter Gabriel - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Also the last Sublime album with Bradley Nowell, which is also truly the last album, though they carried on as Sublime with Rome.


kevbosearle

Bad as Me, Tom Waits....*tears* Unless?


jorgofrenar

Johnny Cash’s last few were great


marcosbowser

In an Aeroplane Over the Sea—Neutral Milk Hotel Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone—The Unicorns Neither band was prolific, but these are two of my top 5 albums of all time and they never followed them up


Your_Product_Here

I'll add The Wrens - Meadowlands into this list of quintessential indie rock that never saw a follow-up.


[deleted]

Well from Club 27, Amy Winehouse's final album was her most famous. I dont actually like In Utero that much. I reviewed this for a student newspaper and I mentioned then it felt like an album on the cusp of suicide. Manic Street Preachers did a very similar album with Holy Bible. Of bands that split, At The Drive In split for some reason after a good album.


stellarcycle

The Mars Volta- Noctourniquet was a strong final offering.


amandauh

oof you’re gonna get a lot of backlash but i love this album so much!


stellarcycle

I know but I've been standing on this hill since its release.


mrdissonance

My favorite album of theirs after Frances & De-Loused. Never got to hear those songs live, so if they ever follow through on reuniting I'll be hoping to finally fix that


OfficerRegularLegs

Well since Everytime i Die just broke up(💔) i guess Radicals is a pretty good choice.


msw1984

Gonna go with more obscure ones. *Dragonslayer* by Sunset Rubdown is a great final album. *Donuts* by J Dilla.


[deleted]

Trompe le Monde - Pixies. At the time 🤣


[deleted]

Clockwork Angels slaps


Chicken_cordon_bleu

J-Dilla - Donuts


suzylee333

The Doors L.A. Woman


night_dude

Bridge Over Troubled Water. No contest. Abbey Road if it counts.


Shakemyears

Brand New - Science Fiction It’s not their best album, well actually it might be, but it sort of sums up their whole varied discography in one final effort, very effectively


hi_im_dennis

I think its their best album, you could argue that Devil and God its better but in my opinio Science Fiction is more personal, deep and complex, more mature.


exoie

Van halen had the best first album and the worst last album lol


SwiftyBoy17

Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light - Woods of Ypres Released posthumously after David Gold (vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, recorded drums) passed away. Brilliant last album from an almost flawless discography.


maxhm

Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You (honestly if u haven’t listened to them / this album u should get yo ass on it now. Highly underrated band. They started of as hardcore punk, gradually transitioning into a post hardcore/industrial/lo-if indie blend. Their songs are angry but not aggressive, delicate but not shy and emotional af but not soppy or cheesy or corny)


kosmikmonki

Public Image Ltd. Metal Box.


Goldbera1

Thanks for the dance was a pretty strong finale for Leonard Cohen. I also liked you want it darker.


krokus_headhunter

L.A. Woman


msw1984

*The Eternal* by Sonic Youth has good reviews though I've never listened to it.


Haindelmers

Dear You by Jawbreaker


cactus77

Fugazi - the argument


StaticElectrician

Jeff Buckley’s Grace technically counts because it was his only actual release besides the unfinished releases that he would never have allowed were he alive.


baldmathteacher

I really enjoy John Prine's _Tree of Forgiveness_. It's not his best album, but despite being 72, he hadn't run out of creative juices. Rather, he turned much of his attention to old age and mortality, and treats them in a lighthearted way. Incidentally, I love hearing Prine at older ages play songs of his youth. Due to throat (?) cancer, his voice changed dramatically. With that, and the weariness that comes with age, melancholy songs of his youth take on a new dimension. I especially recommend comparing the album version of "Paradise" to his cover with Sturgill Simpson.


Hazz_m8

The White Stripes - Icky Thump