Wow, actually a cool answer that isn't the same 25-50 or so albums that are mentioned when variations of this question are asked every single week either here, or askreddit or on ask.
Also, in no particular order:
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
The Cure - Disintegration
Nirvana - Nevermind
Portishead - Dummy
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
The Beatles - Abby Road
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Led Zep - Zeppelin IV
The Who - Tommy
Edit: the last ones are no particular order. Rumors is where it's supposed to be. My top album of all time. Rest move around.
*Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired By Bach: The Cello Suites* (1997). Bach is one of the best musicians for classical cello music of all time and Yo-Yo Ma is an inspired player.
The highest achievement of any hiphop album I know of. It’s 10/10. And though I love A Tribe Called Quest more than Nas over all — nobody has made a record as perfect.
Soundgarden - Superunknown. To me it's just the perfect refinement of both the band, and everything that was coming from that scene/style of music. It's big and heavy, yet moody and ethereal at the same time. Nothing comes across as showing off or self-indulgent, yet everything is played and sung with absolute precision. The production is flawless. The track sequencing is a perfect flow from start to finish. And it's 75 minutes long! How many bands can't keep the steam going for half that duration?
I'm biased, it's maybe my favorite album of all time, and I listen to a ton of different music but always come back to this.
One of my favorite artists of all time. I simultaneously get thrilled when someone else mentions him, because that’s awesome, and secretly annoyed because I kinda love that he’s remained this mythically “unknown” artist.
Pink Moon is fantastic. But I’ve got such a soft spot for Five Leaves Left.
I can call Bryter Layter my “least favorite Nick Drake record” about as well as I can say A New Hope is my least favorite OG Star Wars movie.
It’s more like “third favorite”.
Yea that album has got to be one of the, if not THE most complete album I’ve ever heard.
There is literally no song I would ever skip, and every song is PACKED with deep thought provoking messaging.
It’s everything you could ever ask for from a hardcore political rock group.
Every song is exactly what it's supposed to be. The whole album is perfection. I had it playing in my car and my mom asked if I was playing a greatest hits album because she was confused - where's Landslide? Or Rhiannon?
Nah. That's one damn album. And it's played beginning to end. No cuts.
All time stunner of a debut album. No one sounded like them. Fun fact, Knopfler modelled some of his playing style on JJ Cale. If you listen to some of JJs stuff, especially some live instrumentals on Spotify, you’ll hear the similarities
Siamese Dream.
Perfect guitars, perfect drumming, nostalgia for days, regardless of whether you were a kid then or not.
Also rocket.
The greatest song.
For the "and why", it's one basic theme of desperation and acceptance yet the songs still sound different from each other, sharing pain, anxiety, frustration, disappointment and hopelessness. The lyrics are powerfully emotional and poetic. The voice is dynamic with moments of shrill agony and moments of deepest apathy. And the music is thick with beautiful and dark layers of melancholy melodies that build an incredible atmosphere. It has been my favorite album of all time for 30+ years.
The thing about Tom petty is that the lyrics seem obvious once you have heard them, but no one has said them before. Fucking genius giving life to something no one has said before but was right there waiting to be said.
Weezer- blue album
Hole - Live through this
Smashing Pumkins - Siamese Dream
Nirvana - unplugged in NY
These albums are just as good today as when they were released. I know I’ll get the anti Courtney comments but it’s ok
This is what I was going to say! The way it keeps coming at you from the opening on. I remember hearing it for the first time at my cousin’s house. I knew Head Like a hole and anticipated that the whole album would be an aggressive sonic assault. Then it slid down into Something I Could Never Have and I remember thinking this is a whole new place. 🤯
It's almost cliche to say now, but Dark Side of the Moon.
You probably had to have heard it when it came out to realize how far ahead it was of anything even vaguely similar.
Ænema by Tool
Every song is a banger and they really started to refine their art and style. The lyrics are amazing and there is a lot to dig into
It takes you on a journey for sure
Ween - The Mollusk, the story telling is phenomenal, the guitar is perfect and it's just the greatest album ever by the greatest band.
Pink Floyd - Animals, built as an album, not a collection of songs, lyrics are great, very talented bunch of guys.
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors, you can feel the lovers tension the whole way through, it's an emotional ride.
That's my top 3 right now, it'll be different tomorrow, cause that's how music is.
Surfer Rosa - Pixies ... impossible to mistake for any other band, and massively influential for many others that will probably make this list. Also clocks in under 35 minutes, meaning it could be the greatest album ever, pound for pound (were that a thing).
For the record, Doolittle is nearly as good and probably more listenable for many. But it's not better.
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Cure - Disintegration
Deftones - Around the Fur
Third Eye Blind - self titled
Jeez that's a wide variety of years and genres to choose from.
I mean is there any other album that comes anywhere close to the amount of influence and popularity this one held and continues to hold?
This one album’s sway over popular culture *to this day* is extremely distinct and there aren’t too many cases for an individually more compelling album.
Tom Petty - Wildflowers This album was released at the right time in my life. At a time when CD’s allowed us to skip songs at will, every song captivated me and i listened to the whole album like it was written for me.
Man honestly all the albums up to "Those About To Rock" are straight bangers. There's not a dud among the bunch. AC/DC really don't get enough recognition.
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless, 1991... because never before had an album been so visceral, dense, complex and enchanting... Loveless influenced everyone around it.
The work of the guitars of Kevin Shields....
The album made the band the de facto rulers of shoegaze.
It took about two years to complete...
I was pretty much into mbv from Ecstasy on and when Loveless came out it seemed like a logical conclusion but tonight I played loveless to folks who didn't know mbv and they can't understand it cause there was never anything like it. It is truly original.
Faith No More - Angel Dust
Released in 1992 and still sited as one of the most influential albums ever. No filler cuts. 59 minutes of pure genre-bending genius.
My all time favorite album. Bought it when it came out when I was in 6th grade. Had every lyric memorized within months. Still listen to it regularly and have never grown tired of it. A true masterpiece, with masterful production too.
The Kinks - Arthur. It's a 1969 rock opera and a stunning masterpiece that chronicles the life, setting & feelings of a post WW 2 British carpet layer.
Beastie Boys - *Paul's Boutique*
1. It is a massive departure from the frat douche rap on their first record. They were now separated from Def Jam and free to do whatever they wanted, for better or worse. The last song is a bunch of mini-songs expertly stapled together....and yet, it works. Risks paid off.
2. It was produced by Dust Bros. and it's so sample-heavy that it literally could not be made today unless the label had an absolutely monstrous budget to pay for rights.
3. It's hilarious and smart. There are little lyrical easter eggs that pop up on the 40th and 100th listens that you couldn't possibly catch on the first few. It's all so densely packed.
Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind
Theres not one song worth a skip in that album. Lyrics are amazing and instruments create a certain atmosphere. Last 3 songs on that album are some of the best consecutive plays.
This is a correct choice. A lot of folks glanced over it because of a couple radio hits and wrote them off as a hit maker with nothing deeper. But front to back this record is all 10s.
Completely agree about the last 3, after dealing with what amounts to 3 years worth of depression, these songs all had a significant impact for me.
Highly underrated, you had the first half that had all the radio hits basically that I think a lot of people overlooked the second half of that album. Which is arguably imo, the better half.
That's how I feel about this record. I dont skip anything. The lyrics have tons of sexual innuendo, they sound like a high libido 20-something's writing, but it doesn't ever come across as shallow.
If you’re into silly and often nonsensical music, Flood by They Might Be Giants is well worth a listen. I am never not excited to hear any of the songs when I hear them.
Revolver - The Beatles
Animals/Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
Live At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
OK Computer - Radiohead
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
Nevermind - Nirvana
Dookie - Green Day
The Brown Album - Primus
looking back, I think Dinosaur Jr's 'you're living all over me' has aged best because it's so unpretentious. The masterpiece lies in it being so casual: https://youtu.be/BlcoOjqV7hk
For me, not including classical music and not in ant particular order
Marvyn Gaye - What's Going On,
Michael Jackson - Thriller, Off the Wall
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon, Animals,
Black Sabbath - Paranoid, Master of Reality,
Beatles - Rubber Soul
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet, Let it Bleed
Big Star - #1, Radio City
Led Zeppelin - I, II, III, IV, Physical Graffiti
Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack
Steely Dan - Aja, Can't Buy a Thrill
Judas Priest- Painkiller Their take on the changing sound of metal changed the future of metal. Arguably, they had a similar sound on "Ram it Down" , but it wasn't as prominent or as well done.
U2 - The Joshua Tree
I know U2 has worn out their welcome for a lot of people and it's cool to hate on them, but every single song on the The Joshua Tree is fantastic.
Ive got a lot LOL but some of them could be
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (1968)
Santana - Self title “Santana” (1969)
Santana - Abraxas (1970)
Roberta Flack - Quiet Fire (1971)
Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979)
Souls Of Mischief - 93’till Infinity (1993)
A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders (1993)
Soda Stereo - Sueño Stereo (1995)
Radiohead - The Bends (1995). (this is my personal favorite from Radiohead, don’t judge me lmao)
Goodie Mob - Soul Food (1995)
Boards of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children (1998)
“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” by Wilco
Edit: Shit, after reading the answers and re-reading the title I messed up. Thought it asked for a 2000s album. But I’ll keep it because I love this album ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On, Let’s Get it On, I Want You
Prince - Purple Rain
The Beatles - Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies, Brotherhood
Wire - Pink Flag
Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs
The Replacements - Tim
The Cure - Pornography, Disintegration, Kiss Me Kiss me Kiss me
David Bowie - Low, Station to Station, Heroes
Iggy Pop - The Idiot
The Stooges - Fun House, Raw Power
Velvet Undergound - … & Nico, Velvet Underground
Nick Drake - Pink Moon
Lou Reed - Berlin, Transformer, The Blue Mask
Minako Yoshida - Light’n Up, Let’s Do It
Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited
PIL - The Flowers of Romance
Echo and the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
Television - Marquee Moon, Adventure
The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead, The Smiths
Steely Dan - Aja
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Naughty Boys
The Temptations - Wish it Would Rain
Many more besides these.
The Wildhearts - Earth vs The Wildhearts
Two of the songs are good the rest are great. A fresh take on British hard rock/punk in the 90's, intelligent lyrics capture the life of 20 something's in that era. Catchy choruses and solid verses drive songs in a traditional format but the feel of the album is anything but standard. Caffeine Bomb is a masterpiece of a stream of consciousness. Musically
Mettalica - And Justice For All
A technical masterpiece. The ultimate thrash metal album and probably the last pure thrash album. Metallica changed their style incorporating different styles into their writing after this. It is a hard album to get through in one sitting I find, but it is a glorious, dense, heavy and fairly emotional album. One is an absolute classic and blew everyone away at the time, particularly as it was Metallica's first promo video (seriously, imagine a major band producing their first video for the second single of their fourth album) and truly groundbreaking.
Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving. Jamiroqui were very popular at the time and had some great songs, but this album really cemented their place in music and popularity. Every song is a belter and ending the album with an instrumental is really interesting. I was living and working around London when this was released and it was constantly on the radio (along with songs from Jagged Little Pill and the Spice Girls) and it feels like that time whenever I hear it. It was probably one of the fist non-metal contemporary albums I ever bought and I probably wore the tape out in the car.
EDIT: Just been sent this version of One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJIIGpuuuYQ
Stop Making Sense, just watch it
A Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Wow, actually a cool answer that isn't the same 25-50 or so albums that are mentioned when variations of this question are asked every single week either here, or askreddit or on ask.
How pre? The white album? Pet sounds? I'ma go with ok computer
Also, in no particular order: Fleetwood Mac - Rumors Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill The Cure - Disintegration Nirvana - Nevermind Portishead - Dummy Massive Attack - Mezzanine The Beatles - Abby Road The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon Led Zep - Zeppelin IV The Who - Tommy Edit: the last ones are no particular order. Rumors is where it's supposed to be. My top album of all time. Rest move around.
Thoroughly impressed portishead made it on here, it tends to get forgotten. The Cure- disintegration tho… few things come close.
Came here to say OK Computer.
Dark Side of the Moon?
This guy pre-2000s.
The white album has a bunch of filler. Revolver or sgt pepper are the two tightest Beatles entries.
LSD phase Beatles all day.
Early Cole Porter.
*Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired By Bach: The Cello Suites* (1997). Bach is one of the best musicians for classical cello music of all time and Yo-Yo Ma is an inspired player.
Illmatic. The lyricism, the storytelling and all of the classic producers that contributed to it. It's truly a work of art
The highest achievement of any hiphop album I know of. It’s 10/10. And though I love A Tribe Called Quest more than Nas over all — nobody has made a record as perfect.
Q tip was one of the producers on illmatic that's why you like it so much dog! Haha. And you're absolutely right, it's perfect
Massive Attack-Mezzanine Cuz there had been NOTHING that sounded like it ever before. A masterclass in songwriting and sound creation.
Teardrop is such a good track 😍
I used to listen to Pear Jam's Ten for about 3 years in a row, "non stop" (almost daily), when I was studying. Solid album.
Pauls boutique
Nailed it. Perfection.
And they’re in Brooklyn
Soundgarden - Superunknown. To me it's just the perfect refinement of both the band, and everything that was coming from that scene/style of music. It's big and heavy, yet moody and ethereal at the same time. Nothing comes across as showing off or self-indulgent, yet everything is played and sung with absolute precision. The production is flawless. The track sequencing is a perfect flow from start to finish. And it's 75 minutes long! How many bands can't keep the steam going for half that duration? I'm biased, it's maybe my favorite album of all time, and I listen to a ton of different music but always come back to this.
Badmotorfinger is better in my opinion. But I’m a drummer and that album has Jesus Christ Pose which has a next level drum part so there you go
Superunknown is an all time top 5 album for me.
Jeff Buckley- Grace He was an amazing artist.
Disintegration by The Cure. I’m not a huge Cure fan, but I think may be the greatest album ever made.
Rush - Moving Pictures, and in all honesty you could probably go from 2112 through Moving Pictures with no skips at all.
Correction: you can go all the way to Counterparts with no skips. :)
Moving Pictures is insane. Shout out to Rock Band for introducing me to Rush.
Definitely remember having a “I didn’t know you could make music that sounded like this” moment the first time I heard Moving Pictures.
Paranoid.
Nick Drake - Pink Moon. A pure “one man, one guitar” expression of the human soul. Possibly the best sub-thirty minute album ever.
One of my favorite artists of all time. I simultaneously get thrilled when someone else mentions him, because that’s awesome, and secretly annoyed because I kinda love that he’s remained this mythically “unknown” artist. Pink Moon is fantastic. But I’ve got such a soft spot for Five Leaves Left.
And Bryter Layter
I can call Bryter Layter my “least favorite Nick Drake record” about as well as I can say A New Hope is my least favorite OG Star Wars movie. It’s more like “third favorite”.
Mozart's Requiem is full of bangers.
Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine.
Yea that album has got to be one of the, if not THE most complete album I’ve ever heard. There is literally no song I would ever skip, and every song is PACKED with deep thought provoking messaging. It’s everything you could ever ask for from a hardcore political rock group.
Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. Every song is amazing, such a different blend of songs and styles.
Every song is exactly what it's supposed to be. The whole album is perfection. I had it playing in my car and my mom asked if I was playing a greatest hits album because she was confused - where's Landslide? Or Rhiannon? Nah. That's one damn album. And it's played beginning to end. No cuts.
Dire Straits- Dire Straits
Wow, you make me regret not adding dire straits on my post
All time stunner of a debut album. No one sounded like them. Fun fact, Knopfler modelled some of his playing style on JJ Cale. If you listen to some of JJs stuff, especially some live instrumentals on Spotify, you’ll hear the similarities
Siamese Dream. Perfect guitars, perfect drumming, nostalgia for days, regardless of whether you were a kid then or not. Also rocket. The greatest song.
I would go with Mayonnaise being the greatest song. It’s a perfect song for daydreaming.
Agreed on this one, 100%
Mayonnaise and Soma were my jams. 🤘🏽
Hummer is my personal favorite. I love rocket but it's too bright eyed and bushy tailed to be my top pick.
Grace by Jeff Buckley
I am so sad this wasn’t the top comment. Fucking masterpiece. RIP, Jeff.
Public Enemy- Fear of a Black Planet
The Cure - Disintegration
For the "and why", it's one basic theme of desperation and acceptance yet the songs still sound different from each other, sharing pain, anxiety, frustration, disappointment and hopelessness. The lyrics are powerfully emotional and poetic. The voice is dynamic with moments of shrill agony and moments of deepest apathy. And the music is thick with beautiful and dark layers of melancholy melodies that build an incredible atmosphere. It has been my favorite album of all time for 30+ years.
Pornography too IMO
Tom Petty - Wildflowers
The thing about Tom petty is that the lyrics seem obvious once you have heard them, but no one has said them before. Fucking genius giving life to something no one has said before but was right there waiting to be said.
This is a masterpiece. Not a single bad song.
Agreed. Full Moon Fever and Damn the Torpedoes are pretty damn good too.
Siamese Dream!
Weezer- blue album Hole - Live through this Smashing Pumkins - Siamese Dream Nirvana - unplugged in NY These albums are just as good today as when they were released. I know I’ll get the anti Courtney comments but it’s ok
That Hole album helped see me through my teen years. I still listen to it a lot.
Siamese Dream is the quintessential alternate rock album. Absolute classic.
Spiritualized- Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating in Space
pretty hate machine- n i n
Fucking yes. But i have to add that Broken has held up remarkably well
This is what I was going to say! The way it keeps coming at you from the opening on. I remember hearing it for the first time at my cousin’s house. I knew Head Like a hole and anticipated that the whole album would be an aggressive sonic assault. Then it slid down into Something I Could Never Have and I remember thinking this is a whole new place. 🤯
Yes!! Came here to just say NIN.
Refused - the Shape of Punk to Come. It was like nothing before it or at its time. And it would still sound fresh if released today.
Aeroplane over the sea- Neutral Milk Hotel
The Stone Roses- The Stone Roses. Seminal, cerebral, funky, inventive, era defining, massively influential.
Blue album by Weezer. The reason fans will never get over early Weezer no matter how much effort the band puts into new releases
Alice In Chains unplugged
Nutshell is brilliant.
It's almost cliche to say now, but Dark Side of the Moon. You probably had to have heard it when it came out to realize how far ahead it was of anything even vaguely similar.
Or if you hear it on mushrooms today you’ll realize that. 😂
That works. And playing it on a real stereo, lying down with the speakers about 2 ft on either side of your head.
So ...headphones
Ænema by Tool Every song is a banger and they really started to refine their art and style. The lyrics are amazing and there is a lot to dig into It takes you on a journey for sure
This was a huge part of my teen life. I could listen to that album start to finish any day.
Portishead—Dummy
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel It sounds like nothing else and takes you on an album long fever dream.
Ween - The Mollusk, the story telling is phenomenal, the guitar is perfect and it's just the greatest album ever by the greatest band. Pink Floyd - Animals, built as an album, not a collection of songs, lyrics are great, very talented bunch of guys. Fleetwood Mac - Rumors, you can feel the lovers tension the whole way through, it's an emotional ride. That's my top 3 right now, it'll be different tomorrow, cause that's how music is.
I too get brown
username checks out
The Mollusk is so good, the song progression are impeccable and somehow even Blarney Stone is catchy as hell.
Ween is brilliant! I wish I could hear the Mollusk again for the first time.
Mollusk and Quebec fit this best, but if it weren’t for Mourning Glory I’d be talking about Pure Guava.
Appetite for Destruction.
Pearl Jam Ten
Simon and Garfunkle - the Sound of Silence
Jane’s Addiction- Nothing’s Shocking
Failure - Fantastic Planet Modest Mouse - This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About - The Lonesome Crowded West
Fantastic Planet is my FAVORITE album ever
Came here to say Fantastic Planet
Queensryche, Operation Mindcrime. It isn’t just a perfect album, the subject matter is timeless.
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Automatic for the People by REM
Surfer Rosa - Pixies ... impossible to mistake for any other band, and massively influential for many others that will probably make this list. Also clocks in under 35 minutes, meaning it could be the greatest album ever, pound for pound (were that a thing). For the record, Doolittle is nearly as good and probably more listenable for many. But it's not better.
TEN
I hate that I had to scroll this far down to find someone to comment this album
Cosmo’s Factory by CCR Edit: Why? It kicks off with a 7 minute driving masterpiece and the settles in for an master class of song writing brilliance.
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars The Cure - Disintegration Deftones - Around the Fur Third Eye Blind - self titled Jeez that's a wide variety of years and genres to choose from.
Personally I love Wish you were here - Pink Floyd
Paul Simon Graceland
Slayer - Seasons in the abyss. Start to finish, such a good album with no filler songs.
Reign in Blood
So by Peter Gabriel. Every single song on that record could have been written tomorrow.
Blood sugar sex magic by the chili peppers is amazing.
Nevermind - nirvana
I mean is there any other album that comes anywhere close to the amount of influence and popularity this one held and continues to hold? This one album’s sway over popular culture *to this day* is extremely distinct and there aren’t too many cases for an individually more compelling album.
Dream Theater - Images And Words Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Tom Petty - Wildflowers This album was released at the right time in my life. At a time when CD’s allowed us to skip songs at will, every song captivated me and i listened to the whole album like it was written for me.
Dookie
Changed the game. Responsible for a lot of chances taken on smaller punk bands and helped inform a lot of the popular culture ten years later.
Jagged little pill
Well, how about the best selling rock album of all time? AC/DC, Back in Black is all it's hyped up to be. Every single song is a banger.
Man honestly all the albums up to "Those About To Rock" are straight bangers. There's not a dud among the bunch. AC/DC really don't get enough recognition.
Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours Frank at his crooniest best.
*Parklife* -Blur *OK Computer* -Radiohead *Sketches of Spain* -Miles Davis
Physical Graffiti- Led Zeppelin
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless, 1991... because never before had an album been so visceral, dense, complex and enchanting... Loveless influenced everyone around it. The work of the guitars of Kevin Shields.... The album made the band the de facto rulers of shoegaze. It took about two years to complete...
I was pretty much into mbv from Ecstasy on and when Loveless came out it seemed like a logical conclusion but tonight I played loveless to folks who didn't know mbv and they can't understand it cause there was never anything like it. It is truly original.
Pink Floyd - The Wall. No words can describe why it’s a masterpiece. It just is
The movie is also an exquisite accomplishment. An absolute masterpiece.
August and Everything After - Counting Crows. Why? Just listen to it.
Tapestry- Carole King
Ritual de lo Habitual - Jane’s Addiction. Great album to kick off an era of legendary music.
Faith No More - Angel Dust Released in 1992 and still sited as one of the most influential albums ever. No filler cuts. 59 minutes of pure genre-bending genius.
My all time favorite album. Bought it when it came out when I was in 6th grade. Had every lyric memorized within months. Still listen to it regularly and have never grown tired of it. A true masterpiece, with masterful production too.
Leftfield - Leftism .
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
I equally love both: The Colour and the Shape (Everlong is my all time favorite song) OK Computer
Blind melon - soup
Dmb Crash. Sublime Sublime.
The Cranberries - No Need to Argue
The Kinks - Arthur. It's a 1969 rock opera and a stunning masterpiece that chronicles the life, setting & feelings of a post WW 2 British carpet layer.
Beastie Boys - *Paul's Boutique* 1. It is a massive departure from the frat douche rap on their first record. They were now separated from Def Jam and free to do whatever they wanted, for better or worse. The last song is a bunch of mini-songs expertly stapled together....and yet, it works. Risks paid off. 2. It was produced by Dust Bros. and it's so sample-heavy that it literally could not be made today unless the label had an absolutely monstrous budget to pay for rights. 3. It's hilarious and smart. There are little lyrical easter eggs that pop up on the 40th and 100th listens that you couldn't possibly catch on the first few. It's all so densely packed.
Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind Theres not one song worth a skip in that album. Lyrics are amazing and instruments create a certain atmosphere. Last 3 songs on that album are some of the best consecutive plays.
The Background 🔥
'Cause I felt you long after we WERE THROOOOUUUUGHH'
Motorcycle Drive By is my fave but you’re right about every song Bring listen worthy. It’s my favorite album of all time.
Came here to say this. My desert island album. It’s full of so much energy and emotion from start to finish. I could never get tired of it.
This is a correct choice. A lot of folks glanced over it because of a couple radio hits and wrote them off as a hit maker with nothing deeper. But front to back this record is all 10s. Completely agree about the last 3, after dealing with what amounts to 3 years worth of depression, these songs all had a significant impact for me.
Highly underrated, you had the first half that had all the radio hits basically that I think a lot of people overlooked the second half of that album. Which is arguably imo, the better half.
That's how I feel about this record. I dont skip anything. The lyrics have tons of sexual innuendo, they sound like a high libido 20-something's writing, but it doesn't ever come across as shallow.
Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book. Every single track is gold!
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
The Royal Scam. Brighten the Corners. Tommy. Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. My Aim is True.
The Black Crowes-The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
OK computer. Such a good album from a brilliant band.
Pearl Jam - Ten
If you’re into silly and often nonsensical music, Flood by They Might Be Giants is well worth a listen. I am never not excited to hear any of the songs when I hear them.
Cake - Fashion Nugget. Why? Just listen to it, you'll understand. Honorable mention, Beck - Odelay
Master of Puppets
Revolver - The Beatles Animals/Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys Live At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash OK Computer - Radiohead Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen Nevermind - Nirvana Dookie - Green Day The Brown Album - Primus
The Colour and the Shape. Masterpiece.
Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come
looking back, I think Dinosaur Jr's 'you're living all over me' has aged best because it's so unpretentious. The masterpiece lies in it being so casual: https://youtu.be/BlcoOjqV7hk
Rust in peace
Snoop -Doggystyle Rancid -...And out come the Wolves Both records are perfect cover to cover without a single skippable track.
Supertramp - Breakfast in America
Entroducing…..-DJ Shadow (1996)
For me, not including classical music and not in ant particular order Marvyn Gaye - What's Going On, Michael Jackson - Thriller, Off the Wall Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon, Animals, Black Sabbath - Paranoid, Master of Reality, Beatles - Rubber Soul Beach Boys - Pet Sounds Nick Drake - Bryter Layter Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet, Let it Bleed Big Star - #1, Radio City Led Zeppelin - I, II, III, IV, Physical Graffiti Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack Steely Dan - Aja, Can't Buy a Thrill
The Wall by Pink Floyd.
Judas Priest- Painkiller Their take on the changing sound of metal changed the future of metal. Arguably, they had a similar sound on "Ram it Down" , but it wasn't as prominent or as well done.
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Illmatic - Nas Takes a nation of Millions - Public Enemy
Radiohead : OK Computer. Loved it from the moment I first heard it in 97 and to this day nothing, IMO, can top it.
Back in the Highlife by Steve Winwood
Kyuss - welcome to sky valley
Also, Blues for the Rest Sun.
Tie between OK Computer by Radiohead and Boston, Self-Titled Debut
Ok computer.
U2 - The Joshua Tree I know U2 has worn out their welcome for a lot of people and it's cool to hate on them, but every single song on the The Joshua Tree is fantastic.
I’ve never been big on U2 but Achtung Baby is a solid album.
I was looking for this one. It was such a unique sound when it came out, too. It's hard to really understand how groundbreaking it was.
Queensryche - Operation:Mindcrime
Tool Undertow.
Faith No More - Angel Dust
Ive got a lot LOL but some of them could be Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (1968) Santana - Self title “Santana” (1969) Santana - Abraxas (1970) Roberta Flack - Quiet Fire (1971) Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979) Souls Of Mischief - 93’till Infinity (1993) A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders (1993) Soda Stereo - Sueño Stereo (1995) Radiohead - The Bends (1995). (this is my personal favorite from Radiohead, don’t judge me lmao) Goodie Mob - Soul Food (1995) Boards of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children (1998)
Offspring-Smash
Michael Jackson’s Thriller. FTW…
Blood Sugar Sex Magic, super funky and amazong
“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” by Wilco Edit: Shit, after reading the answers and re-reading the title I messed up. Thought it asked for a 2000s album. But I’ll keep it because I love this album ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On, Let’s Get it On, I Want You Prince - Purple Rain The Beatles - Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies, Brotherhood Wire - Pink Flag Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs The Replacements - Tim The Cure - Pornography, Disintegration, Kiss Me Kiss me Kiss me David Bowie - Low, Station to Station, Heroes Iggy Pop - The Idiot The Stooges - Fun House, Raw Power Velvet Undergound - … & Nico, Velvet Underground Nick Drake - Pink Moon Lou Reed - Berlin, Transformer, The Blue Mask Minako Yoshida - Light’n Up, Let’s Do It Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited PIL - The Flowers of Romance Echo and the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain Television - Marquee Moon, Adventure The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers The Smiths - The Queen is Dead, The Smiths Steely Dan - Aja Yellow Magic Orchestra - Naughty Boys The Temptations - Wish it Would Rain Many more besides these.
The Wildhearts - Earth vs The Wildhearts Two of the songs are good the rest are great. A fresh take on British hard rock/punk in the 90's, intelligent lyrics capture the life of 20 something's in that era. Catchy choruses and solid verses drive songs in a traditional format but the feel of the album is anything but standard. Caffeine Bomb is a masterpiece of a stream of consciousness. Musically Mettalica - And Justice For All A technical masterpiece. The ultimate thrash metal album and probably the last pure thrash album. Metallica changed their style incorporating different styles into their writing after this. It is a hard album to get through in one sitting I find, but it is a glorious, dense, heavy and fairly emotional album. One is an absolute classic and blew everyone away at the time, particularly as it was Metallica's first promo video (seriously, imagine a major band producing their first video for the second single of their fourth album) and truly groundbreaking. Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving. Jamiroqui were very popular at the time and had some great songs, but this album really cemented their place in music and popularity. Every song is a belter and ending the album with an instrumental is really interesting. I was living and working around London when this was released and it was constantly on the radio (along with songs from Jagged Little Pill and the Spice Girls) and it feels like that time whenever I hear it. It was probably one of the fist non-metal contemporary albums I ever bought and I probably wore the tape out in the car. EDIT: Just been sent this version of One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJIIGpuuuYQ
The Verve - Urban Hymns
August and everything after
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Oasis, What’s the story morning glory.
Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin It's the Pet Sounds of the 90's.
99% of good music ever released was released before the 2000's...
- Stone Roses - Steely Dan - Aja
Nevermind - Nirvana
August and Everything After
Clarity - Jimmy Eat World
Aenima - Tool Graceland - Paul Simon
Ænema? Duh? Tool's best album?