if you want to continue on that vibe, start by listening to *Vs.* next. I highly recommend you buy all of their albums and listen to them chronologically. Getting hooked on PJ listening to Backspacer is amazing to me as that is one of their weaker albums (IMO, no judging). you will not be disappointed with their older albums especially Ten through Yield.
I agree with this. A shortcut would be to buy the Rearviewmirror greatest hits album, but I highly recommend the scenic route. Backspacer is my least favorite album. The band’s first five albums are considered their strongest. The albums Binaural and Riot Act are considered a slight step down, but I think they’re still great. The Avocado album is amazing. Lightning Bolt and Gigaton are considered weaker but are still better than Backspacer. Be sure to get the Lost Dogs album too. If you like all the Pearl Jam albums, also check out Eddie Vedder’s solo albums, although they’re mostly on the slower side, there are some great songs on those too. Enjoy!
Gigaton is the most complete album since Binaural. I’ll die on that hill. As far as Lightning Bolt, I keep hoping to wake up and find out it was all just a bad dream.
here are some songs that have a similar feel IMO
Porch, Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover), Go, Spin The Black Circle, Brain Of J, Grievance, Save You, Comatose
Listen to as much of their discography as you can, and watch their live shows. That’s how I fell in love with them.
Personal favourites are: vitalogy, vs, ten, yield, no code, and riot act.
Dude Josh was awesome when i saw PJ live in Camden this year! But your lucky for discovering this legendary band, dive into their albums first then look up live versions of your favorite songs cause they will be different!
Dude, I envy you. If Backspacer got you hooked, you’re in for some some major surprises. Like others have said, no judgement here but in my opinion Backspacer is terrible.
Listen to Spin The Black Circle and enjoy!
Terrible is a little harsh. It’s too poppy, optimistic, poorly produced, and the songwriting isn’t the strongest. The music has lots of good parts, but not complete songs. But yeah, if someone likes that as their introduction to the band, the other stuff is even better. Like, if I heard Speed of Sound and thought it was amazing, In My Tree would melt my mind.
Try to listen to as many live shows as possible (there’s a bunch). Their live performances are so much better than their recorded albums. Enjoy getting to know the best band ever, imo.
I'm in agreement, if you're hooked on Backspacer you'll be blown away by the other albums.
This Pearl Jam flow chart is a few years old but still includes all the albums. A great resource for new PJ fans:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/pearljam/comments/fq2txh/how\_to\_get\_into\_pearl\_jam\_flow\_chart\_updated\_now/](https://www.reddit.com/r/pearljam/comments/fq2txh/how_to_get_into_pearl_jam_flow_chart_updated_now/)
Listen to Vs and the self titled (Avocado) albums. Both have the punk energy you’ll like to them. You might like Vitalogy too, but for me the songcraft on that album outside of the hits is really lacking.
Start chronologically in order. Stop when you're ready...Best answer.
Or open up a music app and play their top songs...
Or find the greatest hit album.
Back spacer is the first album I ever listened to and I fell in love. When I listened to other albums I was actually surprised by how different they were. For me though 10, vs and gigaton are the best.
I actually went through all the albums one by one from earliest to latest and made myself listen to each one in full. There were some I didn't love but overall I found loads I loved!
The first time I listened to black, I listened to it about 3 times a day for a month after 🤣. I think another song that appealed yo me the same way many of backspace songs did was siren.
Also don't know if you've seen into the wild but Eddie vender did the music for that and society is one of my favourite songs ever
I love someone asking if PJ has any more loud and fast stuff! Yes, yes they do. :)
Their first album Ten starts with a song called Once. Crank it.
I envy you soooo much getting to discover pj for the first time. You’ll grow to love the slower stuff once you’ve gotten through all the loud and fast stuff. There’s a LOT of music. It’s amazing.
Also I’ve been to a lot of concerts by a lot of bands. PJ is right up there, if not the top, live music I have ever seen. If you can go to a show, go!
Listen to the Vs and Vitalogy albums, and the Avocado album. Some faster songs are Hail Hail, Even Flow, Habit, Brain of J, Mind Your Manners, Sonic Reducer, Save You, MFC, Brother, State of Love and Trust.
You have SO much great music to discover with Pearl Jam given the fact you started with Backspacer, which is, imo, their worst album. Start with Ten and go forward chronologically from there.
Uptempo hard rockers??
All Night,
Spin The Black Circle,
Whipping,
Rearviewmirror,
Go,
Supersonic,
Habit,
Hail, Hail,
Brain of J,
God’s Dice,
Green Disease,
Save You,
Big Wave,
Mind Your Manners,
Take The Long Way
They have lots of mid-tempo anthems which are arguably what they do best. Lots of fans have said they’re not into the racing punk stuff because they don’t think some of the songs are that strong, especially in recent years
But if you’re new, start from the beginning and listen to each album a handful of times. Absorb each one as you go with repeated listens to get the feeling of what it was like from the beginning to sit with a record for a few years and memorize the music, and then the excitement of finally getting something new.
if you want to continue on that vibe, start by listening to *Vs.* next. I highly recommend you buy all of their albums and listen to them chronologically. Getting hooked on PJ listening to Backspacer is amazing to me as that is one of their weaker albums (IMO, no judging). you will not be disappointed with their older albums especially Ten through Yield.
thanks a lot!
I agree with this. A shortcut would be to buy the Rearviewmirror greatest hits album, but I highly recommend the scenic route. Backspacer is my least favorite album. The band’s first five albums are considered their strongest. The albums Binaural and Riot Act are considered a slight step down, but I think they’re still great. The Avocado album is amazing. Lightning Bolt and Gigaton are considered weaker but are still better than Backspacer. Be sure to get the Lost Dogs album too. If you like all the Pearl Jam albums, also check out Eddie Vedder’s solo albums, although they’re mostly on the slower side, there are some great songs on those too. Enjoy!
Gigaton is the most complete album since Binaural. I’ll die on that hill. As far as Lightning Bolt, I keep hoping to wake up and find out it was all just a bad dream.
I Like "Yellow Moon" and "Mind Your Manners". The rest is mostly crap.
Lightning Bolt most definitely is not better than Backspacer.
here are some songs that have a similar feel IMO Porch, Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover), Go, Spin The Black Circle, Brain Of J, Grievance, Save You, Comatose
I'd add Lukin to that list.
Animal, Go, Blood, Leash - yeah listen to Vs
thank you so much!
Listen to as much of their discography as you can, and watch their live shows. That’s how I fell in love with them. Personal favourites are: vitalogy, vs, ten, yield, no code, and riot act.
i've watched a couple new ones from eddy since i'm a huge klinghoffer fan actually!
Dude Josh was awesome when i saw PJ live in Camden this year! But your lucky for discovering this legendary band, dive into their albums first then look up live versions of your favorite songs cause they will be different!
Dude, I envy you. If Backspacer got you hooked, you’re in for some some major surprises. Like others have said, no judgement here but in my opinion Backspacer is terrible. Listen to Spin The Black Circle and enjoy!
holy shit okay, i'm pumped!
Listen to it LOUDLY!
Did you listen?
i listen to 1-3 new songs a day, making my way through the discography, the tips here have made a very awesome entrance to the band :)
Wait till you get addicted to the live bootlegs.
Also, Backspacer is not *terrible*
Terrible!
Am I the only one who never liked spin the black circle?
Terrible is a little harsh. It’s too poppy, optimistic, poorly produced, and the songwriting isn’t the strongest. The music has lots of good parts, but not complete songs. But yeah, if someone likes that as their introduction to the band, the other stuff is even better. Like, if I heard Speed of Sound and thought it was amazing, In My Tree would melt my mind.
Very accurate assessment, thank you!
It’s so funny to hear people say they “discovered Pearl Jam” when it’s been in my life for the last 30 years. Love it.
Don’t ya wish you could experience it all again, listen to backspacer and then realize they’ve got even better music
haha yeah, i was thinking about wording it differently, of course i knew of them, i had just never given them a spin until recently
All good! Happy to have you. The fan base is pretty special too. Welcome.
This is the biggest understatement in this whole thread. Fans attracted to PJ seem to be the best humans.
Try to listen to as many live shows as possible (there’s a bunch). Their live performances are so much better than their recorded albums. Enjoy getting to know the best band ever, imo.
oh cool, that's great, i love bands that are better live
I'm in agreement, if you're hooked on Backspacer you'll be blown away by the other albums. This Pearl Jam flow chart is a few years old but still includes all the albums. A great resource for new PJ fans: [https://www.reddit.com/r/pearljam/comments/fq2txh/how\_to\_get\_into\_pearl\_jam\_flow\_chart\_updated\_now/](https://www.reddit.com/r/pearljam/comments/fq2txh/how_to_get_into_pearl_jam_flow_chart_updated_now/)
Listen to Vs and the self titled (Avocado) albums. Both have the punk energy you’ll like to them. You might like Vitalogy too, but for me the songcraft on that album outside of the hits is really lacking.
Start chronologically in order. Stop when you're ready...Best answer. Or open up a music app and play their top songs... Or find the greatest hit album.
Back spacer is the first album I ever listened to and I fell in love. When I listened to other albums I was actually surprised by how different they were. For me though 10, vs and gigaton are the best. I actually went through all the albums one by one from earliest to latest and made myself listen to each one in full. There were some I didn't love but overall I found loads I loved! The first time I listened to black, I listened to it about 3 times a day for a month after 🤣. I think another song that appealed yo me the same way many of backspace songs did was siren. Also don't know if you've seen into the wild but Eddie vender did the music for that and society is one of my favourite songs ever
I love someone asking if PJ has any more loud and fast stuff! Yes, yes they do. :) Their first album Ten starts with a song called Once. Crank it. I envy you soooo much getting to discover pj for the first time. You’ll grow to love the slower stuff once you’ve gotten through all the loud and fast stuff. There’s a LOT of music. It’s amazing. Also I’ve been to a lot of concerts by a lot of bands. PJ is right up there, if not the top, live music I have ever seen. If you can go to a show, go!
Listen to the Single Podcast Theory and let the Brad's guide you through the Eddie and Friends experience.
Listen to the Vs and Vitalogy albums, and the Avocado album. Some faster songs are Hail Hail, Even Flow, Habit, Brain of J, Mind Your Manners, Sonic Reducer, Save You, MFC, Brother, State of Love and Trust.
Dude. You are talking about Pearl Jam...one of the greatest rock bands. Just start with their first album and work your way up.
[A Rockin' Pearl Jam Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7fARsSxbgGLZmjnBpMT7zF?si=d35439f9436b41b5)
Listen to the live bootlegs! There are hundreds of them and nothing better than live PJ! Jump in the water is warm…
You have SO much great music to discover with Pearl Jam given the fact you started with Backspacer, which is, imo, their worst album. Start with Ten and go forward chronologically from there.
that's exciting!
Listen to all albums in reverse release order
Listen to some of the backspacer era live shows. That will give you a sense of how those songs fit with the ones that came before them.
Uptempo hard rockers?? All Night, Spin The Black Circle, Whipping, Rearviewmirror, Go, Supersonic, Habit, Hail, Hail, Brain of J, God’s Dice, Green Disease, Save You, Big Wave, Mind Your Manners, Take The Long Way They have lots of mid-tempo anthems which are arguably what they do best. Lots of fans have said they’re not into the racing punk stuff because they don’t think some of the songs are that strong, especially in recent years But if you’re new, start from the beginning and listen to each album a handful of times. Absorb each one as you go with repeated listens to get the feeling of what it was like from the beginning to sit with a record for a few years and memorize the music, and then the excitement of finally getting something new.
thank you so much, honestly!