Great albums you enjoy

[DoomsdayJesus]

I'm a massive Sabbath fan. Just saw them in 2013 and at their The End tour in Tacoma a couple months ago. I think most modern rock and metal sucks. I love old thrash and a lot of classic rock, especially Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer. Suicidal Tendencies had a great run of albums, Pantera never made a bad one, and some punk like good old Offspring and Pennywise.

But I've found a few bands that have bucked the trend and made some awesome music.

The Sword: haven't made one bad album to date. Sound like Sabbath at their worst. Their best albums are probably Age of Winters, Warp Riders, and Apocryphon, and even though it's a little proggy for them, their new High Country album is just awesome.

Mastodon: Leviathan is incredible

Kyuss' albums: Sons of Kyuss (only on vinyl or digital), Wretch, and Blues for the Red Son

I have been listening non-stop to Freedom Hawk lately, their eponymous album is one of the single best start to finish albums I've ever heard. Awesome cruising music. Sunlight and Holding On are also pretty damn good.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEMk8hC173g&list=PLSuZA4yDfFFd0DR8AYEsXdzM 7dyRK71Nn[/ame]

I'm also a big fan of Black Label Society but haven't enjoyed many albums after Mafia as much as the first ones.

[MrFisty]

Originally Posted by themadscientist

The point is, the recommendation should be a recording in its entirety, not singles, not a one hit wonder buried in a recording full of otherwise forgettable claptrap (ask that hipster again, they know that word).

There aren't a lot of albums that are strong from end to end so it should narrow it down a bit.

These two points sum up something I say often:
The art of using the album itself as a tool seems to have been lost in the last two decades.

For me, the number one album, under these conditions, is one already Mentioned:


Transitions, transitions, transitions!

Now, let's see here... albums, albums...

One I'd like to put up top because a lot of you probably don't know them is this:



Lonerism was Tame Impala's second album. it was similar to the first, and probably about as sporadic, but I do like the journey from begin to end. Unfortunately, it takes some work to get there, as it has sides a,b,c, and d.

The first album, Innerspeaker, had better album art and made more of a statement simply because it came first, but Lonerism was like a tidy follow up that expressed a similar sentiment, with more psych influences.

Then, frontman and main writer Kevin Parker really departed with their third and most recent album, Currents. I do not recommend it.


This one, mainly for consistency and decent transitions (and Cliff Burton):



One I have been on particularly lately is The White Stripe's second album:



Love this for a lot of reasons. I should state first that I'm a big Jack White fan. My opinion is generally that if you think he's a garbage guitarist, you're probably not getting the point.

This album was recorded in just a few days in his house. There's a couple new takes on some old songs that I apsolutely love, including Death Letter Blues. i like a lot of the tones, too. For a good example, see Hello operator. There are other albums from these two that I might say contained better music, or were even "better" albums overall, but this was huge in defining what he would go on to do and his persona and recording tactics.


Those are the first few on my mind. I'll read everyone's responses, think for a while, and probably come back.

Also, Some Jimi albums and SGT Pepper's are way up there for me I didn't mention because they have been mentioned. I re-mentioned DSOTM only because it is my number one.


@themadscientist , Cool thread!




Adding::

OO! almost forgot one of my very favorite bands, Slightly Stoopid. Many of their albums fall victim to having a steep tracklist, but ontwo albums in particular, I find that the songs I don't absolutely love I still find myself respeting enough to lsiten through to try and uncover some intending meaning betweening my favorite jams. I have a tie for these guys, and they are consecutive releases. I choose not to pick between the two because they are very different and really span about 3/4 of what these guys are about. the other quarter comes in their last two albums, if you are interested in looking those up:

[MrFisty]

@packofcows

+1 for Rebelution

Lady in White always hits my core. What a wonderful depiction of such a...
Meh. I don't have it in me to say "terrible" thing. I, too, am guilty of romanticizing my vices, even their consequences.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by MrFisty

These two points sum up something I say often:
The art of using the album itself as a tool seems to have been lost in the last two decades.

Transitions, transitions, transitions!

The modern methods of distributing music pretty much destroyed the whole concept of transitions. Why bother when people may only buy one or two tracks.


There were other albums in the past that people miss the totality of the album because there were a couple of hits that got played all the time and that is all that anybody remembers. A great example of this is Dreamboat Annie. The album has some spectacular yet subtle transitions but as a whole the album was buried under the 3 biggest hits. It is probably one of the best productions for sound and balance ever done and all the songs work so well together and still all most people know now (and then for that matter) of it are Crazy on You, Magic Man and sometimes Dreamboat Annie. The fact that these songs are all part of a story is just not well known.


The first Boston album also suffered the same fate for the same reasons.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u87dsvuCkBs"]Heart - Dreamboat Annie (Full album LP transfer) - YouTube[/ame]

[babydriver]

These four are the greatest singers in the history of Rock and Roll:



Another cool thing; they don't use any instruments!

[dem00n]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GazX1PR0j_k"]Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (2012) Full Album - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNg1zWoGBKE"]ZAUM - Omen - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5D6aT4YPUk"]Trouble - Psalm 9 (1984) Full Album - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1RTD-h5fEI"]Traffic The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys Full album vinyl LP - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtJDxXd8rys"]The Stooges - Fun House (Full Album) - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7_FWh0RqUw"]Saint Vitus - Die Healing 1995 full album - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF5-yy-jopA"]Pestilence - 1993 Spheres [FULL ALBUM] - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9sscVftmDU"]Night Sun - 1972 - Mournin' [FULL ALBUM] - YouTube[/ame]

[dem00n]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbxtYqA6ypM"]Miles Davis - Kind of Blue - 1959 (Complete Album) - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKB8XKSMq30"]Life of Agony - River Runs Red (Full Album - Digipack version) - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDMYkWpgRIo"]Horrendous - Anareta (2015, Full Album) - YouTube[/ame]

But wait, there's more...
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8fBuU-_IZU"]Gun Club - Fire of Love (Full Album) - YouTube[/ame]

I didn't even touch a quarter...

[Ultramaroon]

In no particular order, some of my all-time faves.
















That was just off of the top of my head. I could go on for days.

[MisterSheep]

Heres one of my current favorite albums

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

In no particular order, some of my all-time faves.
















That was just off of the top of my head. I could go on for days.

Ahhhh yes, Sweet, a band that charted half the album and even back then not a soul could tell you what band sang the songs!


These three are certainly in my top twenty and will always float up into my top ten every couple of years.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Ahhhh yes, Sweet, a band that charted half the album and even back then not a soul could tell you what band sang the songs!

Right? Amazingly tight and swung hard years before Van Halen went there.

BTW, Dreamboat Annie is up there for me as well. I still have my turntable and enjoy the aesthetic experience of playing the whole album. Don't forget Wish You Were Here.

Fools Overture still brings tears to my eyes.

[Toyarzee]

So much yes!

Ok, so if you haven't listened to Illusion of Safety from Thrice beginning to end, you're missing out. Absolute #1 favorite album. Also, unlike most hipsters, I actually listen to all my vinyl religiously.

Next in no order:
2.) Albert King, Born under a bad sign
3.) Brand New, The Devil and God are Raging Inside
4.) Against Me!, As the Eternal Cowboy
5.) Bad Religion, Suffer and/or Stranger Than Fiction
6.) Hot Water Music, Caution
7.) Sparta, Threes
8.) Cold War Kids, Up in Rags (most other work of theirs is sell out shit imo... )
9.) The Gaslight Anthem, The '59 Sound
10.) Rise Against, The Sufferer and the Witness

So much more tho

[fumanchu1]

For anyone who may not be into rap/hip-hop (real good stuff not that commercial mumbo jumbo talk about nothing crap, nothing against it, I just like to have lyrical (or instrumental, as in actual instruments) substance to my music). Or for those who are like me and just don't like people making a 5 minute song talking about a moped or some insignificant things like this, I suggest you go check out Brother Ali.


I won't suggest any albums but would greatly encourage you to go listen to forest whitiker, self taught, work everyday, only life I know.


You won't be displeased and if it isn't your type of music at least you'll be able to find solace in the meaning of the songs themselves

[fumanchu1]

Originally Posted by Toyarzee

So much yes!




2.) Albert King, Born under a bad sign

So much more tho

Yes so much yes, albert king was a guitar god, should also check out anything by Freddie King (his versions of ain't no sunshine are just wonderfully made)é