What is the best album of all time, in your opinion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to take the fun out of this, but there's a difference between 'my favorite album' and what i think the 'best album' of all time is.

And I think you have to make an effort to quantify it with scores/categories

- Longevity: Do people still listen to it?
- Critical Success: Did the critics like it?
- Commercial Success: Did the general population like it?
- Influence: Can you see the impacts of the music on future artists?
- Consistency: Is each song on the album good? An album with 4 amazing songs and 4 duds would not qualify.

Obviously, the answers to these questions are still subjective and open to opinion, so I don't think it would get us to an absolute answer.

But I do think it would disqualify some of the albums suggested.

For example, Use your Illusion would fail the consistency test; its a double album with too many 'meh' songs. Or, Def Leopard would fail the influence test; you can't REALLY hear much Def Leopard influence in modern music.

Meanwhile (I'm the PP that recommended Born to Run in a PP), I can now see that Michael Jackson may actually score higher on these than Bruce in Influence (and maybe longevity). You're more likely to hear MJ's influence on the radio than Bruce's (though you are more likely to hear Bruce's influence on Country radio than Rock)

I think when we look at this though, I think we need to consider Metallica's Black album. There's not a bad song it. People still listen to it. It was a critical and commercial success. And it has probably influenced/introduced more people to Heavy Metal than any other album.

OMG, I *hate* the Black Album!! It was such a disappointment.
- PP who named ...And Justice For All

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to take the fun out of this, but there's a difference between 'my favorite album' and what i think the 'best album' of all time is.

And I think you have to make an effort to quantify it with scores/categories

- Longevity: Do people still listen to it?
- Critical Success: Did the critics like it?
- Commercial Success: Did the general population like it?
- Influence: Can you see the impacts of the music on future artists?
- Consistency: Is each song on the album good? An album with 4 amazing songs and 4 duds would not qualify.

Obviously, the answers to these questions are still subjective and open to opinion, so I don't think it would get us to an absolute answer.

But I do think it would disqualify some of the albums suggested.

For example, Use your Illusion would fail the consistency test; its a double album with too many 'meh' songs. Or, Def Leopard would fail the influence test; you can't REALLY hear much Def Leopard influence in modern music.

Meanwhile (I'm the PP that recommended Born to Run in a PP), I can now see that Michael Jackson may actually score higher on these than Bruce in Influence (and maybe longevity). You're more likely to hear MJ's influence on the radio than Bruce's (though you are more likely to hear Bruce's influence on Country radio than Rock)

I think when we look at this though, I think we need to consider Metallica's Black album. There's not a bad song it. People still listen to it. It was a critical and commercial success. And it has probably influenced/introduced more people to Heavy Metal than any other album.

Not everyone would use the same criteria.

[Anonymous]

Quadrophenia. The Who

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to take the fun out of this, but there's a difference between 'my favorite album' and what i think the 'best album' of all time is.

And I think you have to make an effort to quantify it with scores/categories

- Longevity: Do people still listen to it?
- Critical Success: Did the critics like it?
- Commercial Success: Did the general population like it?
- Influence: Can you see the impacts of the music on future artists?
- Consistency: Is each song on the album good? An album with 4 amazing songs and 4 duds would not qualify.

Obviously, the answers to these questions are still subjective and open to opinion, so I don't think it would get us to an absolute answer.

But I do think it would disqualify some of the albums suggested.

For example, Use your Illusion would fail the consistency test; its a double album with too many 'meh' songs. Or, Def Leopard would fail the influence test; you can't REALLY hear much Def Leopard influence in modern music.

Meanwhile (I'm the PP that recommended Born to Run in a PP), I can now see that Michael Jackson may actually score higher on these than Bruce in Influence (and maybe longevity). You're more likely to hear MJ's influence on the radio than Bruce's (though you are more likely to hear Bruce's influence on Country radio than Rock)

I think when we look at this though, I think we need to consider Metallica's Black album. There's not a bad song it. People still listen to it. It was a critical and commercial success. And it has probably influenced/introduced more people to Heavy Metal than any other album.

OMG, I *hate* the Black Album!! It was such a disappointment.
- PP who named ...And Justice For All

Lol. I kind of knew the Black Album would set off Metallica fans. I know they don't love it. I guess we could add a new category like 'Cult Status' or 'Hardcore Fan Opinion' and it would def score low in that category.

As would some of the others, like BITUSA. Most Bruce fans wouldn't put that in a top 3 album for him

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Revolver

This is the right answer. And Abbey Road is number 2.

Come on, people, only two mentions of the Beatles? I'm not even a huge Beatles fan, but that's absurd.

I love the soundtrack to “I am Sam” - all amazing covers of Beatles songs. One of my all time favorite albums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Carole King, Tapestry

winner!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Revolver

This is the right answer. And Abbey Road is number 2.

Come on, people, only two mentions of the Beatles? I'm not even a huge Beatles fan, but that's absurd.

I’m not a fan of their albums. I thought I didn’t like them — until someone shared some unmixed (less mixed?) versions of their songs, which were wonderful. Of the two albums you’ve mentioned, I’d go with Abbey Road. I’m also surprised that Metallica didn’t make earlier appearances in this list.

I’ll add that my choice — Purple Rain — is my pick for the BEST album of all time. I’d chose something different for my FAVORITE album — probably: Acoustic Soul by India Arie, the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, or even one of Eric Dolphy’s live recordings.

[Anonymous]

Seconding some from upthread:
Graceland, Paul Simon
Blue, Joni Mitchell
Miseducation…

Adding Blood on the Tracks (Dylan)
Songs in the Key of Life

Now I wanna go listen to some albums!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seconding some from upthread:
Graceland, Paul Simon
Blue, Joni Mitchell
Miseducation…

Adding Blood on the Tracks (Dylan)
Songs in the Key of Life

Now I wanna go listen to some albums!

Yes! Stevie! 🙏🏽 I can’t believe I forgot all about SITKOL✨

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thriller by Michael Jackson

I came here to say the same thing. Hands down.

Agreed!

[Anonymous]

I generally agree with the factors listed by a PP and I think that based on those, Purple Rain and Thriller are definitely top contenders (in, inevitably, a specific cultural context). I think the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever should be on the list of contenders. It's truly hard to pick a "best" considering the vast variety of music out there. And, from my particular bicultural context, Siembra by Ruben Blades and Willie Colon is another landmark album of all time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I generally agree with the factors listed by a PP and I think that based on those, Purple Rain and Thriller are definitely top contenders (in, inevitably, a specific cultural context). I think the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever should be on the list of contenders. It's truly hard to pick a "best" considering the vast variety of music out there. And, from my particular bicultural context, Siembra by Ruben Blades and Willie Colon is another landmark album of all time.

I disagree with this. The influence of Purple Rain and Thriller are such that they permeate way beyond a single cultural context in terms of how music is shaped.

[Anonymous]

Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys

Let it Bleed by the Rolling Stones

Rumors by Fleetwood Mac

The Kick Inside by Kate Bush

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:August and Everything After by Counting Crows. Every song was at LEAST good (Mr. Jones being the weakest song on the album).

Came here to say this. I'm far from a Counting Crows superfan, don't even enjoy much of the rest of their catalogue, but every song on this album and the specific order they're in take me right back to the beginning of 1994 when I got the album. It's one of the best start to finish albums for me, even if it doesn't stand up to a broader ranking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I generally agree with the factors listed by a PP and I think that based on those, Purple Rain and Thriller are definitely top contenders (in, inevitably, a specific cultural context). I think the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever should be on the list of contenders. It's truly hard to pick a "best" considering the vast variety of music out there. And, from my particular bicultural context, Siembra by Ruben Blades and Willie Colon is another landmark album of all time.

I'm PP that tried to list those factors.

Maybe I'll add one more:

Did the album 'change' music in anyway.

This is related to, but slightly different than influence.

I think of how Led Zeppelin's debut album for instance changed the direction of music, and contributed ultimately to an entirely new genre.

Same can be said for Nirvana's Nevermind.

Thriller would score a 5/5 on influence, but not necessarily as high on changing the direction of music