LIST YOUR "PERFECT ALBUMS!"

[rushgoober]

[GeddyRulz]

[metaldad]

Very cool. My idea of a Perfect album is when i don't skip a song when i listen . Example -Van Halen -Van Halen. Classic? God yes but i hate You Really Got Me so i skip it . So my list is albums i Don't skip a song, not a Live album and not a Greatest Hits.

 

AC/DC - Highway to Hell

AC/DC -Back in Black

Accept - Restless and Wild

Ace Frehley -Ace Frehley

Areosmith -Rocks

Areosmith - Toys in The Attic

Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies

Alice Cooper - Love it To Death

Alic Cooper - From the Inside

Alice Cooper - Killers

Alice Cooper -Welcome to My Nightmare

Allman Brothers - Eat a Peach

Allman Brothers -Beginnings [ first 2 albums]

Beatles - Abby Road

Beatles - Sgt Peppers

Billy Cobham -Spectrum

Black Label Society -Mafia

Black Sabbath -Heaven & Hell

Black Sabbath- Mob Rules

Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloddy Sabbath

Black Sabbath -Sabotage

David Gilmour -On An Island

David Lee Roth -Eat em and Smile

Dio -The Last in Line

Dream Theater -Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

Dream Theater - Train of Thought

Fates Warning - Parallels

Fates Warning -No Exit

Fates Warning - Perfect Symmetry

Genesis -Foxtrot

Genesis -Nursery Cryme

Genesis -Wind & Wuthering

Gov't Mule -Dose

Gov't Mule -By a Thread

Heart -Dreamboat Annie

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden -Killers

Iron Maiden- Powerslave

Iron Maiden -Somewhere in Time

Iron Maiden - AMOLAD

Jethro Tull -Aqualung

Journey -Escape

Journey -Departure

Judas Priest -Painkiller

Judas Priest -Hell Bent for Leather

Judas Priest - Sin after Sin

Judas Priest -Stained Class

Kansas - Point of No Return

Kansas -Monolith

Kiss - Hotter than Hell

Kiss - Rock and Roll Over

Kiss -Love Gun

Kiss -Creatures of The Night

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin -Presence

Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door

Machine Head -Burn my Eyes

Machine Head - The Blackening

Mahavishnu Orchestra -Birds of Fire

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Inner Mounting Flame

Metallica -Ride the Lightning

Metallica - Master of Puppets

Michael Schenker Group -Michael Schenker Group

Miles Davis -Kind of Blue

Overkill- Years of Decay

Overkill- Horroscope

Ozzy - Bark at The Moon

Ozzy - Diary of a Madman

Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power

Paul Stanley -Paul Stanley

Pink Floyd -Dark Side of The Moon

Pink Floyd - Animals

Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here

Queensryche -Rage For Order

Queensryche - Promised Land

Queensryche -Queensryche ep

Rainbow - Rainbow Rising

Rainbow - Long Live Rock and Roll

Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior

Rush -Moving Pictures

Rush - Permanent Waves

Rush - Hemispheres

Rush -AFTK

Rush -Signals

Rush - Fly By Night

Sevendust -Seasons

Sevendust -Next

Slayer -Reign in Blood

Slayer - South of Heaven

Styx -Paradise Theater

Transatlantic - The Whirlwind

Van Halen - Fair Warning

Van Halen - Women and Children First

The Who -Who's Next

Yes- Close To The Edge

Yes - The Yes Album

Yes - Going for The One

Yes- Drama

Yes Tormato

[rushgoober]

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (metaldad @ Sep 7 2010, 07:46 AM)

Very cool. My idea of a Perfect album is when i don't skip a song when i listen.

While I respect your criteria, if I had that as my criteria, I'd have probably more than a thousand albums on my list!

 

Your list is very cool though - great to see the perspective from a more metal-based music fan.

[Del_Duio]

Dream Theater - Scenes From a Memory, Awake, & 6DOIT.

Midnight Oil- 10-1

The Fixx- Phantoms

Southern Culture on the Skids- Countrypolitan Favorites

Primus - Frizzle Fry

The Police - Outlandos De Amour

Rush - MP, Hemispheres, AFTK, Power Windows

[Mystic Slipperman]

Whoops.

 

 

My head just exploded.

 

 

Be back later. Will be pickin' up brains for the next few hours.

[Slaine mac Roth]

This is something I've never really thought about and, to a degree, I'm not sure there is such a thing as a 'perfect' album. But, if pushed, I suppose i would have to give mine as (in no particular order):

 

Rush - Moving Pictures

Rush - Permanent Waves

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Genesis - Selling England By the pound

The Doors - the Doors

Peter Gabriel - 1st Album

hawkwind - Hall of the Mountain Grill

Van Halen - Van halen

Diamond Head - White Label/Lightning to the Nations

Jeff Wayne - The War of the Worlds

Gustav Holtst - The Planets (conducted by (LPO conducted by Adrian Boult)

Pink floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Steve Hackett - Spectral Mornings

Mike oldfield - Tubular Bells

Sky - Sky 2

Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime

Eagles - Desperado

 

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Mystic Slipperman @ Sep 7 2010, 08:49 AM)

Whoops. My head just exploded. Be back later. Will be pickin' up brains for the next few hours.

You might want to get that looked at.

[circumstantial tree]

the Dream Academy - "The Dream Academy" 1985

Rush - "Signals" 1982

Rush - "Hold Your Fire" 1987

Suzanne Vega - "Days of Open Hand" 1990

Suzanne Vega - "Solitude Standing" 1987

Suzanne Vega - "Suzanne Vega" 1985

'til Tuesday - "Welcome Home" 1986

Duran Duran - "Rio" 1982

Pink Floyd - "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" 1987

Enya - "Watermark" 1988

Journey - "Departure" 1980

the Fixx - "Shuttered Room" 1982

Kitchens of Distinction - "The Death of Cool" 1992

Kate Bush - "Aerial" 2005

Kate Bush - "Hounds of Love" 1985

Genesis - "Wind and Wuthering" 1977

Yes - "Close to the Edge" 1972

"SONNET featuring the Music of Oberon" 2000

Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Tinderbox" 1986

U2 - "The Unforgettable Fire" 1984

Haru with Wayne Shorter - "The Galactic Age" 1992

the Sugarcubes - "Life's Too Good" 1988

Jefferson Starship - "Red Octopus" 1975

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Sep 7 2010, 08:58 AM)

I'm not sure there is such a thing as a 'perfect' album.

Online recently I saw someone write something like "Can anything really be perfect in art?"

 

I guess not only what's perfect, but if perfection even exists is subjective. I think it does exist. I think lots and lots and lots of things are just perfect the way they are.

[Slaine mac Roth]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 7 2010, 04:32 PM)

QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Sep 7 2010, 08:58 AM) I'm not sure there is such a thing as a 'perfect' album. Online recently I saw someone write something like "Can anything really be perfect in art?"   I guess not only what's perfect, but if perfection even exists is subjective. I think it does exist. I think lots and lots and lots of things are just perfect the way they are. I think my problem stems from the use of the word 'perfect'. Personally, I'd be more inclined to use 'ideal' but that's just me

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Sep 7 2010, 10:13 AM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 7 2010, 04:32 PM) QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Sep 7 2010, 08:58 AM) I'm not sure there is such a thing as a 'perfect' album. Online recently I saw someone write something like "Can anything really be perfect in art?"   I guess not only what's perfect, but if perfection even exists is subjective. I think it does exist. I think lots and lots and lots of things are just perfect the way they are. I think my problem stems from the use of the word 'perfect'. Personally, I'd be more inclined to use 'ideal' but that's just me What about the word do you not like? Just curious.

[tel]

perfect?...wow strong word,how about.....

 

rammstein...mutter

 

deep purple..machine head

 

system of a down..toxicity

 

genesis..trick of the tail

 

rush...moving pictures

 

led zep..2

 

beatles...abbey rd

 

acdc...powerage

 

neil young...harvest

 

 

[Slaine mac Roth]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 7 2010, 05:28 PM)

QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Sep 7 2010, 10:13 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 7 2010, 04:32 PM) QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Sep 7 2010, 08:58 AM) I'm not sure there is such a thing as a 'perfect' album. Online recently I saw someone write something like "Can anything really be perfect in art?"   I guess not only what's perfect, but if perfection even exists is subjective. I think it does exist. I think lots and lots and lots of things are just perfect the way they are. I think my problem stems from the use of the word 'perfect'. Personally, I'd be more inclined to use 'ideal' but that's just me What about the word do you not like? Just curious. I think, more than anything, it seems to be overused

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Sep 7 2010, 11:48 AM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 7 2010, 05:28 PM) QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Sep 7 2010, 10:13 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 7 2010, 04:32 PM) QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Sep 7 2010, 08:58 AM) I'm not sure there is such a thing as a 'perfect' album. Online recently I saw someone write something like "Can anything really be perfect in art?"   I guess not only what's perfect, but if perfection even exists is subjective. I think it does exist. I think lots and lots and lots of things are just perfect the way they are. I think my problem stems from the use of the word 'perfect'. Personally, I'd be more inclined to use 'ideal' but that's just me What about the word do you not like? Just curious. I think, more than anything, it seems to be overused and here i was ready to engage in a deep philosophical discussion regarding the nature of perfection...

[apetersvt]

There aren't many albums that I have that I consider perfect, meaning no weak tunes. I'm also gonna leave off live albums.

 

So, I'll go with

 

Rush - Hemispheres

Rush - Moving Pictures

Led Zep 1

Led Zep 4

Yes - Close To The Edge

Yes - Fragile

Floyd - Animals

Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Jimi - Are You Experienced

Derek and The Dominos - Layla

ABB - Eat A Peach

Grateful Dead - Anthem Of The Sun

Grateful Dead - Blues For Allah

[*Limelight*]

Kind Of Blue- Miles Davis

Hold Your Fire- Rush

Dark Side Of The Moon- Pink Floyd

Led Zeppelin- Led Zeppelin

Strong Persuader- Robert Cray

Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes

A Love Supreme- John Coltrane

Talking Book- Stevie Wonder

[ReRushed]

Five more:

 

Talking Heads - Remain in Light

Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance

The Clash - The Clash (UK)

R.E.M. - Murmur

The Replacements - Let It Be

[ghostworks]

Dave Brubeck Quartet - Jazz At Oberlin (1953)

 

Miles Davis - In A Silent Way (1969)

 

Yes - The Yes Album (1971)

Yes - Close to the Edge (1972)

Led Zeppelin - IV (1971)

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974)

Yes - Relayer (1974)

Steely Dan - Royal Scam (1976)

 

Rush - Permanent Waves (1980)

The Fixx - Reach The Beach (1983)

Nik Kershaw - The Riddle (1984)

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood (1985)

Prefab Sprout - Two Wheels Good (1985)

Kazumi Watanabe - The Spice Of Life Too (1988)

The The - Mind Bomb (1989)

 

Sting - The Soul Cages (1991)

Automaton - Automaton Jihad: Points Of Order (1994)

Material - Hallucination Engine (1994)

Bill Laswell & Pete Namlook - Psychonavigation (1994)

Robert Rich/Lisa Moskow - Yearning (1995)

Scott Walker - Tilt (1995)

Jane Siberry - Maria (1995)

Robert Rich - Fissures (1997)

Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998)

David Sylvian - Dead Bees On A Cake (1999)

 

Bill Bruford - The Sound Of Surprise (2001)

Underworld - A Hundred Days Off (2002)

Sleepy Town Manufacture - Inspired By You (2006)

 

 

So.

 

As RG said, this list is about perfect 'albums'. To honestly consider records in this way is no simple task (nor should it be.)

 

Many times I had to divorce myself from the instinct to include a favorite album (like Marillion's 'Clutching at Straws' for instance) instead of the 'perfect' one ('Misplaced Childhood'.) In that example, 'Clutching' is the album I listen to far more often, and is certainly the one Marillion record I couldn't live without. But there are not one but two mis-steps on 'Clutching' that simply aren't there on 'Misplaced'. Despite loving many individual songs on 'Clutching' more than any individual song on 'Misplaced', 'Clutching' does not work flawlessly as an album for me. 'Misplaced' does.

 

That kind of clinical thinking isn't the easiest thing to manage, but by doing so I've surprised myself with my own list.

 

Of course, a list of my 'nearly perfect' albums would be ridiculously long - it was heartbreaking in a way to have to leave out albums like 'Songs In The Key Of Life' (Stevie Wonder) and 'Skylarking' (XTC) - both of which I would recommend to every human being, by the way, despite one or two 'clunkers' (Seal's debut album, Sarah McLachlan's 'Fumbling Towards Ecstacy' and a handful of Rush and Yes albums nearly squeaked into my list as well.)

 

I've got to offer kudos to RG for imposing such strict parameters. It's made the whole exercise quite a trip!

[ghostworks]

[and for those of you keeping score at home]

 

> 10 of the 28 perfect albums from my list are entirely instrumental

 

> Bill Bruford (drums) appears on four of the albums and Bill Laswell (bass, producer) appears on three

 

> Yes are the most represented group (three albums)

 

> only two 'top billed' female musicians (Jane and Lisa) made the list

 

> my top perfect album decade (with ten albums) is the 90's

 

> 18 of my 28 perfect albums are from non-American artists (and two of the remaining ten are collaborations with foreign artists)

 

 

^ bear in mind, all of this surprised me...

Edited September 8, 2010 by ghostworks

[ozzy85]

Really, I'd have to sit in front of my album collection for this one... there are albums I really like, but maybe have one iffy track (Mr. Tinkertrain on Ozzy's No More Tears for example.) I'll try to list some albums that I get repeated pleasure from, end to end. No skipping tracks if I don't feel like it.

 

I'll start with the obvious...

 

Rush- A Farewell To Kings

Rush- Hemispheres

Rush- Vapor Trails

Rush- Snakes And Arrows

Black Sabbath-Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath- Sabotage

Black Sabbath- Heaven And Hell

Ozzy- Blizzard Of Ozz

Zakk Wylde- Book Of Shadows

Pink Floyd- Animals

Metallica- Master Of Puppets

Megadeth- Countdown To Extinction

Alice In Chains- Black Gives Way To Blue

Alice In Chains- Jar Of Flies

Soungarden- Down On The Upside

Santana- Caravanseri

Santana- Welcome

The Mars Volta- Octahedron

Led Zepplin- Physicall Grafitti

Grand Funk Railroad- Phoenix

Isaac Hayes- Joy

Commodores- Hot On The Tracks

War- Platinum Jazz

Mr. Bungle- Disco Volante

Mr. Bungle- California

Slayer- Seasons In The Abyss

Kyuss- Sky Valley

Kyuss- Blues For A Red Sun

Queens Of The Stone Age- Songs for The Deaf

Them Crooked Vultures

 

...Ok, that's enough for now. I haven't even touched on much Southern Rock or much '70's stuff.

[thelocator]

rushgoober, no one told you that Kiss - Double Platinum is a 'greatest hits' compilation?

 

And, only the 'Aqualung' release for Tull? Isn't 'Thick as a Brick' the closest thing to 'perfection' ever obtained in the realm of Progressive Rock? Isn't everything else ever attempted a lesser approximation of what was achieved there?

 

One day I will compile one of these lists and school all ya'll in the definition of the word 'perfection'...I'm assuming that there would/should have to be some degree of objective agreement amongst fellow hu-mans, some level of wide-spread 'consensus' to qualify a title as approaching this abstract notion of 'perfection'...I say 'approaching', because perfection has got to be something like 'infinity'...You can forever be approaching it, getting closer and closer, but never ever actually reaching it.

 

And, I don't think that any possible or probable universe exists where Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs and Pink Floyd's Ummagumma can occupy the same space, share the same level of anything with, share the same descriptive term, which we are now, here calling 'Perfection', with the likes of The Beatles's Sgt. Peppers and the Blind Faith debut...No such universe exists where such unlike and disparate entities can forever occupy the same descriptive elements.

 

I thought this was an endeavor that I was all for, but now I must vote stringently against! Stand up and veto this bill! This is one bill that will never get to capitol hill if I've got any pull left with Lieberman.

 

 

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (thelocator @ Sep 7 2010, 09:56 PM)

rushgoober, no one told you that Kiss - Double Platinum is a 'greatest hits' compilation?

Didn't you read when I wrote this?

 

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 6 2010, 04:21 PM)

There are 3 or 4 albums below that are technically compilations, but I included these when they were more than just "best of's" and truly seemed to have an identity of their own.

I included it because I love it. Besides, one of the songs on it was re-recorded, and most of the songs on it were remixed and sound different than the original songs. I actually think almost every change they made (and some of them were significant changes) improved the songs.

 

QUOTE (thelocator @ Sep 7 2010, 09:56 PM)

And, only the 'Aqualung' release for Tull?  Isn't 'Thick as a Brick' the closest thing to 'perfection' ever obtained in the realm of Progressive Rock?  Isn't everything else ever attempted a lesser approximation of what was achieved there?

Not only Aqualung, I also have Living in the Past, which again is technically a compilation, but is a double album and includes tons of songs unavailable on other albums of theirs.

 

Thick as a Brick I need to give a lot more listens to. Where I stand with it right now is that it's a bit too much of a good thing, and seems to overstay its welcome a bit. I can see growing to truly love it and perhaps put it in a perfect album list, but not yet.

 

QUOTE (thelocator @ Sep 7 2010, 09:56 PM)

One day I will compile one of these lists and school all ya'll in the definition of the word 'perfection'...I'm assuming that there would/should have to be some degree of objective agreement amongst fellow hu-mans, some level of wide-spread 'consensus' to qualify a title as approaching this abstract notion of 'perfection'...I say 'approaching', because perfection has got to be something like 'infinity'...You can forever be approaching it, getting closer and closer, but never ever actually reaching it. And, I don't think that any possible or probable universe exists where Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs and Pink Floyd's Ummagumma can occupy the same space, share the same level of anything with, share the same descriptive term, which we are now, here calling 'Perfection', with the likes of The Beatles's  Sgt. Peppers and the Blind Faith  debut...No such universe exists where such unlike and disparate entities can forever occupy the same descriptive elements.

Perfection, at least in terms of using it to describe an album, is subjective. No matter how much you "school" us, it will still be your subjective list of perfect albums, as is mine.

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (ghostworks @ Sep 7 2010, 06:30 PM)

As RG said, this list is about perfect 'albums'. To honestly consider records in this way is no simple task (nor should it be.)

It's not a simple task at all. I know you're not saying this, but I hope the fact that I put 181 albums on my list doesn't make anyone thing I've trivialized my definition of perfection. In reality, it took me years of listening, and the this list took me months of work off and on to come up with it. There were SO many albums I would have loved to include that just didn't quite make the grade.

 

QUOTE (ghostworks @ Sep 7 2010, 06:30 PM)

Many times I had to divorce myself from the instinct to include a favorite album (like Marillion's 'Clutching at Straws' for instance) instead of the 'perfect' one ('Misplaced Childhood'.) In that example, 'Clutching' is the album I listen to far more often, and is certainly the one Marillion record I couldn't live without. But there are not one but two mis-steps on 'Clutching' that simply aren't there on 'Misplaced'. Despite loving many individual songs on 'Clutching' more than any individual song on 'Misplaced', 'Clutching' does not work flawlessly as an album for me. 'Misplaced' does.

Absolutely, which is why I also said a list of technically perfect albums is not necessarily synonymous with your favorite albums. Some titles for me that didn't make the list because of one are ELP's Brain Salad Surgery (Benny the Bouncer, They Byrds' The Notorious Byrd Brothers (Space Odyssey) or the Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa (What's Become of the Baby). I listen to that Byrds albums a lot more than some on my list that are more technically perfect.