Where to start?

[liddybuck01]

if they're on a great sale, you might as well pick up a few more. 2112, farewell to kings, counterparts.

[Tommy Sawyer]

QUOTE (liddybuck01 @ Oct 5 2011, 07:15 AM)

if they're on a great sale, you might as well pick up a few more. 2112, farewell to kings, counterparts.

... Fly by Night, Presto, Test for Echo, Grace Under Pressure, Caress of Steel, Rush, Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Roll the Bones, Vapor Trails, Snakes and Arrows...

 

 

Oh, wait, that's all the albums.

 

 

[rushgoober]

Obviously everyone here will give you a different opinions, but if you want to go with what seems to be the general consensus opinions of what albums seem to be favorites among fans, go for the 1978-1981 period, which includes Hemispheres, Permanent Waves & Moving Pictures.

 

If you want to be a bit more ambitious, expand that to 1976-1982 and add in 2112, A Farewell to Kings and Signals.

 

You really can't go wrong with anything in that period. Of course there's great stuff before and after that, but I would work my way into those.

 

 

EDIT: Of course, If I'd read through the whole thread, I'd have seen you already ordered the 1978-1982 albums. EXCELLENT! There are a lot of people here, including me, who would love to have the experience of listening to those again for the first time. Please let us know how it goes!

Edited October 5, 2011 by rushgoober

[rushgoober]

FWIW, and of course no two people here agree on most things, but the 4 albums to AVOID are (in order): Vapor Trails, Test For Echo, Roll the Bones & Presto. I mean, you might like them (some here do), but I would definitely get those last unless you enjoy disappointment. Once you hear their prime stuff, to say those albums I listed pale in comparison is a severe understatement.

[Rush Cocky]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Oct 5 2011, 09:27 AM)

FWIW, and of course no two people here agree on most things, but the 4 albums to AVOID are (in order): Vapor Trails, Test For Echo, Roll the Bones & Presto. I mean, you might like them (some here do), but I would definitely get those last unless you enjoy disappointment. Once you hear their prime stuff, to say those albums I listed pale in comparison is a severe understatement.

 

And I would recommend these albums specifically, and in this order:

 

Moving Pictures (1980)

Permanent Waves (1979)

Signals (1982)

Hemispheres (1978)

Counterparts (1993; to see if you like the newer stuff)

Grace Under Pressure (1984)

A Farewell to Kings (1977)

 

Great places to start and expand out from there.

[Lerxster]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Oct 5 2011, 08:27 AM)

FWIW, and of course no two people here agree on most things, but the 4 albums to AVOID are (in order): Vapor Trails, Test For Echo, Roll the Bones & Presto.  I mean, you might like them (some here do), but I would definitely get those last unless you enjoy disappointment.  Once you hear their prime stuff, to say those albums I listed pale in comparison is a severe understatement.

FWIW? Nothing. Zero value. Always opportunistic when it comes to sharing your hate for certain Rush albums. Not what OP was asking for.

[StellarJetman]

[rushgoober]

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Rush Cocky @ Oct 5 2011, 07:06 AM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Oct 5 2011, 09:27 AM) FWIW, and of course no two people here agree on most things, but the 4 albums to AVOID are (in order): Vapor Trails, Test For Echo, Roll the Bones & Presto.  I mean, you might like them (some here do), but I would definitely get those last unless you enjoy disappointment.  Once you hear their prime stuff, to say those albums I listed pale in comparison is a severe understatement.   And I would recommend these albums specifically, and in this order:   Moving Pictures (1980) Permanent Waves (1979) Signals (1982) Hemispheres (1978) Counterparts (1993; to see if you like the newer stuff) Grace Under Pressure (1984) A Farewell to Kings (1977)   Great places to start and expand out from there. All truly excellent suggestions. I would also highly recommend at some point (though not to start) to pick up their debut RUSH. It doesn't have Neil Peart, so lyrically it's not as up to snuff as a lot of their later releases (though honestly, I enjoy the lyrics a lot more than the 4 albums that I don't like by them), but lyrics aside, it's an ABSOLUTELY KICK-ASS rock and roll album with phenomenal guitar solos and it's CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED.   It's an amazing album - PLAY LOUD!

[metaldad]

And stay Away from S&A..................................

[Lerxster]

[Lerxster]

QUOTE (metaldad @ Oct 5 2011, 01:36 PM)

And stay Away from S&A..................................

Hey you! :shakesfist:

 

[metaldad]

QUOTE (Lerxster @ Oct 5 2011, 01:41 PM)

QUOTE (metaldad @ Oct 5 2011, 01:36 PM) And stay Away from S&A.................................. Hey you! :shakesfist:   But it Always works

[rushgoober]

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (metaldad @ Oct 5 2011, 11:42 AM)

QUOTE (Lerxster @ Oct 5 2011, 01:41 PM) QUOTE (metaldad @ Oct 5 2011, 01:36 PM) And stay Away from S&A.................................. Hey you! :shakesfist:   But it Always works While I enjoy S&A and think it's easily their best album in at least 14 years, I would at least agree that it's not a great starting point for Rush. I definitely wouldn't avoid it though, at least not personally.

[Tommy Sawyer]

Goober! Skip Presto??? Okay I get the hate for T4E but why must you include Presto? Yes, sure, it's not prog, but those are some KICK-BUTT pop tunes!!!!!!! (if you would call them that)

 

I'd say Presto is a pretty decent place to start with Rush if you are not into metal or hard rock. Very clean sound and well-written tunes. It's the only album since since GUP without one truly bad tune, IMO. Anagram is the weakest, but lately, I've been starting to like it more.

 

 

OP, I would not 'skip' and leave some albums alone because some people here told you to. Really, the best option has been said: preview all the albums on Spotify, Grooveshark, or the like and then pick the ones you like. Test for Echo, one of the most hated albums here, is my 5th or 6th favorite album, and Presto takes the #2 spot.

 

I'm not trying to offend anybody, here. "Just keeping it real."

 

[Lerxster]

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Tommy Sawyer @ Oct 5 2011, 04:08 PM)

Goober! Skip Presto??? Okay I get the hate for T4E but why must you include Presto? Yes, sure, it's not prog, but those are some KICK-BUTT pop tunes!!!!!!! (if you would call them that) I'd say Presto is a pretty decent place to start with Rush if you are not into metal or hard rock. Very clean sound and well-written tunes. It's the only album since since GUP without one truly bad tune, IMO. Anagram is the weakest, but lately, I've been starting to like it more. OP, I would not 'skip' and leave some albums alone because some people here told you to. Really, the best option has been said: preview all the albums on Spotify, Grooveshark, or the like and then pick the ones you like. Test for Echo, one of the most hated albums here, is my 5th or 6th favorite album, and Presto takes the #2 spot. I'm not trying to offend anybody, here. "Just keeping it real."

Presto always struck me as really mediocre pop. Nothing that was particularly bad, but nothing that's particularly good. No standout tracks, and sometimes the lyrics are a bit dodgy - not at the level of some of T4E's lyrics, but still. It struck me at the time as a huge drop in songwriting quality from everything that went before, and nothing has made me change my opinion in the past 20+ years.

 

Mind you, it's poppy, the songs are catchy as hell, but overall I find it pretty bland or vanilla, especially by Rush standards.

 

And as to ignoring people's advice as to what albums to ignore, it's somewhat of a moot point anyway as the OP already ordered some albums. And the ones he ordered were wisely some of the ones that have the most positive consensus opinion - always a wise move IMHO when attempting to get into a new group.

Edited October 6, 2011 by rushgoober

[D3strukt]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Oct 5 2011, 08:06 PM)

QUOTE (Tommy Sawyer @ Oct 5 2011, 04:08 PM) Goober! Skip Presto??? Okay I get the hate for T4E but why must you include Presto? Yes, sure, it's not prog, but those are some KICK-BUTT pop tunes!!!!!!! (if you would call them that) I'd say Presto is a pretty decent place to start with Rush if you are not into metal or hard rock. Very clean sound and well-written tunes. It's the only album since since GUP without one truly bad tune, IMO. Anagram is the weakest, but lately, I've been starting to like it more. OP, I would not 'skip' and leave some albums alone because some people here told you to. Really, the best option has been said: preview all the albums on Spotify, Grooveshark, or the like and then pick the ones you like. Test for Echo, one of the most hated albums here, is my 5th or 6th favorite album, and Presto takes the #2 spot. I'm not trying to offend anybody, here. "Just keeping it real." Presto always struck me as really mediocre pop. Nothing that was particularly bad, but nothing that's particularly good. No standout tracks, and sometimes the lyrics are a bit dodgy - not at the level of some of T4E's lyrics, but still. It struck me at the time as a huge drop in songwriting quality from everything that went before, and nothing has made me change my opinion in the past 20+ years.   Mind you, it's poppy, the songs are catchy as hell, but overall I find it pretty bland or vanilla, especially by Rush standards.   And as to ignoring people's advice as to what albums to ignore, it's somewhat of a moot point anyway as the OP already ordered some albums. And the ones he ordered were wisely some of the ones that have the most positive consensus opinion - always a wise move IMHO when attempting to get into a new group. Goober makes a good point. If he doesn't like any of these albums, he's not gonna like anything else they recorded. Unless he likes the 80's era (Signals through HYF), then there may be hope.

[WaylonJennings67]

2112, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures

[ILSnwdog]

QUOTE (Strangiato @ Oct 4 2011, 05:00 PM)

I say start with Rush and end with Snakes and Arrows. Get a feel for all of their music.

This. It would be fun to listen to how the band evolved though the years.

[1 of the 7]

When I started digging deeper into Rush's back catalog, I set a goal of listening to at least a few new songs a day. To make it random, I'd pull up rushradio.net or .org and just play what came up, or in the case of .net, pick the first few titles I was unfamiliar with. I'd look at what albums they were on, and after a while, I got a feel for what albums I liked the most, and when the time came to buy the CD's, I'd look for those albums. Usually, I just got whatever the store had (which wasn't a lot), but if the selection was better and I couldn't afford to buy them all, I'd go for my favorites.

 

In the meantime, I've fixed a turntable my mom gave me and am now collecting vinyl as well. I just buy whatever I can find and afford.

 

I'm at the point now where it's videos I really need. When the new one comes out, I may stock up on some past ones along with it.

 

Happy listening!

[go2wrk@95974]

7 Essential RUSH LP's/CD's,

That every RUSH fan MUST have, imo:

 

 

1) Moving Pictures

2) 2112

3) Permanent Waves

4) Fly By Night

5) A Farewell To Kings

6) Roll The Bones

7) Signals

 

 

 

Honorable mentions:

 

Hemispheres

Grace Under Pressure

All The World's A Stage (Double Live Lp)

[HowItIs]

Don't ignore any albums just because someone else doesn't like them. If I'd done that, I would be missing out on some of my favorite Rush music.

 

And I also envy you your first time listening to those albums.

 

 

 

Goobs, I love ya man but Presto is a great album!

 

 

Edited October 6, 2011 by HowItIs

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (HowItIs @ Oct 6 2011, 12:23 AM)

Don't ignore any albums just because someone else doesn't like them. If I'd done that, I would be missing out on some of my favorite Rush music. And I also envy you your first time listening to those albums. Goobs, I love ya man but Presto is a great album!

Every single album is going to have its fans. There's no doubt about that, and as I've stated many times, no two people are going to agree on everything here. If anyone puts down ANY Rush album, you'll here many voices decrying them a traitor and defending the album vigorously. After all, we're on a fan site for Rush. It's inevitable.

 

When I start off with checking out a new group, I look for consensus opinion. What are the albums that are the most universally loved? That's by FAR the best shot I'm going to have of getting into a group or not. If I don't like or love their best 1 or 2 or 3 albums, the chances of me liking or loving their works that have a much lower consensus rating will be very, very small.

 

That's why I always use rateyourmusic. Tons and tons of people from all walks of life, fans and non-fans, rate albums on a scale of 0 to 5, and with Rush, for almost every album over 1,000 people have rated each album:

 

http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/rush

 

You're in very safe territory to stick with the albums that have a 3.70 or higher, and even though I personally think that two albums are severely underrated; Rush and Hold Your Fire, those aren't the two places I'd start with anyway. The ones with a 3.70 or higher (outside of the live albums, which always seem to get higher ratings on RYM) are the albums from 1976-1984. Sound about perfect to me. Very, very hard to go wrong there.

 

Once you listen to the ones that most people love the most, THEN I would say to try their lesser loved works, no matter how many individuals here might sing their praises. Hell, if you go to a Pink Floyd forum, there are bound to be people who will tell you to start with The Final Cut because it's so awesome, but besides it being a terrible album (IMHO), most all would agree it's at least a terrible place to start.