Machine
Member
If you say Millennium and perfect album, Backstreet Boys is NOT my first reaction. This is:
What albums do you consider "perfect"?
- Thread starter Cheddahz
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If you say Millennium and perfect album, Backstreet Boys is NOT my first reaction. This is:
Banjotanooki
Member
A masterpiece, but not at first listen.
Possible the only album I listen through all the way, when I first went from OK Computer to this, my mind was blown and I was wondering if this was the same band that I listened to before. I was about ready to give it up on it until I made it to Optimistic and gave it a chance. It's pretty much my favorite album now and I love listening to the title track whenever I'm driving at night.
Great choice, this was the album that just missed my top five.
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
Nice to see so much love for Kid A
That album is really perfect.
That album is really perfect.
mescalineeyes
Banned
Finally made up my mind.
Honorary mention for Feist's The Reminder if it wasn't for that god-damn Brandy Alexander.
FlashFlooder
Member
The National - Alligator, Boxer, High Violet.
I absolutely love this band.
I absolutely love this band.
POWERSPHERE
Member
Fix the last link. It gives a virus warning.
InvincibleAgent
Member
I think calling an album "perfect" requires greater criteria to be filled than just "all tracks are worth not skipping."
I call a no-skip album "solid." "Perfect" implies it has no flaws.
Here are some solid albums:
Beck's Sea Change
Radiohead's The Bends
Arcade Fire's The Suburbs
The Shins' Wincing The Night Away
Fleet Foxes (Debut album)
Muse's Absolution
Ben Folds Five (Debut album)
I call a no-skip album "solid." "Perfect" implies it has no flaws.
Here are some solid albums:
Beck's Sea Change
Radiohead's The Bends
Arcade Fire's The Suburbs
The Shins' Wincing The Night Away
Fleet Foxes (Debut album)
Muse's Absolution
Ben Folds Five (Debut album)
mescalineeyes
Banned
Done. Sorry about that, on a Mac here.
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
maquiladora
Member
Freyjadour
Member
There's better individual Radiohead tracks out there (Weird Fishes and There There come to mind), but in terms of a perfect album viewed as one cohesive entity, it doesn't get much better than Kid A.
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
every time this thread pops up, someone gets it right. Well done GAF!
Lapidus' Beard
Member
I could post just about any Opeth album, but here's the latest one:
Probably my top pick from Opeth. Though Damnation and Watershed are really high up there for me as well.
Opeth - Still Life
Probably my top pick from Opeth. Though Damnation and Watershed are really high up there for me as well.
i nerini del buio
Member
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
Dark side of the moon too 
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
I don't think I've ever heard an album that is absolutely flawless, but these would probably be the closest I've come.
It is arguably the seminal 80s gothic rock album, the one countless later goth bands have strived to emulate or copy, and the album that cemented the Sisters as not only a roaring rock monster (dat bassline in 'Lucretia My Reflection'), but Eldritch as the 'godfather of goth'. The lyrics are, as usual with Eldritch, cryptic and hard to make much meaning of, but the standard goth tropes of bats in the belfry and vampires are nowhere to be found, as the lyrics are generally more personal, written by an aloof spectator gazing down on a crumbling empire, a 'floodland'.
Maiden had an almost unbeatable run of albums in the 80s, with classic albums like 'The Number of the Beast', 'Piece of Mind' and 'Killers', but 'Somewhere in Time' is the one I always keep coming back to. It was the first of two albums where the band experimented with synth guitars, which added a slightly altered guitar sound to the tried and tested Maiden formula. Bruce Dickinson originally wanted to record the album as an acoustic Jethro Tull-like album, but Steve Harris (and presumably the other band members) refused, which is why Dickinson still dislikes the album. There are some killer tracks on the album, like fan favourite 'Wasted Years' and the criminally underrated and overlooked gem 'Deja Vu'.
Kent began its life as a jangly indie rock band, but started experimenting with a more streamlined pop/rock-oriented sound already on their third album, but it wasn't until their fifth album, 'Vapen & Ammunition' (Weapons & Ammunition), they fully embraced their pop sensibilites. Jocke Berg's lyrics have always been introspective, cryptic and melancholic, but to me this is the album where it all came together; Berg's lyrics, Kent's refreshed sound and the pervasive melancholia in both lyrics and music. The band already had quite a following in Scandinavia prior to this album, but the hit single 'Dom Andra' (The Others) shot them straight to the top of hit lists in Scandinavia and made them a household name, although my personal favourite off the album may very well be 'Sundance Kid', with its wistful, melancholic lyrics about longing for a childhood and teenage years long gone.
Update:
NIN's The Downward Spiral has been mentioned a couple of times ITT, but I'd still like to include it. Lyrically it's an album of raw, naked emotions of a man descending into his own inner Hell, and both musically and lyrically it ranges from the raging anger of 'Big Man With a Gun' to the apathetic acceptance of defeat in 'Hurt'. Reznor has made quite a few great albums, but TDS is his magnum opus.
Depeche Mode has been known as gloomy, depressed synthsters for years, but Black Celebration was really the first album where they cranked the gloom to 11 (and for some reason I don't think any of their following albums have been quite as bleak as BC). From the defeatist attitude of the title track to Gahan's musings about death always surrounding us in 'Fly on the Windscreen', it's a journey through darkness, doom and gloom, although the CD version of the album has at least one small glimpse of hope and optimism in 'But Not Tonight'.
There's another GAFfer who mentioned 'Embryodead', and I definitely agree. Rudy Ratzinger's :Wumpscut: project has been going since 1991, and is one of the biggest names on the international aggrotech/electro-industrial scene. Personally I think he peaked with this album (although the two following albums are good too), and sadly the last decade his output has ranged from bad to flat out godawful. The title track, 'War', 'Golgotha' and 'Down Where We Belong' are my personal favourite tracks off this album.
Quite a few GAFfers have mentioned The Cure's 'Pornography' and 'Disintegration' albums already, and rightly so, as they are great albums. But personally I'd like to mention 'Wish', as I think it strikes the perfect balance between Fat Bob's doom & gloom goth stuff and his sweet pop sensibilities. By now everyone should know 'Friday I'm in Love', but I'd like to give a nod to the sadness of love lost in 'A Letter to Elise'. Sadly it is also the last great The Cure album before they released three OKish alternative rock albums and then went full on boring dogshit with '4:13 Dream'.
Finally, there's this one. 'Uleste Bøker og Utgåtte Sko' (Unread Books and Worn-out Shoes), last year's debut album by Norwegian rockers Oslo Ess. Musically it's nothing new, basically a mashup of Rancid and older Norwegian rock bands like Raga Rockers, Jokke & Valentinerne and Dumdum Boys, but they've managed to write some irresistably catchy hooks and choruses. There's not a single song I'd consider skipping, but my top picks from the album would be 'Klin Gærn' (Completely Nuts) and 'Alt Jeg Trenger' (All I Need). Their second album was released earlier this year, but it didn't quite grab me like their first album did, sadly.
It is arguably the seminal 80s gothic rock album, the one countless later goth bands have strived to emulate or copy, and the album that cemented the Sisters as not only a roaring rock monster (dat bassline in 'Lucretia My Reflection'), but Eldritch as the 'godfather of goth'. The lyrics are, as usual with Eldritch, cryptic and hard to make much meaning of, but the standard goth tropes of bats in the belfry and vampires are nowhere to be found, as the lyrics are generally more personal, written by an aloof spectator gazing down on a crumbling empire, a 'floodland'.
Maiden had an almost unbeatable run of albums in the 80s, with classic albums like 'The Number of the Beast', 'Piece of Mind' and 'Killers', but 'Somewhere in Time' is the one I always keep coming back to. It was the first of two albums where the band experimented with synth guitars, which added a slightly altered guitar sound to the tried and tested Maiden formula. Bruce Dickinson originally wanted to record the album as an acoustic Jethro Tull-like album, but Steve Harris (and presumably the other band members) refused, which is why Dickinson still dislikes the album. There are some killer tracks on the album, like fan favourite 'Wasted Years' and the criminally underrated and overlooked gem 'Deja Vu'.
Kent began its life as a jangly indie rock band, but started experimenting with a more streamlined pop/rock-oriented sound already on their third album, but it wasn't until their fifth album, 'Vapen & Ammunition' (Weapons & Ammunition), they fully embraced their pop sensibilites. Jocke Berg's lyrics have always been introspective, cryptic and melancholic, but to me this is the album where it all came together; Berg's lyrics, Kent's refreshed sound and the pervasive melancholia in both lyrics and music. The band already had quite a following in Scandinavia prior to this album, but the hit single 'Dom Andra' (The Others) shot them straight to the top of hit lists in Scandinavia and made them a household name, although my personal favourite off the album may very well be 'Sundance Kid', with its wistful, melancholic lyrics about longing for a childhood and teenage years long gone.
Update:
NIN's The Downward Spiral has been mentioned a couple of times ITT, but I'd still like to include it. Lyrically it's an album of raw, naked emotions of a man descending into his own inner Hell, and both musically and lyrically it ranges from the raging anger of 'Big Man With a Gun' to the apathetic acceptance of defeat in 'Hurt'. Reznor has made quite a few great albums, but TDS is his magnum opus.
Depeche Mode has been known as gloomy, depressed synthsters for years, but Black Celebration was really the first album where they cranked the gloom to 11 (and for some reason I don't think any of their following albums have been quite as bleak as BC). From the defeatist attitude of the title track to Gahan's musings about death always surrounding us in 'Fly on the Windscreen', it's a journey through darkness, doom and gloom, although the CD version of the album has at least one small glimpse of hope and optimism in 'But Not Tonight'.
There's another GAFfer who mentioned 'Embryodead', and I definitely agree. Rudy Ratzinger's :Wumpscut: project has been going since 1991, and is one of the biggest names on the international aggrotech/electro-industrial scene. Personally I think he peaked with this album (although the two following albums are good too), and sadly the last decade his output has ranged from bad to flat out godawful. The title track, 'War', 'Golgotha' and 'Down Where We Belong' are my personal favourite tracks off this album.
Quite a few GAFfers have mentioned The Cure's 'Pornography' and 'Disintegration' albums already, and rightly so, as they are great albums. But personally I'd like to mention 'Wish', as I think it strikes the perfect balance between Fat Bob's doom & gloom goth stuff and his sweet pop sensibilities. By now everyone should know 'Friday I'm in Love', but I'd like to give a nod to the sadness of love lost in 'A Letter to Elise'. Sadly it is also the last great The Cure album before they released three OKish alternative rock albums and then went full on boring dogshit with '4:13 Dream'.
Finally, there's this one. 'Uleste Bøker og Utgåtte Sko' (Unread Books and Worn-out Shoes), last year's debut album by Norwegian rockers Oslo Ess. Musically it's nothing new, basically a mashup of Rancid and older Norwegian rock bands like Raga Rockers, Jokke & Valentinerne and Dumdum Boys, but they've managed to write some irresistably catchy hooks and choruses. There's not a single song I'd consider skipping, but my top picks from the album would be 'Klin Gærn' (Completely Nuts) and 'Alt Jeg Trenger' (All I Need). Their second album was released earlier this year, but it didn't quite grab me like their first album did, sadly.
Some that haven't been mentioned yet:
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
Efterklang - Parades
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
This Heat - Deceit
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box
The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2
The Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage: Animation Music Vol. 1
Pixies - Doolittle
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Disco Inferno - D.I. Go Pop
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Animal Collective - Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
Efterklang - Parades
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
This Heat - Deceit
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box
The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2
The Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage: Animation Music Vol. 1
Pixies - Doolittle
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Disco Inferno - D.I. Go Pop
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Perfection from beginning to end.
Agreed.
The most cinematic Hip-Hop album ever released.
double jump
you haven't lived until a random little kid ask you "how do you make love".
.
damn shame it took 12 post till this showed up
I may do other genres later but that's enough for one post
Banjotanooki
Member
In Rainbows would be tied with Kid A if it wasn't for videotape, which us just so freaking depressing. But I agree, there better individual Radiohead songs out there.
Bjern Fita
Member
The Fragile
The Slip
The Slip
I consider these albums "perfect" in that I think they're great from top to bottom - not a weak track to be found.
oasis - Definitely Maybe
oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
oasis - The Masterplan
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Keane - Under the Iron Sea
Coldplay - X&Y
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
The Rifles - No Love Lost
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
The Killers - Day & Age
BRMC - Howl
Friendly Fires - Pala
Foster the People - Torches
oasis - Definitely Maybe
oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
oasis - The Masterplan
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Keane - Under the Iron Sea
Coldplay - X&Y
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
The Rifles - No Love Lost
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
The Killers - Day & Age
BRMC - Howl
Friendly Fires - Pala
Foster the People - Torches
Charles Foster Kane
Rosebud
I already mentioned it, but this album is perfect
Poindexter
Member
Mer de Noms - A Perfect Circle
Wuthering_Heights
Banned
Fashion Nugget - Cake
Recovering the Satellites - Counting Crows
Recovering the Satellites - Counting Crows
.
And this one:
I agree with these and congratulate their posters for their terrific tastes
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
The Downward Spiral.
Music is amazing, and the silence is fantastic. That half-second pause between the end of Heresy and March of the Pigs, and before Closer. The silence at the end of Hurt, before my CD used to kick over and start again.
Disintegration, Post, Is This Desire? are all up there. All blow me away - Off the Wall would be on there too, if not for 'She's out of my Life' - I don't buy it
Music is amazing, and the silence is fantastic. That half-second pause between the end of Heresy and March of the Pigs, and before Closer. The silence at the end of Hurt, before my CD used to kick over and start again.
Disintegration, Post, Is This Desire? are all up there. All blow me away - Off the Wall would be on there too, if not for 'She's out of my Life' - I don't buy it
-Pyromaniac-
Member
No jokes. Blackout is just a totally absurd album. Recorded at the height of Britney's breakdown, and yet, incredibly forward looking (incorporating dubstep sounds in 2007--two years before Skrillex would hit the scene and brostep exploded), basically every track could have been a single. The production is just some of the best of any pop album, ever.
I also agree with a lot of the other people in the thread. But I thought this one would be overlooked.
InvincibleAgent
Member
Coldplay - X&Y
Agreed.
CurlySaysX
Banned
Typographenia
Member
The Verve - Urban Hymns
With songs like Lucky Man, Rolling People, Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work, and Bittersweet Symphony, it already positions itself as a fantastic album. However, every single song is worth listening to hundreds of times over and became my go-to album. I don't think it would be exaggeration to say I've listened to something from this album almost every single day for the past many years.
The Beatles - Revolver
Acetone - Cindy
The Who - Quadrophenia
Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Led Zeppelin - IV
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
I know some of these are reposts, but I don't care.
Osteoperogies
Neo Member
GRACE - Jeff Buckley
The_Hitcher89
Member
Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol gets so close, but just loses out because of the relative weakness of Obstacle 2
Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is also close
Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is also close
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
Why wasn't this the first reply? Also, The Wall.
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