Peewee, I honestly think Fleetwood Mac's s/t is bland garbage. I haven't heard Tusk so I can't comment on that.

As for Live...well, I think Mental Jewelery is decent, Secret Samadhi has one or two gems (Turn My Head?), and V's not what I would call terrible either. But nothing else they did remotely measures up to Throwing Copper.

Now that I'm thinking mid-90s stuff..how about Stone Temple Pilots - Purple? I wouldn't call that album a 'stunner', but it's pretty darn good, even though the band is pretty mediocre.

And then Offspring - Smash. They copied everything the Sex Pistols ever did and still managed to make an enjoyable record.

Weezer - The Blue Album

Everything else has moments but Blue is by far their best. Stunner? Dunno, but significantly more consistent than the rest.

I just heard that Neutral Milk Hotel is reissuing On Avery Island. I love Aeroplane so I am curious to hear it.

How about The Wrens, with Meadowlands? Now THAT'S a stunner. I like Secaucus but it's not even close, and I have only heard a handful of Silver.

Cornershop - When I Was Born for the 7th Time. Handcream is quite good too, but the rest? Not so much.

Then there's well-respected artist who peaked early, like Nas/Illmatic and Liz Phair/Exile in Guyville. I'd say these artists are certainly more than mediocre, but the parameters of this topic are shifty.

quote:

Originally posted by The Colonel:
Weezer - The Blue Album

Everything else has moments but Blue is by far their best. Stunner? Dunno, but significantly more consistent than the rest.

I think you'll find a lot of people on these forums that might agree that Weezer belongs on this list, but with a different album, Pinkerton. I would argue that their first two albums are great, but everything else is mediocre at best.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobthespirit:
Peewee, I honestly think Fleetwood Mac's s/t is bland garbage. I haven't heard Tusk so I can't comment on that.

Fair enough, Bob. Obviously, it's a matter of opinion. But I have a great deal of trouble distinguishing "Fleetwood Mac" from "Rumours" -- they sound so similar to me. I can see someone hating both, or liking both, or feeling one was a little better or worse than the other, but I have trouble seeing how one could consider "Rumours" a 5-star stunner and "Fleetwood Mac" a 0-star piece of utter garbage.

"Tusk" is quite different, hit and miss but with some interesting and more experimental stuff on it. Not that I'm suggesting you buy it!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Peewee,

Well, I think the first track on 'Fleetwood Mac' is awfully good, but the rest have the same sound without any particularly good hooks.

Whereas I think just about everything on Rumours has an amazing hook.

As for Nirvana, I think In Utero's almost as good as Nevermind, 'Unplugged' is almost up to that same level, and Bleach is still awfully solid a record.

I would say Monday Morning, Blue Letter, Over My Head, Say You Love Me, World Turning and Landslide (sentimental, but pretty gorgeous if you just surrender to it -- rather like Songbird on Rumours) are all excellent songs. I like Rhiannon too, although I am very tired of it now, Stevie Nicks is deeply annoying, and the lyrics are stupid. But I still like it.

As for Rumours, at least 2 tracks don't appeal to me at all -- Oh Daddy and Silver Springs. And I can't tell if I hate Don't Stop or am just sick to death of it.

All in all, I regard them as pretty equal albums, with Rumours having the slight edge.

quote:

Originally posted by Peewee:
But I have a great deal of trouble distinguishing "Fleetwood Mac" from "Rumours" -- they sound so similar to me. I can see someone hating both, or liking both, or feeling one was a little better or worse than the other, but I have trouble seeing how one could consider "Rumours" a 5-star stunner and "Fleetwood Mac" a 0-star piece of utter garbage.

I would agree with Peewee's assessment of the Fleetwood Mac debate. These two albums are so stylistically similar. You could interchange tracks and a casual listener wouldn't know the difference. It's like saying "Exile on Main Street" is awesome, but "Sticky Fingers" sucks.

quote:

Originally posted by ericg75:
I would agree with Peewee's assessment of the Fleetwood Mac debate. These two albums are so stylistically similar. You could interchange tracks and a casual listener wouldn't know the difference. It's like saying "Exile on Main Street" is awesome, but "Sticky Fingers" sucks.

You mean that Exile "sucks" and Sticky Fingers is awesome.

I go along with you last two guys about Fleetwood Mac. You had to listen to about 12 different songs on the radio from both of those albums for too many years to remember in the '70s.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:

quote:

Originally posted by ericg75:
I would agree with Peewee's assessment of the Fleetwood Mac debate. These two albums are so stylistically similar. You could interchange tracks and a casual listener wouldn't know the difference. It's like saying "Exile on Main Street" is awesome, but "Sticky Fingers" sucks.

You mean that Exile "sucks" and Sticky Fingers is awesome.

I go along with you last two guys about Fleetwood Mac. You had to listen to about 12 different songs on the radio from both of those albums for too many years to remember in the '70s.

Mark, I also enjoy "Sticky Fingers" more than the almost universally praised "Exile on Main Street". I was just using that as an example of two albums that are nearly cut from the same cloth.

"Exile on Main St." is the best rock album of all time. This is simple fact. There's no point discussing it anymore.

Although it is fun to debate the merits of the two Mac albums, of course it is all personal taste. There are probably other albums that are similar in the same way but I happen to dislike one and to like the other. I never trust people whose taste is too consistent -- it's human to be idiosyncratic.

I would compare it more to saying "Horses is great but Radio Ethiopia sucks". Or "Is This It is great but Room On Fire sucks". Or, "The Bends is great but Pablo Honey sucks". Albums of a very similar style but with a huge difference in quality.

(Exile is my #5 and Sticky Fingers my #17)

quote:

"Is This It is great but Room On Fire sucks".

Am I the only person who thinks that Room On Fire is as good as Is This It?

I thought "Room on Fire" was pretty good. I'm not sure if I liked it as well as "Is this it", but it's in no way a bad album.

Room on Fire is certainly not awful, but it's like the uninspired cousin of Is This It. For that reason, the Strokes belong on this list until they prove they're more than just an average band who produced a great first album.

Another contender, I think, is Our Lady Peace. Naveed was incredible - when it hit in the early 1990s, it sounded familiar, yet wasn't comparable to anything else out there. Everything they've done since has fallen further and further into the realm of crap.

Massive Attack is another one; Blue Lines and Protection were solid listens, and then Mezzanine hit and blew everything they'd done previously out of the water. Since then, nothing.

My only complaint with "Room on Fire" is that it lacks the raw energy of "Is this it?". All of a sudden they went from sounding like Iggy Pop to sounding like the Cars. But, it's still pretty decent. I think what killed it commercially is the backlash from the massive hype surrounding "Is this it?"

How about Black Rebel Motorcycle Club? That first album ruled, but the second one was kind of bleh.

Hi All,
There are too many people I need to directly quote to reply in this thread so Ill just do it in point form.

1. Live Throwing Copper - definitely agree that is one great album out of collection of shite.

2. Weezer's Pinkerton and Blue albums are both brilliant, since then they've definitely deteriorated significantly.

3. Ryan Adams work since Heartbreaker while it may not have been as stunning as this album (why is it never in any best album lists?? - must be because of his personality), he has consistenly produced interesting work since IMO. I'm biased coz i love em' concert wed night yes!!!


4. I think both Strokes albums are great, i actually prefer Room on Fire.

5. I think the Arcade Fire are presently the best 'active' band going around. Based on the ep and live stuff i've downloaded i don't think they will fall into this category in the future.

6. I actually think Clouds Taste Metallic is the best Flaming Lips album. From In a Priest driven ambulance to Hit to Death there was a big jump in standard, but while a soft bulletin was a huge diversion in the sound of the band i think they were already at the peak musically at this stage.

Now a couple of my own suggestions....

* The Australian Band The Whitlams Eternal Nightcap is a stunner amongst 5 or 6 albums of shite.
* I'd almost say Ben Lee's Breathing Tornados is a stunner amongst his other albums, but I wouldn't classify him as a mediocre artist.
* I think the Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape is a stunner amongst their albums, but i haven't actually heard their latest one. But again i wouldn't classify them as a mediocre artist.
*They Might Be Giants Lincoln i think is a stunner compared to the other albums from theres ive heard.

The biggest example I can think of is Weezer's The Blue Album. One of my favourite albums of all time, it's that type of nerd-rock, but done in such a wonderful way as to completely go above and beyond the style. There's some debate as to the merits of their next, Pinkerton, but I am of the camp that doesn't like it. After that, never-ceasing mediocrity.

Good to know the forum moderator is protecting all your fragile minds from someone who might disagree ... my post about the fact the STROKES SUCK was summarily deleted before anyone could immerse themselves in my razor-sharp wit. Good job metacritic forum moderator©, more people saved from having to think for themselves. maybe it was because I said "coke", and these people's heads would explode if they heard such a word. but yeah, the strokes are terrible terrible terrible and have always been so.

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The Strokes™ do not suck.

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