A young'uns guide to purusing extensive artist discographies

[bmack86]

The Cure came out at the height of my Cure obsession, so that may shade the choice a bit. Wild Mood Swings has never interested me, and I was a fanatic.

[bmack86]

Also, I still think the best place to start for The Cure would be Staring at the Sea. Their singles during that period were, without fail, absolutely brilliant. That is one of the best listens you'll ever have. That album was instrumental in my listening development.

[full on idle]

somebody's gotta tackle this.

Bob Dylan

Start with Highway 61 Revisited. Once you've digested that, move to Bringing It All Back Home which is sorta the same except the second half is all acoustic. Once you've mastered these two albums you have completeld Dylan 101 and are ready to move on to..

Blonde on Blonde. BoB is a different thing altogether, and given that it came out just 6 months after Highway 61, you can see what an incredibly creative phase he was going through. Dylan's surreal imagery gets really crazy here, and the singing is kinda weird in spots too, but the album is sheer genius. Tucked in amongst all this weirdness are stretches of sheer beauty, like "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands".

from there I would jump forward to Blood on the Tracks, his 'divorce' album that's just full of great songs ("Tangled Up in Blue", "Idiot Wind", "Buckets of Rain", etc). This album also includes "Lily Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" which is very entertaining although not as artistically fulfilling as some other stuff.

Then, one more stop I promise, go to John Wesley Harding, which is sort of like Blonde on Blonde on quaaludes. However, it's another essential album.

Once you've got these down there are all sorts of directions you can go;

- early folkie stuff, like The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin' and Another Side of Bob Dylan. These are all amazing records but remember they are true early-60s folk albums, they make no attempt at being rock music.

- the early to mid 70s stuff, Nashville Skyline, New Morning, Pat Garret & Billy the Kid, Planet Waves, and Desire. of these the first and last listed are my favorite. Avoid at all costs Self Portrait and Dylan.

- The Basement Tapes. recorded with The Band in 68 or so but not released til 1975, this really belongs up with the classics I listed at the beginning, but is definitely Advanced Dylan, for grad students only. It sounds like a bunch of drunk hillbillies or something. It's fabulous.

- the Christian era, late 70s and early 80s. Might take some stomach to listen to, if this sort of thing offends you, but I think the songs on Slow Train Coming and Shot of Love are really good and underappreciated. Avoid Live at Budokan and Saved, IMO.

Anything 1983 and after is a bit of a crapshoot (except Biograph, a boxed set compilation, which now that I think about it would be a really good place for a Dylan novice to start).

I'm doing this.

[mountmccabe]

the Jesus and Mary Chain, Choose Your Own Adventure Style

Psychocandy - Yeah, fine, start with this one. It's their mythic one. It's their take on the Beach Boys filtered through avant garde noise, in a "turn that song down, turn the static up" sort of way. "Just Like Honey" has become a retroactive hit but it did get some notice back in the day; it was released as a single. But really there's really no end to the great songs on this album. I mean, other than that there's only 15 songs. Right now I'd say "In a Hole" and "You Trip Me Up." From there it depends. What do you really think of Psychocandy? Do you die a little every time it ends? Does it make it all better when you realize that you can play the album again? If so I'd proceed to Darklands, otherwise I'd move to Honey's Dead.

Darklands on the surface sounds very different after Psychocandy. The abrasive noise has been stripped away, immediately obvious on the laid back, mellow opening on the first track, "Darklands." The songs are still wonderful and amazing. Try "April Skies" and "Down on Me." These first two records represent most of JAMC's range. If you want to further expand the range then move on chronologically to Automatic. If you wish to reach more of the abrasive side try Honey's Dead. If you want something more like this album go to Stoned and Dethroned.

Automatic - "the DJ never has it, JAMC Automatic" This is the Reid brothers and a drum machine. The sound is to my ears the most pop/rock they got. There's little of the noise but these are rock songs. "Here Comes Alice" and "Her Way of Praying" are my favs. "Head On" was a fav of the Pixies.

Honey's Dead - There's more William singing here than normal. And despite attempting to distance themselves from their first album (which had started growing in reputation as the shoegazers came and went) to my mind this is their album that sounds most like it. There's a noisy sheen to these rock songs. "Reverence" and "I Can't Get Enough" are favorites 'round here. If this is your second JAMC album then I'd move forward to Stoned and Dethroned because, well, a lot of people did that.

Stoned and Dethroned - Even though more heard them for the first time via "Sometimes Always" which features Jim's then girlfriend Hope Sandoval (from Mazzy Star) singing with Jim. It is a more stripped down, Americana-esque affair but the songwriting (both musically and lyrically) def comes from the Reid brothers. "Dirty Water" was an early favorite of mine; "Girlfriend" is up there too. Also note Shane McGowan stopping by for lead vocals on "God Help Me."

[b]Munki[/u] - This is their weakest album but it's still strong. It's nothing new; it's sort of Automatic plus Honey's Dead but not as good as either. Still worthwhile for great songs like "Stardust Remedy," "Supertramp" and the bookends, the Jim penned "I Love Rock'n'Roll" and the William penned "I Hate Rock'n'Roll."

Besides 21 Singles they have three b-sides/rarities comps:

Barbed Wire Kisses (comp) - early singles and b-sides and such. Aggressive and noisy covers of "Surfin' USA" and "Who Do You Love" and "Mushroom." The first half dozen songs here are some of their most harsh tracks.

Sound of Speed (comp) - I don't have this one. OK, there I said it. I do have the Sound of Speed EP that has a couple of the tracks including the cover of Dixon's "Little Red Rooster."

Hate Rock 'n Roll (comp) - This has the first appearance of the title song (later on Munki) and "Snakedriver" (which was on the soundtrack to The Crow) and some other stuff. Honestly it's my least favorite of their releases.

[La Ferrassie]

Can someone help me out with the Ramones? I recently purchased Animal Boy and Road To Ruin.

[bmack86]

I like the idea of requesting bands to do. That's helpful. I know quite a bit about lots of music, but i'm not sure where to start with most of the bands i really like.

[mountmccabe]

I like the next two albums, but I've found myself sort of bored with them as of late:

Next, Come Down. Skip directly to the song Green, and then to Minnesoter. Done that? K good. You are now free to move about the album.

Dandies Rule, OK? comes next. Special emphasis on Genius and Just try. If you've uploaded it, promptly delete TV Theme. You'll like it for a second. But just a second.

Last, the Black Album, which can be pretty hard to find (I think you can usually only find it on their site). Unfinished tracks and B sides. Good stuff, but it won't really appeal to someone who isn't already into them.

Interesting. Thirteen Tales is a great place to start; it is a good mix of what they do. It seems to me that you're slighting ...Come Down as I would consider that their greatest masterpiece but that may be because I got it first and didn't get Rule OK until around the time Thirteen came out so I had to listen to it over and over.

Or, maybe, I just like "Be-In" way more than I should. Nothing against "Minnesoter" and "Green" though. Damn, they're great songs.

And I still need to get into Odditorium (will check out "Down Like Disco" soon) and I still need to find the Black Album.

[Hannahrain]

The Black Album

I think I've just cooled on Come Down a little bit lately. I've heard it so many times, and the others are newer. I haven't had as much opportunity to overlisten to them yet.

[bmack86]

I'm editing my Boredoms post on the first page. I've got all their albums, so anyone interested in commentary on their complete career (and I mean complete) head to page 1 in about 10/15 minutes.

[PotVsKtl]

Can someone help me out with the Ramones? I recently purchased Animal Boy and Road To Ruin.

That's simple. Buy the three before Road to Ruin, the Pet Semetary single, watch Rock 'n Roll High School, and then move on to the Damned.

[Courtney]

Okay, I feel like I should contribute instead of just making requests.


Yo La Tengo

Start with the recently-released set Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs 1985-2003. It has a good selection of old stuff and new stuff, and will give you a good sense of why the band is so awesome, and also the extent of their range. When you're more acquainted with Yo La Tengo, you'll also be be glad to have this for its excellent collection of rarities and previously unreleased stuff on the third CD.

Next, I'd suggest moving on to one of their most critically-lauded alubums, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997). This album has got it all: pop-tinged catchy jangly tunes like "Sugarcube" or "Stockholm Syndrome," and more richly-layed Sonic Youth-esque stuff like "Little Honda" (covering the Beach Boys) and even a little bossa nova flair in "Center of Gravity."

And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000) is probably the YLT album you've already heard. There was a period in 2002-2003 when it was being played at Starbucks stores across the country, as well as no doubt a million other trying-to-be-hip-without-alienating-their-core-middle-America-demographic retailers. It's YLT's most accessible album, full of softly-cascading lullabies and love songs like "Madeline" and "The Crying of Lot G." But it also has some more up-tempo gems. "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House" and "Cherry Chapstick" stand out as catchy and worthy of a little repeat-button-lovin.

At this juncture, you could fill in their recent work with listenings to The Sounds of the Sounds of Science (2002) and I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006), both of which are solid, or skip them for now and come back later. The Sounds of the Sounds of Science is a series of instrumental tracks designed as a score for surrealist silent films of Jean Painlevé. I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, YLT's most recent album, also doesn't disappoint with more instant classic favorites like the heartbreakingly beautiful "Black Flowers" (good for wallowing in a bathtub post breakup, ahem) and the oh-so-catchy "Mr. Tough." Don't bother with Strange But True (with Jad Fair, 1998) or Summer Sun (2003) -- their weakest.

Next, you could go back to some of YLT's earlier less commercially-successful work. President Yo La Tengo / New Wave Hot Dogs (1996) is a reissue of some of their first work from the late 80s. Going here will give you a full sense of the trajectory of their development, but you'll see how even as early as 1989, they had already pretty much cemented down their signature combination of harsh feedback-y rock with lilting intelligent lyrics. I especially love their delicate version of Dylan's "I Threw It All Away" and the straight-up pop rock "Did I tell You."

Fakebook (1990) is the next step. If you've already heard the above albums, you've probably figured out that YLT don't do covers as yet another uninspired band looking for fresh meat. They carefully pick sometimes less well-known rock and folk songs to re-work within their distinct aesthetic. Fakebook is an entire album of covers, ranging form Daniel Johnston and Cat Stevens to the Kinks. This album also could work well as an intro to YLT. Actually, just listen to it whenever. It's so great, that you really can't mess it up no matter what the listening conditions. God I love every track on it.

From here, you can do doubt navigate successfully without any help. Ride the Tiger (1986), YLT's first album, is a bit wobbly on its feet, but interesting for fans. May I Sing With Me (1992) is probably YLT's least accessible album with heavy layers of straight up noise. It's one of their most experimental albums. Painful (1993) and Electr-O-Pura (1995) are solid mid-career albums. And then of course the compilations Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo (1996) and the aforementioned disk three of Prisoners of Love (2005) will give you some rarer previously unreleased tracks and covers to delve deeper into their work.

The end.

[Slushmier]

Well, unless someone posted a Public Enemy, Jay-Z or Nas set-up before me, I think this is the first hip-hop group:

The Roots

I admit that I haven't heard all their albums. They released a supposedly bland debut in 1993 called Organix that I haven't heard, but after that, we're golden.

Do You Want More ????!!!??!-This is the introduction that most people have to The Roots. It's interesting to hear now because Black Thought and Malick B sound definitely younger than they do now. The album is also a bit more relaxed and laid back musically than many of the albums that follow it. While this is a good album and essential to the catalog, it lacks many of the definite, exicting moments that make some of the later albums better. There are no great singles to focus on, and to an extent this album serves better as background music when you're with your friends than a headphone masterpiece. Grade: B-

Illadelph Halflife-Illadelph Halflife is a continuation of Do You Want More except for one song: "What They Do." A hit for a good reason with a good laidback R&B hook. Okay, so "Clones" was also a hit, but I prefer "What They Do." With Illadelph, you get much a continuation of the previous album, with a couple singles to fix on. Grade: B-

Things Fall Apart-This album demonstrates why we still listen to The Roots and why they didn't fall by the wayside like many hip-hop acts in the 90s.

Let's look at the cover real fast:



This album is a statement. Songs like "The Next Movement," "Step Into The Realm," and "Adreneline" make you stand up and take notice. The album has decidedly more energy than either of the previous two albums. However, what Things Fall Apart does better than almost any hip-hop album is utilize it's guests. Mos Def, Common, and Erykah Badu propel their respective songs into a dialogue, rather than studio gimmicks. "You Got Me" is a great song about a relationship in trouble, and Badu's fragile, heartfelt chorus makes the emotional relevance of the song more evident. Hell, even Eve gave a great verse on this song. My personal favorite two pronged attack is "Act Two" with Common, because they both talk about why they're on the track and making music. It's compelling to hear artists talk about their sincere love of hip-hop, more than their love of money. If this album is an argument of hip-hop as art, "Act Two" is the thesis statement. Grade: A+

Phrenology-On Phrenology, The Roots add something for every element they lose. Things Fall Apart sounds raw while Phrenology sounds produced. They lose the rawness and add the production. They lose Malik B to rehab, so they add the song "Water." "Water" becomes the centerpiece of the album, a funky 4 minute song that dissenegrates into a 10 minute sound collage. This is emblematic of the entire album. Here they use the studio to create a loud sonic collage that goes nowhere you expect it to. The entire album does much the same thing. The songs sound more like studio songs, but like nothing you've heard from The Roots before. Hell, you even get a techno song in there.

Now, that's not to say the album isn't firmly grounded in hip-hop, but it takes hip-hop to a place that most people wouldn't. "Break You Off" sounds like a standard hip-hop song with R&B hook until it ends with a three minute keyboard solo. "Rock You" is the most punk song ever on a hip-hop album. Plus, you hear that little electronic accentuation in the backgroung during "Pussy Galore." Who beside The Roots (and maybe Outkast) would've done that? Also, let's consider how rare a song is in the hip-hop community that tells guys to worry about pussy less.

Finally, "The Seed (2.0)" deserves its own paragraph. There are perfect songs in the world like "In My Life," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "London Calling," "Marquee Moon," "Temptation," "Downtown Train," "SexyBack" etc. So why is this song perfect? Well, there's an instantly catchy guitar part that melds perfectly with the rhythm, so that's a good start. The lyrics are great, but then there's just the way that Cody Chestnutt sings that chorus that brings it all back home. Finally, it has standard pop song structure: intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro. We may hate it, but we love that structure, and this is about as well as it can be done. Oh, and I was kidding about "SexyBack".

Grade: A+

The Tipping Point-Bland, refined music made for radio play. I'm not sure why they treaded down this path. Nothing on the album is bad, but it doesn't break any new ground, and maybe that's the problem because by now that's what's expected. Grade:C-

Game Theory-This is the darkest album that The Roots have released. It's another statement. Look:



Between the state of affairs in the world, the return of Malik B, and the death of J Dilla, this album permeates worry. No song better emphasizes this feeling than "Don't Feel Right," a song that directly confronts the changing world and the worry it creates. "Can't Stop This" directly address the death of J Dilla, and closes the album with people talking about his legacy. It's a touching tribute to their friend, but also a direct acknowledge of the mood that was around while creating this album.

I also want to mention "Here I Come." Malik has been gone for years and he wants to mark his return, and I'm glad for it. This song is loud and energetic, and almost sounds like an anthem. The album is better for it. Grade: A-

So finally, here's how I'd get the albums: Phrenology, Things Fall Apart, Game Theory, Illadelph Halflife, Do You Want More, The Tipping Point

There's also the live album The Roots Come Alive, but I'd just see them at Coachella

[roberto73]

Someone do Nick Cave. His new Grinderman project rules. As does The Birthday Party. But I've never really listened to any of his other stuff apart from Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus.

I'm up to the task, but it'll take some time. Stay posted.

Any other fans of The Fall who want to team up on their considerable discography?

[mountmccabe]

Big ups for Yo La Tengo and the Roots. I know the former better than the latter but it's still only a couple of albums I really know and a couple others I'm not sure about.

[bmack86]

I'm up to the task, but it'll take some time. Stay posted.

Any other fans of The Fall who want to team up on their considerable discography?

I know mid period Fall pretty well, but I'm ignorant to the stuff that they did in the late 80s/90s.

Also, Boredoms is updated. Go read and discover the best psych band of the past 20 years.

[Tylerdurden31]

someone should do Frank Zappa...........

[Slushmier]

Big ups for Yo La Tengo and the Roots. I know the former better than the latter but it's still only a couple of albums I really know and a couple others I'm not sure about.

Hey, and awesome job on the JAMC.

I'm also glad to see a Yo La Tengo thread. I've got 1997, 2000 and 2006 (man, they have long album titles. Years are just easier to use), but I always gotta branch out with a band that good.

Just an idea, if people want to do Coachella bands Bjork and Sonic Youth seem like good choices. I mean, I guess you can do RHCP or Willie Nelson, but I think everyone knows to get Bloodsugarsexmagik and Stardust.

[bmack86]

Sonic Youth

Confusion is Sex-Noisy, abrasive and raw. This was them developing their sound. Very much indebted to punk and No Wave. However, it's also a helluva lot of fun to listen to if you like noisy shit. Grade:C+

Bad Moon Rising-They don't make as much of a racket, and the songs start to get stronger. It's a bit long for me, and not all of the songs hit the way they should, but Death Valley 69 is worth the price of admission. The CD comes with the Flower EP, which is trippy. Grade:B

Evol-One of my favorite albums of all time. They started doing the ethereal/noise mixture in earnest on here, and they really locked their songwriting skills in on this album. It's still got random bursts of distortion, but they're tempered by a pop ear that makes this a joy to listen to. Grade:A

Sister-A development on Evol. This has always sounded darker to me, and more nuanced. These songs have less noise outbursts, and are more focused on their songwriting on this one. As such, it sounds like an awesome continuation of a great style. Grade:A

Daydream Nation-The perfection of the sound they'd been working on. Indie rock at its finest, there are great guitar tones, drones and rocking passages in equal numbers. There's a reason that this is so revered. It's absolutely brilliant, and without equal. Grade:A++

Goo-People screamed sellout, but today it just sounds like a damn good album. They cut down their songs, streamlining them and making them more "mainstream". It's fuckin great. Grade:A

Dirty-Their Alt. Rock album. It pissed people off so bad, but in retrospect it's just them at their most focused. 100% is a kickass track, and there's very few pieces on here that aren't at least pleasant to listen to. It's amazing that this was considered mainstream by their fans. Grade:A-

Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star-Mediocre. After one of the best streaks of albums in recorded history, they sound like they're out of ideas. The songs mostly fall flat, and none of them reach the brilliance of the past albums. Grade: D

Washing Machine-A step up, but for the most part it still lacks a creative streak that they had kept up so constantly. The songs are calmer, and they have some really cool tones on it. However, they released better ones. Grade:C+

A Thousand Leaves-Like Washing Machine, but better. It continues the calmer tone, but the songwriting is better. Hits of Sunshine is sheer brilliance, and it's the clear direction that they would head in later. It's a good listen. Grade:B

NYC Ghosts and Flowers-Most of this is pretentious wankery. They try to sound too artistic, and fall flat. Grade: D

Murray Street-Their last few albums had shown moments of brilliance, but this was the first one since Goo that consistently, song after song, got it completely right. It showcases their later style, which is much more calm, with really fluid guitar tracks, and singing rather than screaming. If you like music, you'll like this. Grade:A

Sonic Nurse-Murray Street part two, in the best way possible. A continuation of the sound with equally good songwriting. They're older than my parents, and they rock harder than they ever could on this album. Stones sounds great live. Grade:A

Rather Ripped-Their most streamlined album since Dirty. They write more straight rock songs, and come up with a third straight gold gem. These songs are, once again, uniformly excellent, and they rock harder than the past two albums. Anyone else excited to see where they go next? Grade:A

(I left off the SYR series and Made in USA because I don't know them that well)

[Courtney]

I'll do Sonic Youth

I considered this, but it was too intimidating. Thanks for tackling the challenge. I'll be interested in reading it.

[Hannahrain]

Bmack, I just went back and looked at your boredoms post.

Someone needs to do a paring-down of where to start with it and post it in this thread.

[sydaud]

Upon request, the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World, The Rolling Stones (echo, the Rolling Stones)....damn, I should be doing homework, lol....

Be advised---unlike The Beatles catelog, the Stones still have distinct British and American albums. I am going to list the American albums.


1. England's Newest Hitmakers (1964)---A harder edged R & B than the Beatles attempted, includes a sterling version of "Route 66" and a Bo-Diddley influenced cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away". Throw in a bunch a filler and it's a snapshot of the times. B-

2. 12 x 5 (1964)---Includes the hits "Time Is On My Side" and "It's All Over Now". Still a lot of covers, including a revved up version of "Around And Around". Still finding their way. B-

3. The Rolling Stones, Now!!! (1965)---Short of the Yardbirds, one of the best R& B albums from England in the mid 60's. "Down Home Girl" is a must. A-

4. Out of Our Heads (1965)---Morphing out of the cover version stage. "Play With Fire", Marvin Gaye's "Hitch Hike" and of course "Satisfaction". Keith said he heard the riff to "Satisfaction" in a dream, woke up and recorded it. And this was before the drugs. B+

5. December's Children (1965)---I'm pretty sure this is a collection of A-sides from England that weren't released in the states. And it contains some essential sides: "Get Off My Cloud", "I'm Free" and "As Tears Go By". As these songs can be found on other compilations, this one's for completists only. C+

6. Got "Live" If You Want It (1966)---Not the Stones live album you want---only for fans. C

7. Aftermath (1966)---A stone-cold fucking classic. Opens with "Paint It, Black", the snotty "Stupid Girl", the beautiful "Lady Jane" and flows right to "Under My Thumb". Brian Jones run amok in the studio, playing everything he can get his hands on and it all works. Also contains the haunting "I Am Waiting" used superbly in Rushmore. (Now that I think about it, Aftermath came before "Live", but I'm not changing it). A+

8. Between The Buttons (1967)---My father gave me this record when I was six. Outside of "Let's Spend the Night Together" and "Ruby Tuesday" (perhaps Brian Jones greatest arrangement) I finally realized what he already knew. It's not that great. Stones fans like to argue that this is a great album the same way Zeppelin fans argue that "Presense" is a great album--it's all relative, isn't it? C-

9. Flowers (1967)---Wanna know who will rip you off? ABKCO, the Stones label in the 60's. It's another repackage with just enough new material for the Stateside market to make people rush out and buy it. The two key tracks here (available on many, many other comps) are "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing In The Shadow?" and the Jones sitar fueled "Mother's Little Helper" (one of the all-time great drug songs). Find another album if you want to hear those songs, this one's for the label. C-

10. Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)---Commonly called their failed "Sgt. Pepper"...and it is. But it doesn't make it a bad album. Quite honestly, while not solid all the way through, it contains great songs like "Citadel", "2,000 Light Years From Home" and "She's A Rainbow". This was right after Mick got sent to the slammer for the gonja. Plus, if you can find it, it was issued with a 3-D cover....what kids fucked with before chem-lights I suppose? B

11. Beggar's Banquet (1968)---Inspiration for Trans-Europe Express.....just kidding. The Stones "return to roots" album. Only they never sounded this good. While "Aftermath" was a fantastic album, it was within the times. Banquet's opening salvo, "Sympathy For The Devil" remains one most lascivious travelogues put to tape. Throw in "Stray Cat Blues" and probably their best country song (No Expectations), this makes Brian Jones last album with the band a must-own. Oh, and any album with "Street Fighting Man" on it must rule. A+

12. Through The Past, Darkly (1968)-Another comp. "Jumpin Jack Flash" and "Honky Tonk Woman" are the American grabs. Mick Jagger was never the bad-ass he sang about in the song, but the lyrics are still in your face, even after nearly 40 years. "I was born in a cross-fire hurricane indeed". You won't mind if your Through The Past, Darkly gets blown away with it. D+ (These comps have great songs. Based on just the songs, this would rate as a A+ ...but as a record/CD buyer, I am rating the value for your dollar

13. Let It Bleed (1969)---The first album with Mick Taylor. The album with the best intro ever (Gimme Shelter) and Ray Liotta's freak-out music (Monkey Man). Beggar's Banquet starts the Stones ruling of the universe. Let It Bleed is just a referendum. A+

14 Get Your Ya-Ya's Out (1969)---Studio overdubbed live album recorded a week before Altamont. Simply put, the best live album I have ever heard. The Stones on stage at this time were raw and rude. The live version of "Jack Flash" trumps the studio version, even with Bill Wyman screwing up his bassline. The only live Stones album one needs to buy. A

15. Sticky Fingers (1971)---Andy Warhol designed album cover (with the zipper and the hard-on). The music inside is as sleezy as the cover. And this is good. Songs about bad things with slaves (Brown Sugar), names you wouldn't call your mama (Bitch), odes to O.D.'ing (Sister Morphine) and true love (Wild Horses)---and no, the Sunday's version is not better. I know it's getting repetitive, but by this time the Stones were on top of their game. A+

16. Exile On Main Street (1972)---Critics jerk-off over this album, but that doesn't mean you have to watch. Are there a lot of great songs on this album (released as a double-album and eventually as a single CD)? Of course there are: "Tumbing Dice", "Sweet Virginia", "Happy" and "All Down the Line" are classics, but try listening to this album in one sitting and you're going to swear someone started the damn thing over. Remember, it's a relative grade....Grand Funk would've given their souls to have made this album. B

17. Goat's Head Soup (1973). Has "Heartbreaker" and "Angie" and a bunch of other song's that sound like people on lots of drugs wrote. And no, not the good kind of songs that people on drugs write. This album is where the hunger dies and marks the genesis of the Rolling Stones (sponsored by Jovan). C+

18. It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974)---It's a good thing that it's only rawk 'n roll....if it was something serious, someone would be looking to kick its ass. Title cut only...and only for the "bubble" + sailor suit video. D

19. Metamorphasis (1975)---The Stones outtakes album. If ABKCO had known that CD's were just 10 years away, I bet they'd have waited.....no, that is wrong. For fans only. C

20. Black and Blue (1976)---Ron Woods first album. You know it's not a great Stones album when the best three songs are disco (Hot Stuff), ballad (Memory Hotel) and ballad (Fool To Cry). Bob Seger had already written Memory Hotel better as "Turn the Page". If you see it on the cheap, I guess...C.

21. Some Girls (1978)---Out of nowhere...and I mean nowhere. With the exception of the cloying "Far Away Eyes" this is as solid an album as the Stones would ever record (ok, a bit of a stretch---but damn, it's good). "Miss You", "Shattered" "When the Whip Comes Down" and "Beast of Burden" showed the Stones had some fight in them against disco. A.

22. Emotional Rescue (1980)---Have you ever had sex and wished you could be doing something else? That's this album. You know you should enjoy it, but somethings amiss Coming off the heels of Some Girls and , "Hey, it's the Rolling Stones", hopes were high....and hopes were dashed. Does contain the hits "Emotional Rescue" and "She's So Cold" B-

23. Tattoo You (1981)---Their last A+ album. If I hadn't of read this somewhere, I would never believe it, but this is an album of outtakes...Great songs everywhere: the ubiquitous "Start Me Up", the resignation of "Waiting on a Friend", the ultra-falsetto'ed "Slave" and Keith's masterpiece "Little T & A". Keith has gotten no love so far, but all you need to know about the Stones is that "Keef" is at the core. Five strings and the truth with Keith....and lots of drugs. As stated earlier...A+

24. Sucking In the 70's---Sometimes there is truth in advertising. Another comp. I would venturing a guess between live albums and comps, the Stones have more albums than the Beatles released proper albums. One can never own too many castles I suppose..... D

25. Still Life (1982)---A live album. Tour really was sponsored by Jovan, which couldn't mask the stench of this boring, by-the-numbers affair. Only accept if given to you for free. D

26. Undercover (1983)---Much like wanting to screw your buddy's girl, one should not like this album....but given the opportunity, some just can't turn it down. Grossly underrated (as far as albums that sold a million copies go), Keef's "Wanna Hold You" points towards his X-Pensive Wino's days and "Tie You Up" is pretty damn good too. A-

27. Steel Wheels (1989)---"Mixed Emotions" went to #5 on the singles chart, the last Stones song to crack the Top 10. High gloss, professional songwriting---25 years of working with the same guys has to count for something, yes? B

28. Voodoo Lounge---Contains the last great Stones rocker (Love Is Strong) and their last two ballads of note (Blinded By Rainbows, Out of Tears). Maybe it's the production, maybe it's just perception but while everything sounds like it's in the right place, something is amiss. It's like Ovaltine---many kids won't know the difference. B+

Nothing else after this is worth buying...or downloading, but just to complete said list, here is a cursory peek:

29. Stripped (1995)--Unplugged doing acoustic songs. Of their own. Bastards. D-
30. Bridges To Babylon (1997)---Too bad it's not called "Todd Bridges To Babylon". Then at least there would be a chuckle amongst all the crap. D-
31. No Security (1998)---None needed. No one is listening to yet another live album. E (and I mean it!)
32. Flashpoint (2000)---Guess what kids??? Another fucking live album. Ok, if someone GIVES you this one, throw it right back at them. God awful. E
33. A Bigger Bang (2005)---Not as bad as what one would expect, but if later period Stones are your thing, buy Voodoo Lounge. And then if you still thirst for the blood of Mick and Keith, buy this on the cheap. C

I forgot a few comps I think, but sue me, lol.....

[Slushmier]

I actually kinda agree with you on Exile. I've always liked Sticky Fingers, then Let it Bleed the most.

Oh, and someone did actually give me Flashpoint once. Little did I know.

And yeah, that was an awesome job.

Oh, and I should've been doing my taxes while I did that Roots one so don't feel bad about not doing your homework.

[Courtney]

Tom, the Dylan guide is excellent. I have to admit that I only know a couple of the biggies, but I'd like to move onto some of the less well-known stuff, so this is very helpful. Thanks.

bballarl: Talking Heads - genius. I need to buy more of these albums. Also, I totally didn't know that allmusic existed either, so bonus points on that.

And bmack, The Cure: excellent, wonderful, helpful, awesome.

Seriously, great thread all around. Now does anyone want to do Leonard Cohen?

[bmack86]

Bmack, I just went back and looked at your boredoms post.

Someone needs to do a paring-down of where to start with it and post it in this thread.

Here's how I'd do it.
Super AE first.
If you like that, go to Super Roots 7 and then Vision Creation Newsun.
Then check out Chocolate Synthesizer. If you like that, then get both Seadrum and Pop Tatari. If those two are pleasing, then peruse the rest of their catalog at your leisure.

[bmack86]

That Rolling Stones post is mostly awesome, but i dock a few points for your review of Exile, because I love the fact that the album has that sound thruout. Thats what makes it awesome.

[bballarl]

The White Stripes changed my musical taste and are one of my favorite groups ever. I love them so. And while I don't think anyone is interested, I am going to talk about them because I love their records.

I started with White Blood Cells. I heard "Fell In Love With A Girl" on the radio and went out and bought this record. It entered my 3 disc changer a few weeks after The Strokes' Is This It and neither record left the 1 and 3 slots, respectively, until the new albums came out.

Anyway, in chronological order...

The White Stripes:
Extremely raw. Very dirty sounding, some great guitar tones, primal drumming (it doesn't go much beyond that) and Jack wailing away. A few killer tracks are on this record...specifically "I Fought Piranhas", "Screwdriver", and "Broken Bricks" are some of my favorites.

De Stijl:
While this isn't exactly The White Stripes expanding their sonic palette, it is more mature than their first effort. Much more piano and varied sounds. I love the slide work on "Little Bird" and "Death Letter". "Apple Blossom" serves as a live favorite, and this record is really a logical progression from the first.

White Blood Cells:
From the opening guitar squeals of "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", I was totally hooked. Fairly noisy (see tracks like "Aluminum" and "Dead Leaves"), much more mature lyrically ("Union Forever", "I'm Finding It Harder to be a Gentleman") and has what is probably their most beautiful and underrated track, the perfect album closer "This Protector". Not to mention the Beatles-esque "We're Going To Be Friends" and the almost country-fied "Hotel Yorba".

Elephant:
This is Jack's so-called guitar album. Leads abound, all with his trademark use of the Whammy pedal (Jack inspired me to buy the Whammy and the Big Muff Pi). Pretty heavy, with tracks like "Black Math", "Little Acorns", "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" and "Hypnotize". Also contains the brilliant, Meg-sung "In the Cold, Cold Night". Punk energy mixed with electric blues and heavy rock n' roll. Classic. It even has that little tune you might recognize called "Seven Nation Army".

Get Behind Me Satan:
Some critical reviews have likened this to their Exile on Main Street. I don't wholeheartedly buy the accuracy of that, but their is a varied sonic palette on this record. Lots of piano, bells, marimba. Much softer than their past work...probably the closest they have done to De Stijl though more mature than that. Apart from "Blue Orchid", "Red Rain" and "Instinct Blues", this is not even remotely heavy. Jack seems to avoid the Big Muff for the most part. I love the mandolin on "Little Ghost" and the closer "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)".

[Hannahrain]

Here's how I'd do it.
Super AE first.
If you like that, go to Super Roots 7 and then Vision Creation Newsun.
Then check out Chocolate Synthesizer. If you like that, then get both Seadrum and Pop Tatari. If those two are pleasing, then peruse the rest of their catalog at your leisure.

I meant the epic novel you posted, but nevermind. The moment has passed. Oh well. Maybe another time. Have a good night.

[PotVsKtl]

Here's how I'd do it.
Super AE first.
If you like that, go to Super Roots 7 and then Vision Creation Newsun.
Then check out Chocolate Synthesizer. If you like that, then get both Seadrum and Pop Tatari. If those two are pleasing, then peruse the rest of their catalog at your leisure.

Don't be shy, do the whole Boredoms side projects canon. I'll start.

OOIOO - Yoshimi P-We. Five yeses.
Shock City Shockers Vol.2 - This is a bunch of OOIOO mixes. I give it two yeses.
Shock City Shockers Vol.1 - A bunch of awesome noises. Three yeses.
DJ Pica Pica Pica - One and one half incomprehensible yeses.
ROVO - 6 yeses and a hollowed-out gourd.
Z-Rock Hawaii - Boredoms and Ween. Not as good as it sounds. Zero yeses.

[sydaud]

That Rolling Stones post is mostly awesome, but i dock a few points for your review of Exile, because I love the fact that the album has that sound thruout. Thats what makes it awesome.

Believe me, I've had this argument a few times in my life and I know that I am wrong, but I just can't get over myself. If an album like 'Exile' came out today, I would be going ape-shit over it....

[bballarl]

Pot have you heard Voordoms? I can't find any bootlegs of their live shows.