# Artists who never released a disappointing album **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820 "2009-02-28T20:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/61 "2009-03-03T15:02:53Z")
ABBA . . . . . . . . . . Oh, shut up! ---
**Author:** ![AndyPolley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@AndyPolley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyPolley)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/62 "2009-03-03T15:03:15Z")
This basicaly works if a band or artist stopped releasing music before they start to lose it. There are very few examples of long standing & current artists pulling this off, although I’d say the **Foo Fighters** are as close as anyone. I think I’d put **Beck** in this catagory too, but I imagine he has fans that are disappointed in something of his. On the subject of bands that have stopped, I’ll submit **Morphine** to the list. 5 studio releases, and they are all consistently great. It would have been something to have gotten another album or 2 out of them before Mark Snadman’s death. I dig all of **Soul Coughing’s** albums too. Oh…the Three studio CDs from **The Screamin Cheetah Wheelies** are great. > [@Art Rock](#): > > Every choice is by definition subjective. I’d say Porupine Tree. You got that right, **Art Rock**. On both accounts. > [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > You don’t like Counterparts?! That’s a fantastic album. I like all of Rush’s albums, and granted-you’d need a 5 disc box set to cover their greatest hits, but some of their cds disappointing compared to others. "Test For Echo, " in spite of a couple of great tracks, is no “Permanent Waves.” For that matter, their debut is far from a great album. ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/63 "2009-03-03T15:10:33Z")
I humbly submit: **Digable Planets** **The Black Keys** ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/64 "2009-03-03T15:15:48Z")
I’d agree with Steely Dan and Fugazi, but that’s partially due to my low expectations being more than fulfilled. In Fugazi’s case, actually being more than noise rock that I expected when people were lumping them with Sonic Youth. In the Dan’s case due to Katie Lied being much better than most albums that have no songs I knew beforehand on them (and Aja and Gaucho being totally awesome albums in their own right even given I knew songs off of them.) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/65 "2009-03-03T15:18:26Z")
I’d like to add **The Promise Ring**. Granted, _Wood/Water_ was initially disappointing but it did get very high play after a couple go-arounds. In retrospect, I am disappointed that there aren’t more albums like early Promise Ring albums, but Wood/Water is good too when you’re in the mood to hear twee retro-70s rock. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/66 "2009-03-03T15:53:50Z")
Peter Gabriel. Of course, now that he’s averaging an album every 10 years, it’s easier for him. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/67 "2009-03-03T16:12:06Z")
For me, **REM** did it for a long time. Murmur through Up; so, really, 14 years of awesome releases. Reveal was disappointing. Around the Sun was downright unlistenable. And Accelerate is freaking awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Peanut\_Gallery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/838e76/32.png) [@Peanut\_Gallery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut_Gallery)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/68 "2009-03-03T16:29:02Z")
Mike Patton Tori Amos ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/69 "2009-03-03T17:30:59Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > King Crimson > Mike Keneally You have to be an extreme superfan to like King Crimson’s Islands, or for that matter, Earthbound. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/70 "2009-03-03T17:37:37Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > You have to be an extreme superfan to like King Crimson’s Islands, or for that matter, Earthbound. _Islands_ is a brilliant and much underrated and misunderstood album. _Earthbound_ is pretty poor, but isn’t a studio album, so I’m saying it doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/71 "2009-03-03T17:48:54Z")
> [@AndyPolley](#): > > This basicaly works if a band or artist stopped releasing music before they start to lose it. There are very few examples of long standing & current artists pulling this off, although I’d say the **Foo Fighters** are as close as anyone. I think I’d put **Beck** in this catagory too, but I imagine he has fans that are disappointed in something of his. That just proves how relative it all is. I would say that Beck makes one great album for every two boring ones. His last one was like Beck-lite to me. Obviously YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/72 "2009-03-03T17:54:16Z")
Mozart? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/73 "2009-03-03T18:09:01Z")
> [@AndyPolley](#): > > This basicaly works if a band or artist stopped releasing music before they start to lose it. There are very few examples of long standing & current artists pulling this off, although I’d say the **Foo Fighters** are as close as anyone. I think I’d put **Beck** in this catagory too, but I imagine he has fans that are disappointed in something of his. Agreed on the **Foo Fighters** , but big big disagree on **Beck**. “Guero” was good, but “The Information” was total crap and “Modern Guilt” was just OK. ---
**Author:** ![Mllz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Mllz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mllz)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/74 "2009-03-03T22:46:34Z")
I’d put the **Velvet Underground** on there. Not a bad album in the bunch for the four albums before Lou Reed left (after which it seems a stretch to call them the Velvet Underground any more). **Jimi Hendrix** , would be another–counting just what he officially sanctioned during his lifetime. **Television** comes to mind as well, though their output was limited. I agree with several of the ones already mentioned: **Pixies** , **Nick Drake** , **Wilco** (I don’t find _Sky Blue Sky_ as strong as the previous, but I still like it quite a bit. Was I “disappointed” by that? I guess it depends on how nitpicky we are in defining disappointment for these purposes… must it be a steady upward arc of album-quality followed by band breakup or death in order to avoid “disappointment”? **Pavement** had five very solid albums… does that count, even though I wouldn’t put _Brighten the Corners_ on par with the other four?). ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/75 "2009-03-04T00:03:52Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > You don’t like Counterparts?! That’s a fantastic album. Agreed. It is in my top 5. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/76 "2009-03-04T00:26:42Z")
> [@Peanut\_Gallery](#): > > Tori Amos Used to listen to her a lot, but Strange Little Girls was really confusing and disappointing. Beekeeper had a couple of good songs but a bunch of others were not so great and didn’t measure up to her early stuff. I haven’t bothered with her since then. > [@Purd Werfect](#): > > If it weren’t for their first album, Radiohead would make the list for me. The first album wasn’t a disappointment, it just wasn’t developed: they improved very rapidly from that one to The Bends to OK Computer. If there’s a disappointing entry in there I’d say it’s Hail to the Thief, which is not bad and has some very good songs, but overall is kind of soggy and doesn’t quite come together. When they got around to In Rainbows they figured out what they were trying to do there, I think, which makes Rainbows a terrific album. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/77 "2009-03-04T09:31:31Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > You don’t like Counterparts?! That’s a fantastic album. Yuck. They were blatantly trying to cash in on the grunge scene with that album. And the one after. And the… ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/78 "2009-03-04T10:14:35Z")
Tomoko Kawase, whether with the brilliant green, or her two solo personae (Tommy february[sup]6[/sup] and Tommy heavenly[sup]6[/sup]) always puts out good stuff - all 8 albums, dozens of singles, and 1 DVD release, not a disappointing disk among them. A couple disappointing tracks (though none BAD), but the rest of the disks always make up for them. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/79 "2009-03-04T12:04:43Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Lyle Lovett Really? You liked [Smile](http://www.amazon.com/Smile-Songs-Movies-Lyle-Lovett/dp/B000089H9U)? Man, I made the mistake of loading this one in the mp3 player for a trip. Small mp3 player - every time this rolled around it got more and more depressing and boring. I think it’s the embodiment of disappointment. YMMobviouslyV. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820/80 "2009-03-04T14:02:14Z")
Put me down as another in the **Led Zeppelin** category. To me if there was any hint that In Through the Out Door or Coda weren’t at the same level as all the previous it’s simply because the others were so off the charts fantastic. These two still were full of supurb music and were not in any way disappointing. They explored different venues and I’d no problem with that. I still listen to them all pretty much in equal measure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artists-who-never-released-a-disappointing-album/487820.md?page=5)