# Best Pink Floyd Studio Albums (POLL) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [October 28, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932 "2022-10-28T17:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/21 "2022-10-28T19:34:08Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > got all their LPs plus live albums and compilations up to 1987 on vinyl (still have them). I’m also a Meddle guy I feel I’m lucky, I bought A Collection of Great Dance Songs when I was 13 in 1984 as it was the cheapest way to get hold of Another Brick in The Wall Part 2. While I do like The Wall, I think if I’d heard it first instead I don’t think I’d have got to that other place that Floyd music takes you to (demonstrated best by Sheep on that compilation). I was also lucky in knowing some moderately hippie kids at school who had copies of Piper at the Gates of Dawn and AHM. I bought an LP of Meddle and loved it. There’s a jangly bit of Dave Gilmour guitar on the first side of AHM, and the bit where the tension releases towards the end of Echoes, which are probably my best short moments in all recorded music. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/22 "2022-10-28T19:44:03Z")
Piper At The Gates of Dawn was the first _album_ I became obsessed with and listened to obsessively (as opposed to compilations like the Beatles’ 20 Greatest Hits). It is absolutely unbelievable that at that time it had only been out for _seventeen years_. Four years before I was born might as well have been the Edwardian era. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/23 "2022-10-28T19:49:34Z")
I voted for Animals, but feel terrible that I so dissed Meddle and Wish You Were Here. David Gilmour’s mastery in Dogs was the deciding factor. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/24 "2022-10-28T19:52:39Z")
\ I mean, not that big a coincidence since the thread let me back to the album, but ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/25 "2022-10-28T19:55:29Z")
IMHO, it’s DSotM but “The Final Cut”, even though it’s mostly a Waters solo effort, is highly underrated. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/26 "2022-10-28T19:58:01Z")
I made my choice mainly because of sentimentality, so consequently I had a 4-way tie for first place. My oldest brother played **Dark Side of the Moon** at home, and I fell in love with it. It’s practically the only bond I had with him. Plus, there’s that thing about syncing it up with the Wizard of Oz. **The Wall** came out my senior year, so I kind of associate it with growing up. Plus, I learned new shit when it came out, and actually figured out what the English schoolchildren were saying when it sounded like _WE DAWNT NEED NAW AD JEW KAI SHUN_… everybody else I knew was singing “exclamation,” the idiots. The first time I saw Pink Floyd live was for their **Momentary Lapse of Reason** tour, so that album means a lot to me. But I went with **Wish You Were Here** , because when I first heard it, I thought I had gone to another dimension. That was back in my first year of college, and I felt like I had finally achieved independence. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/27 "2022-10-28T20:41:53Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Tetralogy of Floyd I saw what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/28 "2022-10-28T20:52:25Z")
I voted for **Whish You Were Here** thinking what you wrote. That and David Bowie and The Dead Kennendys and the Sex Pistols and Lou Reed and Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple (and, and, and…) show that I was a teenager in the 70s, I reckon. Could have been worse. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/29 "2022-10-28T20:53:15Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Which is why I didn’t vote in the poll. Sometimes there is one best; sometimes best is spread across a career. It’s like being asked to pick which of your children you like best. Only difference is, I actually _enjoy_ listening to Pink Floyd. Agreed on being burnt out on it at this point, I have to be in a particular mood to really want to sit down and listen anymore, and I don’t really like it as background music, but from the objective subjective standpoint, the album that has given me the most enjoyment, Dark Side wins out, mostly because of Great Gig in the Sky. In the thread about Amazon’s adaptation of Tolkien’s stories, I mentioned that I only give 5 stars to something that gives me an orgasm. Great Gig gets 5 stars. One of these Days gets 5 stars, too. I could list off at least a dozen other of their songs that are that level, and they are largely scattered across their albums. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/30 "2022-10-28T20:58:56Z")
While we’re gushing about Floyd (which one’s Pink?) I’ll throw in that they were great live. The 1972 live at Pompeii set was exactly what the Beatles wanted to do and should have done in the Get Back documentary. Except that Floyd’s music, all of it from before DSotM, was far better suited to the purpose. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fhDfmUnN1vY/maxresdefault.jpg "Pink Floyd LIVE AT POMPEII HD FULL") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhDfmUnN1vY) Technically, though, they were playing to cameras and did more than one take, so live but not really. So my favorite is their appearance at Knebworth in 1990. I remember watching it on MTV back in the day. A storm was moving in and they played like a band of superheroes holding it back from the crowd through sheer will and force of sound. Watch about 30 minutes in for the effects. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SciZ_OpSt5s/maxresdefault.jpg "Pink Floyd - Live at Knebworth Festival 1990 Full Concert HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SciZ_OpSt5s) ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/31 "2022-10-28T21:09:23Z")
On both this and the Yes poll I almost voted for something I didn’t think anyone else would, simply because I think those albums are better than their reputation and among the tops, but in the end I went with my actual favorite, and in both cases it’s the plurality pick, which isn’t much of a surprise. I was also right that no one else had voted for Obscured by Clouds or Magnification. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/32 "2022-10-28T21:35:38Z")
I voted for **Dark Side of the Moon** , but what I dropped on the stereo when I got home from work was **A Momentary Lapse of Reason**. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/33 "2022-10-28T21:37:56Z")
Yeah, I’m heading home here in a bit, and I’m debating what I’m going to fire up when I get there. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/34 "2022-10-28T21:53:16Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The 1972 live at Pompeii set was exactly what the Beatles wanted to do and should have done in the Get Back documentary. Except that Floyd’s music, all of it from before DSotM, was far better suited to the purpose. I have never watched this, but I’m rectifying that at this very moment. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/35 "2022-10-28T22:01:26Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > IMHO, it’s DSotM but “The Final Cut”, even though it’s mostly a Waters solo effort, is highly underrated. Clearly, great minds think alike… > [@solost](#): > > ‘The Final Cut’…I think it’s a very underrated Floyd album (really a Roger Waters solo backed by the rest of the band, despite it ‘officially’ being a Floyd album). ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/36 "2022-10-28T22:09:00Z")
Oh, that’s well worth a watch! Have fun! Here’s David Gilmour and Richard Wright’s final performance of Echoes, which gives the Pompeii version a run for its money… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zrProK5R7ms/hqdefault.jpg "Final "Echoes"performance with Richard Wright (Pink Floyd)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrProK5R7ms) ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/37 "2022-10-28T22:16:27Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > > > IMHO, it’s DSotM but “The Final Cut”, even though it’s mostly a Waters solo effort, is highly underrated. > > Clearly, great minds think alike… > > > [@solost](#): > > > > ‘The Final Cut’…I think it’s a very underrated Floyd album (really a Roger Waters solo backed by the rest of the band, despite it ‘officially’ being a Floyd album). This is what happens when I’m lazy and don’t read threads. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/38 "2022-10-28T22:23:41Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > This is what happens when I’m lazy and don’t read threads. It wasn’t a knock; I thought it was cool we both said the same thing about The Final Cut, almost word for word. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/39 "2022-10-28T22:28:18Z")
It was just a self-knock. The similarities were pretty striking. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/40 "2022-10-28T22:40:05Z")
I just … can’t. For me, the Floyd was a bit like being Jay Leno and having perpetual access to one of the greatest car and motorcycle collections in the world. He has everything that’s on wheels. For Leno, it almost has to be more about what kind of mood he is in, where he wants to go, and what feeling(s) he wants to have along the way. Floyd – like my beloved Grateful Dead – always had the right album and/or the right song for how I was feeling and what I was doing. It’s too much of a Rorschach Test for me to give a solid ranked choice. In the later years, I probably listened to The Final Cut more than any of the other albums when _they_ were relatively new to the market (ie, in the first year or three after release). There was something about the through story line and the ‘sonics’ on that album that really called to me. They didn’t put out anything that I didn’t at least like … a whole lot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932.md?page=3)