# Best Rock Band Debut Album? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698 "2011-10-25T02:07:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/61 "2011-10-26T03:58:18Z")
_Child Is Father To The Man_ and _Blood, Sweat and Tears_ are kind of combination debuts, since BS&T was the more successful of the two. And _Chicago Transit Authority_ ("…call them CTA". Yeah, right.;)) The drum solo on “I’m A Man” is a killer! Quasi ---
**Author:** ![azraiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@azraiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/azraiel)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/62 "2011-10-26T04:28:22Z")
Seriously? For game changers and the way that music was made? _Appetite_ is the firmest second. Mentioned twice now. I’m amazed that no one has mentioned _Nevermind_ yet. It’s the firstest of them all. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the OP. But I don’t believe there have been two albums that have changed the course of popular music more than these two. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/63 "2011-10-26T04:37:13Z")
> [@azraiel](#): > > Seriously? For game changers and the way that music was made? > > _Appetite_ is the firmest second. Mentioned twice now. > > I’m amazed that no one has mentioned _Nevermind_ yet. It’s the firstest of them all. > > Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the OP. But I don’t believe there have been two albums that have changed the course of popular music more than these two. _Nevermind_ was actually **Nirvana** ’s second album; their first was _Bleach_ (1989). And personally, I like _Bleach_ a lot better than _Nevermind_. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/64 "2011-10-26T04:44:03Z")
I liked the roughness of _Bleach_, and it had its moments, but it’s a pretty mediocre album overall. The drumming on that album, especially, needed serious work. _In Utero_ was their high point, but _Nevermind_ was pretty much a perfect album of pop craftsmanship, only suffering from being horribly overplayed. The songwriting and melodies on that are just impeccible. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/65 "2011-10-26T04:56:18Z")
Maybe I misunderstood the question. “Game changers”, for instance. _shrug_ Q ---
**Author:** ![IdahoMauleMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71c47a/32.png) [@IdahoMauleMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IdahoMauleMan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/66 "2011-10-26T05:00:27Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > I’d have to go with Led Zeppelin I. > > What say you? Sublime - 40oz of Freedom ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/67 "2011-10-26T05:01:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I liked the roughness of _Bleach_, and it had its moments, but it’s a pretty mediocre album overall. The drumming on that album, especially, needed serious work. _In Utero_ was their high point, but _Nevermind_ was pretty much a perfect album of pop craftsmanship, only suffering from being horribly overplayed. The songwriting and melodies on that are just impeccible. I totally agree with you about _Nevermind_. I just don’t like it as much; I prefer the rough sound to the polish. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/68 "2011-10-26T05:15:26Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I’ll go a little out the box and say the first Chicago album (when they were still called the Chicago Transit Authority). Cause if you just remember them as a cheesy 80s pop act, [tracks](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQsYERta38k&feature=related) [like these](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNcTJnQepNE&feature=related) show you how awesome the debut album is. I don’t have an opinion really about what the best debut album might be, but it’s nice to see that some people remember how great Chicago was when they first hit the scene. Yep, that’s a terrific album. Then they turned into pablum. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/69 "2011-10-26T09:08:04Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Another vote for **The Doors** self-titled debut album. > > Not eve my favourite debut rock album (That would probably be Pearl Jam’s _Ten_) but the influence The Doors had is unsurpassed by any other debut. No question. I’ll challenge this notion and argue that the already mentioned “Velvet Underground & Nico” was the most influential debut album of all time. It virtually influenced everything in the field of punk/alternative/indie and glam that followed. Sure, it took much longer for their music to penetrate the mainstream than the Doors’, but a great chunk of the music from the seventies up to the present are unthinkable without this album, whereas I fail to see the lasting impact of the Doors. And it was simply great, groundbreaking and daring music. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/70 "2011-10-26T11:14:27Z")
Pink Floyd ‘Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’. They invented (English) psychedelia. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/71 "2011-10-26T11:17:11Z")
Television - Marquee Moon ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/72 "2011-10-26T11:46:16Z")
Funny that so many votes are for _Boston_. We must be using a really loose definition of band. _Boston_’s first album was some genius nerd in a basement, and vocals added later. ---
**Author:** ![8ballz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/f08c70/32.png) [@8ballz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/8ballz)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/73 "2011-10-26T11:46:57Z")
Joy Division- Unknown Pleasures The Velvet Underground and Nico- The Velvet Underground and Nico The Sex Pistols- Never Mind the Bollocks, Heres the Sex Pistols! Talking Heads- Talking Heads 77 The Beatles- Meet the Beatles (Im a little spotty on if this would count)or Please Please Me Arcade Fire- Funeral Patti Smith- Horses Ramones- Ramones and of course my guilty pleasure Beastie Boys- License to Ill ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/74 "2011-10-26T12:04:48Z")
Violent Femmes- **Violent Femmes** That album has not aged one bit. **The Stone Roses** would be a close runner-up though. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/75 "2011-10-26T12:53:15Z")
It’s hard to argue this was better than some of the others mentioned, but my favourite might be Uncle Tupelo’s _No Depression_. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/76 "2011-10-26T13:23:48Z")
_Rage Against the Machine_…by Rage Against The Machine. Or perhaps _Never Mind The Bollocks_ by the Sex Pistols. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/77 "2011-10-26T13:37:33Z")
“Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” by Arctic Monkeys \*Fastest selling album in UK history ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/78 "2011-10-26T15:27:35Z")
Pearl Jam - Ten The Offspring - Smash ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/79 "2011-10-26T15:50:45Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I’ll challenge this notion and argue that the already mentioned “Velvet Underground & Nico” was the most influential debut album of all time. It virtually influenced everything in the field of punk/alternative/indie and glam that followed. Sure, it took much longer for their music to penetrate the mainstream than the Doors’, but a great chunk of the music from the seventies up to the present are unthinkable without this album, whereas I fail to see the lasting impact of the Doors. > > And it was simply great, groundbreaking and daring music. I’ll give all due respect to Lou Reed and company; their work is probably still the most evident influence in alternative rock today. That said, I’ll reiterate that essentially all rock guitar since 1967 (or, at the very least, the guitarist’s role as a soloist) would be largely impossible without _Are You Experienced_. ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698/80 "2011-10-26T16:14:12Z")
**Stone Roses** was my first thought, and I think I’ll stick with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-rock-band-debut-album/600698.md?page=5)