# Enduring musical artists whose first albums were never bettered **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2011, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410 "2011-06-14T10:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/1 "2011-06-14T10:31:42Z")
I’m hesitant to post this because I’m sure I will offend many members, but I’m interested to know which musical artists (in the posters’ opinions) never improved on their first albums. This is not to say that their best work was released first, but that as a body of work they never surpassed their first album. I would very surprised if anyone offers up the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zep, The Who, or any number of other hugely successful bands, but by the same token I would really like to restrict consideration to solo artists or groups who have had an enduring career, rather than one hit wonders. For example, by definition “Never Mind the Bollocks” was the best album that the Sex Pistols released, but that’s silly. There are two which spring to my mind: [ul] [li]Kate Bush - I have loved most of what Kate Bush has done, but I personally don’t think that any album surpassed “The Kick Inside.” The fact that she wrote pretty much all of it before she turned 18 makes it all the more remarkable.[/li][li]Bryan Adams - I know it’s not fashionable to like him, but I’m a fan of most of his work. I don’t think he has ever released an album better than “Reckless” even though some individual songs he produced subsequently are better than the album’s tracks.[/li][/ul] (I know there is dispute as to whether two element constitutes a list, but there you go.) I’m really looking forward to hearing members’ contributions. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/2 "2011-06-14T10:34:39Z")
And I’ve just realised this should be in Cafe Society instead of IMHO. Reported for forum change. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/3 "2011-06-14T10:51:11Z")
I seem to be having a conversation with myself, but my third contribution would be Carole King’s “Tapestry.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/4 "2011-06-14T11:07:57Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > And I’ve just realised this should be in Cafe Society instead of IMHO. > > Reported for forum change. Moved it. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/5 "2011-06-14T11:13:07Z")
**The Stone Roses** came immediately to mind. ETA: But I don’t know why; they aren’t enduring. **The Pretenders** first album was perfect. **Guns n’ Roses** - Appetite is in the pantheon of great hard rock CDs. Okay, not enduring either. **Boston** **Alanis Morrissette** - I don’t know that I’d count her Canadian teen-bop stuff in the U.S. market ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/6 "2011-06-14T11:35:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Moved it. Thank you very much. > [@WordMan](#): > > **The Pretenders** first album was perfect. Ooh, great example. It was indeed fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/7 "2011-06-14T12:41:32Z")
How about R.E.M.? Definitely enduring, but consensus seems to be that _Murmur_ is their best overall album. ---
**Author:** ![samjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@samjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samjones)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/8 "2011-06-14T13:03:31Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > How about R.E.M.? Definitely enduring, but consensus seems to be that _Murmur_ is their best overall album. No - their first 4 were all about the same. Kris Kristofferson’s first album, in my opinion, was the greatest written LP ever. Subsequent releases may have had some hit songs, but by and large KK’s 40 year music career would be defined by his first album. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/9 "2011-06-14T13:08:57Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > I seem to be having a conversation with myself, but my third contribution would be Carole King’s “Tapestry.” I came in to mention her. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/10 "2011-06-14T13:13:07Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > [li]Bryan Adams - I know it’s not fashionable to like him, but I’m a fan of most of his work. I don’t think he has ever released an album better than “Reckless” even though some individual songs he produced subsequently are better than the album’s tracks.[/li] - Reckless \*was his **fourth** album. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/11 "2011-06-14T13:16:13Z")
It would be easier to list bands that _did_ clearly surpass their first album. Of all the famous bands whose first album I own (and own other albums by), only Pink Floyd created stuff that is a whole level above their first album. Now I like PatGoD, but The Wall is leagues above it. Even Led Zeppelin did not _clearly_ surpass LZ1. It has such raw energy and musicality that even though I _prefer_ LZ4, it’s almost a coin flip to me rather than a clear bettering. For me it’s partly “survival of the fittest”. If a band’s first album isn’t excellent, I probably won’t buy their later ones, which are bound to disappoint by sheer randomness. On review, My Chemical Romance is another example, but I often forget about _Bullets_ because it’s _soooooo_ horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/12 "2011-06-14T13:17:03Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > How about R.E.M.? Definitely enduring, but consensus seems to be that _Murmur_ is their best overall album. Is it? I thought Automatic for the People was held to be the best. Automatic seems to be in a three-way tie with Out of Time and Monster for their best-seller. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/13 "2011-06-14T13:33:35Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Is it? I thought Automatic for the People was held to be the best. Automatic seems to be in a three-way tie with Out of Time and Monster for their best-seller. I would put Automatic as their peak. R.E.M. doesn’t fit this topic well because they have consistently put out high quality stuff. Well Around the Sun kind of sucked… ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/14 "2011-06-14T13:37:36Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > I seem to be having a conversation with myself, but my third contribution would be Carole King’s “Tapestry.” > [@WordMan](#): > > **The Pretenders** first album was perfect. > > **Guns n’ Roses** - Appetite is in the pantheon of great hard rock CDs. Okay, not enduring either. > > **Boston** Agreed. Off the top of my head… **The Black Crowes** **Meat Loaf** ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/15 "2011-06-14T13:40:13Z")
**Violent Femmes** is a complete classic and while they made other good music, that one is hands down great. **Barenaked Ladies** _Gordon_ is thoroughly listenable, their following albums just don’t hit that watermark. If you ignore _Writer_, **Carole King** ’s _Tapestry_ is one that probably never could be bettered. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/16 "2011-06-14T13:46:47Z")
\*\*The B-52s \*\* Their second album was maybe half as good as the first, from there I think they went into freefall. I don’t really like much that the post-Ricky version did. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/17 "2011-06-14T13:48:33Z")
Carole King actually had a solo album called [Writer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer_%28album%29) a year before Tapestry came out… Obviously it was completely overshadowed by the huge success of Tapestry. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/18 "2011-06-14T14:00:32Z")
Of the hundreds of albums released by [Henry Mancini](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Mancini#Albums) none have surpassed the _Peter Gunn_ TV show soundtrack. I listen to it often enough to say nothing he has done since then is any better or more exciting. And I must have at least ten of those albums. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/19 "2011-06-14T14:13:51Z")
> [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > \*\*The B-52s \*\* > Their second album was maybe half as good as the first, from there I think they went into freefall. I don’t really like much that the post-Ricky version did. > [@Zeldar](#): > > Of the hundreds of albums released by [Henry Mancini](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Mancini#Albums) none have surpassed the _Peter Gunn_ TV show soundtrack. I listen to it often enough to say nothing he has done since then is any better or more exciting. And I must have at least ten of those albums. Interestingly enough, I don’t think the B-52’s have ever surpassed _Planet Claire_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410/20 "2011-06-14T14:17:34Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > **Barenaked Ladies** _Gordon_ is thoroughly listenable, their following albums just don’t hit that watermark. > > If you ignore _Writer_, **Carole King** ’s _Tapestry_ is one that probably never could be bettered. The reason why **BNL** ’s _Gordon_ was so good is that it was a mostly a compilation of all their previously successful material, especially (The Yellow Tape which was already certified platinum) and contributions from a who’s who of the Toronto music scene at the time. :smack: I forgot about _Writer, Up on the Roof_ is one of my favorite tunes too\*.\* [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enduring-musical-artists-whose-first-albums-were-never-bettered/585410.md?page=2)