# Mainstream singer/band, Underrated Album **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-singer-band-underrated-album/297448 "2005-04-02T21:57:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-singer-band-underrated-album/297448/1 "2005-04-02T21:57:33Z")
Their music is well known, either currently or formerly played ad nauseum by MTV or on the radio. You have their Top 40, Grammy-winning, multi-platinum album. But what lesser known, before/after-they-were-famous album would you vote for as their underrated gem? One that brought this thread to mind for me is **III Sides to Every Story** by Extreme. This group was all over the place with their song “More Than Words”. But to me, this album is simply awesome and I’m surprised it wasn’t more well received. Thoughtful lyrics, mind-blowing guitar riffs by Nuno Bettencourt and very creative cover art/jacket design. It’s one of my favorite CD’s when I really want to rock!! What other underrated albums from popular groups/singers do you nominate? ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-singer-band-underrated-album/297448/2 "2005-04-02T22:14:39Z")
Jethro Tull is well-known for heavy, orchestral rock, ala Aqualung and Thick as a Brick. I have an album by them called Songs From The Wood and it’s Renaissance/folk-inspired rock. Still has lots of electric guitars and stuff, but a lot more emphasis on Ian Anderson’s flute. Lots of references to pagan ritual and celebration (Ring Out Solstice Bells and Pibroch) and some good old-fashioned roll-in-the-hay style sex (Hunting Girl and Velvet Green). it’s by far my favorite Tull album, but I swear nobody else I know has ever heard of it. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-singer-band-underrated-album/297448/3 "2005-04-02T22:17:32Z")
Thomas Dolby became known with “She Blinded Me with Science” off _The Golden Age of Wireless_. He hit big with the MTV crowd and then seemingly vanished. Hardly anybody knows that a decade later he made the brilliant _Astronauts & Heretics_ album, with music that sounded nothing at all like his earlier work. The zydeco-influenced bittersweet lovefest “I Love You Goodbye” is one of the great songs of the rock era. Please, someone tell me where I can view the video for the song. Dolby’s own web site only has a partial version. Jethro Tull’s first two albums, _This Was_ and _Stand Up_, were favorites of mine long before before _Aqualung_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-singer-band-underrated-album/297448/4 "2005-04-03T00:25:00Z")
Pink Floyd’s “Atom Heart Mother” may be their best album overall, and is badly underrated in favor of less interesting work like “Dark Side of the Moon” (a rather homogenized version of their early sound). J Geils Band hit it big with “Centerfold,” but their “Full House” album is one of the best live records ever. Elton John’s “11/17/70” (British title “17/11/70”) is much different from his usual sound – he really rocks out on it. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-singer-band-underrated-album/297448/5 "2005-04-03T02:04:06Z")
My pick is Bruce Springsteen’s **Nebraska**. I know it’s too folky for most people but I like its starkness. It’s also ideal music when you’re driving on the interstate at night across some wind-swept plain.