# Most Underrated Rock Albums **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341 "2004-02-26T20:43:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/21 "2004-02-27T11:25:28Z")
**The Vaselines** have a few nifty songs **Wishbone Ash** - Argus **Jefferson Airplane** ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/22 "2004-02-27T11:50:07Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > **RealityChuck** > Usually, I’m the only one posting any mention of **Spirit** in one of these threads. (Most underrated guitarist, band, etc). > Needless to say, I agree with your choice of **“12 Dreams of Doctor Sardonicus”** by Spirit. It’s nice to know someone else has heard of it. I consider **Spirit** massively underrated as well, so allow me to associate to their mention. And as you already mentioned **McDonald and Giles** (do you happen to have guitar tablatures for their LP, by any chance?), I’ll throw in **Olias of Sunhillow** by **Jon Anderson** of Yes fame and **Tago Mago** by **Can**. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/23 "2004-02-27T13:26:49Z")
I agree with pulykamell, **Big Star’s #1 Record** is the first one that comes to mind, with their second album, **Radio City** right behind it. If you don’t own these - and they are available as 2-albums-on-one-CD, you really should get them immediately. After that, I vote for **Jeff Beck Group’s Truth** - lost in the shadow of Led Zeppelin’s first album it rarely gets mentioned when listing great 60’s electric blues, but it has some of the best lead guitar work I have ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/24 "2004-02-27T14:15:52Z")
> [@zen101](#): > > Hedwig and the Angry Inch motion pictrure soundtrack is the best rock CD I have heard in years. Yes! I couldn’t _believe_ how good those songs were. As good as anything since the heyday of Bolan, Bowie, et al. (don’t have time at the moment for my picks) ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/25 "2004-02-27T14:27:10Z")
“Gram Parson Grievous Angel” You’re right from a lack of commercial success point of view, but this album gets critical raves and it (and Parsons) influenced just about everyone who came out of CA in the 70s (Eagles, Poco, Flying Burrito Bros., Linda Rondstadt, Jackson Browne, etc.). Emmylou Harris was the true disciple (I’ve never got it straight in my mind whether they had a romantic relationship or not) and she appeared on the album, IIRC. Unfortunately, Parsons was the prototypical “die young and leave a nice looking corpse” kid of guy. I guess he never guessed his friends would steal his body and burn it at Joshua Tree National Monument. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/26 "2004-02-27T14:35:03Z")
I’ll stick to albums that are actually “rated”: there are plenty of albums that I have heard no one comment on at _all_ that are nonetheless very influential and great, but you can’t be under-rated if you aren’t rated at all! My nomination: _ummagumma_ by Pink Floyd. It seems to be everybody’s first choice for an early PF album, but primarily for the title and the title of SSoSFAGTiaCaGwaP. These erstwhile Floyd fans then actually _listen_ to the album 🙂 and throw it in the trash, and thus also write off all other early Floyd albums. Ummagumma is **not** starter Floyd! But only the last quarter of it is truly horrible. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/27 "2004-02-27T14:58:27Z")
I always liked the Stones’ _Metamorphosis_ but it gets little praise, isn’t easy to find and I rarely hear cuts from it on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/28 "2004-02-27T15:17:07Z")
**Camper Van Beethoven** Not the two releases off of Virgin (actually, My Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart may be one of their best albums, I just think it has received a lot of fame), but if you look into their earlier years, you shall find a trove of wonderful music. I personally like their self titled record the best, but it is all a matter of opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/29 "2004-02-27T15:17:07Z")
From the Tempe music scene came the **Gin Blossoms** , but a lesser known band called \*\*The Refreshments \*\* also hail from the same area. They put out an album titled \*\*Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big and Buzzy \*\* which is an absolute delight. It’s straightforward rock and roll with a dash of western, riddled with bright, witty lyrics and some really solid musicianship. It’s got a more mainstream sound than some of the other albums mentioned on this thread, but it’s still quality stuff. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/30 "2004-02-27T15:25:06Z")
I’ll second **Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy** and I’ll add **Pet Your Friends** , by _Dishwalla_ - it’s my third favorite album (my first two favorites are very very good buy hardly underrated). ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/31 "2004-02-27T17:23:09Z")
Hijack: I still chuckle when I remember Cecil’s column on the subject, where he speculated that the perps could be charged with ‘Gram Theft, Parsons’. > [@plnnr](#): > > “Gram Parson Grievous Angel” > > (snip) > > I guess he never guessed his friends would steal his body and burn it at Joshua Tree National Monument. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/32 "2004-02-27T17:27:15Z")
A Storm In Heaven by Verve. It’s virtually the only decent shoegazing album there is, which is pretty amazing seeing as it came from the same band who made Urban Hymns. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/33 "2004-02-27T18:36:49Z")
> [@The Griffin](#): > > **The Vaselines** have a few nifty songs I love The Vaselines! **The Way of The Vaselines** is definitely worth checking out. I’ll also second the recommendations for Camper Van Beethoven (although **Our Beloved Revoultionary Sweetheart** is my favorite CVB album), The Soft Boys’ **Underwater Moonlight** and The Replacements. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/34 "2004-02-27T19:49:24Z")
Prince’s _Parade_ has some of his finest work on it, but it has been unfairly tarnished because it is the soundtrack to _Under the Cherry Moon_, which is one of the worst movies of all times. ---
**Author:** ![punkkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@punkkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punkkid)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/35 "2004-02-27T20:05:23Z")
Sorry I haven’t posted, but I was on day trip. Anyway. I agree that X-Ray Spex are fantastic. I am also a huge fan of Can (hehe, rhymes), especially for the influence they have had on modern electronica music. Another one I’d like to nominate which is fairly well known in Europe, but not so in America is _Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches_ by the Happy Mondays. They basically invented remixing, and they started Paul Oakenfold’s career. Amazing stuff. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/36 "2004-02-27T22:39:21Z")
> [@plnnr](#): > > “Gram Parson Grievous Angel” > > You’re right from a lack of commercial success point of view, but this album gets critical raves and it (and Parsons) influenced just about everyone who came out of CA in the 70s (Eagles, Poco, Flying Burrito Bros., Linda Rondstadt, Jackson Browne, etc.). That’s partly a point I was trying to make. Pretty much all of the albums listed here would not be considered underrated by any music critic or dedicated listener. If it makes Rolling Stone’s Top 500 (a mainstream music magazine if there is one), then it’s hard to make the argument that’s it’s underrated. If you go to [allmusic.com](http://allmusic.com) and look up these albums, the bulk of them will be in the 4 to 5 star range. Really. Pink Flag is a classic. So is Underwater Moonlight. So is #1 Record. So is Pills & Thrills & Bellyaches. How about Big Star’s Third/Sister Lover? Now that’s the one that perhaps the critics will like but rarely comes up in discussions like these. ---
**Author:** ![Mariemarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/37 "2004-02-28T00:14:26Z")
**A Nod Is As Good As A Wink…To A Blind Horse** by _The Faces_ is an excellent, obscure album. The combination of Ron Wood’s (later of the _Rolling Stones_ guitar and Rod Stewart’s vocals is really rocking. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![msklystron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@msklystron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msklystron)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/38 "2004-02-28T00:27:13Z")
> [@vl\_mungo](#): > > I agree totally with the **Wire** and **X-Ray Spex** suggestions. > I would add > **The Pretty Things** - Picture This > **The Fugs** - First Album > Both are excellent examples of 60’s music that has influenced a lot of garage bands. > > Also > **The Feelies** - Only Life > **The Rezillos** - Can’t Stand The… > Two of the best albums to come out of the early 80’s, yet no one, other than music critics ever seems to mention them. Ditto on the Pretty Things. Wire and X-ray Specs too. Try the Residents. ---
**Author:** ![msklystron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@msklystron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msklystron)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/39 "2004-02-28T00:30:23Z")
> [@punkkid](#): > > I was recently listening to “Pink Flag” by Wire and realized that pretty much every song has inspired a different artist’s style. From the slow, emotive, post-punk “Reuters,” which lends itself well to bands like Joy Division and Cabaret Voltaire, to the speed-punk of “12XU”, which not only made Minor Threat famous but inspired legions of imitators, to the very Britpop-esque acoustic rock of “Fragile” and “Mannequin,” which sounds like Oasis playing, though better. Despite this wide range of influence, we rarely hear of this album named a rock classic, in the same vein that its contemporaries, “Never Mind the Bollocks,” and “London Calling,” were. What other albums are underrated? I might want to give them a listen. I couldn’t agree more. Wire is always worth a spin. I’d recommend Slovenly’s ‘riposte’. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341/40 "2004-02-28T01:50:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Another one I’d like to nominate which is fairly well known in Europe, but not so in America is Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches by the Happy Mondays. They basically invented remixing, and they started Paul Oakenfold’s career. Amazing stuff. Compared to what was happening in Manchester during the early 90’s with bands like the Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays were relatively poor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underrated-rock-albums/231341.md?page=3)