# Name the 5 best debut albums of all time, in order (Please limit your list to 5) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779 "2016-05-27T01:32:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/61 "2016-05-27T22:32:04Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Pixies - Surfer Rosa > [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > This could also have been on my list. On a related note The Breeders first album, _Pod_, is also very good. (I was just lustening to The Breeders in the car.) ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/62 "2016-05-27T22:42:47Z")
Joni Mitchell - Song to a Seagull Karla Bonoff - Karla Bonoff Laura Nryo - More Than a New Discovery Jackson Browne - Saturate Before Using Bonnie Raitt - Bonnie Raitt ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/63 "2016-05-27T23:09:04Z")
Here’s one I’ll add for fun…Dukes of Stratosphear’s first album, _Psonic Psunspot_. Dukes of Stratosphear was a fictional band that was the alter-ego/pseudonym of XTC. The songs they recorded as the Dukes were basically parodies/pastiches of 60’s psychedelic rock. Band members: The Red Curtain, Lord Cornelius Plum, Sir John Johns, E.I.E.I. Owen. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/64 "2016-05-27T23:30:13Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > The Cars - The Cars - Loaded with Classic Rock staples. Great pick! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/65 "2016-05-28T00:10:29Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > Band members: The Red Curtain, Lord Cornelius Plum, Sir John Johns, E.I.E.I. Owen. Sidetrack: Akai produces a digital recording input/output (i/o) interface called the EIE I/O. ---
**Author:** ![tadtooornamental](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@tadtooornamental](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tadtooornamental)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/66 "2016-05-28T02:08:17Z")
I went for albums where pretty much every song was a hit for me, and that I still love to this day. So, in no particular order other than the order in which they came to me: 1. Placebo (self titled) 2. Bush- 16 Stone 3. Third Eye Blind (self titled) 4. Blaqk Audio- Cex Cells (though if side projects are disqualified, then disregard) 5. Panic! At the Disco- A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (sue me, it’s catchy) \*In case of disqualification of Blaqk Audio, I submit The Used (self titled) or Suicide Silence- The Cleansing as backups. Let’s go with The Used as I find I’m rarely in the mood for the violent noise of SS anymore, though it is still my go to when the mood strikes. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/67 "2016-05-28T02:12:44Z")
Beatles: **Please Please Me** James Gang: **Yer Album** Tiny Tim: **God Bless Tiny Tim** \* Captain Beyond: **Captain Beyond** Leon Redbone: **On the Track** and if a band’s only album can be considered a “debut” album, I’ll exceed the limit of five choices with: Touch: **Touch** - Yes, I’m dead serious. Tiny Tim was a genuine crackpot, but was also in fact a great singer, a walking encyclopedia of early 20th century pop music, and **God Bless** is a very well-produced album. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/68 "2016-05-28T02:40:25Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Pixies - Surfer Rosa My personal favorite Pixies album, but calling it a debut is at least arguable :). [Come On Pilgrim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_On_Pilgrim) is _short_, but at eight songs I’d probably give it precedence. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/69 "2016-05-28T02:53:30Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > My personal favorite Pixies album, but calling it a debut is at least arguable :). [Come On Pilgrim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_On_Pilgrim) is _short_, but at eight songs I’d probably give it precedence. I was wondering about that. The Wikipedia Pixies discography page lists it as an EP and the _Come On Pilgrim_ page calls it a mini-LP. I guess you could go either way on that one. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/70 "2016-05-28T03:19:08Z")
An EP-length record of new/unreleased material is an album–a collection of songs, an artistic statement. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/71 "2016-05-28T04:08:32Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > An EP-length record of new/unreleased material is an album–a collection of songs, an artistic statement. So you think an EP is an album for the OP? Tons of groups made an EP to start out before the first LP (REM, Fleet Foxes etc etc.) I’m not with you on that. Fleet Foxes belong on the list. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/72 "2016-05-28T05:25:57Z")
Led Zeppelin Black Sabbath Bruce Springsteen Van Halen Pretenders ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/73 "2016-05-28T05:53:21Z")
Since most of the great answers have been taken, I’m going to break the rules and list five debut albums that are _not_ necessarily better than the ones already listed, but which I think are good enough that they ought to at least be named in this thread: Madness: _One Step Beyond_ They Might Be Giants: _They Might Be Giants_ Marshall Crenshaw: _Marshall Crenshaw_ Richard X. Heyman: _Living Room!!_ The Bangles: _All Over the Place_ ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/74 "2016-05-28T06:32:04Z")
hmmm just five? (grumble grumble) “Music From Big Pink” - The Band “Black Sabbath” - BS “Are You Experienced” - Hendrix “The Cars” - even back then I wasn’t a huge fan but was so blown away by the quality of the recording - no album up to that point had such crystal-clear in-your-face-ness as that one had. It was the only record that I had to turn down the volume for. “Tweez” - Slint ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/75 "2016-05-28T11:13:21Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > An EP-length record of new/unreleased material is an album–a collection of songs, an artistic statement. Like others have said, I don’t think we should count EPs, because that’s not how we’ve been doing it so far. BUT if we decided that we DID count them, I’d have no problem at all substituting 1. R.E.M. -\* Murmur\* with 1. R.E.M. - _Chronic Town_ They’re equally great, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/76 "2016-05-28T11:43:46Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > An EP-length record of new/unreleased material is an album–a collection of songs, an artistic statement. For the purposes of this thread (at least), EPs do not count. Album = LP. mmm ---
**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:** [May 28, 2016, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/77 "2016-05-28T11:47:41Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Like others have said, I don’t think we should count EPs, because that’s not how we’ve been doing it so far. I agree. EPs are a completely separate category for me. That said, I’m not sure where to put mini-LPs here (it’s actually a phrase I had not encountered before this thread.) To me, My Bloody Valentine’s first album was _This is Your Bloody Valentine_. I had not even considered them for this thread. I’m not sure I would change any of my list if _Isn’t Anything_ was considered the debut, but it would certainly be in the running. Lots of great answers in this thread–I can almost go with anybody’s list. Van Halen’s debut is another one that slipped my mind. Not my usual play continuously album, but definitely an iconic debut album that inspired many a would-be guitar hero in the late 70s/80s. Another interesting question (if I may piggy back a bit) would be best track 1 on a debut album. For that, it’s “Good Times, Bad Times” by Led Zeppelin. That song, to me, is a great introduction to the world that sums up Led Zeppelin perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/78 "2016-05-28T11:56:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Another interesting question (if I may piggy back a bit) would be best track 1 on a debut album. For that, it’s “Good Times, Bad Times” by Led Zeppelin. That song, to me, is a great introduction to the world that sums up Led Zeppelin perfectly. That might be an interesting subject, and I think this thread has enough posts for a diversion to be okay, BUT you’re going to get a lot of albums that are “great first hit single plus a bunch of filler.” Unless you phrase the question differently (not sure how), it’s not too different (for some cases) from asking “What bands came into the world with a fantastic hit single that summed up the style and impact of their whole career?” ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/79 "2016-05-28T12:10:46Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > For the purposes of this thread (at least), EPs do not count. Album = LP. > mmm That’s fine, but you might then want to specify exactly what qualifies, because the music industry has never settled on an objective line. _Chronic Town_ meets one UK chart’s standard for albums (more than four distinct songs), and has a longer running time than the Minutemen’s _The Punch Line_ (to name one notoriously short debut “LP”). Conversely, _This is Your Bloody Valentine_ is listed as an EP some places, including the pre-digital RIAA standard (under 30 minutes). ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779/80 "2016-05-28T16:13:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Another interesting question (if I may piggy back a bit) would be best track 1 on a debut album. For that, it’s “Good Times, Bad Times” by Led Zeppelin. That song, to me, is a great introduction to the world that sums up Led Zeppelin perfectly. Oooh! yes. Astronomy Domine off Piper at the Gates of Dawn is another one of those. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-5-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-in-order-please-limit-your-list-to-5/755779.md?page=5)