# That one album you love from a certain artist ...the rest, eh, not so much **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 29, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118 "2022-06-29T15:14:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/41 "2022-06-30T23:14:53Z")
Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights, the other ones are merely okay Weezer - the first album, I more dislike newer ones Foo Fighters - agreed, first two albums ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/42 "2022-06-30T23:52:25Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Weezer - the first album, I more dislike newer ones Similar stance. The “blue” album was overall really good. I still get _Undone - The Sweater Song_ as an earbud to this day. But the other albums are overall weak with an odd good tune here and there. (Of course it’s so easy to “date” when this album came out since _Buddy Holly_ was on the Windows 95 CD as demo media. And so that was at least _mumble_ years ago. Jeez, even _Pork And Beans_ was over 12 years ago. Memes be old.) ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/43 "2022-07-01T02:16:32Z")
Quebec by Ween is a great album. Everything else I’ve listened to by them has been mediocre at best. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/44 "2022-07-01T05:14:22Z")
Aww, not even the Mollusk? ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/45 "2022-07-01T14:15:17Z")
I’d give you a 75% on this. The second Boston album is not very good, but the third album is IMHO every bit as good as the first album. Every following Boston album makes me curl up and cry a little bit. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/46 "2022-07-01T14:20:14Z")
Same for me, I really like _The Joshua Tree_. I bought the CD almost immediately. I’m very meh on the rest of the catalogue. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/47 "2022-07-01T14:29:16Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights, the other ones are merely okay Oh! That’s a good one. I remember listening the hell out of that album when it came out, but the rest, not so much. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I realized their first two albums were awesome and after that their entire collection has 2 good songs. I’m no Pearl Jam fan, but _Vitalogy_ had lots of very good songs: Not For You, Nothingman, Betterman, Spin the Black Circle, Corduroy, Immortality. I would say it’s ay least as good an album as _Vs_. After that, though, I lost track of them. My brother – who is a Ten Club member – would be a better source for the quality of their whole catalog. Oh, yeah, “Given To Fly” was awesome, too. Oh, and I realized my comment about “Rats” above was confused. “Rats” is fine. It was “Bugs” that I was thinking of that I could do without. I have a couple weird ones: the debut Pretenders album is the only one I listen to repeatedly. II is good, and Learning to Crawl is arguably as good as the first one, but, for whatever reason, the debut album is the only one I keep coming back to. Similarly, Gang of Four’s debut album, _Entertainment_ I could listen to all day and night, but _Solid Gold_, which is critically and fan-wise almost as much a favorite as the debut, I find myself skipping through songs left and right. I tried listening to it in the car yesterday, and while I can recognize its more “mature” and has a fuller sound than the first album, none of the songs really click with me except for “Outside the Trains Don’t Run On Time.” I really don’t get it. But that’s how my ears are. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/48 "2022-07-01T14:39:32Z")
I must admit, I’m having a hard time coming up with examples here - maybe Nirvana’s _Nevermind_? I don’t really care for _Bleach_ or _In Utero_. But is a three-album career sufficient to qualify for this thread? What about if you still love singles off other albums, but only love the one full album? I love _Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness_ completely, but not so much all the other Smashing Pumpkins’ albums. But their earlier and later singles, I do like. > [@Kimble](#): > > _Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea_, PJ Harvey How can you call other people’s opinions wrong with a straight face when you’re wallowing in wrongness right there? ---
**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:** [July 1, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/49 "2022-07-01T14:46:06Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I must admit, I’m having a hard time coming up with examples here - maybe Nirvana’s _Nevermind_? I don’t really care for _Bleach_ or _In Utero_. But is a three-album career sufficient to qualify for this thread? I thought about that one, but for _In Utero_ instead of _Nevermind_. But I like _Nevermind_ well enough – my only complaint is that I’ve heard the songs way too many times and don’t really need to hear them again. So it doesn’t really fit for me. For Smashing Pumpkins, mine would be _Siamese Dream_ - the album is perfect from start to finish with no filler (unlike _Mellon Collie_), but the sheer depth and breadth of _Mellon Collie_ makes up for it. An insane double album, even if I don’t listen to it much because I just don’t have the patience for it. Plus I love the rawness of _Gish_, my second most-listened to Pumpkins album. And I’m one of the weirdos who likes _Adore_, except for the almost-title-track _Ava Adore_. After that, though, forget it. I adore the Pumpkins – probably my favorite band – but just could not get into any of their work after that. Maybe _Machina II_. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/50 "2022-07-01T14:46:29Z")
I was thinking Queensryche might be an example but realized I don’t like any of their albums but love [Silent Lucidity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhat-xUQ6dw). ---
**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:** [July 1, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/51 "2022-07-01T14:51:38Z")
Oh, I thought of another one. Liz Phair’s _Exile in Guyville_. While I like some songs off her next two albums, nothing comes close to her first. I love the vulnerable, raw, stripped-down sound and lyrical content of it. One of my favorite 90s albums. I got to see a semi-acoustic show with her at the local opera house about eight or so years ago when she opened up for the Smashing Pumpkins. It was an odd venue to see my favorite artists of the 90s performing two decades on, but a thoroughly enjoyable show. Not as good as a Pumpkins show I saw a few years later at a medium-sized (5000 person total, 3000 on the floor) venue (The Aragon Ballroom). I don’t like stadium concerts, and I missed seeing the Pumpkins the first time around mainly because that’s all they played when I became really interested in them. Now that show was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/52 "2022-07-01T14:56:11Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > The second Boston album is not very good, but the third album is IMHO every bit as good as the first album. Interesting. As a youngster I found the second Boston album disappointing as well, and I don’t think I even knew there was a third album. Will have to seek that out and listen sometime. > [@MrDibble](#): > > But is a three-album career sufficient to qualify for this thread? > […] > What about if you still love singles off other albums, but only love the one full album? Sure, both those scenarios qualify. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/53 "2022-07-01T15:10:23Z")
> [@solost](#): > > As a youngster I found the second Boston album disappointing as well, and I don’t think I even knew there was a third album. It was legendary in how long it took Tom Scholz to make it. _Don’t Look Back_ came out in 1978 (and Scholz apparently felt “rushed”, in having to record a second album in just two years), and it took him eight years to finish _Third Stage_ – though, to be fair, there were also some extensive legal battles between the band and their record label during that time. A tape of a song from the third album, “Amanda,” got leaked to some radio stations in 1984, but it took two more years before its official release (as well as the rest of the album) in '86. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/54 "2022-07-01T15:28:23Z")
**[Brian Johnson] AC/DC**: _Back in Black_ Very prolific band. Distinctive style. It doesn’t take that long for all of the songs to start sounding the same. This was their first album with Brian Johnson and remains their best (with Brian Johnson). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/55 "2022-07-01T15:56:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > For Smashing Pumpkins, mine would be _Siamese Dream_[…]Plus I love the rawness of _Gish_, my second most-listened to Pumpkins album. And I’m one of the weirdos who likes _Adore_, except for the almost-title-track _Ava Adore_. I like the singles from all of those, plus a couple of album tracks off each, but … not all of them. Like, I don’t have time for _Silverfuck_ or _Geek USA_ for some reason. Whereas I don’t think of any of the atmospherics on _MC&TIS_ as “filler”. I can listen to the whole double through and through, and do. Which is weird, because usually I hate excessive guitar noodling. But not for that. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2022, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/56 "2022-07-01T17:57:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I like the singles from all of those, plus a couple of album tracks off each, but … not all of them. Like, I don’t have time for _Silverfuck_ or _Geek USA_ for some reason. Haha. Those are among my favorite tracks, so I understand if _Siamese Dream_ doesn’t click for you. (Had to listen to “Silverfuck” on the way home today, and it still gives me chills. My favorites on Mellon Collie are “Porcelina,” “Galapagos,” and “X.Y.U.” The only track on Siamese Dream I’m ho-hum about is “Disarm,” but it doesn’t keep it from being a perfect album. I just don’t like that song. ) ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/57 "2022-07-02T10:50:31Z")
Exactly. _Don’t Look Back_ felt rushed and didn’t have the sonic quality of _Boston_. Scholz took his time and returned to his “creative process” for _Third Stage_. (Of course, he was a little distracted during those 8 years, but that’s another story.) I’ve always felt that _Third Stage_ was much, much better than the credit given to it by critics. It has several excellent songs and great sound. Delp’s vocals aren’t quite as impressive as those on _Boston_ (probably because they were no longer striking to us), but they are still great. The later Boston albums were half-hearted attempts to prop up their tours. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/58 "2022-07-02T12:44:40Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It was legendary in how long it took Tom Scholz to make it. _Don’t Look Back_ came out in 1978 (and Scholz apparently felt “rushed”, in having to record a second album in just two years), and it took him eight years to finish _Third Stage_ – though, to be fair, there were also some extensive legal battles between the band and their record label during that time. > [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Exactly. _Don’t Look Back_ felt rushed and didn’t have the sonic quality of _Boston_. Scholz took his time and returned to his “creative process” for _Third Stage_. (Of course, he was a little distracted during those 8 years, but that’s another story.) Thanks guys, I like ‘behind the music’ info like this. Was there an _ **actual** _ ‘Behind the Music’ episode on Scholz and Boston, I wonder? [ETA: [yes, apparently](http://www.thirdstage.ca/boston/news/1999-2009-archives/211-boston-on-vh1-behind-the-music).] If not, sounds like maybe there should have been. I had heard that Scholz was a ‘mad wizard’ perfectionist type in the studio, but didn’t know much beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/59 "2022-07-02T19:24:18Z")
The album _Ring_ by The Connells is one of my all-time favorites. Even as it nears the 30th anniversary of its release, I still enjoy listening to virtually every song on it. And one would think that enjoying the album as much as I do would have prompted me to have worked my way through the rest of the band’s discography at some point … but I just didn’t. Outside of plucking a couple of good singles off one other album, I never even bothered to find out what else they had to offer. I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118/60 "2022-07-02T21:51:18Z")
The only Who album I like is The Who Sell Out. That was when they had a sense of humor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-one-album-you-love-from-a-certain-artist-the-rest-eh-not-so-much/967118.md?page=4)