# That \*outstanding\* album of an artist/band **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 6, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562 "2026-11-06T16:52:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [November 7, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/101 "2026-11-07T13:43:21Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > No mention of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue’ yet? Amazing! Good one. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/102 "2026-11-07T13:47:08Z")
For most of my life I would have said Who’s Next, but for the last 10 years or so I’ve said Quadrophenia. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/103 "2026-11-07T13:51:03Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Dire Straits - [Brothers in Arms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_in_Arms_(album)) I like Brothers in Arms, but it’s probably my least favorite Dire Straits album. Making Movies is my favorite, although “Telegraph Road” by itself is almost enough to put Love Over Gold over the top. I’ll add: Lou Reed-New York Frank Zappa- Hot Rats ---
**Author:** ![f.coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@f.coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/f.coli)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/104 "2026-11-07T13:53:59Z")
Frank Zappa - Roxy and Elsewhere Sarah Brightman - Time To Say Goodbye ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/105 "2026-11-07T13:58:48Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > Lou Reed-New York Good one, I love the album and think that it’s definitely Lou Reed’s best solo album, even better than “Transformer”. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/106 "2026-11-07T14:00:08Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Good one, I love the album and think that it’s definitely Lou Reed’s best solo album, even better than “Transformer”. I consider it the best album of that decade. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/107 "2026-11-07T14:01:25Z")
And it captures that decade so well. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/108 "2026-11-07T14:47:09Z")
Tori Amos - “Little Earthquakes” Alan Parsons Project - “Eye in the Sky” ---
**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:** [November 7, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/109 "2026-11-07T16:10:02Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > The Fall - Wonderful and Frightening World > [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > The Fall - Nation’s Saving Grace (but others - SO CLOSE) It’s surprising to me to see the Fall mentioned, and twice at that. Of course, you’re both wrong, it’s _Hex Enduction Hour_. And: for The Smiths, it’s _Meat Is Murder_ for Cocteau Twins, it’s _Treasure_ for Dead Can Dance, it’s _Aion_ for Depeche Mode, it’s _Music for the Masses_ _(Blue Vinyl edition)_ for My Bloody Valentine, it’s _Isn’t Anything_ for Nick Cave, it’s _Tender Prey_ for Siouxsie and the Banshees, it’s _Juju_ for PIL it’s _Happy?_ for Einsturzende Neubauten, it’s _½ Mensch_ for Taylor Swift, it’s _Folklore_ ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/110 "2026-11-07T16:11:17Z")
Lots of favorite artists for whom I can’t ID the one album that stands out above the others. Even so: Dr. John - _Gris-Gris_ The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St. (_Let It Bleed_ and _Some Girls_ are, to my ear, clear second- and third-place entries, although I don’t know in which order, but _Exile_ to me stands out, overall, as the most cohesive _album_ from start to finish.) Charles Mingus - _The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady_ Miles Davis - _Bitches Brew_ Led Zeppelin - _Presence_ (This one might go against the grain, but whatever) Roxy Music - s/t ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/111 "2026-11-07T16:21:02Z")
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme ---
**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:** [November 7, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/112 "2026-11-07T16:43:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Someone above answered incorrectly for Steely Dan. It’s The Royal Scam. For me, that barely makes fourth, with “…Thrill”, “Aja” and “Countdown to Ecstasy” ahead of it. > [@SunUp](#): > > Leonard Nimoy - Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy Oh come on - there’s at least seven or eight better albums he did than that. 🤪 > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > This was the problem that kept me from coming up with a good answer for Genesis. Yeah, a good four-album tie for them, with maybe “Duke” just barely ekeing out on top. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > _This Year’s Model_ - Elvis Costello Manoman this guy put out so many fantastic albums - maybe a five- or six-way tie for that guy (with no ekers) Frank Zappa - will have to be a tie with “One Size Fits All” and “Sheik Yerbouti” Lou Reed - The Blue Mask (by _miles_) > [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s surprising to me to see the Fall mentioned, and twice at that. > > Of course, you’re both wrong, it’s _Hex Enduction Hour_. Been meaning (ha! for decades now!) to get around to listening to that one. (gotta sneak in “Live at the Witch Trials” while I’m at it, here) Pixies - Surfer Rosa Slint - Spiderland (sure, they put out only two full-length albums, but that one was so fantastic and so utterly seminal that it bore mentioning) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/113 "2026-11-07T16:52:33Z")
Kiss: Alive! ELP: Brain Salad Surgery. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/114 "2026-11-07T16:55:00Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Slint - Spiderland (sure, they put out only two full-length albums, but that one was so fantastic and so utterly seminal that it bore mentioning) Thanks for reminding me of that album. It’s fantastic. I went on a post rock binge three or four years ago, I hadn’t heard much of the genre but became curious via the later works of Talk Talk and the band Mogwai, so I read the articles on the genre on wikipedia and [allmusic.com](http://allmusic.com) and thus discovered Slint and their pioneering influence. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/115 "2026-11-07T17:29:27Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > For me, that barely makes fourth, with “…Thrill”, “Aja” and “Countdown to Ecstasy” ahead of it. Larry Carlton makes Scam go to the top of the list for me. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/116 "2026-11-07T20:15:35Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > ELP: Brain Salad Surgery. Again agree strongly. Will have to do a three-way tie for Yes’s “Yes Album”, “Fragile” and “Close to the Edge”. Apart from me being probably the biggest Bill Bruford fan on this messageboard, I just couldn’t, for the life of me, get into any their other stuff, like, _at all_, other than the song “Tempus Fugit” off _Drama_ (which I think just rocks silly). > [@Loach](#): > > Larry Carlton makes Scam go to the top of the list for me. Indeed, a _great_ guitarist, despite me being more partial to Baxter/Dias. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/117 "2026-11-07T21:45:52Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > > > This was the problem that kept me from coming up with a good answer for Genesis. > > Yeah, a good four-album tie for them, with maybe “Duke” just barely ekeing out on top. I was thinking that it would be _Selling England By the Pound_ but a couple albums before and after (c1972 - 1974) should be in the running. Hard to see _Duke_ as such an album because whatever you think of Genesis without Peter Gabriel or Steve Hackett, it must be recognized that any “outstanding” album of Genesis would be from the classic line-up era (Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett, Rutherford). ETA: Has this thread morphed into a “favorite album” thread rather than the “outstanding album” as described in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/118 "2026-11-07T21:48:00Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Hard to see _Duke_ as such an album because whatever you think of Genesis without Peter Gabriel or Steve Hackett, it must be recognized that any “outstanding” album of Genesis would be from the classic line-up era (Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett, Rutherford). One word: Foxtrot. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/119 "2026-11-07T21:54:18Z")
Yes. Or, _Selling England_. It’s kinda down to those two, IMO, but no one album was really the sort of “outstanding” as defined by the OP. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562/120 "2026-11-07T22:03:50Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Has this thread morphed into a “favorite album” thread rather than the “outstanding album” as described in the OP? It has, sadly, to its detriment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-outstanding-album-of-an-artist-band/1034562.md?page=7)