# What are the best back-to-back albums ever produced by the same artist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 8, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943 "2003-08-08T23:53:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/21 "2003-08-09T04:28:05Z")
Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty - Grateful Dead Crosby, Stills & Nash and Deja Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash and sometimes Young. How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All? and Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers! - Firesign Theatre Washington County and Hobo’s Lullabye - Arlo Guthrie Disraeli Gears and Wheels Of Fire - Cream Santana and Abraxus - Santana ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/22 "2003-08-09T04:31:01Z")
Metallica had a run of, depending on who you ask, as many as 4 great albums: _Kill 'Em All Ride the Lightning Master of Puppets …And Justice For All_ Everyone would agree with the Ride-Master double, with Justice more likely to be included for the triple. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/23 "2003-08-09T04:38:10Z")
After Bathing at Baxters/Crown of Creation - Jefferson Airplane Magical Mystery Tour/The White Album/Abbey Road - The Beatles Overnite Sensation/Apostrophe - Frank Zappa We’re Only In It For The Money/Lumpy Gravy - Frank Zappa Dragonfly/Red Octopus - Jefferson Starship Meddle/Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd Let It Bleed/Beggar’s Banquet - The Rolling Stones Wake of the Flood/Mars Hotel/Blues For Allah - The Grateful Dead ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/24 "2003-08-09T04:38:18Z")
The Cars: The Cars and Candy-O (a bold statement to be sure) In the threepeat category: Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here and Animals In the fourpeat category: Ministry: Twitch and The Land Of Rape And Honey and The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste and Psalm 69 (but R.E.M. could take honourable mention.) ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/25 "2003-08-09T04:48:57Z")
_The Doors_ and _Strange Days_. ---
**Author:** ![Survey1215](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Survey1215](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Survey1215)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/26 "2003-08-09T04:58:52Z")
Van Halen I and II. I’ll second Roland who mentioned ac/dc’s Highway to Hell and Back in Black. Metallica’s Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets back to back is pretty strong. The first two Eddie Murphy comedy albums. ---
**Author:** ![BlackLabel1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e5b9ba/32.png) [@BlackLabel1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackLabel1)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/27 "2003-08-09T05:01:10Z")
RTL and Puppets from Metallica ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/28 "2003-08-09T05:23:55Z")
**Velvet Underground:** _Velvet Underground and Nico_ followed by _White Light/White Heat_ followed by _The Velvet Underground_. **Stereolab:** _Emperor Tomato Ketchup_ followed by _Dots and Loops_. **Charles Mingus:** _Blues and Roots_ followed by _Mingus Ah Um_. ---
**Author:** ![DaPearl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@DaPearl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaPearl)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/29 "2003-08-09T06:09:28Z")
I believe The Who released (maybe not in this order) _The Who Sell Out_, _Tommy_, _Who’s Next_, _Quadrophenia_, _Live at Leeds_, and the great though not quite as widely appreciated _The Who By Numbers_. Good call on Public Enemy, **hrhomer**. OutKast has done great with all of their albums. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/30 "2003-08-09T06:28:35Z")
If you want to get technical and all… The Beatles from “Meet the Beatles/With the Beatles” to “Abbey Road” was probably the greatest run ever. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/31 "2003-08-09T06:58:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JulKatBo \* > \*\*I hate to nitpick, **Lizard** , but War and The Joshua Tree weren’t released back-to-back. U2 released The Unforgettable Fire in between those two albums, which I guess wasn’t all that unforgettable. 🙂 \*\* I wouldn’t call that a nitpick; more like a major oversight on my part! I thought TUF preceded War, but I guess not. In that case, I’ll go with The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, although I think War is better than the latter. I triple AC/DC’s Highway to Hell and Back In Black. ---
**Author:** ![Meka\_Leka\_Hi\_Meka\_Hiney\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Meka\_Leka\_Hi\_Meka\_Hiney\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meka_Leka_Hi_Meka_Hiney_Ho)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/32 "2003-08-09T07:08:58Z")
**Weezer:** The Blue Album and _Pinkerton_ **They Might Be Giants:** _They Might Be Giants_ and _Lincoln_… after that, it seemed like all they released for years were compilations, including _Then: The Earlier Years_, which included the two aforementioned albums along with _Misc. T_, which was itself a compilation of B sides and whatnot. I hear they’ve been making new material lately. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to care. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/33 "2003-08-09T07:23:12Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Lizard_ > I wouldn’t call that a nitpick; more like a major oversight on my part! I thought TUF preceded War, but I guess not. In that case, I’ll go with The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, although I think War is better than the latter. Hate to do this… but Rattle and Hum came between The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. It was technically a soundtrack, but it was mostly new material and what wasn’t new was live, so it’s considered a U2 album. Sorry. My nominee is OK Computer followed by Kid A by Radiohead. OK Computer was an instant classic and seemed impossible to follow up. But Radiohead came up with a beautiful, haunting album that was moody, difficult and experimental, but every bit as good as its predecessor. I find it impossible to choose between these two albums; they’re both absolutely perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/34 "2003-08-09T07:30:29Z")
I agree with many of the above, so I’ll be obvious and nominate the Allman Brothers Band for _At Fillmore East_ and then _Eat a Peach_. And the albums before that (their debut and _Idlewild South_) plus the one after (_Brothers and Sisters_, their biggest hit) ain’t too bad neither. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/35 "2003-08-09T10:09:18Z")
**Pink Floyd** : Piper At The Gates Of Dawn A Saucerful Of Secrets _…also…_ Wish You Were Here Animals The Wall **Frank Zappa** : (Lumpy Gravy?! For real?) Chunga’s Revenge Fillmore East 1971 _…also…_ Over-Nite Sensation Apostrophe (’) Roxy & Elsewhere One Size Fits All **King Crimson** Red USA Discipline **The Doors** Soft Parade Morrison Hotel ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/36 "2003-08-09T10:14:57Z")
_All Mod Cons, Setting Sons and Sound Affects_ by **The Jam**. Three in a row! ---
**Author:** ![johnnyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a698b9/32.png) [@johnnyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnnyk)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/37 "2003-08-09T10:56:31Z")
**Brian Wilson** _Imagination_ & _Live at The Roxy_ ---
**Author:** ![bbart4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/51bf81/32.png) [@bbart4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbart4)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/38 "2003-08-09T12:10:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cholo \* > \*\*The Rolling Stones’ **Sticky Fingers** and then **Exile on Main Street** takes the prize! \*\* I second Cholo and Mudshark’s choices to make it back-to-back times two: Beggar’s Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile. ---
**Author:** ![dimsie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/77aa72/32.png) [@dimsie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dimsie)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/39 "2003-08-09T12:11:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mudshark \* > **Magical Mystery Tour/The White Album/Abbey Road - The Beatles** Although… Let it Be was recorded (if not released) between the latter two. Not that it makes much difference, since with a few glaring exceptions it’s all genius. I’m also going for This Year’s Model/Armed Forces/Get Happy!!, myself. ---
**Author:** ![wakimika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@wakimika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wakimika)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943/40 "2003-08-09T12:13:53Z")
I’ll go with: **R.E.M.**'s _Reconstruction of the Fables_ ( _Fables of the Reconstruction?_, I’ve never been sure which is the album’s real name) and _Life’s Rich Pageant_. IMHO, their best work was _New Adventures in Hi-Fi_, and I’m surprised it wasn’t a bigger hit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-back-to-back-albums-ever-produced-by-the-same-artist/193943.md?page=3)