# What is your favorite Pink Floyd album? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851 "2010-09-24T04:38:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/41 "2010-09-25T00:04:41Z")
I like them all, but I vote for The Wall. If you take out the last “album side” (i.e. everything past CN,) **every track** is better than most other bands entire repertiores. If you add up all of the classic guitar soloes from songs _even leaving out_ abitw2 and cn, you still get musical genius better than most classic rock bands’ entire catalogs (and once you add them back in, it’s no contest). Even the seemingly throwaway songs on the first three sides have killer soloes that would seem wankerish or superfluous if they weren’t so excellent. In short, their other albums are excellent\*. The Wall is the best musical creation ever. A distant second as far as mainstream-era goes is Obscured by Clouds and The Final Cut, but there’s something to be said for Syd-era as well. \*Okay, you can only get 2 albums worth of excellent material from the best of Ummagumma, TDB, and AHM, but considering they have an excellent album’s worth of singles, it balances out 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Earthbound\_Misfit\_I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Earthbound\_Misfit\_I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthbound_Misfit_I)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/42 "2010-09-25T00:10:10Z")
I like… Momentary Lapse of Reason The Wall Dark Side of the Moon Wish You Were Here The Division Bell Oops, I probably named too many and I have no reason as to why I like those best, not that I can recall! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/43 "2010-09-25T00:21:49Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Wish you were here. Me too ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/44 "2010-09-25T00:31:04Z")
_Dark Side of the Moon_ followed closely by _The Piper at the Gates of Dawn_. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/45 "2010-09-25T00:59:44Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@Astroboy14](#): > > > > Argh. I’m gonna have to go with **The Final Cut** after a lot of thought. I love the mood of the album; it seems to me that it completes \*\* The Wall\*\* brilliantly. This is one of the cases where I have to think that those who don’t like it don’t understand it, and I’m usually a guy who thinks ‘if it speaks to you, fine.’ > > I understand it just fine. I just don’t like it. > > OK, I’ve only heard a few cuts from it. Errrr… OK, wanna get back to me when you’ve heard the whole thing? Then you can tell us why you don’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/46 "2010-09-25T02:01:18Z")
Meddle, with Animals a very close second. Anecdote warning - When I was growing up in the '70s, I made the conscious choice not to own any Pink Floyd. Not because I didn’t like them - I loved them. But my friends and I all had very similar tastes in music, and I wanted to have at least one group that I wasn’t familiar with to listen to at other people’s houses. I had already over-played my own collection of Yes, ELP, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Strawbs, Gentle Giant, Genesis, etc… - I wanted to be able to listen to stuff that I liked that but that I didn’t know all that well. It totally backfired - it just meant that after a couple of years, I had this reputation among all my friends as a total Pink Floyd head. Behind my back, they all conspired to make sure I never got to pick the next album any time I visited. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/47 "2010-09-25T02:05:15Z")
**Animals**. I just love the theme, and the intensity and emotion of the music, and also that it’s very unique, I have never heard anything quite like it. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/48 "2010-09-25T02:16:21Z")
What, no poll? Animals is amazing, but I’m going to have to go with Wish You Were Here by a nose. ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/49 "2010-09-25T02:28:53Z")
_Amused to Death_ 🙂 In all seriousness, I prefer albums which are heavy on Roger’s lyrics, so I’m going to have to add a vote for _The Final Cut_. Although I don’t listen to Floyd as much as I used to, this album gets the most play when I do. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/50 "2010-09-25T02:37:39Z")
_The Wall_, although _Wish you were here_ and _Dark Side of the moon_ are great. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/51 "2010-09-25T02:58:21Z")
_Wish You Were Here_ A long time ago, a friend of mine “explained” the album to me. We were a little, shall we say, under the influence, and it has always stuck with me. I wish I knew what happened to him. We drifted apart… How I wish, how I wish you were here We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year… ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/52 "2010-09-25T03:35:06Z")
I’m putting my vote for **The Wall** , followed very closely by \*\*Wish You Were Here. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/53 "2010-09-25T04:09:31Z")
Ooo, toughie. I’ll go with Momentary Lapse of Reason. “Learning To Fly” is absolutely hypnotic, and “On The Turning Away” is haunting and beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/54 "2010-09-25T04:19:29Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > _Wish You Were Here_ > > A long time ago, a friend of mine “explained” the album to me. We were a little, shall we say, under the influence, and it has always stuck with me. I wish I knew what happened to him. We drifted apart… > > How I wish, > how I wish you were here > We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl > year after year… Running over the same old ground. What have we found? The same old fears. Wish you were here. This spoke/speaks to me about some very very close friends way long ago. In fact, it still speaks to me about them, and we are still the best of friends. I saw one of these folks recently after we had not seen each other for about 15 years. It was like stepping into a time machine. We started our friendship again like we had left it in mid sentence and continued the conversation. Just had a 15 year break. I will put more votes down for Animals and Meddle though. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/55 "2010-09-25T04:28:36Z")
> [@kpasa](#): > > Okay, I will not be in tune with the others. I usually only get to listen to music when I going to sleep. > For me, it’s Shine On You Crazy Diamond. > It’s mellow, doesn’t jump around too much (perhaps Welcome to the Machine kills the mellow factor). > Great album for me to listen and doze off to. > I love most all Floyd BTW and have seen then live as much as I could. So album-wise you like Wish You Were Here best? ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/56 "2010-09-25T04:46:51Z")
Animals was my first, but Wish You Were Here is my favorite. I think “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” is probably the best thing Pink Floyd ever did. I love how the first sections build up, both musically and emotionally; how Gilmour’s guitar playing goes from subdued to increasingly anguished (while his tone shifts from clean to distorted); “Syd’s theme”; Waters’ vocal; and the beautiful lyrics. I also think Gilmour’s pedal steel playing in the second half is some of the most intense stuff he ever put down, yet it’s almost never cited among his best playing. Oh, and the other songs are great too. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/57 "2010-09-25T04:59:15Z")
_Piper At The Gates of Dawn_. It was all downhill once Syd tuned out. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/58 "2010-09-25T05:12:26Z")
I think **Dark Side of the Moon** is their best, most cohesive album. But **Wish You Were Here** is my sentimental favorite. ---
**Author:** ![oliversarmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb8c5e/32.png) [@oliversarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oliversarmy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/59 "2010-09-25T05:18:31Z")
I would have to say “Dark Side of the Moon.” Being a person who bought it when it came out, it was simply astonishing. I had heard nothing like it before. Pink Floyd is a remarkable band as evidenced by the posters and by the insistent chorus of “Comfortably Numb” running through my head right now. Nonetheless, I would still say DSOTM, simply because so many people were introduced to the music by the album and it was a great introduction. ---
**Author:** ![godix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/278dde/32.png) [@godix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godix)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851/60 "2010-09-25T06:35:03Z")
Animals, Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, and Final Cut. That’s around the time when they took what they learned from their earlier audio experimenting and actually applied it to good music. Before that era were too many failed experiments, after that was just soullessly repeating what they had already done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-pink-floyd-album/554851.md?page=4)