# When it comes to record albums, was your first your favorite? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 28, 2023, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975 "2023-01-28T23:46:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/21 "2023-01-29T15:08:15Z")
About the only “first album of theirs I bought is my favorite” I can think of is Queen’s “A Night at the Opera”. The thing is, for a lot of artists where I own multiple albums of theirs, my favorite will be one that came out _after_ I started listening to them. For other artists, I’ve been listening so long and have so many of their albums that it’s hard to (a) pick a favorite, and (b) remember which one I bought first. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/22 "2023-01-29T16:05:48Z")
May I offer an opinion or two? First, there’s little doubt that first albums by artists are often their strongest (or only) releases. Lots of reasons for this. IMHO, the mark of a truly great artist is to release at least one subsequent album as good as the first. This is not to say that ALL first albums are good, though. Second, first albums by current artist are more frequently the first albums purchased. I’m a child of the early 50s. When a new group popped up in the 60s, 70s, or 80s, it was only logical to purchase their first release. (In the case of Boston, I think it was manadatory.) Third, bands with striking new styles usually showcase them in these first releases. Fourth, the first album owned, regardless of whether it was the first release, has been with you longer. It set your expectations. The example I’ll offer is Richard and Linda Thompson’s _I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight_. I bought it on the same day I bought their very last album, _Shoot Out the Lights_. But IWTSTBLT went on the turntable first…and it’s my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/23 "2023-01-29T16:09:20Z")
Well, I can’t/don’t want to list all of them as I haven’t got all day. First Queen album I heard was ‘Jazz’, which I liked, and still do. Favorite Queen was/is ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ First Rush album I heard was ‘All The World’s a Stage’, which I liked very much and still do. Favorite Rush album is ‘Hemispheres’ First ‘Ramones’ album heard was ‘Rocket to Russia’. Loved it and still do. Favorite ‘Ramones’ album is ‘Road to Ruin’. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/24 "2023-01-29T17:00:32Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > May I offer an opinion or two? > > First, there’s little doubt that first albums by artists are often their strongest (or only) releases. Lots of reasons for this. IMHO, the mark of a truly great artist is to release at least one subsequent album as good as the first. This is not to say that ALL first albums are good, though. Not all that often. No one considers the first albums by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane (technically), J. Geils, and Bob Seger to be their best. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/25 "2023-01-29T17:13:12Z")
I’ll even help your objection by adding Deep Purple. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/26 "2023-01-29T17:18:27Z")
There are certainly plenty of counterexamples. However, I notice that your list is skewed toward artists that (1) had relatively long and successful careers, and (2) got their start (in many cases) in the early days of rock when the genre itself was still maturing. I don’t know whether @ZonexandScout’s claim would hold up if you took a random sample of _all_ artists that had released at least one album, but it might. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/27 "2023-01-29T17:24:28Z")
Sometimes. The very first album I bought with my own money was _The Doors_. It’s still my favorite. OTOH, the first Springsteen I ever heard was _The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle_, whereas my favorite isn’t. That would be _Born To Run_. Or _The River._ Or _Darkness at the Edge of Town_. Or _The Rising_. Or _The Promise_. Or _Live in New York City_. Or… First Rolling Stones was _Aftermath_. Favorite is _Let It Bleed_. First Beatles was _Meet the Beatles_. Favorite is _Help!_ And so on… ---
**Author:** ![Yosh99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ccd318/32.png) [@Yosh99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yosh99)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/28 "2023-01-29T17:38:19Z")
Rafael Méndez, “The World’s Most Versatile Trumpeter” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/29 "2023-01-29T17:46:04Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > There are certainly plenty of counterexamples. However, I notice that your list is skewed toward artists that (1) had relatively long and successful careers, and (2) got their start (in many cases) in the early days of rock when the genre itself was still maturing. I don’t know whether @ZonexandScout’s claim would hold up if you took a random sample of _all_ artists that had released at least one album, but it might. At least two albums. If they only released one, it, by definition, would be your favorite. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/30 "2023-01-29T17:49:08Z")
@ZonexandScout’s claim was > [@ZonexandScout](#): > > first albums by artists are often their strongest (or only) releases. (Note the “or only.”) If that’s what we’re testing, it’s not fair to exclude artists that had only one release. But, of course, such artists aren’t relevant to the topic of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/31 "2023-01-29T18:13:12Z")
I take the OP to be asking how much (if any) extra weight does first exposure add to one’s appreciation of a particular album among an artist’s entire discography. Do we grade these things on the album’s merits alone or do we also include the emotional memory of discovering a new artist we really like? And then there is just the luck of the draw. I mean, would I _even_ be a Doors fan if the first album I picked up was _Soft Parade_? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/32 "2023-01-29T18:54:39Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > And then there is just the luck of the draw. I mean, would I _even_ be a Doors fan if the first album I picked up was _Soft Parade_? Good point. When I decided to start reading Stephen King, the first one I happened to pick up was “The Tommyknockers”. Which explains why I’ve never been much of a Stephen King fan. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/33 "2023-01-29T19:31:56Z")
For me: no, not usually. For instance, the first Sonic Youth record I heard was _Daydream Nation_. I think it’s an awesome record, but my favorite by them is either _Confusion is Sex_ or the self-titled blue record. The first AC/DC record I heard was _Back in Black_, but my favorite is _Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap_. The first Pink Floyd record I heard was _Dark Side of the Moon_, my favorite is _Meddle_. The first Radiohead record I heard was _Pablo Honey_, my favorite is _OK Computer_. On the other hand, the first Cramps album I heard was _Songs the Lord Taught Us_, and it is my favorite record by them. hands down. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/34 "2023-01-30T15:13:12Z")
I can top you all - The first album that I had that was my very own was David Cassidy’s Cherish. I was probably 10yo. I played that album constantly. My mom had some great albums when I was a kid that I loved. I don’t remember the names of the albums but I do remember the artists - Three Dog Night, The Monkees, The Hollies, Santana, The Association, The Sandpipers, Tommy James & the Shondelles, The Beatles, Kenny Rogers & the First Edition, and many more. I still love those artists and back when I was loading up on CDs, I purchased most of those albums. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/35 "2023-01-30T16:58:19Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Do you find that your favorite album from a particular artist usually turns out to be the first you listened to No. It varies. One where it’s not the case: First Cure album: _The Top_ - Favourite: _Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me_ First Depeche Mode album: _A Broken Frame_ - Favourite: _Some Great Reward_ First Smiths album: _Meat Is Murder_ - Favourite: _The Smiths_ First Billy Bragg album: _Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy_ - Favourite: _Talking with the Taxman About Poetry_ First Cocteau Twins album: _Blue Bell Knoll_ - Favourite: _Head Over Heels_ First Dinosaur Jr. : _You’re Living All Over Me_ - Favourite : _Green Mind_ Ones where it is: Shelleyan Orphan: _Century Flower_ Sundays : _Reading, Writing & Arithmetic_ Siouxsie & The Banshees : _Hyæna_ My Bloody Valentine: _Isn’t Anything_ Pixies: _Doolittle_ > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Reminder- This thread is about the first album you ever bought That’s not what your OP said - these are all the albums I first _listened_ to, but most of them, I listened to at a friend’s place ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/36 "2023-01-30T17:28:50Z")
Nope. I liked Janis Joplin’s _Pearl_ over _Big Brother & the Holding Company_. I liked Simon & Garfunkel’s _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ over _Sounds Of Silence_. I liked Yes’s _Close to the Edge_ over _Fragile_. I liked Andrew Lloyd Weber’s _Phantom of the Opera_ over _Jesus Christ Superstar_. I liked the Beatles’ _Abbey Road_ and _Revolver_ over _Sgt. Pepper_. &c., &c., &c. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/37 "2023-01-30T17:35:19Z")
First Hüsker Dü album was Warehouse: Songs and Stories, favorite is Zen Arcade. But they’re both equally epic. First Neil Young album was Freedom, favorite is Rust Never Sleeps. First Beatles album was the blue one (1967-1970), favorite is Help. First Captain Beefheart album was Safe as Milk, favorite is Lick My Decals Off, Baby. I’m sure I could think of a few acts for whom my first remains my fave, but I’m at work and not looking at my CD rack. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/38 "2023-01-30T18:47:28Z")
Neil Young - yes (Harvest) Beatles - yes (Abby Road) Led Zeppelin - yes (Physical Graffiti) Van Halen - no (Van Halen [1]) - Fair Warning is better ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/39 "2023-01-30T19:38:16Z")
According to nearly 20 years of scrobbling, [last.fm reports my top 10 artists](https://www.last.fm/user/psychonaut) as follows: 1. The Beatles. My first album of theirs was _Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band_, but I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite. (I’m not sure I have a single favourite Beatles album.) 2. Monster Magnet. My first album was _Dopes to Infinity_ but my favourite is _25…tab_. 3. The Bevis Frond. My first album was _Sprawl_, but as with the Beatles, I probably don’t have a single favourite album. 4. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. My first album was _Greatest Hits_, but my favourite is _Playback_. 5. Green Day. My first album was _Dookie_, which is also my favourite. 6. Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. First album was _Im Himmel ist die Hölle los_, but my favourite is _Himbeerland_. 7. Nirvana. First album was _Nevermind_, which is tied with _In Utero_ for favourite. 8. Sun Dial. First album was _Return Journey_, which is tied with _Libertine_ for favourite. 9. Tom Petty. First album was probably _Full Moon Fever_, but _Wildflowers_ is my favourite. 10. Captain Beyond. First album was their self-titled debut, which is my favourite. So in general, I’d say that the first album I get from an artist isn’t usually my favourite. It’s good enough to get me to buy more albums, one of which I usually end up liking even better. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975/40 "2023-01-30T21:38:06Z")
First album ever - Black Sabbath _Paranoid_ and my favorite of two or three BS albums that I bought Pink Floyd - _Dark Side of the Moon_ - favorite Bob Dylan - _Desire_ - Close second to Blood on the Tracks Genesis - _Trick of the Tail_ - favorite Yes - _Close to the Edge_ - probably favorite but I like _Relayer_, too Al Stewart- _Year of the Cat_ - favorite Elton John - _Mad Man Across the Water_ - favorite Marshall Tucker Band - _Where We All Belong_ - favorite. Also contains what might be my favorite tune of all time -24 Hours at a Time (live) Santana - _Moonflower_ - favorite Many others but I sense a pattern. I just have great taste in music and know how to pick 'em! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-it-comes-to-record-albums-was-your-first-your-favorite/978975.md?page=3)