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.
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.
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’.
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.
I’ll even help your objection by adding Deep Purple.
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.
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…
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At least two albums. If they only released one, it, by definition, would be your favorite.
@ZonexandScout’s claim was
(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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
Neil Young - yes (Harvest)
Beatles - yes (Abby Road)
Led Zeppelin - yes (Physical Graffiti)
Van Halen - no (Van Halen [1]) - Fair Warning is better
According to nearly 20 years of scrobbling, last.fm reports my top 10 artists as follows:
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.
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!