# Which Radiohead album to buy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2001, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668 "2001-04-20T13:39:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/1 "2001-04-20T13:39:24Z")
I’d like to buy my very first Radiohead album. Not sure whether to get Kid A or OK Computer. Thoughts? Opinions? ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/2 "2001-04-20T17:06:08Z")
Get _The Bends_. Great songs, rich arrangements, intriguing outros. Shorter on pretention, too. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/3 "2001-04-20T18:01:12Z")
Oh my. To choose between OK Computer and Kid A? I don’t think you are being fair to yourself. Get both. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/4 "2001-04-20T19:06:10Z")
Here’s another vote for _The Bends_. It’s just a classic record, not a duff track on it. And, I mean, “Fake Plastic Trees” - enough said. If you’re stuck on getting one of the last two albums, though, _OK Computer_ is a better place to start than _Kid A_ - they’re both worth having, but the latter will take far more time to grow on you than most non-diehards will have the patience for. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/5 "2001-04-20T19:24:48Z")
To the uninitiated listener, **The Bends** is their most readily accessible album. **OK Computer** and **Kid A** are pretty much concept albums much darker than their first two. If you’re not familiar with their music, you should probably get **The Bends**. If you are, **OK Computer** offers a lot more to sing along with than does **Kid A** , which is more experimental sounding. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/6 "2001-04-20T20:19:32Z")
FWIW - I intend to purchase this album for listening to at work. I’ve got headphones so I can listen to whatever I want, and while “background music” works for when I need to concentrate, lots of times I can concentrate more on the tunes than the work (sad but true). I’m tired of everything else I have. I very much like and am familiar with concept albums (have had “Quadrophenia,” “Tommy” and “The Wall” in my lineup for a long, long time), and it just occurred to me that I haven’t purchased a new popular music CD for myself in a damn long time. Before I turn into a fossil I had better do something. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/7 "2001-04-20T21:46:22Z")
My favorite is Kid A, but I would recommend that you start with OK Computer. And The Bends ain’t bad by any stretch, but I think it was just a warmup for OK Computer. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/8 "2001-04-20T22:24:22Z")
Definitely OK Computer. You mentioned Pink Floyd, so I’ll run a little comparison for you. OK Computer is Dark Side of the Moon. Kid A is Obscured by Clouds. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2001, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/9 "2001-04-20T23:11:12Z")
Jeez, only one? I say get them all. The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A and even Pablo Honey. They’re all great. If you’re only going to get one, I’d say The Bends. It’s probably one of my favorite CDs of all time. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/10 "2001-04-24T14:16:02Z")
Well, you all have given me a bit to think about. The reason why I don’t want to get more than one album now is because this is a new band for me, and I’ve already spent plenty of money over the years buying CDs that got played once or twice and then not again. So I want to start slow, and if I really like the album, then I will get more. So far it sounds like either The Bends or OK Computer for me. I kind of like the idea of OK Computer, since I am in a technical field. 🙂 I have to say I am also intrigued by **minty’s** comparison of it to Dark Side of the Moon, which is a big fave of mine. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/11 "2001-04-24T15:27:27Z")
For a first time listener, I would recommend the Bends. It is an absolutely astounding album. Then get OK Computer. It is the 90’s DSOTM. This was the album that got me through studying for my Leaving Cert (equivalent of the SAT’s). If you are feeling brave, try Kid A. It takes a lot of listening, but is great if you get into it. Also, dont ignore Pablo Honey. Good album, well worth the listen to, and it has “Creep” on it. Just to let you know, they should have a new album out soon. ---
**Author:** ![Nukeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Nukeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nukeman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/12 "2001-04-24T15:42:45Z")
OK Computer is a great album, especially Paranoid Android, Karma Police and Airbag, but The Bends has more mainstream stuff on it. As other people have said, you might consider Pablo Honey - I think that ‘You’ is their best song. Kid A is an odd album, and not as interesting to listen to as OK Computer. It depends what kind of music you like. To really enjoy OK Computer you have to get into the band’s style of music ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2001, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-radiohead-album-to-buy/62668/13 "2001-04-24T17:31:01Z")
As far as the kind of music I like, well, I like almost everything! It would be easier to list the kinds I **don’t** like - much, much shorter list. So - I think I will start with The Bends and then if things go well, OK Computer, and then maybe some more. And I’ll look for that new album to come out, too. Thanks a bunch for the help!