The Rolling Stones 1. Rythm and Blues/Soul/Wall of sound: Debut Now! 12 x 5 Out of our heads December's children 2. First age of influence: Aftermath (Rubber Soul) Between the buttons (Blonde on Blonde) Satanic Majestie's Request (Sgt. Pepper's) 3. Classical era: Beggars Banquet Let it bleed Sticky fingers Exile On Main St. Goats head soup 4. Second age of influence: It's only RnR (Hard Rock Funk) Black n Blue (Funk Countryrock Reggae) Some Girls (Disco Punk) Emotional Rescue (Disco Reggae) Tattoo You (80ies production) Under Cover (Metal Rap Reggae Hard Funk) 5. Mere self reproduction: Rest Most fans pick from the five albums of the classical era, but you find enough people, who are very enthusiastic about their debut (some critics), Satanic Majestie's Request (friends of psychedelia), Some Girls (really funny), Emotional Rescue (me, because of the irony in this record) and (especially in the USA) Tattoo You. P.S.: Critics say Let it bleed is their best album and Exile On Main St. is the best record in the history of Rock. An obvious logical contradiction, but strangely convincing at the same time to me.
Popoff and Pardo are at it again and mostly talking about ranking albums, album consensus or not and everything in between. Very interesting discussions, gents. SoT continually expands my vocabulary and Martin used a word today that don't recall hearing before on the channel - "keyboardiest" - and that will be going into the personal lexicon, particularly since a piano player rather than guitarist. Thanks again for time in the Funhouse and such an interesting topic. There ya go!
Another very interesting show! I’m going with Heart for this episode. What not to love those 70’s albums, Dreamboat Annie and Dog and Butterfly are fantastic, The 80 were, well the 80’s. But The Road Home was a great return to form and I love the 2000’s records, especially Red Velvet Car, and Fanatic rocks!
I would add Iced Earth to this list. You have the first 2 albums, then the Barlow era, followed by my favorite , the Ripper Owens albums. Even the Stu Block version has some incredible offerings.
iced Earth is definitely an amazing band. I love all of their different lead singer eras big time. Jon Schaffer has always had amazing musicians in his band, and his songwriting is also amazing. I love all of their albums big time, especially the debut, Night OF The Stormrider, Dark Saga, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Glorious Burden, Dystopia, and Incorruptible big time. Iced Earth has an incredible catalog.
I'm one of the Mark I Purple era avid fans, Taliesyn has always been my favorite and I feel that the early era of the band doesn't get enough recognition. Hugely influential for plenty of Krautrock and heavy rock bands in the very early 70s. Listening to Atomic Rooster or Lucifer's Friend, you can tell they were aware of stuff like Wring that Neck or Mandrake Root.
There are definitely some gold nuggets to be mined in those 3 early albums by the Mark 1 version. Bird Has Flown, The Shield, Chasing Shadows come to mind among others.
I have the vinyl edition of purple passages. It’s a double record set which has the best cuts from the mark one edition of Deep Purple. It’s an excellent album, I don’t know why it wasn’t ever put out on CD.
The Book of Taliesyn is German TV personality Thomas Gottschalk's favorite Purple album too, mentions it here to Lordy in this interview who then cracks a joke about it. ☺ua-cam.com/video/QfFPQBMMOS4/v-deo.html
I'm a fan of the Mark I lineup as well; Taliesyn was my first Deep Purple album, bought used at a store in Ajax, ontario around 1996. The self-titled album is probably in my top four or so Purple records. And I love hard rock and all sorts of metal, so it's not as though I'm averse to taht stuff. There was just something special about that era. However I do understand the complaitns some people have, especially "too many covers" -- though they did put their own spin on most of them. On reflection Shades of Deep Purple is a bit tentative, but even that one has great moments, and man, the cover of "River Deep Mountain high" on Taliesyn just rules.
So what you guys are saying is that what makes a great band is their diversity and the possibility for people to chose a certain era, certain style, certain type of production (70's, 80's,...). I would agree: my fav bands are the ones which went through different phases and basically opened my mind to new genres, and gave me the opportunity to grow up and expand my love for music. Great show. Cheers.
Drums and Wires is my favorite by XTC. I really like the first two albums by them but Pete is right there's some really annoying keyboard sounds on those. I don't know if that was done intentionally or not. I'm not too familiar with anything after English Settlement even though I've heard all of the albums at least once. My favorite thing about them is the bass playing. It's superb
The most creative band of the entire 80's decade, including the late 70's and early-to-mid 90's!!! Yes, Andy can be an ass, but the music and production work is undeniable!!! I totally disagree with Martin's take on "Nonsuch". It is a Masterpiece!!!
@@tonyyeatropoulos6829 Martin has admitted that he sort of lumps all their post-Skylarking albums together and sort of writes them off. Not that he doesn't like them, but he ranks them near the bottom because at that point he says something along the lines that he stopped getting excited about XTC by then. (He sort of touches on that here.) Meanwhile, that means, in my opinion, he underrates three of their greatest albums. I currently rank Oranges and Lemons as my #1, Nonsuch as my #6 (could arguably be higher depending on the day of the week) and Apple Venus Vol. 1 as my #4. Just because a band continues to put out brilliant albums doesn't mean it gets tiresome. I don't understand his logic regarding the later albums.
Genesis - 70's vs 80's AC/DC - Bon era vs Brian era Judas Priest - 70's vs. 80's vs. 90's Scorpions - 70's progressive vs 80's hair metal Whitesnake - early blues vs hair metal) Iron Maiden - Classic era vs modern era Metallica - first 4 albums vs. Black album vs more modern Accept - the early UDO era vs. the modern Mark Tornillo era Van Halen - DLR era vs Sammy era Pink Floyd - Syd Barrett albums vs 70's output Black Sabbath - Ozzy vs Dio vs Tony Martin era The Tea Party - Album to album (industrial vs psychedelic vs middle eastern vs hard rock) The Cult - New Wave/Post Punk vs Hard Rock vs Metal vs Grunge Mastodon (early sludge/hard core vs mid-period progressive metal vs. later poppier era) Tool (early grunge vs. mid-period progressive metal vs. later more mellow progressive) Radiohead (early grunge vs. hard rock progressive vs. synth pop) Kiss (70's classic lineup vs. 80's glam rock vs 90's hard rock/grunge) Rainbow (70's Dio era vs. 80's non-Dio commercial era) Def Leppard (early 80's metal era vs. late 80's/early 90's to present poppy era) U2 (early new wave vs hard rock vs 90's pop/dance/techno period)
7:19 I'm one of those guys. Now, I do love some of the heavy stuff (In Rock in particular), Shades of DP was the first album of theirs that I bought and I love it to this day. The Rod Evans stuff is much maligned, so it's great Mr. Pardo sent us Mk I fans a big thumbs up. Again excellent discussion, cheers and keep it up!
Rush: Pete says, "...you do run into fans who like everything they've done...." That's me!! Love your channel....keep it up and wishing you and your team the best.
Another show idea is Songs that you never get tired of hearing. Songs you’ve heard a million times but still listen when it comes on the radio. You crank it up and still get goosebumps when you hear them. Couple of mine include Radar Love and More than a Feeling.
ZZ top comes to mind. Personally I love their catalog but as you mentioned with budgie great songs are sprinkled throughout many albums but pin pointing one in particular that's loaded from top to bottom is tough for me is difficult.
This was a very interesting topic, and I agree with many of the choices mentioned. I tend to think that if a band/artist has a large discography, and/or there is considerable variety in it, a lack of consensus regarding favorite albums among fans will more than likely be the result. The comments on the Led Zeppelin pick had me cracking up, because they are so accurate; Heaven forbid you have a different opinion than someone picking something like IV as personal favorite. I'd say definitely go ahead and do an episode on artists with the most angry fans. That one would be a real blast!
Exactly. At different points in my life Tyranny & Mutation, secret treaties, spectres, mirrors, and cultosaurus have all been my favorite album. Fire of unknown origin and the symbol remains are of course amazing too.
I was honestly stunned by how great "The Symbol Remains" is. Not that I was expecting it to be a *bad* album at all, but at this point in BOC's time as a band, I wasn't really expecting a late-career masterpiece. I was happily wrong though, because that is exactly what TSR is! "Tyranny and Mutation" is still my favorite BOC, but "The Symbol Remains" is not far below it!
I’ve been listening a lot to Sabbath lately and they certainly fit this topic. Lots of fans are obsessed with the first three albums, but almost as many adore the run from Vol. 4 through Sabotage when the music got more sophisticated. Lots of younger fans are really attracted to the tightness and streamlined nature of the Dio albums. And then there’s even people like me who think Born Again is arguably their best!
I think a band is only as good as the musicians you have, it's one thing to have great players but when they're all great composers who can not only write great music but together can make fantastic albums. Riverside, Rush and Porcupine Tree to name a few are prime examples of what makes a great band and their catalogue of music is proof of that.
Interesting topic some well choices. I think the glaring continuous themes are: longevity and the ability to be original. Three that should have made honorable mention: 1. Pink Floyd - some say the band died when Syd was dismissed; others will argue their best album (almost on a non-stop basis) is: DSTOM, WYWH, Animals, The Wall, AND also the Final Cut. 2. Porcupine Tree - Chris Maitland or Gavin Harrison on drums? When it was a DIY for Steven Wilson? Best Album: Sky Moves Sideways, Stupid Dream, In Absentia, or Fear of a Blank Planet? 3. Frank Zappa - all the constant rotation of personnel yet Best Album is argued: We're Only in it for the Money, Hot Rats, Apostrophe(*), Overnite Sensation, Bongo Fury, Sheik Yerbouti, Guitar, etc.
Decades ago, in my teens, my favorite Zeppelin albums were the hard-rocking (with some folk influence) second and fourth albums. I still love those albums so much, and I still love hard rock and metal in general, and I even enjoy some *extreme* metal, so nearing the age of 50, I haven't exactly mellowed out... *but* in my teens, I didn't care much for "In Through the Out Door," and now, it's one of my Zep faves!
Devin Townsend is the epitome of this concept in my opinion: You have your poppy era- Addicted, Sky blue, Epicloud, Transcendence Avant garde era- Devlab, The puzzle, the hummer Extreme metal bliss era- City, the new black, Alien, S.Y.L Operatic, over the top, Proggy era- Deconstruction, Dark matters, Infinity, Ziltoid, Empath Atmospheric, relaxing era- Casualties of cool, Ghost, Snuggles More of a blues-rocky sorta album- Ki He's got a punk album- Punky bruster Somewhere in between sorta albums- Ocean machine, Terria, Synchestra I think you get my point, every single fan will have a completely different list of favorites and I absolutely love the guy for that very reason. P.S. about what Pete said at 39:20, I think you're forgetting a little band called Tool...
This is an odd topic for me because my top three bands fit in this category plus Queen. A. INXS is my favorite band. I came on board w/Listen Like Thieves. The second album I owned was Kick, which is my favorite and the one that made them superstars in the late 80s and early 90s. It's also where most die-hard fans draw the line. Those who draw the line at Kick think Shabooh Shoobah is their best, which was also their first US release. The casual fan probably owns either Listen Like Thieves, Kick, X or all three. I like all of their albums, w/the exception of Switch. My favorite period is 1985-1992 which includes my favorites, Listen Like Thieves, Kick, X and Welcome To Wherever You Are. I think it's their best and most creative period and most critics agree. B. Led Zeppelin is a band where I came onboard much later. I was born in the 70s so, I don't have the attachment their die-hard fans do. However, I was born exactly a year after Led Zeppelin IV was released, which is cool because it's my favorite album. It ranks # 1 w/most fans but, some complain the songs are overplayed. So what? It doesn't take away from its greatness. I also have ITTOD in my top half of favorite albums, which is unusual for a Zeppelin fan. I also have HOTH and Physical Graffiti in my top half. Most fans consider Physical Graffiti as their best or second best and I'm no different. Most would put Presence at bottom so do I. I also have Led Zeppelin III at the bottom. I love Immigrant Song but checkout after Since I've Been Loving You. They should've swapped Hats Off to Roy Harper for Hey, Hey What Can I Do? I'd at least have two reasons to listen to that album! C. U2 is a band I got onboard w/midway into their career. Some fans think everything before The Joshua Tree is great. I love The Joshua Tree and it's the first album I owned. The second is Achtung Baby, which is my favorite. Some rail against their 90s albums because of the Euro-pop sound. I like all three, Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop. Some think they went sideways in the 2000s. It's a hit-and-miss w/me. I hate All You Can't Leave Behind but love How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, it's the last U2 album I kept. I bought No Line On The Horizon and traded it soon after. I haven't heard their last two albums because I think they've run out of things to say. I like all of their 80s and 90s albums and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. My favorite period is 1983-1991 which includes my favorite U2 albums, The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby most critics would agree are their best. D. Queen is a band I've always appreciated. I've heard everything from Queen I to Hot Space. Unlike most fans, I don't think Hot Space is their worst album. I think most of their 80s albums are eitther mediocre, bad or boring. As far as their 70s albums go, which is Queen's best era in music we can all agree, I like their first two, Sheer Heart Attack, A Day At The Races and News of the World. I can't stand Jazz, which some people say is all over the place and I agree, and A Night At The Opera, which is too over the top for me, especially Bohemian Rhapsody. If I had to pick a favorite Queen record at this point, it would be The Game, what a shock. It's what the causal Queen fan likes. However, I'm still new on the bandwagon so that opinion could change once I get more familiar w/their music.
It's hard to choose a favorite U2 album because they went through so many phases. Personally I think War is my favorite, but sometimes I'm in the mood for the Joshua Tree or Boy or Pop or even Achtung Baby. I wish their new stuff didn't suck.
@@nickhouse9591 I'm in total agreement. Though Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree and Zooropa are my go-to albums, I've been listening to War a lot lately. You're right about their later albums. I bought No Line On The Horizon, hated it and haven't bought the two after. U2 has gone through a number of phases and hit it out of the park most of the time, in my opinion, and that's why I think they're a great band and one of my favorites😊
Petra - Some prefer the early more classic rock type of stuff when Rob Frazier and Greg X. Volz were in the band and the others gravitate more towards the later AOR-Petra with John Schlitt on vocals. Either way there is a lot of variety when it comes to what is the best album of the band.
Porcupine Tree, Zappa and Tool for me. I know Tool's discography is thinner but it's so amazing it has to be mentioned IMO. My two favs from them : PT - Fear of a Blank Planet and The Sky Moves Sideways Uncle Frank - Hot Rats and Roxy and Elsewhere Tool - Lateralus and Fear Inoculum
Kayak and Kaipa from Sweden and Kansas spring to mind. Both were formed in the 1970’s (‘73 for Kayak, ‘74 for Kansas and ‘75 for Kaipa. They are still producing excellent material today, almost 50 years on. Strange that they are all “K” bands!
Very cool topic, and great picks too. I got into Opeth on Ghost Reveries, they became my gateway to more extreme metal, but I love the new stuff too. I am one of those people that love the classic Allman Bros. Band, but thanks to the SOT family I am really digging the early 90's stuff with Warren Haynes. He brings that bluesy side of the Allman's that was missing for me.
I'd put Motörhead on the map. To me, their early output (Bomber, Overkill, Ace Of Spades) is just as awesöme as their middle period (Rock'n'Roll, 1916, Bastards) or the albums late in their career (Inferno, Kiss Of Death, Aftershock).
How about ZZ Top. A lot of guitar players love the first album and some love Tres Hombres. Then there is a newer fan that loves Eliminator. I’m a fan of Rio Grande Mud. But , Rhytheen is also great. I think they fit very well in this discussion.
This was a pretty good topic today. the bands I would put on this list would be: U2 - Some love the first couple albums only . Some love the late 80's. and some even love the newer stuff. no denying that they are one of the biggest bands ever. Van Halen / Van Hagar - enough said :) I personally love 5150 and F.U.C.K with Hagar as well as DLR era. Iron Maiden - Some people love only the Pre-Dickinson stuff and not Dickinson Genesis - depending when you joined the Genesis train you either love the 70's or 80's material Doobie Brothers - Pre - Michael McDonald and with McDonald
With U2, I believe that the three albums in a row- Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Actung Baby rank among the best and most diverse sounds of any band. Don’t like much before or after.
@@edwardcoit9748 and I love their first few albums.. New Wave / Post Punk. Really raw with the heavy bass and drum. After Achtung was rough though. But I did enjoy How to dismantle an atomic bomb though. That was probably the last 1 i did.
I wasn’t sure where this video was going but ,I really enjoyed it. It seems like a band that had distinctive periods with different personnel, or style change would be appropriate for this video. My pick would be Santana. Because they had so many stylistic changes throughout their career. And almost all of them were very interesting musically. My favorite era of the Santana band would be their fusion era In the early 70s.
Great choice for this show. Caravanserai is my favourite and I really rate Welcome, but obviously also eponymous Santana, and I’ve always loved Moonflower. I like Zebop! But things then tailed-off for me. Maybe I should revisit some of the later albums.
Another great show guys Bang on with Deep Purple Martin. I think my 3 favorite Purple albums are from the different eras. Perfect Strangers, Machine Head and Whoosh are my three favorites.
Two legendary Extreme Metal bands come to my mind: Cannibal corpse and Napalm death. Both have huge discographies, changed a lot over the years, but in general they never released something really bad. Almost every album by them is someone's favorite. In the case of Napalm death, there is even a very large group of fans that think that their recent albums are the best
Same. The run of albums from the debut to Power Windows is maybe the most consistently high quality run I can think of in classic rock history. Most of the albums in that period have been my favorite Rush album at one point or another.
I am kind of with Martin on this one. Machine is one of my favourite Purple albums but to my ears, Lazy and Never Before are the songs I like least. Lazy is bluesy and I can only take so much blues before I grow weary of it, though I must say that the Purps do a fine job with that particular genre on that song. Never Before is simply too poppy for me.
Opeth. Now, I'm no fan of death metal as such, but Blackwater Park is in (or near) my top 10 favourite albums of all time. Go figure that one out, 'cos my prog pals think I've upped and left the cause. For me though, it's a work of pure genius - all killer, not an iota of filler. Sorceress is right up there too... yet could hardly be more different. But then... I'm currently listening to Watershed more than either of them. And then again...a couple of my favourite Opeth songs are on Pale Communion. And Ghost Reveries. Sign of a great band? I'd say that's a 'hell yeah'...
It depends on the band, the eras, and what factors are being considered (age when the fan got into the band, when did the band broke up, is the band still going, band line up, etc.). I got into Rush in the 80’s, so I am fond of their 80’s records, with Grace being my favorite. I started listening to Deep Purple like in 2011, and I was listening to all kinds of music, so Stormbringer is my favorite Purple album because of the variety on it. Now, I followed bands like The Cure, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode since the beginning, so I tend to gravitate to their earlier stuff. It wasn’t until REM broke up in 2011 that I paid any attention to the records past Monster, and actually liked Accelerate a lot. So I don’t think it makes a band good, is just the nature of bands that have been around for a long time.
Just my favorite rock bands I always thought was great and my taste might be a little different but here it goes. Queen Led Zeppelin Van Halen The Rolling Stones The Beatles The Police U2 Nirvana Metallica The Clash Guns N' Roses Aerosmith Pink Floyd The Smashing Pumpkins Black Sabbath Steely Dan Journey Santana Def Leppard All these groups have done some of my favorite rock albums of all time. I love classic rock, hard rock, metal, punk and nineties alternative rock.
Good episode. I always pick something up from Pete and Martin on these episodes. I'm currently grooving to Saxon...Dogs of War......The Great White Buffalo. It's almost a kind of homage to Lizzy, The Killing of The Buffalo.
The essence of a great band is when they become popular and gradually embrace new styles and still retain popularity ok some fans will jump off the bandwagon. still influencing others around them to greater heights. The Beatles have to be that great band.maybe not masters of their instruments, but together they were immense.
I think you occasionally get that select few Gentle Giant fans that think The Missing Piece is a stinker in the catalogue. I personally love that album (who wouldn’t love “Two Weeks In Spain?”), but I remember seeing on some forums where a decent amount if people crapped on it.
I find more than enough Gentle Giant fans that can't get into the post-In'terview albums. I, personally, didn't think much of The Missing Piece in the beginning. Excepting "Two Weeks in Spain," nothing else clicked on the first few listens, so it sat around for a few years untouched. Then one day, decided to pull it out, as I felt I needed a break from gorging on all of GG's previous albums, and, much to my surprise, loved it! Still do!
I think what makes a great band is a group of people, who have absolutely no choice to do anything else than what they're doing. They must do it and they must do it exactly that way. The Ramones come to mind. Black Sabbath. Motörhead. The Stooges. Radio Birdman. Hüsker Dü. Roky Erickson. The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Metallica. Slayer. Metal Church. Overkill. Testament. The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. The Smiths. R.E.M.. Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The E-Street Band. Dead Moon. Steely Dan. Talking Heads. Kraftwerk. The Beastie Boys. AC/DC. The Velvet Underground. I don't know, if you're "not so much a Child In Time fan", maybe you're not so much a Deep Purple fan?
This comment made me laugh the Ramones and the beastie boys great bands? Replace these clowns with the eagles and Bob seger and you'll have a more accurate description of a great band
Here are some ideas for future episodes: Bands that were soundalikes of other bands (e.g. Starcastle sounds like Yes). Bands who were more successful when they reunited (e.g. Diamond Head). Bands who were screwed over by bad management. Bands who were ahead of their time. Bands who were behind their time (could have been successful in an earlier decade). Bands who went hair metal and whether or not they succeeded (e.g. Saxon, Accept, Discharge, Celtic Frost, TSOL).
I've been trying to narrow down what makes a great band for me personally and I can't find the common thread. My favorite bands are all over the map, with differing voices, guitar sounds and songwriting strategies. I did find one pattern in that I favor bands that use Gibsons, which is interesting.
Great topic and some great picks I would definitely choose most of the ones already mentioned. Some my own top choices... Fugazi Clutch Black Sabbath Swans Napalm Death No Means No Killing Joke Death
To me the makings of a great band/artist involve two things: 1) One single album so groundbreaking it changes the landscape & just can't be ignored. It's an all time classic...2) Long-term consistency & high quality... Where this gets tough is actually evaluating the above. I admit I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the initial premise of this episode, that fans' disagreement about which album of a given artist's output is best is a marker of greatness (at least I think that's what the premise is here, I had to replay the intro to the video 5-6 times). Music is inherently subjective, so there's a built-in human consequence to disagree among ourselves about what we think about a given album or an artist's discography. Given that I'm not sure we can use this as a yardstick to judge whether artists are great or not. To me that seems like starting the process with a flawed assumption, given a large enough sample we'll ALWAYS disagree to some extent about music. That's why sites like SoT have an almost built-in ability to survive, any subject involving music will elicit differing responses. And also what'll keep Martin's contrarian shows going forever... Also as others mentioned musical opinions can change over time, so your favorites today might not have been your faves yesterday. Again it's a built-in feature of humans' subjective opinion process. I don't see the timing of when a given artist releases their "best" albums (early in their career, in the middle or late) as that important. There are some exceptions, I'm specifically thinking of the 60's here & all of the social changes happening at the time. Seems to me that great music released during times of great social change elevate those albums even more than they would otherwise be, but again not really linked to the life cycle of that artist. A better possible example might be great debut albums (and especially when the bands are one-and-done), after all that's the first time we become aware of them & if that record also happens to be an all time classic...(think Boston / The Cars / Hendrix / Led Zep / Van Halen / etc)
Definitely agree with your 1) and 2), and 2) becomes a real challenge for bands and artists that have been recording over a long period. I think Joni Mitchell easily ticks 1) and 2) with very few exceptions. I think Neil Young ticked the boxes up to 80’s but has so many records his catalogue then becomes inconsistent. You can easily argue same for Dylan and the Stones and Springsteen. Zep I wouldn’t fault at all on their shorter catalogue. Some artists have released great albums down the line and I’ve always thought is strange that in popular music there seems to be a prejudice when comparing later work with earlier. This isn’t the case in classical music, often the greatest works are at the end of an artists life - think Mahler, Wagner, Liszt for sure because they were bringing maturity and experience. In rock n’ pop, you may not reach the heady heights later in life, vocals can deteriorate for some artists but there are examples of reinvention always to look out for. SOT put me onto the later Allman’s recordings - fantastic. I really like 2000’s Heart. I like Andy Latimer’s later Camel recordings. Rush finished on a high. I liked Kansas’s The Absence of Presence. Love Marillion’s new An Hour Before It’s Dark (looking forward to see them at Hammersmith Odeon). Steve Hackett’s quality hasn’t diminished and such a tasteful performer in concert. I’m sure there are loads of examples. To finish, Barbra Streisand’s 2018 Walls blew me away, how can she still sing like this (first album 1963)!?! and she totally owns the huskier sound that creeps in. I love Joni’s Both Sides Now from back in 2000, especially her reworking of A Case Of You and Both Sides Now because you really feel the lived experience that can’t be there to the same degree in the originals, notwithstanding they are absolute classics.
Great episode. Foreigner would be another good choice. No consensus, different eras, etc…When you guys talk about bands early in their careers, I think think of all those great shows at the Spokane Colosseum in the late 70s - early 80s. I’m sure Martin was at many of those shows.
I would definitely add Iron Maiden to this list. They've been in the business for over 40 years now and every decade has it's fans. Even the 90s with the weaker Dickinson stuff and the Blaze era has fans out there. Not that many, i would agree, but i personally know a few die hard fans that came across Maiden in the mid 90s with X Factor and Virtual XI and still love the material on it. Maybe a bit more with Dickinson on the mic with Rock in Rio, but they don't hate it. The first 7 albums are divine and every single one of it is someones most beloved Metal album. The latter stuff is on many best of lists as well. Brave New World is the favorite of a lot of fans. Even from supporters from their early days. The last two albums are still very very good and they are live still going strong. So that would be my pick.
A great topic , and interesting choices . I guess that I'm one of the unusual fans of Rush in that I've been with them since before the beginning ( I saw them in clubs around Toronto in the early 70s before they recorded their first album , along with their compatriots Max Webster ) . And yet , I have to say that currently , my favourite album is Signals , and I'm also a big fan of Grace Under Pressure , and their early stuff as well . As for Max Webster , High Class is my favourite , with Mutiny a close second . And I'm not saying this in an angry way , how can you not like Led Zeppelin II as a favourite ? Cheers !!
I'm half mainstream and half obscure from bands presented.. Deep Purple- Slaves & Masters Rainbow - (while we're at it) - Long live Rock & Roll Rush - 2112 Thin Lizzy - Thunder & Lightning XTC - Skylarking (re-release with "Dear God") Saxon - Power & the Glory Budgie - Bandolier Opeth - Sorceress Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti Allman Brothers - Idlewild South Max Webster - A million vacations Dream Theater - Train of Thought Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind UFO - Obsession Peter Gabriel - So Mastodon - Emperor of Sand King Crimson - Three of a perfect pair
great live.....great songs....great look...great singers and players....original sound...staying together....reinventing themselves ,.....and not following trends,but setting trends......my 5 fav.'s are judas priest,motorhead,zz top,acdc,aerosmith......or lynyrd skynyrd
People think I'm strange when I say "Grace Under Pressure " is my favorite Rush album! I'm 53 years old and love most of their albums but, there's something about Grace that I love more than the rest.
Fantastic show! Funny you mention Saxon Martin and how people in their 20s view them. I am in my mid 20s and strong arm of the law is my absolute favourite Saxon album, I love quite a few of the newer albums but they don't have many stand out songs in my opinion. I am also not a big fan of scaratt, I find the bluesiness and the emotion in the solos missing in the latest albums. Graham Oliver was my favourite part about Saxon and he is one of the unsung guitarists of the 80s. My picks for this topic would be Coroner Pink Floyd Judas priest Death Kreator
I think there are many bands that stayed strong throughout their careers and so people can't agree on their best album because many different ones could qualify. Deep Purple Queen Black Sabbath Led Zeppelin Judas Priest Iron Maiden The Who KISS Alice Cooper Motorhead Rainbow The Doobie Brothers King's X Rush Saxon Megadeth Etc.
Great discussion this morning, especially in terms of the greatness of Deep Purple and the diversity of its catalogue. Something for everybody....BUT.....so many people these days are completely unaware of Purple. That band simply doesn't get the media coverage, magazine covers, etc that other bands such as Zeppelin, Sabbath, Queen, Kiss, et al do even to this day. I am mystified as to why there is such a music industry / media void about Deep Purple. Theories anyone??
@@63mckenzie Agreed to a certain point, but as Ritchie has been gone for almost 30 years, it seems that the music media has still not warmed up more to the band since then. I am thinking band member continuity or lack thereof, especially in the 70's with their revolving door of Marks 1 to 4, might also be a factor. No core nucleus the same way Zeppelin or Sabbath or other bands had in that same era.
There are great '70s bands like Uriah Heep and Blue Oyster Cult which are still active and have less media coverage than Purple, this discussion has no end ...
Pantera's main catalogue. I've heard each one of the five cited as people's favorites, I would say most of the time it's Cowboys or Vulgar but it runs the gamut. Same with System of a Down, it's similar to the Soundgarden/Police thing Martin talked about in that it's a short discography but all of them are such high quality that it's really hard to pick a favorite. AC/DC and Iron Maiden are similar to each other but a bit different from this topic in that some people prefer the earlier albums with the original singer while some prefer the second singer, and you don't see many picks for favorite album past the early '90s (and Brave New World).
Yes, the premise is absolutely solid. Virtually very 'great' band that I can think of has half a dozen 'best' albums. From The Beatles to Porcupine Tree, they all fit.
It's an interesting subject; but what makes a great band is only revealed by your personal experience seeing them live. I think we've forgotten that; in the whirl of ranking records with decades of critical context about them.
I was just wondering: are there many bands where there's a real clear consensus? I mean the first band that comes to mind for me is AC/DC, but even there, you have the Bon Scott/ Brian Johnson era...Motörhead? Metallica? Slayer? Guns 'n' Roses? Don't know...I feel like every band that has lots of fans will have different fav albums/ era. Cheers.
Rush, Porcupine Tree, The Tea Party, The Flower Kings, Riverside, The Pineapple Thief, The Black Crowes, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Opeth, The Doors, Genesis, IQ, Jethro Tull, Crimson, Led Zep, Floyd, The Police, Radiohead... Strong catalogues all the way through, and often changing styles, dare I say Progressing
Great topic to think about. This kinda coincides with bands where your favorite basically switches between a huge selection of them all the time. I generally say Perfect Strangers is my favorite DP album, but in the past tht has been Fireball, this has been In Rock, and I can see myself going toward Infinite given some more time with the album. Rush as well, I've had Fly by Night, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures fighting for the top spot basically forever (though I tend to leave out Moving Pictures from this because ynow, it's the popular one :D) And what Martin mentioned about Saxon - I am quite a young fan of this kind of music, and for me there is just a huuge difference between Wheels Of Steel which I feel like doesn't hold up at all (also Strong Arm Of The Law) and the likes of Denim & Leather and Power & The Glory which I like quite a bit. Not even the newer stuff specifically, it's just that imo they didn't really find their footing in the songwriting department and certainly the production on the albums until D&L. About Zeppelin, I am one of those few guys that picks Houses Of The Holy hahaha, so yeah just goes to show how consistently great they are.
Greetings from the UK. Quite a tough one this, but for me Hawkwind have never made a bad album. Also The Alan Parsons Project and Jethro Tull discography is really strong.
I find this title somehow misleading. I thought you would talk about the ingredients of a great band, ie. WHAT is required as recipe for a great success story. Would you need a conflict in a band "Mogg/Schenker" style or what skills should be present in a band? Maybe an idea for another show?
I’d agree, though you might argue the Dave Mason years are a bit different. I love TLSOHHB and Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory, although the latter isn’t a critics choice (who cares!). I recently bought When The Eagle Flies on vinyl and really getting into it.
Yeah, Martin is wrong about Nonsuch, lol. It's my favourite XTC album too, I started hating it because the singles were so mainstream oriented but once I listened to the whole album, it became my fav immediately. Opeth's fandom is weird. Many jumped off the wagon when they released Watershed which is my fav of the band. It has the perfect balance of everything past, present, and future. Pink Floyd has the angriest fan base of all. Some are adamant on Animals as the bestest of them all and they'll go crazy about it. Or Wish you were here, or A saucerful, etc. Porcupine Tree. The Police. A band that I love but right now is facing oblivion is Big Country. Bands of the 80s have their revivals from time to time but Big Country doesn't and probably never will because his singer is no longer here, but my, what a great band that was. Maybe an episode about bands like this would be great. On a side note, nope, Peter Gabriel 2 can't be his best album in a million years. It's right there as his worst and it's fine, it's not a bad album anyway. I love it to pieces most of it. It's just not at the level of what was about to come. Peter was very confused at that time.
i have appreciated just how good 'Perfect Strangers' was ever since its release. i would definitely rank it as my favorite Deep Purple album as well......the discussion about Zepplin fans reminds me o' harley fanatics - it's not enough to admit that we obviously both love to ride motorcycles, no, if you don't ride a harley you're a (insert expletive here...). i don't bandy words with witless wyrms, once i get the sense the discussion is about winning the 'argument' i just walk away - life is simply too short (and no matter how long it is, it's never long enough to waste our limited time and energy trying to pry open narrow minds...)
True, that's very difficult! One day it is Vol 4, tomorrow Sabotage etc 🙂 Then again I think for example Mob Rules is pure 5/5 album and I could choose that as my favourite
Great band - this is certainly a matter of definition. Let me stay by the definition the two of you used at the beginning. Bigger catalogue and difficult to point out a clear favorite. So here is my quick list besides the bands you've mentioned: Lynyrd Skynyrd - the Ronnie era vs. the Johnny. Great stuff throughout Motörhead - classic lineup or the later one - 4 piece or just 3 noisy guys Uriah Heep - again classic lineup or all the later versions Blue Öyster Cult - with or without the Bouchards Nightwish - Tarja, Anette, Floor? Scorpions - no further comment from my side
Great idea for an episode!! The Beatles. It's low hanging fruit but, in my mind, they are the original great band that has many "best" albums. The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I don't think I can name my favorite album of theirs but the top 4 for me would be albums released in 1985, 1991, 2002, and 2011. I think that is very unique. Anthrax. Lots to choose from because they evolve and every album has memorable tracks Judas Priest. Check out all the Fave Judas Priest album videos that people do on youtube and you'll see what I mean. Make sure to find the people that that were born after 1990. Steely Dan. There's another crap shoot for favorite album. They are all such high quality and memorable. ...and Little Feat.
You could have an entire episode of this topic just for Black Metal bands. Darkthrone, Immortal, Summoning, Inquisition, Drudkh, Panopticon, Dimmu Borgir, Alcest, Agalloch, Enslaved. None of these bands have a clear consensus as to their best album.
I mean sure, almost every album on any given bands catalog is probably someones favorite, but at least with bands like Summoning, Immortal, Enslaved and Dimmu, the consensus would most likely be between maybe 2 or 3 albums. With Darkthrone maybe 4. And they have what - about 20 albums. So it's not that widespread imho.
@@Arutha_Con_Doin yeah, early Darkthrone is best, the best thing about their later albums is the album covers. Fenriz's vocals suck. As for Enslaved, them and Marduk, I like every album.
The Rolling Stones
1. Rythm and Blues/Soul/Wall of sound:
Debut
Now!
12 x 5
Out of our heads
December's children
2. First age of influence:
Aftermath (Rubber Soul)
Between the buttons (Blonde on Blonde)
Satanic Majestie's Request (Sgt. Pepper's)
3. Classical era:
Beggars Banquet
Let it bleed
Sticky fingers
Exile On Main St.
Goats head soup
4. Second age of influence:
It's only RnR (Hard Rock Funk)
Black n Blue (Funk Countryrock Reggae)
Some Girls (Disco Punk)
Emotional Rescue (Disco Reggae)
Tattoo You (80ies production)
Under Cover (Metal Rap Reggae Hard Funk)
5. Mere self reproduction:
Rest
Most fans pick from the five albums of the classical era, but you find enough people, who are very enthusiastic about their debut (some critics), Satanic Majestie's Request (friends of psychedelia), Some Girls (really funny), Emotional Rescue (me, because of the irony in this record) and (especially in the USA) Tattoo You.
P.S.: Critics say Let it bleed is their best album and Exile On Main St. is the best record in the history of Rock. An obvious logical contradiction, but strangely convincing at the same time to me.
Popoff and Pardo are at it again and mostly talking about ranking albums, album consensus or not and everything in between. Very interesting discussions, gents. SoT continually expands my vocabulary and Martin used a word today that don't recall hearing before on the channel - "keyboardiest" - and that will be going into the personal lexicon, particularly since a piano player rather than guitarist. Thanks again for time in the Funhouse and such an interesting topic. There ya go!
Another very interesting show! I’m going with Heart for this episode. What not to love those 70’s albums, Dreamboat Annie and Dog and Butterfly are fantastic, The 80 were, well the 80’s. But The Road Home was a great return to form and I love the 2000’s records, especially Red Velvet Car, and Fanatic rocks!
Porcupine Tree have an amazing catalog. It’s hard to pick a favourite, although currently I play Fear of a Blank Planet a huge amount!
I would add Iced Earth to this list. You have the first 2 albums, then the Barlow era, followed by my favorite , the Ripper Owens albums. Even the Stu Block version has some incredible offerings.
I like the Barlow era the best by a long-shot and that's just because those are my favorite albums, definitely fell off after he left.
iced Earth is definitely an amazing band. I love all of their different lead singer eras big time. Jon Schaffer has always had amazing musicians in his band, and his songwriting is also amazing. I love all of their albums big time, especially the debut, Night OF The Stormrider, Dark Saga, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Glorious Burden, Dystopia, and Incorruptible big time. Iced Earth has an incredible catalog.
I'm one of the Mark I Purple era avid fans, Taliesyn has always been my favorite and I feel that the early era of the band doesn't get enough recognition. Hugely influential for plenty of Krautrock and heavy rock bands in the very early 70s. Listening to Atomic Rooster or Lucifer's Friend, you can tell they were aware of stuff like Wring that Neck or Mandrake Root.
There are definitely some gold nuggets to be mined in those 3 early albums by the Mark 1 version. Bird Has Flown, The Shield, Chasing Shadows come to mind among others.
I have the vinyl edition of purple passages. It’s a double record set which has the best cuts from the mark one edition of Deep Purple. It’s an excellent album, I don’t know why it wasn’t ever put out on CD.
The Book of Taliesyn is German TV personality Thomas Gottschalk's favorite Purple album too, mentions it here to Lordy in this interview who then cracks a joke about it. ☺ua-cam.com/video/QfFPQBMMOS4/v-deo.html
@@vinnieoskokie I have that Passages album on CD, I think it is a Japanese release.
I'm a fan of the Mark I lineup as well; Taliesyn was my first Deep Purple album, bought used at a store in Ajax, ontario around 1996. The self-titled album is probably in my top four or so Purple records. And I love hard rock and all sorts of metal, so it's not as though I'm averse to taht stuff. There was just something special about that era. However I do understand the complaitns some people have, especially "too many covers" -- though they did put their own spin on most of them. On reflection Shades of Deep Purple is a bit tentative, but even that one has great moments, and man, the cover of "River Deep Mountain high" on Taliesyn just rules.
So what you guys are saying is that what makes a great band is their diversity and the possibility for people to chose a certain era, certain style, certain type of production (70's, 80's,...). I would agree: my fav bands are the ones which went through different phases and basically opened my mind to new genres, and gave me the opportunity to grow up and expand my love for music. Great show. Cheers.
XTC is a great pick - strong songs on all albums. As Martin said, they evolved a lot throughout their run.
Drums and Wires is my favorite by XTC. I really like the first two albums by them but Pete is right there's some really annoying keyboard sounds on those. I don't know if that was done intentionally or not. I'm not too familiar with anything after English Settlement even though I've heard all of the albums at least once. My favorite thing about them is the bass playing. It's superb
The most creative band of the entire 80's decade, including the late 70's and early-to-mid 90's!!! Yes, Andy can be an ass, but the music and production work is undeniable!!! I totally disagree with Martin's take on "Nonsuch". It is a Masterpiece!!!
@@tonyyeatropoulos6829 Martin has admitted that he sort of lumps all their post-Skylarking albums together and sort of writes them off. Not that he doesn't like them, but he ranks them near the bottom because at that point he says something along the lines that he stopped getting excited about XTC by then. (He sort of touches on that here.) Meanwhile, that means, in my opinion, he underrates three of their greatest albums. I currently rank Oranges and Lemons as my #1, Nonsuch as my #6 (could arguably be higher depending on the day of the week) and Apple Venus Vol. 1 as my #4. Just because a band continues to put out brilliant albums doesn't mean it gets tiresome. I don't understand his logic regarding the later albums.
Genesis - 70's vs 80's
AC/DC - Bon era vs Brian era
Judas Priest - 70's vs. 80's vs. 90's
Scorpions - 70's progressive vs 80's hair metal
Whitesnake - early blues vs hair metal)
Iron Maiden - Classic era vs modern era
Metallica - first 4 albums vs. Black album vs more modern
Accept - the early UDO era vs. the modern Mark Tornillo era
Van Halen - DLR era vs Sammy era
Pink Floyd - Syd Barrett albums vs 70's output
Black Sabbath - Ozzy vs Dio vs Tony Martin era
The Tea Party - Album to album (industrial vs psychedelic vs middle eastern vs hard rock)
The Cult - New Wave/Post Punk vs Hard Rock vs Metal vs Grunge
Mastodon (early sludge/hard core vs mid-period progressive metal vs. later poppier era)
Tool (early grunge vs. mid-period progressive metal vs. later more mellow progressive)
Radiohead (early grunge vs. hard rock progressive vs. synth pop)
Kiss (70's classic lineup vs. 80's glam rock vs 90's hard rock/grunge)
Rainbow (70's Dio era vs. 80's non-Dio commercial era)
Def Leppard (early 80's metal era vs. late 80's/early 90's to present poppy era)
U2 (early new wave vs hard rock vs 90's pop/dance/techno period)
7:19 I'm one of those guys. Now, I do love some of the heavy stuff (In Rock in particular), Shades of DP was the first album of theirs that I bought and I love it to this day. The Rod Evans stuff is much maligned, so it's great Mr. Pardo sent us Mk I fans a big thumbs up. Again excellent discussion, cheers and keep it up!
Genesis and The Beatles comes to mind when you bring up the fans who have different favorite albums
Lazy may be my favorite Purple song! To each his own. Another good episode gentlemen!
Rush: Pete says, "...you do run into fans who like everything they've done...." That's me!! Love your channel....keep it up and wishing you and your team the best.
Another show idea is Songs that you never get tired of hearing. Songs you’ve heard a million times but still listen when it comes on the radio. You crank it up and still get goosebumps when you hear them. Couple of mine include Radar Love and More than a Feeling.
ZZ top comes to mind. Personally I love their catalog but as you mentioned with budgie great songs are sprinkled throughout many albums but pin pointing one in particular that's loaded from top to bottom is tough for me is difficult.
Good choice. I would struggle picking a favourite.
This was a very interesting topic, and I agree with many of the choices mentioned. I tend to think that if a band/artist has a large discography, and/or there is considerable variety in it, a lack of consensus regarding favorite albums among fans will more than likely be the result.
The comments on the Led Zeppelin pick had me cracking up, because they are so accurate; Heaven forbid you have a different opinion than someone picking something like IV as personal favorite. I'd say definitely go ahead and do an episode on artists with the most angry fans. That one would be a real blast!
I would bet most diehard Led Zeppelin fans own less then 30 cds etc
I gotta say BOC. Always strong and IMO their latest is one of their best ever.
Exactly. At different points in my life Tyranny & Mutation, secret treaties, spectres, mirrors, and cultosaurus have all been my favorite album. Fire of unknown origin and the symbol remains are of course amazing too.
I was honestly stunned by how great "The Symbol Remains" is. Not that I was expecting it to be a *bad* album at all, but at this point in BOC's time as a band, I wasn't really expecting a late-career masterpiece. I was happily wrong though, because that is exactly what TSR is! "Tyranny and Mutation" is still my favorite BOC, but "The Symbol Remains" is not far below it!
I believe one thing that makes a great band is one that is appreciated by multiple generations.
To add to the Saxon discussion, there are the pre-Thundersteel and post-Thundersteel fans of Riot (or Riot V).
I'm just here for the weather report. ;)
I’ve been listening a lot to Sabbath lately and they certainly fit this topic. Lots of fans are obsessed with the first three albums, but almost as many adore the run from Vol. 4 through Sabotage when the music got more sophisticated. Lots of younger fans are really attracted to the tightness and streamlined nature of the Dio albums. And then there’s even people like me who think Born Again is arguably their best!
The most I am looking for is a Weather Report from Toronto and New York...splendid....
I think a band is only as good as the musicians you have, it's one thing to have great players but when they're all great composers who can not only write great music but together can make fantastic albums. Riverside, Rush and Porcupine Tree to name a few are prime examples of what makes a great band and their catalogue of music is proof of that.
Interesting topic some well choices. I think the glaring continuous themes are: longevity and the ability to be original. Three that should have made honorable mention:
1. Pink Floyd - some say the band died when Syd was dismissed; others will argue their best album (almost on a non-stop basis) is: DSTOM, WYWH, Animals, The Wall, AND also the Final Cut.
2. Porcupine Tree - Chris Maitland or Gavin Harrison on drums? When it was a DIY for Steven Wilson? Best Album: Sky Moves Sideways, Stupid Dream, In Absentia, or Fear of a Blank Planet?
3. Frank Zappa - all the constant rotation of personnel yet Best Album is argued: We're Only in it for the Money, Hot Rats, Apostrophe(*), Overnite Sensation, Bongo Fury, Sheik Yerbouti, Guitar, etc.
Floyd is a great choice because they have several distinct eras of the band and each era has at least one really good album.
Decades ago, in my teens, my favorite Zeppelin albums were the hard-rocking (with some folk influence) second and fourth albums. I still love those albums so much, and I still love hard rock and metal in general, and I even enjoy some *extreme* metal, so nearing the age of 50, I haven't exactly mellowed out... *but* in my teens, I didn't care much for "In Through the Out Door," and now, it's one of my Zep faves!
That's the beauty of Zeppelin. The variety is unmatched
@@mthomas1973 Exactly, and well-said!
Devin Townsend is the epitome of this concept in my opinion:
You have your poppy era- Addicted, Sky blue, Epicloud, Transcendence
Avant garde era- Devlab, The puzzle, the hummer
Extreme metal bliss era- City, the new black, Alien, S.Y.L
Operatic, over the top, Proggy era- Deconstruction, Dark matters, Infinity, Ziltoid, Empath
Atmospheric, relaxing era- Casualties of cool, Ghost, Snuggles
More of a blues-rocky sorta album- Ki
He's got a punk album- Punky bruster
Somewhere in between sorta albums- Ocean machine, Terria, Synchestra
I think you get my point, every single fan will have a completely different list of favorites and I absolutely love the guy for that very reason.
P.S. about what Pete said at 39:20, I think you're forgetting a little band called Tool...
I love all your stuff...but this was REALLY good! A lot of surprises.
This is an odd topic for me because my top three bands fit in this category plus Queen.
A. INXS is my favorite band. I came on board w/Listen Like Thieves. The second album I owned was Kick, which is my favorite and the one that made them superstars in the late 80s and early 90s. It's also where most die-hard fans draw the line. Those who draw the line at Kick think Shabooh Shoobah is their best, which was also their first US release. The casual fan probably owns either Listen Like Thieves, Kick, X or all three. I like all of their albums, w/the exception of Switch. My favorite period is 1985-1992 which includes my favorites, Listen Like Thieves, Kick, X and Welcome To Wherever You Are. I think it's their best and most creative period and most critics agree.
B. Led Zeppelin is a band where I came onboard much later. I was born in the 70s so, I don't have the attachment their die-hard fans do. However, I was born exactly a year after Led Zeppelin IV was released, which is cool because it's my favorite album. It ranks # 1 w/most fans but, some complain the songs are overplayed. So what? It doesn't take away from its greatness. I also have ITTOD in my
top half of favorite albums, which is unusual for a Zeppelin fan. I also have HOTH and Physical Graffiti in my top half. Most fans consider Physical Graffiti as their best or second best and I'm no different. Most would put Presence at bottom so do I. I also have Led Zeppelin III at the bottom. I love Immigrant Song but checkout after Since I've Been Loving You. They should've swapped Hats Off to Roy Harper for Hey, Hey What Can I Do? I'd at least have two reasons to listen to that album!
C. U2 is a band I got onboard w/midway into their career. Some fans think everything before The Joshua Tree is great. I love The Joshua Tree and it's the first album I owned. The second is Achtung Baby, which is my favorite. Some rail against their 90s albums because of the Euro-pop sound. I like all three, Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop. Some think they went sideways in the 2000s. It's a hit-and-miss w/me. I hate All You Can't Leave Behind but love How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, it's the last U2 album I kept. I bought No Line On The Horizon and traded it soon after. I haven't heard their last two albums because I think they've run out of things to say. I like all of their 80s and 90s albums and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. My favorite period is 1983-1991 which includes my favorite U2 albums, The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby most critics would agree are their best.
D. Queen is a band I've always appreciated. I've heard everything from Queen I to Hot Space. Unlike most fans, I don't think Hot Space is their worst album. I think most of their 80s albums are eitther mediocre, bad or boring. As far as their 70s albums go, which is Queen's best era in music we can all agree, I like their first two, Sheer Heart Attack, A Day At The Races and News of the World. I can't stand Jazz, which some people say is all over the place and I agree, and A Night At The Opera, which is too over the top for me, especially Bohemian Rhapsody. If I had to pick a favorite Queen record at this point, it would be The Game, what a shock. It's what the causal Queen fan likes. However, I'm still new on the bandwagon so that opinion could change once I get more familiar w/their music.
It's hard to choose a favorite U2 album because they went through so many phases. Personally I think War is my favorite, but sometimes I'm in the mood for the Joshua Tree or Boy or Pop or even Achtung Baby. I wish their new stuff didn't suck.
@@nickhouse9591 I'm in total agreement. Though Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree and Zooropa are my go-to albums, I've been listening to War a lot lately. You're right about their later albums. I bought No Line On The Horizon, hated it and haven't bought the two after. U2 has gone through a number of phases and hit it out of the park most of the time, in my opinion, and that's why I think they're a great band and one of my favorites😊
Petra - Some prefer the early more classic rock type of stuff when Rob Frazier and Greg X. Volz were in the band and the others gravitate more towards the later AOR-Petra with John Schlitt on vocals. Either way there is a lot of variety when it comes to what is the best album of the band.
Porcupine Tree, Zappa and Tool for me. I know Tool's discography is thinner but it's so amazing it has to be mentioned IMO.
My two favs from them :
PT - Fear of a Blank Planet and The Sky Moves Sideways
Uncle Frank - Hot Rats and Roxy and Elsewhere
Tool - Lateralus and Fear Inoculum
Such an excellent show as always.
Hey Pete! How about doing a show on bands that have a lot of albums, but never really gained a strong fan base.
Good suggestion
Thin Lizzy
I like!!!
Good idea. UFO or Triumph?
Nazareth
The choices are amazing you guys really put a lot into this topic 👏
Kayak and Kaipa from Sweden and Kansas spring to mind. Both were formed in the 1970’s (‘73 for Kayak, ‘74 for Kansas and ‘75 for Kaipa. They are still producing excellent material today, almost 50 years on. Strange that they are all “K” bands!
Very cool topic, and great picks too. I got into Opeth on Ghost Reveries, they became my gateway to more extreme metal, but I love the new stuff too. I am one of those people that love the classic Allman Bros. Band, but thanks to the SOT family I am really digging the early 90's stuff with Warren Haynes. He brings that bluesy side of the Allman's that was missing for me.
It's funny my very first rush exposure was 2112 but I like all phases including the one that gets crapped on the most hold the fire I love
I'd put Motörhead on the map. To me, their early output (Bomber, Overkill, Ace Of Spades) is just as awesöme as their middle period (Rock'n'Roll, 1916, Bastards) or the albums late in their career (Inferno, Kiss Of Death, Aftershock).
They don't have a bad album.
How about ZZ Top. A lot of guitar players love the first album and some love Tres Hombres. Then there is a newer fan that loves Eliminator. I’m a fan of Rio Grande Mud. But , Rhytheen is also great. I think they fit very well in this discussion.
This was a pretty good topic today.
the bands I would put on this list would be:
U2 - Some love the first couple albums only . Some love the late 80's. and some even love the newer stuff. no denying that they are one of the biggest bands ever.
Van Halen / Van Hagar - enough said :) I personally love 5150 and F.U.C.K with Hagar as well as DLR era.
Iron Maiden - Some people love only the Pre-Dickinson stuff and not Dickinson
Genesis - depending when you joined the Genesis train you either love the 70's or 80's material
Doobie Brothers - Pre - Michael McDonald and with McDonald
With U2, I believe that the three albums in a row- Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Actung Baby rank among the best and most diverse sounds of any band. Don’t like much before or after.
@@edwardcoit9748 and I love their first few albums.. New Wave / Post Punk. Really raw with the heavy bass and drum. After Achtung was rough though. But I did enjoy How to dismantle an atomic bomb though. That was probably the last 1 i did.
I wasn’t sure where this video was going but ,I really enjoyed it. It seems like a band that had distinctive periods with different personnel, or style change would be appropriate for this video. My pick would be Santana. Because they had so many stylistic changes throughout their career. And almost all of them were very interesting musically. My favorite era of the Santana band would be their fusion era In the early 70s.
Great choice for this show. Caravanserai is my favourite and I really rate Welcome, but obviously also eponymous Santana, and I’ve always loved Moonflower. I like Zebop! But things then tailed-off for me. Maybe I should revisit some of the later albums.
Another great show guys Bang on with Deep Purple Martin. I think my 3 favorite Purple albums are from the different eras. Perfect Strangers, Machine Head and Whoosh are my three favorites.
The Damned is this for me as well as Killing Joke. Keep up the great work.
Two legendary Extreme Metal bands come to my mind: Cannibal corpse and Napalm death. Both have huge discographies, changed a lot over the years, but in general they never released something really bad. Almost every album by them is someone's favorite.
In the case of Napalm death, there is even a very large group of fans that think that their recent albums are the best
Rush is my favourite band so for me all their albums and eras are great.
Same. The run of albums from the debut to Power Windows is maybe the most consistently high quality run I can think of in classic rock history. Most of the albums in that period have been my favorite Rush album at one point or another.
@@matthewjachimiec I totally agree. Power Windows is their last perfect album. The albums after are also really good but not perfect.
Wow Martin. I think "Lazy" is Purples best piece of music by a bit. Epic !
I am kind of with Martin on this one. Machine is one of my favourite Purple albums but to my ears, Lazy and Never Before are the songs I like least. Lazy is bluesy and I can only take so much blues before I grow weary of it, though I must say that the Purps do a fine job with that particular genre on that song. Never Before is simply too poppy for me.
Opeth. Now, I'm no fan of death metal as such, but Blackwater Park is in (or near) my top 10 favourite albums of all time. Go figure that one out, 'cos my prog pals think I've upped and left the cause. For me though, it's a work of pure genius - all killer, not an iota of filler. Sorceress is right up there too... yet could hardly be more different. But then... I'm currently listening to Watershed more than either of them. And then again...a couple of my favourite Opeth songs are on Pale Communion. And Ghost Reveries. Sign of a great band? I'd say that's a 'hell yeah'...
It depends on the band, the eras, and what factors are being considered (age when the fan got into the band, when did the band broke up, is the band still going, band line up, etc.). I got into Rush in the 80’s, so I am fond of their 80’s records, with Grace being my favorite. I started listening to Deep Purple like in 2011, and I was listening to all kinds of music, so Stormbringer is my favorite Purple album because of the variety on it. Now, I followed bands like The Cure, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode since the beginning, so I tend to gravitate to their earlier stuff. It wasn’t until REM broke up in 2011 that I paid any attention to the records past Monster, and actually liked Accelerate a lot. So I don’t think it makes a band good, is just the nature of bands that have been around for a long time.
I think The Rolling Stones would have been a good choice.
Just my favorite rock bands I always thought was great and my taste might be a little different but here it goes.
Queen
Led Zeppelin
Van Halen
The Rolling Stones
The Beatles
The Police
U2
Nirvana
Metallica
The Clash
Guns N' Roses
Aerosmith
Pink Floyd
The Smashing Pumpkins
Black Sabbath
Steely Dan
Journey
Santana
Def Leppard
All these groups have done some of my favorite rock albums of all time. I love classic rock, hard rock, metal, punk and nineties alternative rock.
Good episode. I always pick something up from Pete and Martin on these episodes. I'm currently grooving to Saxon...Dogs of War......The Great White Buffalo. It's almost a kind of homage to Lizzy, The Killing of The Buffalo.
The essence of a great band is when they become popular and gradually embrace new styles and still retain popularity ok some fans will jump off the bandwagon. still influencing others around them to greater heights. The Beatles have to be that great band.maybe not masters of their instruments, but together they were immense.
Fireball is my favorite purple album
I think you occasionally get that select few Gentle Giant fans that think The Missing Piece is a stinker in the catalogue. I personally love that album (who wouldn’t love “Two Weeks In Spain?”), but I remember seeing on some forums where a decent amount if people crapped on it.
I find more than enough Gentle Giant fans that can't get into the post-In'terview albums. I, personally, didn't think much of The Missing Piece in the beginning. Excepting "Two Weeks in Spain," nothing else clicked on the first few listens, so it sat around for a few years untouched. Then one day, decided to pull it out, as I felt I needed a break from gorging on all of GG's previous albums, and, much to my surprise, loved it! Still do!
I'm 44 years old and my favourite Saxon album is "Lionheart" (2004) and my second favourite is "Destiny" (1988).
I've been listening to them for 42 years. I'm 58. There's not a bad album in the catalog.
Essential listening and watching Friday afternoon in the Uk 🇬🇧 👌
I think what makes a great band is a group of people, who have absolutely no choice to do anything else than what they're doing. They must do it and they must do it exactly that way. The Ramones come to mind. Black Sabbath. Motörhead. The Stooges. Radio Birdman. Hüsker Dü. Roky Erickson. The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Metallica. Slayer. Metal Church. Overkill. Testament. The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. The Smiths. R.E.M.. Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The E-Street Band. Dead Moon. Steely Dan. Talking Heads. Kraftwerk. The Beastie Boys. AC/DC. The Velvet Underground. I don't know, if you're "not so much a Child In Time fan", maybe you're not so much a Deep Purple fan?
This comment made me laugh the Ramones and the beastie boys great bands? Replace these clowns with the eagles and Bob seger and you'll have a more accurate description of a great band
Love the cut Pete!
Here are some ideas for future episodes:
Bands that were soundalikes of other bands (e.g. Starcastle sounds like Yes).
Bands who were more successful when they reunited (e.g. Diamond Head).
Bands who were screwed over by bad management.
Bands who were ahead of their time.
Bands who were behind their time (could have been successful in an earlier decade).
Bands who went hair metal and whether or not they succeeded (e.g. Saxon, Accept, Discharge, Celtic Frost, TSOL).
Regarding your discussion on Deep Purple, I'll put my hand up and pick Purpendicular as my favourite album from the whole catalogue.
I've been trying to narrow down what makes a great band for me personally and I can't find the common thread. My favorite bands are all over the map, with differing voices, guitar sounds and songwriting strategies. I did find one pattern in that I favor bands that use Gibsons, which is interesting.
Great topic and some great picks
I would definitely choose most of the ones already mentioned.
Some my own top choices...
Fugazi
Clutch
Black Sabbath
Swans
Napalm Death
No Means No
Killing Joke
Death
To me the makings of a great band/artist involve two things: 1) One single album so groundbreaking it changes the landscape & just can't be ignored. It's an all time classic...2) Long-term consistency & high quality...
Where this gets tough is actually evaluating the above. I admit I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the initial premise of this episode, that fans' disagreement about which album of a given artist's output is best is a marker of greatness (at least I think that's what the premise is here, I had to replay the intro to the video 5-6 times). Music is inherently subjective, so there's a built-in human consequence to disagree among ourselves about what we think about a given album or an artist's discography. Given that I'm not sure we can use this as a yardstick to judge whether artists are great or not. To me that seems like starting the process with a flawed assumption, given a large enough sample we'll ALWAYS disagree to some extent about music. That's why sites like SoT have an almost built-in ability to survive, any subject involving music will elicit differing responses. And also what'll keep Martin's contrarian shows going forever...
Also as others mentioned musical opinions can change over time, so your favorites today might not have been your faves yesterday. Again it's a built-in feature of humans' subjective opinion process. I don't see the timing of when a given artist releases their "best" albums (early in their career, in the middle or late) as that important. There are some exceptions, I'm specifically thinking of the 60's here & all of the social changes happening at the time. Seems to me that great music released during times of great social change elevate those albums even more than they would otherwise be, but again not really linked to the life cycle of that artist. A better possible example might be great debut albums (and especially when the bands are one-and-done), after all that's the first time we become aware of them & if that record also happens to be an all time classic...(think Boston / The Cars / Hendrix / Led Zep / Van Halen / etc)
Excellent points made there Wolf. I agree totally. Nice to see you back on here - it's been awhile since we last chatted.
Great post.
Definitely agree with your 1) and 2), and 2) becomes a real challenge for bands and artists that have been recording over a long period. I think Joni Mitchell easily ticks 1) and 2) with very few exceptions. I think Neil Young ticked the boxes up to 80’s but has so many records his catalogue then becomes inconsistent. You can easily argue same for Dylan and the Stones and Springsteen. Zep I wouldn’t fault at all on their shorter catalogue. Some artists have released great albums down the line and I’ve always thought is strange that in popular music there seems to be a prejudice when comparing later work with earlier. This isn’t the case in classical music, often the greatest works are at the end of an artists life - think Mahler, Wagner, Liszt for sure because they were bringing maturity and experience. In rock n’ pop, you may not reach the heady heights later in life, vocals can deteriorate for some artists but there are examples of reinvention always to look out for. SOT put me onto the later Allman’s recordings - fantastic. I really like 2000’s Heart. I like Andy Latimer’s later Camel recordings. Rush finished on a high. I liked Kansas’s The Absence of Presence. Love Marillion’s new An Hour Before It’s Dark (looking forward to see them at Hammersmith Odeon). Steve Hackett’s quality hasn’t diminished and such a tasteful performer in concert. I’m sure there are loads of examples. To finish, Barbra Streisand’s 2018 Walls blew me away, how can she still sing like this (first album 1963)!?! and she totally owns the huskier sound that creeps in. I love Joni’s Both Sides Now from back in 2000, especially her reworking of A Case Of You and Both Sides Now because you really feel the lived experience that can’t be there to the same degree in the originals, notwithstanding they are absolute classics.
I'm with u Martin... Hard to pick my fave Max album...
Great episode. Foreigner would be another good choice. No consensus, different eras, etc…When you guys talk about bands early in their careers, I think think of all those great shows at the Spokane Colosseum in the late 70s - early 80s. I’m sure Martin was at many of those shows.
I would definitely add Iron Maiden to this list. They've been in the business for over 40 years now and every decade has it's fans. Even the 90s with the weaker Dickinson stuff and the Blaze era has fans out there. Not that many, i would agree, but i personally know a few die hard fans that came across Maiden in the mid 90s with X Factor and Virtual XI and still love the material on it. Maybe a bit more with Dickinson on the mic with Rock in Rio, but they don't hate it.
The first 7 albums are divine and every single one of it is someones most beloved Metal album. The latter stuff is on many best of lists as well. Brave New World is the favorite of a lot of fans. Even from supporters from their early days. The last two albums are still very very good and they are live still going strong. So that would be my pick.
Arthur on Dion Business is the correct word they're just a commercial product!!!!!!!!
Arthu r con Dion Business us the correct word they've just a commercial product!!!!
Pete can't wait for the 'Hold Your Fire' box set finally to be released, 😉
A great topic , and interesting choices . I guess that I'm one of the unusual fans of Rush in that I've been with them since before the beginning ( I saw them in clubs around Toronto in the early 70s before they recorded their first album , along with their compatriots Max Webster ) . And yet , I have to say that currently , my favourite album is Signals , and I'm also a big fan of Grace Under Pressure , and their early stuff as well . As for Max Webster , High Class is my favourite , with Mutiny a close second . And I'm not saying this in an angry way , how can you not like Led Zeppelin II as a favourite ? Cheers !!
I'm half mainstream and half obscure from bands presented..
Deep Purple- Slaves & Masters
Rainbow - (while we're at it) - Long live Rock & Roll
Rush - 2112
Thin Lizzy - Thunder & Lightning
XTC - Skylarking (re-release with "Dear God")
Saxon - Power & the Glory
Budgie - Bandolier
Opeth - Sorceress
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Allman Brothers - Idlewild South
Max Webster - A million vacations
Dream Theater - Train of Thought
Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
UFO - Obsession
Peter Gabriel - So
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand
King Crimson - Three of a perfect pair
Please consider an episode on angry fans. Would be quite an entertaining episode.
great live.....great songs....great look...great singers and players....original sound...staying together....reinventing themselves ,.....and not following trends,but setting trends......my 5 fav.'s are judas priest,motorhead,zz top,acdc,aerosmith......or lynyrd skynyrd
I would definitely pick Blue oyster cult.
People think I'm strange when I say "Grace Under Pressure " is my favorite Rush album! I'm 53 years old and love most of their albums but, there's something about Grace that I love more than the rest.
Saxon's latest album Carpe Diem is very good. The Pilgrimage is an amazing song.
Fantastic show! Funny you mention Saxon Martin and how people in their 20s view them. I am in my mid 20s and strong arm of the law is my absolute favourite Saxon album, I love quite a few of the newer albums but they don't have many stand out songs in my opinion. I am also not a big fan of scaratt, I find the bluesiness and the emotion in the solos missing in the latest albums. Graham Oliver was my favourite part about Saxon and he is one of the unsung guitarists of the 80s.
My picks for this topic would be
Coroner
Pink Floyd
Judas priest
Death
Kreator
"Time Stands Still" is when I stood still with RUSH. Still love them to death though:)
I think there are many bands that stayed strong throughout their careers and so people can't agree on their best album because many different ones could qualify.
Deep Purple
Queen
Black Sabbath
Led Zeppelin
Judas Priest
Iron Maiden
The Who
KISS
Alice Cooper
Motorhead
Rainbow
The Doobie Brothers
King's X
Rush
Saxon
Megadeth
Etc.
The Who - never did it for me
Great discussion this morning, especially in terms of the greatness of Deep Purple and the diversity of its catalogue. Something for everybody....BUT.....so many people these days are completely unaware of Purple. That band simply doesn't get the media coverage, magazine covers, etc that other bands such as Zeppelin, Sabbath, Queen, Kiss, et al do even to this day. I am mystified as to why there is such a music industry / media void about Deep Purple. Theories anyone??
Maybe Richie's attitude to the music press may have something to do with it.
@@63mckenzie Agreed to a certain point, but as Ritchie has been gone for almost 30 years, it seems that the music media has still not warmed up more to the band since then. I am thinking band member continuity or lack thereof, especially in the 70's with their revolving door of Marks 1 to 4, might also be a factor. No core nucleus the same way Zeppelin or Sabbath or other bands had in that same era.
There are great '70s bands like Uriah Heep and Blue Oyster Cult which are still active and have less media coverage than Purple, this discussion has no end ...
@@garyh.238 Unfortunately, some bands aren't 'sexy' enough for the media.
@@63mckenzie Isn't Coverdale sexy?
Pantera's main catalogue. I've heard each one of the five cited as people's favorites, I would say most of the time it's Cowboys or Vulgar but it runs the gamut.
Same with System of a Down, it's similar to the Soundgarden/Police thing Martin talked about in that it's a short discography but all of them are such high quality that it's really hard to pick a favorite.
AC/DC and Iron Maiden are similar to each other but a bit different from this topic in that some people prefer the earlier albums with the original singer while some prefer the second singer, and you don't see many picks for favorite album past the early '90s (and Brave New World).
Yes, the premise is absolutely solid. Virtually very 'great' band that I can think of has half a dozen 'best' albums. From The Beatles to Porcupine Tree, they all fit.
Reg Angry Fans - music is such a powerful force the discussions sometimes remind me of the many religion debates I’ve engaged in!
Long Live Budgie, Long Live Rock n Roll
It's an interesting subject; but what makes a great band is only revealed by your personal experience seeing them live. I think we've forgotten that; in the whirl of ranking records with decades of critical context about them.
I was just wondering: are there many bands where there's a real clear consensus? I mean the first band that comes to mind for me is AC/DC, but even there, you have the Bon Scott/ Brian Johnson era...Motörhead? Metallica? Slayer? Guns 'n' Roses? Don't know...I feel like every band that has lots of fans will have different fav albums/ era. Cheers.
Rush, Porcupine Tree, The Tea Party, The Flower Kings, Riverside, The Pineapple Thief, The Black Crowes, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Opeth, The Doors, Genesis, IQ, Jethro Tull, Crimson, Led Zep, Floyd, The Police, Radiohead... Strong catalogues all the way through, and often changing styles, dare I say Progressing
I tend to reach for the "Test for Echo" & "Vapor Trails" CDs quite a bit...
Vapor Trails is their heaviest latter period album.
I am listening to you grettings from Lisbon 🇵🇹
Great topic to think about.
This kinda coincides with bands where your favorite basically switches between a huge selection of them all the time. I generally say Perfect Strangers is my favorite DP album, but in the past tht has been Fireball, this has been In Rock, and I can see myself going toward Infinite given some more time with the album.
Rush as well, I've had Fly by Night, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures fighting for the top spot basically forever (though I tend to leave out Moving Pictures from this because ynow, it's the popular one :D)
And what Martin mentioned about Saxon - I am quite a young fan of this kind of music, and for me there is just a huuge difference between Wheels Of Steel which I feel like doesn't hold up at all (also Strong Arm Of The Law) and the likes of Denim & Leather and Power & The Glory which I like quite a bit. Not even the newer stuff specifically, it's just that imo they didn't really find their footing in the songwriting department and certainly the production on the albums until D&L.
About Zeppelin, I am one of those few guys that picks Houses Of The Holy hahaha, so yeah just goes to show how consistently great they are.
Greetings from the UK. Quite a tough one this, but for me Hawkwind have never made a bad album. Also The Alan Parsons Project and Jethro Tull discography is really strong.
I find this title somehow misleading. I thought you would talk about the ingredients of a great band, ie. WHAT is required as recipe for a great success story. Would you need a conflict in a band "Mogg/Schenker" style or what skills should be present in a band? Maybe an idea for another show?
All bands are good when there splitting the money equal once someone says they wanna go solo it will just never be the same when they reunite.
I would say *Traffic* has no consensus best album - they're almost uniformly strong.
I’d agree, though you might argue the Dave Mason years are a bit different. I love TLSOHHB and Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory, although the latter isn’t a critics choice (who cares!). I recently bought When The Eagle Flies on vinyl and really getting into it.
Yeah, Martin is wrong about Nonsuch, lol.
It's my favourite XTC album too, I started hating it because the singles were so mainstream oriented but once I listened to the whole album, it became my fav immediately.
Opeth's fandom is weird. Many jumped off the wagon when they released Watershed which is my fav of the band. It has the perfect balance of everything past, present, and future.
Pink Floyd has the angriest fan base of all.
Some are adamant on Animals as the bestest of them all and they'll go crazy about it. Or Wish you were here, or A saucerful, etc.
Porcupine Tree. The Police.
A band that I love but right now is facing oblivion is Big Country. Bands of the 80s have their revivals from time to time but Big Country doesn't and probably never will because his singer is no longer here, but my, what a great band that was.
Maybe an episode about bands like this would be great.
On a side note, nope, Peter Gabriel 2 can't be his best album in a million years. It's right there as his worst and it's fine, it's not a bad album anyway. I love it to pieces most of it. It's just not at the level of what was about to come. Peter was very confused at that time.
Saxon again I have the same feeling and points raised with Magnum, main thing long career and so many albums.
i have appreciated just how good 'Perfect Strangers' was ever since its release. i would definitely rank it as my favorite Deep Purple album as well......the discussion about Zepplin fans reminds me o' harley fanatics - it's not enough to admit that we obviously both love to ride motorcycles, no, if you don't ride a harley you're a (insert expletive here...). i don't bandy words with witless wyrms, once i get the sense the discussion is about winning the 'argument' i just walk away - life is simply too short (and no matter how long it is, it's never long enough to waste our limited time and energy trying to pry open narrow minds...)
I've seen several rankings of The Flower Kings and ELO. They're both all over the place.
ReD HoT cHIlI PePPerS!!
Great Look!!
Great Albums!!!
Great Videos!!!!
Greats Performances!!
I still have a hard time picking a favorite Sabbath album from the Ozzy era.
True, that's very difficult! One day it is Vol 4, tomorrow Sabotage etc 🙂 Then again I think for example Mob Rules is pure 5/5 album and I could choose that as my favourite
Great band - this is certainly a matter of definition. Let me stay by the definition the two of you used at the beginning. Bigger catalogue and difficult to point out a clear favorite.
So here is my quick list besides the bands you've mentioned:
Lynyrd Skynyrd - the Ronnie era vs. the Johnny. Great stuff throughout
Motörhead - classic lineup or the later one - 4 piece or just 3 noisy guys
Uriah Heep - again classic lineup or all the later versions
Blue Öyster Cult - with or without the Bouchards
Nightwish - Tarja, Anette, Floor?
Scorpions - no further comment from my side
Great idea for an episode!!
The Beatles. It's low hanging fruit but, in my mind, they are the original great band that has many "best" albums.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I don't think I can name my favorite album of theirs but the top 4 for me would be albums released in 1985, 1991, 2002, and 2011. I think that is very unique.
Anthrax. Lots to choose from because they evolve and every album has memorable tracks
Judas Priest. Check out all the Fave Judas Priest album videos that people do on youtube and you'll see what I mean. Make sure to find the people that that were born after 1990.
Steely Dan. There's another crap shoot for favorite album. They are all such high quality and memorable.
...and Little Feat.
You could have an entire episode of this topic just for Black Metal bands. Darkthrone, Immortal, Summoning, Inquisition, Drudkh, Panopticon, Dimmu Borgir, Alcest, Agalloch, Enslaved. None of these bands have a clear consensus as to their best album.
I mean sure, almost every album on any given bands catalog is probably someones favorite, but at least with bands like Summoning, Immortal, Enslaved and Dimmu, the consensus would most likely be between maybe 2 or 3 albums. With Darkthrone maybe 4. And they have what - about 20 albums. So it's not that widespread imho.
@@Arutha_Con_Doin yeah, early Darkthrone is best, the best thing about their later albums is the album covers. Fenriz's vocals suck. As for Enslaved, them and Marduk, I like every album.