Obviously inspired by @PP_BOY_@lemmy.world 's question
Master of Puppets
I was stunned. Even critics who hated metal were all about that album. To my mind, it was the first metal album where people said, “You have to admit it’s damned good, even if you don’t like the genre.”
Does that make sense? People may not have enjoyed the album, but respected it none the less.
Another amazing thing about that Master of Puppets, it rocketed to popularity in a time where being on Mtv was a must and Metallica said they wouldn’t play that game. We were shocked when they released the video for One, had no idea it was coming. Wondered in at midnight and turned on the Headbangers Ball and, “NOW! The world premiere video of Metallica’s One!”
I still, to this day, get chills when I hear that middle section in Orion. If Cliff hadn’t have died, the world of metal would be incredibly different. ALL of the good material on Justice is written by Cliff at least in some part. The two untouchable members of Metallica, to me, are Cliff Burton, and James Hetfield, the finest rhythm guitar player that has ever lived.
Cliff’s songwriting and Hetfield’s rhythm playing would have produced hundreds more classics. He was like the McCartney of metal. Sucks that Bob Rock had such an indelible mark on Metallica.
ShouldaBeenLars
Time by the Electric Light Orchestra. that period in the late 70s and early 80s where synthesizer music was getting popular but hadn’t fully codified norms yet is chock full of incredible music, and Time was one of those albums while also being the culmination of a lot of the rock and pop that came before it. add an engaging and heartbreaking story and you have a winner
I was definitely not expecting to see ELO as the very, very first result here but I’m pleasantly surprised.
Much like the other commenter, I’d also add that Eldorado is definitely a strong contender for their best album - arguably for the fact that I’ve never ever listened to an album that came anywhere close to it.
Finally, I’d throw in Discovery + ELO’s side of Xanadu, just for the mere fact that it’s their work featuring not a single weak track, all of them being single worthy and massive hits around the world.
Have you heard the remastered version with additional tracks? Julie Don’t Live Here is especially poignant.
Also, the album Eldorado.
Mezzanine
It’s a tie for me
Pearl Jam. (1991). Ten [Album]. Epic Records.
A Tribe Called Quest. (1991). The Low End Theory [Album]. Jive Records.
My fuck, Low End Theory is one of the best albums in history.
You on point, Tip?
Here’s my thing about ‘Ten’.
I love the first half of this album. It’s some of the best music I know in the genre. High energy, catchy, passionate. But somehow, the second half feels to me like the band ran out of ideas and gas. After ‘Jeremy’ it’s all pretty average, low-energy stuff, with the exception of ‘Garden’.
NIИ - The Downward Spiral is the common choice, but The Fragile is a much more complete album. However, my personal favorite is Year Zero.
I would say Pretty Hate Machine is probably the best known. My favorite is Broken. You are probably correct about Downward Spiral being the consensus among the fan base as a whole. What I really like about NIN is that I enjoy all of their albums. Many other bands I like have some that I avoid. Probably my least favorite NIN album is Fixed and it’s still pretty listenable.
