Remember when people actually had to buy full albums instead of whatever songs they wanted off of iTunes or Zune? Who am I kidding? No one had a Zune! For those of us old enough to remember, we did buy albums and lots of them. Especially if you had a Sam Goody or Musicland in your mall!
Of the huge quantities purchased from the mall, we all ended up with albums that we absolutely adore. Some are extremely terrible (Celebrity by *NSync) and some are awesome (Heretic Pride by the Mountain Goats). Not all of these albums that we love can be can be qualified as a perfect album though. To me, a perfect album is an album that can be listened all the way through without you skipping a track and that lacks filler. The Beatles only achieved one perfect album because they always had one or two filler songs on their albums, usually written by Ringo. Revolver is the only perfect album by the Beatles. Radiohead has achieved three perfect albums. I still think the Beatles are a better band. A perfect album does not necessarily mean the greatest band ever.
So Dear Unicorns, what do you consider a perfect album? Do you disagree with my assessment of Ringo’s songwriting skill? What albums that aren’t perfect do you still listen to all the time?
17 replies on “Lunchtime Poll: Perfect Albums”
I have been thinking about this a lot recently, strangely enough, and I submit “Songs in the Key of Life” by Stevie Wonder, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” by David Bowie, and “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” by Lauryn Hill. All of them have beautiful segues and themes, and were clearly written to be heard together. In the jazz category I’m going to say “Song for My Father” by Horace Silver, “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis, and “Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco” by Cannonball Adderley Quintet.
oh my. I’m old, soo Screamadelica by Primal Scream, Led Zep IV, Moondance and Astral Weeks by Van Morrison, Little Earthquakes by Tori, Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair.
Anything by Pink Floyd but especially DSotM or The Wall. You absolutely CANNOT skip tracks on those. I think the album self-destructs if you do.
Asleep In The Back, Elbow’s first album, is amazingly perfect and all-round awesome.
As is Jeff Buckley’s Grace.
I’m pretty sure the only albums I don’t skip songs on are 1) Jimmy Buffet’s Volcano, which is not really perfect perfect. I just have lots of fond memories of cleaning the house with my mom to it, and I still use it as a cleaning album because of that. And 2) B. B. King’s Lucille. I can groove to that all night long. But again, it’s associated with happy childhood moments, so even though I love it, I’m not sure it’s be perfect to me without the memories.
Joni Mitchell’s Blue.
such an amazing album. A Case of You gets me every time.
Version 2.0 by Garbage. I loved it when it came out, and I still love it now!
another band I wish I would have gotten into.
*lolol* I have a Zune! I love my Zune! You can’t have my Zune! :-D
Most of what I consider “perfect” albums are country music, which would bore everyone to tears. :-)
oh Zunes. I remember seeing one I think. once in a store.
Not me! Share the country!
I agree! Good is good, and brilliant is an opportunity.
Ah, this is kind of perfectly timed. I’m listening to “Sky At Night” by I Am Kloot, and I think it really is a fairly perfect album. I also love all of Adele’s albums, and think Charlie Simpson’s “Young Pilgrim” is pretty darn awesome, too.
Adele is so amazing. Not to mention she is a Tottenham Hotspur fan.
PURPLE RAIN = PERFECT
I never really got into Prince though I respect him as a song writer and I do love When Doves Cry.