Best "runs of albums" by artists

I'm glad you can still feel the magic. Granted, I'm basing my assessment of the current band's abilities off youtube videos, but it looked pretty bad to me. And maybe being surprised by JA's absence at the Drama show I attended has colored my view, but it just doesn't sound like Yes music w/o Jon, to me. I really am glad you still enjoy seeing them. Those days appear to be over for me. But like I said, I'm grateful for the many times I was able to experience their majesty.

 

Talking of.... Seen this? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03xf0g1

 

ABBA - from Waterloo to Visitors - 7 albums

 

Rickie Lee Jones: s/t, Pirates, Girl At Her Volcano, The Magazine and Flying Cowboys.

 

Dylan ,
The trio of, Home,Highway 61,Blonde on Blonde.

 

I'm going through an Aerosmith phase right now and these are utter classics. As good as hard rock got in the 1970's.

Get Your Wings
Toys in the Attic
Rocks

 

I could list soooooooooooooo many, but...since I've just become totally enamored with St. Vincent, & her run is current, might I suggest her whole 4 album catalog.
I think the debut is the least successful, but it's better than very good & has great moments & therefore I'd include "Marry Me", but if it's borderline, then we still get at least a brilliant three album run, that just gets better & better for me, that goes from "Actor" through "Strange Mercy" & culminates with the most recent (my fave release of this year, by far) "St. Vincent".

 

Radiohead
Pablo Honey(1993)
The Bends(1995)
OK Computer(1997)

Oasis

• Definitely Maybe(1994)
• (What's the Story) Morning Glory?(1995)
• Be Here Now(1997)
• Standing on the Shoulder of Giants(2000)

 

King Diamond - Abigail to The Eye
King Crimson - In the Court to The Discipline
Opeth - Still Life to Ghost Reveries
Type O Negative - First to Last
FNM - The Real Thing to King for a Day...

 

Hüsker Dü
Zen Arcade (1984)
New Day Rising (1985)
Flip Your Wig (1985)

R.E.M.
Murmur (1983)
Reckoning (1984)
Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)

Yo La Tengo
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997)
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)
Summer Sun (2003)
I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006)
Popular Songs (2009)

Radiohead
Ok Computer (1997)
Kid A (2000)
Amnesiac (2001)

 

Whatever my mood, whatever the situation. 'Come the storms of winter and then the birds in Spring again.....'

I'll always come back to....

The Strawbs
'Grave New World' 1972
'Bursting At The Seams' 1973
'Hero & Heroine' 1974

Easily their finest three albums in arguably three of the finest years ever for music (in the UK anyway).

 

Bjork: Debut through Vespertine.

 

Trying to keep it to lists of 3:

Beatles: Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper
Elton John: Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across the Water, Honky Chateau
REM: Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction
Prince: Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999
PJ Harvey: Dry, Rid of Me, To Bring You My Love
Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine, Broken [I count it], The Downward Spiral
Talking Heads: 77, More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music
The Kinks: Face to Face, Something Else, Village Green Preservation Society
Pixies: Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, Bossanova
Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation, Goo, Dirty
Radiohead: Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief
The Cure: Seventeen Seconds, Faith, Pornography
Husker Du: Metal Circus, Zen Arcade, New Day Rising

 

David Bowie: Hunky Dory - Ziggy Stardust - Aladdin Sane, then Young Americans - Station to Station - Low
Beatles: Help - Rubber Soul - Revolver - Sgt. Pepper's
Stevie Wonder: Music of My Mind - Talking Book - Innvervisions
Carpenters: A Song For You - Now and Then - Horizon
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of The Moon - Wish You Were Here - Animals
Kraftwerk: everything from Autobahn through Electric Cafe
Simon & Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme - Bookends - Bridge Over Troubled Water
America: all albums with Dan Peek

 

In most instances (with a slight exception for The Beatles and LZ) the band has done its best work, hands down, in a consecutive period of no more than 6 years. Usually this period begins with their debut. This leads me to believe that most bands need not exist for more than 6 years.

Clash -S/T to Sandinista (5 years)
The Smiths - all (5)
Velvet Underground - VU & Nico, White Light/White Heat, S/T, Loaded (4)
Love -S/T, Da Capo, Forever Changes (2)
X - Los Angeles, Wild Gift, Under The Big Black Sun (3)
R.E.M. - Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction, Life's Rich Pageant (4)
The Jam - all (6)
Pixies - Come On Pilgrim to Doolittle (3)
Led Zeppelin - I, II, III, IV, HotH, Physical Graffiti (7)
The Replacements - Sorry, ma, Hootenanny, Let it Be, Tim (5)
Beatles - all (8)
Kinks - Kinda Kinks to Lola (6)
Rolling Stones - Between the Buttons to Exile on Main st. (6)
Radiohead - The Bends to Amnesiac (8 - but I'm hoping you don't notice this goes against my hypothesis)

 

I almost agree with you but since the 80's bands often go many years before releasing their next LP so it may be more accurate to say bands have no need to stay together for more than 6 albums rather than 6 years but the point is well made, ...so far the Beatles Zep and Floyd and maybe the Stones if you include their first two remain 4 obvious exceptions to this, its a tougher call on the Who !!

 

How about The Beach Boys?

No, not their early albums, all of which have at least one seriously flawed track of filler, but the run of albums that began after Smiley Smile. Specifically ...

Wild Honey
Friends
20/20
Sunflower
Surf's Up

All very different from each other, but all excellent!

 

Iron Maiden in the 80`s...but

The Numeral of the Beast, Piece Of Mind,& Powerslave,are simply timeless.Live After Death is the pinnacle surpassing the studio counterparts.All long time fans and supporters really want is an audiophile remastering of the highest possible quality just as other bands`classics are justly recieving.

 

And just so folks can check out that newest album here...

 

Aerosmith first 5 albums.

 

Agreed about The Who.

It must just be a casualty of this age in which recorded (and usually streamed/stolen) music does not bring in the payday that touring does, but it is a shame that bands don't rush to the studio as much as they used to. Even ol' molasses, themselves, U2, released their first four albums in five years.

Now, if Radiohead should release an album next year, they will have released 2 records in the same amount of time The Beatles released their whole catalog.

 

The first three by Elvis Costello are hard to top for a concentrated burst of genius. I like some of his later stuff, but not with the white hot intensity of my love for those three.

Springsteen from Greetings through Darkness is pretty great too. Again, I like some later stuff but not with the same intensity.

Jimi Hendrix is an unusual case, but he sure burnt brightly during his 3-year recording career.

The Stones are something of an outlier, in that their 4-LP creative peak did not arrive until they had released half a dozen LPs (including a greatest hits collection)and had been hugely popular for years.

 

and on that basis there was no need for the Beatles to split, John's departure could continued to have been kept under wraps as Macca and Klein initially persuaded him to do and the Band could have recorded again after a few years and today nobody would have batted an eyelid, but then it was a different story had the Beatles not recorded together for a year or two the press would have been on their backs the same they were at the end off 66 when there were very strong rumours the Beatles had spilt....UK TV even had a special programme speculating as much and doorstepped the boys before xmas 66 going into Abbey Road....at the start of the Pepper sessions, the footage is widely available.

 

Brian Eno - Here Comes The Warm Jets > Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) > Another Green World > Discreet Music > Ambient 1: Music For Airports

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells > Hergest Ridge > Ommadawn > Incantations

Paul Weller - Paul Weller > Wild Wood > Stanley Road > Heavy Soul

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds > Smiley Smile > Wild Honey > Friends > 20/20 > Sunflower > Surf's Up

 

The Ramones first 5 studio albums