Albums you love that are not considered the artist's best.

Albums that are among your favorites that are most people's least favorite from the artist's catalogue.

 

I didn't realise this was considered 'bad'. That was news to me.

Anyway, I like it too.

 

Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
Opeth - Heritage
Joni Mitchell - Mingus
Rolling Stones - Satanic Majesties Request

 

It wasn't popular here in the US and the reviews were lukewarm.

 

This seemed to have been spat on by everyone else but me.

 

That explains it. Here it was a big album with three hit singles. Probably did better than 'Avalon'..

 

Elton John - Victim of Love, Jump Up, Too Low for Zero, Breaking Hearts, Ice on Fire, Leather of Jackets, Reg Strikes Back, Sleeping with the Past
Jethro Tull - Benefit, The Broadsword and the Beast, Crest of a Knave
Bee Gees - Mr. Natural, To Whom It May Concern
Deep Purple - Deep Purple, Purpendicular, Abandon, Bananas, Rapture of the Deep
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother, Obscured by Clouds
Lou Reed - New Sensations, Berlin
Led Zeppelin - Presence, In Through the Out Door
King Crimson - Lizard
Cream - Goodbye
Status Quo - Picturesque Matchstickable Messages
Procol Harum - Home, Exotic Birds and Fruit
Frank Zappa - Waka/Jawaka
Supertramp - Crisis? What Crisis, Famous Last Words
The Move - Looking On
Electric Light Orchestra - Time, Secret Messages, Balance of Power
Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla
Hall and Oates - Beauty on a Back Street
Bryan Ferry - In Your Mind, Mamouna
The Moody Blues - Octave, Long Distance Voyager, A Question of Balance, Seventh Sojourn
Dire Straits - Communique
The Rolling Stones - Between the Buttons, Black and Blue
The Hollies - For Certain Because, Would You Believe
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
Billy Joel - Streetlife Serenade, The Nylon Curtain
The Beach Boys - Love You, 20/20, Friends, Carl and the Passions, L.A. (Light Album)
The Doors - The Soft Parade
Elvis Presley - Pot Luck, Almost in Love
Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain, Seven Steps to Heaven, E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefertiti
Van der Graaf Generator - World Record, Vital
Bob Dylan - Slow Train Coming, Real Live, Good as I Been to You
Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love
Eric Clapton - Backless, Another Ticket, Money and Cigarettes, August, Pilgrim
Queen - Queen II, Jazz, The Works
David Bowie - Young Americans, Space Oddity
Rush - Signals
Yes - Yes, Tormato, Drama

 

Free - Highway
Steve Winwood - Roll With It
Kate Bush - Lionheart
Genesis - Wind & Wuthering
Dire Straits - Communique
REM - Reveal
Led Zeppelin - Presence

 

I agree with the ELO and Elton titles in your list.

 

What's the definition of "best"?
Sales figures? The artist's opinion?

 

Deep Purple's Mark III & IV.

 

Gang Of Four - Shrinkwrapped

 

Definitely Jethro Tull: Too Old to Rock'n'Roll, Too Young To Die!

 

Albert Ayler: "Bells"
Larry Coryell- "At the Village Gate"
Miles Davis- "Jack Johnson"
Dinosaur Jr: "Hand it Over" and "Farm"
The Doors- "Morrison Hotel"
Brian Eno/Robert Fripp- "Evening Star"
Harvey Mandel- "Baby Batter"
Minutemen- "What Makes a Man Start Fires?"
Pearl Jam: "Riot Act" and "No Code"
Jethro Tull- "Benefit"
R.E.M.- "Reckoning"
Paul Westerberg- "Suicane Gratifaction" and Grandpaboy (self-titled EP)
Neil Young: "Tonight's the Night" and "Zuma"

 

Two debut albums spring to mind:

Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine.
The Downward Spiral seems to get all the attention but I like the debut better.

Tool - Undertow.
Lateralus is widely considered their best but I really like the raw sound of Undertow.

 

Bowie:
Diamond Dogs & Lodger. For some reason, there are a lot of bad opinions on these two records.
I find them some of his best.

 

It's usually black and white. If you're asking for the artist's best, think "Dark Side" for Pink Floyd. Could be "The Wall", but usually an obvious title. I asked this exact question slightly differently 4 months ago... http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...voring-an-artists-less-popular-albums.350916/

 

This thread is full of examples that are often considered to be among the artist's best (Tonight's The Night, Berlin, Jack Johnson...) .

My perennial example is Lou Reed's Sally Can't Dance.

 

Those are all considered top tier albums by the critics and fans alike.