Two crucial albums for appreciating a band

For me I would pick a bands first album and to where they eventually evolved to.

The Beatles:
Please Please Me
Abbey Road

Rolling Stones:
The Rolling Stones
Exile on Main Street

Pink Floyd:
Pipers At Gates of Dawn
The Wall

 

All I need to get by.

Self-titled debut

Don't Look Back

 

With Sleater-Kinney I would go with the two albums generally regarded as their best: Dig Me Out and The Woods. And that’s despite the latter sounding like hell.

I guess some might say No Cities to Love instead of The Woods, but I’m not a fan of their 2015 comeback album.

 

For me a discovery that has been music bliss: Talk Talk "Colour of Spring" and "Spirit of Eden". Another final(?) studio lp, "Laughing Stock" wrapped up their career as a band and is regarded as difficult. But these two are transcendent.

 

You've done yourself no harm friend.

 

Thanks, yeah, I listened to it when it arrived and it is excellent!

 

LZ - II IV
PF- ANIMALS DSOTM

 

The Monkees

Pisces, Aquarius Capricorn & Jones LTD.

Headquarters

(Couldn’t decide between Missing Links Vol. 2 and Headquarters for the second suggestion haha)

 

The Stones — Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street

Radiohead — The Bends, OK Computer

Kraftwerk — Autobahn, Trans Europe Express

The Cult — Love, Electric

The Who — Who’s Next, Quadrophenia

 

Adding to my list a year later.

John Lennon
Plastic Ono Band
Imagine

Paul McCartney
Band On The Run
Tug Of War

Linda Ronstadt
Heart Like A Wheel
Simple Dreams

Olivia Newton John
Totally Hot
Physical

AC/DC
Highway To Hell
Back In Black

Randy Travis
Storms Of Life
Always And Forever

Willie Nelson
Phases And Stages
Honeysuckle Rose

 

Rush-
Hemispheres/Signals

Genesis-
Selling England/Duke

 

Talk Talk
Colour of Spring
Spirit of Eden

 

I'm not of fan of listing comps in "Best Album" threads, but in this case I'd suggest the best way to get a grasp on The Kinks is to go with

"The Kink Kronikle" comp

and either

"Something Else by the Kinks" (my fave album from them) or "Village Green Preservation Society"

.

 

Using The Jesus and Mary Chain as example. For me, it's these 2:
Automatic
Darklands

...giving best examples of their range, as Automatic's pumping (still having some distortion & fuzz,
but not so much as Psychocandy) & Darklands is well...dark!! (Love April Skies!!) quiet(er) for JAMC.
Automatic is best display of what JAMC did, w/combining The Velvet Underground, Beach Boys & Phil Spector & fuzzying-it-up!
Opposite ends of the spectrum/both great!


The Jesus and mary chain - Darklands (Full Album)

 

Disagree. I'd go with Fair Warning and 1984, if limited to 2. ST would be third.

 

Allman Brother Band Live at the Fillmore East and Eat a Peach

 

Led Zeppelin II and III.

 

Jethro Tull
Stand Up / Aqualung

Beatles
Hard Days Night / Revolver

Mike Oldfield
Tubular Bells / Amarok

 

Metallica:
Master of Puppets for the 80s albums, and the Black Album for anything after ...And Justice For All.

 

Nirvana: Nevermind & In Utero. (Of course.)


The Smiths: Queen Is Dead & Strangeways Here We Come

 

Unimpeachable choices.

 

FLEETWOOD MAC ~ "Mystery To Me"
"Tusk"
FANNY ~ "Fanny"
"Fanny Hill"
CARLY SIMON. ~ "No Secrets"
"Spoiled Girl"
JACKSON BROWNE ~ "Running On Empty"
"Lawyers In Love"
ROSANNE CASH ~ "Rhythm & Romance"
"Black Cadillac"
THE MOTELS ~ "Careful"
"All Four One"
RODNEY CROWELL ~ "Life Is Messy"
"The Houston Kid"
BONNIE RAITT ~ "Green Light"
"Fundamental"
INXS ~ "Kick"
"Welcome To Wherever
You Are"
POINTER SISTERS ~ "Priority"
"Break Out"
JOHN MELLENCAMP ~ "Scarecrow"
"Mr. Happy Go Lucky"
AIMEE MANN. ~ "Whatever"
"The Forgotten Arm"
CHRIS ISAAK. ~ "San Francisco Days"
"Mr. Lucky"
MIRANDA LAMBERT ~ "Kerosene"
"Revolution"
COLLECTIVE SOUL ~ "Dosage"
"Youth"
HALL & OATES ~ "Voices"
"H2O"
PINK "Missundastood"
"I'm Not Dead"
STEVE EARLE ~ "Exit O"
"Jerusalem"
LOUISE GOFFIN ~ "Songs From The Mine"
"All These Hellos"
JOHN HIATT. ~ "Slow Turning"
"Beneath This Gruff
Exterior"

 

Dinosaur Jr.
You're Living All over Me
Farm