What are your "Perfect Albums"?

[Lint]

What albums have you listened to that, in your opinion are "Perfect".  No songs are skipped, no matter how many times you listen to it, you will always listen to it all the way through.

For me, its a 1996 album by a fairly little known pop-punk band Weston.  I was 15, just entering high school, and then band themselves had just barely graduated high school, and the things they sang about really connected with me

Full album.  Just a warning, it does use the word "retarded" as basically meaning "messed up", but it was 1996...

But to this day, I always give the album a full listen

[JasonM]

My definition of perfect might be a bit more loose, but these are my albums that I can listen fully and never tire of.

Spoiler warning, a lot of rock. In no real order.

. ...Like Clockwork - QOTSA | This album just has everything for me, and all ten songs just hit for me.
. Them Crooked Vultures | Talk about taking your only shot and hitting a bullseye. Homme, Grohl, Jon Paul Jones got together and made an album that might not be the most influential, but definitely is the most listenable.
. Royal Blood | In a way getting it this good on a debut album has meant that Royal Blood has had a hard time growing further from it. Having said that, they have continued growing all the same. But this debut outing still is the best top-down album they made, with all ten songs being absolute bangers.
. Turn Blue - Black Keys | El Camino got me into the Black Keys, and Turn Blue made me a true believer of them. Absolutely brilliant album. (Let's Rock gets pretty close, too)
. Californication - RHCP | Blew my teenaged mind when I first heard RHCP, and whilst it took a while for me to fully listen to any album, Californication is rightfully seen as one of the best rock albums ever made.
. Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen | There are so many options for the Boss, but this one probably gets the nod because it effectively put him on the map. Just a great album that has literally everything, including the most accidental pop hit that is Dancing in the Dark. Like a fine wine, the older I have become the more this album has started to appeal to me.
. Vegas - The Crystal Method | The wildcard pick in many ways, and the only non-rock pick from me, but Vegas is the best electronic music album ever produced and I will die on that hill. From the energetic (and late 90s overused song) Keep Hope Alive to the near trippy (and aptly named) Trip Like I do, this album is an hour of perfection.
 

[fourstarfizzle]

Oddly had a really indepth conversation with friends about this last weekend and I was writing a list this week about it.

Green Day - Dookie / The first album that really blew my mind as a kid, still brings me that sheer joy of experiencing something that was just radio friendly trash.
Andrew WK - I Get Wet / The purest slab of positive party rock you'll ever experience.
Black Flag - Damaged / A classic along with the next album, part of my punk education as a kid and I really got heavily into the DC punk scene bands.
Bad Brains - Bad Brains / Just legendary.
Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run / It's close between this and 'Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ' for me, but the maturity in this album gets it for me, Jungeland is a perfect album finisher.
The National - High Violet / I never knew of The National until this album, and while I've enjoyed some of their other stuff, this album was just wonderful to me.
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not / Saw them play in Wigan about 3 weeks before "I Bet You Look Good.." took the charts by storm, and it was the wildest show I'd ever seen for an 'indie band'. Probably one of the best debut albums ever.
Gregory Alan Isakov - This Empty Northern Hemisphere / I completely accidentally discovery one day online and this album left a huge imprint on me from an Americana folk place.
Daft Punk - Discovery / Easily their finest album, while most of their albums are great, everything on this is just gold.
The Divine Comedy - Casanova / I was in high school when 'National Express' was at Number 1 in the charts and in school we found it amazing that the word 'arse' wasn't censored. I'd never heard music like this before and it was the start of my love for baroque pop and TDC.
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours / I mean, need I say more?
... Like Clockwork - QOTSA / Probably the pinnacle of QOTSA for me, just a great mix of their evolution.
Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Sunset Mission / Just pure dark grimy blues like you're in a Charles Bukowski pulp detective novel...

[MalaCloudy Black]

Seconding Black Flag's "Damaged".

Black Sabbath's "Vol 4"

[tristy]

• Madvillainy by MF DOOM & Madvillian
• Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails
• The Slip by Nine Inch Nails
• My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West

There are probably more, but these four immediately come to mind.

[Krabby]

Off the top of my head:

Sam's Town by The Killers

Operation: Mindcrime by Queensryche

[METALMAN]

Hmm. There are a lot of albums I love but a far smaller number where I love every moment. So the ones I'm going to post aren't necessarily my favourites but rather ones where I don't think there is any real weak spot and all of it is good.

John Coltrane - Blue Train

Miles Davis Quintet - Cookin'

Miles Davis - Filles de Kilimanjaro

Donald Fagen - The Nightfly

James Taylor - October Road

David Bowie - Station to Station

Sister Sledge - We Are Family

David Bowie - Young Americans

Everything else I've heard has at least one duff song.

[Dang117]

good kid, m.A.A.d city- Kendrick Lamar

Man On The Moon: The End Of Day- Kid Cudi

Sam's Town-The Killers

Dookie-Green Day

 

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

In my mind the best album is Pixies' "Surfer Rosa". I've got the edition which has "Come on Pilgrim" tacked onto the end into a glorious combo and that is pretty much 20 bangers.

Possibly Blink 182's "Enema of the State" is weirdly the only album which comes close, although I'm not a big fan of Adam's Song.

I could put a whole chunk of albums on "amazing", but perfect is a big word. I'm a big song skipper and will often put an album on just to listen to a few tracks.

[Mick]

AC/DC - Back in Black. 

Except for maybe "Shake A Leg", every song on that album is great. There is a reason why the only album to outsell it has been Thriller. 

[RPS]

In chronological order - newest to oldest

1. LOW - HEY WHAT (2021): 45 minutes of slow, plodding greatness. LOW is a band that revels in an idea, languishing it and exploring how it stretch it in every dimension. They have perfected this coming over 3 decades. But HEY WHAT is amazing. At times you are wondering how they managed to make a sound. What this album absolutely exceeds on is urgency. When married couple Alan and Mimi ask "Must be another day/how long must I wait?" and followed up later by singing "A mistake has been made/There's a price to be paid", there is a doomed feeling that suffocates the audience. It is experimental music at it's finest.
2. SOPHIE -  OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES (2018): I have wrote lots of posts about this album, but it is the definition of perfection. It is art at it's highest degree. The first three tracks are expertly crafted electronic music before SOPHIE delves into 3 songs that push and challenge the audience. At times, it is not enjoyable, but music is not always supposed to be enjoyable. It is about the transition and journey. At the end of Pretending, SOPHIE segues right into the sugary highs of Immaterial, a song about loving yourself unconditionally regardless of gender, label, experience. SOPHIE transitioned genders under the spotlight of fame. There is something uplifting about someone singing "I was just a lonely girl in the eyes of the my inner child. But I could be anything I want and no where I go you'll always be in my heart".  and you would be left with the impression that SOPHIE has come to terms with who she is. She has found happiness. However, Immaterial abruptly ends and 9 minutes of industrial, electronic chaos persist, leaving one with the question - what does personal growth matter if the world we are living in will demolish regardless? 
3. Frank Ocean - blonde (2016): When Frank Ocean recorded Channel Orange, he crafted a dozen or so songs about other people and told stories about others. On blonde, Frank Ocean turns inwards and explores every inch of his mind. Auto-tune and voice modulation weave in and out of the songs, creating a distance from Frank's mind. The songs and their subjects are often opaque, only revealing themselves upon subsequent listening experiences. You leave a one hour experience not knowing Frank Ocean any better than when you went in. Only snippets of an artist content with distance. 
4. Darkside - Psychic (2013): Slow, brooding electronic music meant for a walk at dusk. Immaculately produced, you can hear every guitar strum, every hit of the drum, every single note of the singers voice. Modern day music does often times have pristine production, but not in the way Darkside does. What is interesting is, in the face of the deliberate choice to have immaculate production values, is to often times obscure or wash out the vocalists making it often times near impossible to hear what he is singing. Even at his most accessible, Nicolas Jaar desires to confound and challenge. 
5. Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise (2011): Space is only noise if you can see is a call to action. Listen to the album with your eyes closed. Each instrument, each vocal, each section has depth to it. Every reverb intended to provide you the depth of the song. Jaar's desire is to not only evoke emotions and feeling with vocals and instruments, but how they can be presented in an audio landscape. This is the type of album that is required to be listened and experienced from front to back. 
6. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods (2005): Front to back, Sleater-Kinney the Woods is the greatest rock album recorded this century. This is a band operating at full capacity, understanding that they thrive and excel when they all work together. Both guitarists and drummer are given chances to shine and both Corin and Carrie are given the opportunity to showcase their songwriting. The result is an exceptional album that encapsulates that is perfect about rock music.
7. Jay Z - The Black Album (2003): Jay Z excels at story telling. I am sure that others would more favorably the audaciousness of Kanye West, the coolness of Outkast, but to me Jay-Z is the peak of hip hop. Sure, there are moments that make you uncomfortable - homophobic slurs in his music, problematic off the hand remarks about Jewish individuals, instances where Jay-Z is misogynic against women. These are all fair and accurate summations of his music and potentially Jay-Z as a rapper. But artists and humans by nature are complicated and permitted to make mistakes. It was always interesting to me that The Black Album was dubbed a retirement album, because it honestly feels like Jay-Z at the top of his form. 
8. 2 Many DJS - As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 (2003): Soulwax (ie, 2 Many DJs) have always been on the forefront of challenging the notion of dance music.  Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 took the formula of what a DJ mix was and threw it out the window. There were others challenging the notion of DJ mixes - Basement Jaxx in the 90s were playfully expanding the palette of dance music. But Soulwax Pt. 2 abandons all pretenses of what is acceptable for a nightclub. In the first five minutes of the mix, they mix together Fuck the Pain Away by Peaches, Where's My Head at by Basement Jaxx, No Fun by the Stooges, I'm Waiting On My Man by the Velvet Underground and Push It by Salt N' Pepa. Nowadays, this is the normal. DJ felt less constrained by genre and more constrained with vibe and sound. As Heard on Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 is a marathon of ideas - can Dolly Parton, Rokysopp and Destiny's Child actually go together? Can you dance to the Breeders? Can we just throw Prince's sexual grunts midway through songs without context? It is astonishing in it's scope. The question of is this an album is even open. Traditional DJ mixes more closely resemble albums. Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 eschews the traditional format of an album and instead is just 50 or so songs spliced together in no way that resembles an album. 
9. System of a Down - Toxicity (2001): Toxicity is a perfect album to me, because the composition and melodies are perfect, expertly weaving in genres unusual and atypical to heavy metal. Above all else, SOAD understand that a loud, catchy hook that works well for contemplation as well as the mosh pit works best. 
10. Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come (1998): Has the band turned into a parody itself upon their return to music? Sure. But the highs of The Shape of Punk To Come are enormous. Sure, there are moments that one could be inclined to roll their eyes too. But that intrinsic to punk music. A band names a song concocting a political party based upon their band name - one could be inclined to die of embarrassment or to revel in the kick ass riffs.  
11. Daft Punk - Homework (1997): It is very interesting how the first two Daft Punk albums have instructive titles. Discovery is about chartering a new path. Homework is about musicians at the top of their class thinking - how can we take the lessons from previous iterations of dance music and package it a-fresh. Every song hits hard. The production astounding. The dedication to their ideas admirable. 
12. Bjork - Homogenic (1997): I typically have three criteria for what makes excellent music. Firstly, is the melody intriguing and listenable. Not necessarily catchy - but is the arrangement. Secondly, is there innovation. This does not need to necessarily be the introduction of a new instrument rarely used, but the deliberate goal of doing something different than one's predecessors. Derivative music is not excellent. Lastly, is there an idea that intrinsic to the artists or song that forces the listener to wonder about the music. This is a very long set-up to say that Homogenic excels in every one of these categories where most albums and songs are merely catchy. Bjork uses her songs and albums as a canvass to challenge, entertain and tell stories like no one else. 
13. Bjork - Post (1995): I would be so intrigued to know what Bjork's thought process behind this album. "Lets craft a lush string arrangement where I whisper and all the sudden it becomes a big band where I just scream at the top of my lungs". Each song on this album has an impossible task of exceeding the song before it, but Bjork does set out to top what came before, but to go in a completely different direction.
14. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (1994): How Trent Reznor conceived of this album is beyond me. He is the discussion for greatest of all time, especially with three back-to-back iconic albums. But Downward Spiral  is the pinnacle of NIN, in my opinion. 
15. Nirvana - In Utero (1993): I grew up on a certain type of grunge music. My dad enjoyed Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and, very specifically, Nirvana's Nevermind. Listening to In Utero, it is very interesting to me because it is incredibly clear that Kurt Cobain was a very troubled man, but also that Nirvana were exceptional, determined to define the limits of what pop music can do. The melodies are still catchy, but each song is intended lyrically and sonically to test it's audience. 
16. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989): The ongoing tragedy of the 21st century is that this album cannot be consumed online anywhere. Sure, CDs, tapes and vinyls are fine, but how is an awkward 13 year old in 2022 going to discover the perfection 
17. Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982): Thriller is an incredible feat of music that will never be recreated, but is also incredibly tragic. Michael Jackson is a complicated figure - even calling this album perfect may make some uncomfortable. How could a monster who molested children record a perfect album. My relationship with Michael Jackson has waned - I avoid listening to his songs and albums because of the notion that somehow this will go towards a legacy of child molestation and an estate dedicated to tarnishing victims. However, Thriller is the best pop album ever written and will very likely never be topped. Reconciling those two ideas can be difficult, but I am sure there is a way that people can consume this album ethically without giving money to the Jackson estate.
18. The Human League - Dare! (1981): The intersection between dance, pop, rock and electronic music is super interesting, especially at this time period. The Human League straddle that line every so carefully - you would not be faulted for categorizing this album as any of those qualifiers. The lofty and aspirational melodies mixed with the forlorn vocals of Phillip Oakley are so influential. 
19. Black Flag - Damaged (1981): At 35 minutes, the intended goal of Damaged is an audio onslaught of noise and screaming. The pace is rarely if ever slowed down. Henry Rollins as a front man is so captivating - it is no wonder he has far extended past the legacy of Black Flag as an icon of pop culture. His vocal performance carries each and every track.  
20. The Clash - London Calling (1979): What an exceptional album. The Clash saw what punk was becoming and decided to pivot to demonstrate that punk ought to become. They never faulted from this goal in future albums. The Clash saw where the line was and decided to push punk into a new direction. 
21. Blondie - Parallel Lines (1978): This is not to slight the remainder of the band, but Parallel Lines is a showcase of Debbie Harry is a vocalist. The remainder of the album is excellent, but Debbie Harry elevates every track with an extraordinary vocal performance. Debbie Harry in so many ways became the blueprint for every female rock and pop star to come. I think about One Way or Another, and how at all times it feels the band is trying to keep up with Debbie, trying at each juncture to showcase her extraordinary talent.   
22. The Ramones - Ramones (1976): In so many ways, the Ramones perfected punk. Ramones is the perfect punk album. It would have been acceptable for no one to try to follow it up, but others did very well. But it is a half hour of blissful melodies and juvenile attitude. 
23. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (1973): You can see the lines between Stevie Wonder and the songwriters who followed. Stevie Wonder tells stories about others in such a fascinating way, but always makes sure that the music marries together the sound and the stories. Stevie Wonder expertly contemplates not only the subjects of each song, but what is the music to accompany that story. 
24. Herbie Hancock - Headhunters (1973): I actually never encountered Herbie Hancock until COVID-19. Same with Miles Davis. Jazz was just never something that overly interested me. Boy was I wrong. Jazz at it's height is precisely what Herbie accomplishes on Headhunters. An intriguing and relaxing soundscape to sink into. 
25. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959): The type of album you can put on a Saturday morning while getting ready for the kids and it just makes the world feel right. 

[GhostMachine]

Off the top of my head, and in no particular order:

1. Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime

2. Def Leppard - Pyromania

Def Leppard's "Hysteria" and "Andrenalize" come close to making the cut, but each has a song I could live without. ("Run Riot" and "Personal Property")

3. Garth Brooks - Sevens

4. Queen - A Kind Of Magic (Which might as well be the Highlander OST....)

5. Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe

6. ACDC - Back In Black

7. Metallica - The Black Album ("Of Wolf and Man" is a very underrated track!)

8. Metallica - Ride The Lightning

9. Metallica - Master of Puppets

10. Rick Springfield - Rock Of Life

11. The Beach Boys - Endless Summer

 

 

[Krabby]

The Sword - Warp Riders 

The Decemberists - Hazards of Love

The Gorillaz - Plastic Beach 

[TheGrandAvatar]

Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

That's the only album ever played fully by myself that I can think of at the moment. 

 

[gunnar hendershow]

Perfect album is a toughie since nearly all of my favorite albums have a song that I'll still skip if pressed for time. But when I saw this thread title I had 4 particular albums immediately come to mind, so I'm going with those. I will almost never even think of skipping a song on this and their highs are so, so incredibly high. This isn't a definitive "my top 4 albums ever" list but these are ones that I just can't really think of skipping a song on.

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang 36 Chambers

David Bowie - Low

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

[apsham]

I think right off the tope of my head about... four come to mind.

1. Los Campesinos! No Blues

Can an album;

• Make me come to terms with the fact that I was depressed
• Help me deal with the passing of my father's death
• Give me some lines that I used moving forward in life
• Inspire my first tattoo and a creed of sort that I'm probably going to carry the rest of my life

The answer is yes to all of those and this album did it for me. I realize that this is a very personal thing, and not all of it came together at the same time since the album came out in 2013 and little by little I kind of pieced these things together - but this is absolutely where I sit with it today. I listen to it front to back and think about these things every time that I listen to it. There are tracks from Los Campesinos! that I like more on the whole (save for As Lucerne / The Low) which is the highlight of this album for me but man, this is 10 songs, 41 minutes just straight up in and out. I adore this album.

2. The Mountain Goats The Sunset Tree

I don't even feel like I need to say all that much on this one, most of y'all hear either probably feel the same or at least understand why a lot of us think this way. I think that Heretic Pride comes really close here too and on a different day, I could very much put it beside this one.

3. The Cowmen The Cowmen + Bad News EP

I am kind of pre-disposed to liking this weird ass country/garage rock/blues mash-up band and I'm including the EP that they put out along with the main album because that's pretty much the extent of their catalogue - and that I listen to both of them together almost always. In particular, I always listen to Shovel and then go through the self-titled album, and back through Bad News just to hear Shovel again. I don't get tired of it, pretty much ever.

4. The Pixies Doolittle

There was a period of time where I didn't know what Pixies songs were on what album, and every time I thought of a song I wanted to listen to - I just kind of eventually found out that it was on Doolittle. Now for the most part, I just listen to Where Is My Mind? and then just let Doolittle play all the way through afterwards.

[Benji]

Feeder's "Echo Park". Don't think I've ever listened to an album start to finish as much as I have that.

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Neck Deep's "Life's Not Out To Get You" is in my opinion the pop punk album.

[Schlitzbrille]

 

Gon casually throw out Behemoth's first album after Nergal's recovery The Satanist

[VerbalPuke]

There's many out there...just sorta off the top of my head. 

Motorhead - Ace of Spades. Motorhead had incredible output their entire career but this is probably their best known, and it's non-stop kicking ass rock from beginning to end. No bad tracks, no dull moments. 

The Stooges - Raw Power. Similar to Ace of Spades, though this is sexier than Ace of Spades and a different type of kick you in the face rock. 

Nomeansno - Wrong. One of my favorite bands and one of my favorite albums. This entire album flows beautifully together where at some points multiple tracks feel like one story together. One of the tighest played albums I've heard as well, these dudes were just on point. 

Gun Club - Fire of Love. Yeah, twangy, cool, they were something special. Sorta rockabilly, sorta punk, sorta southern gothic, but a great listen throughout. 

Morphine - Cure For Pain. Love this one, very cool jazzy group but perfectly in place in the 90s. A really fun album in general, even when they slow the pace the songs never get dull, just an effortlessly cool album.