In order to qualify, you need to release 4 consecutive superb studio albums. (Compilations and live albums have been ignored). Strict admission only, Oasis three great albums followed by “Standing on The Shoulder of Giants”, hence no admission.
So here’s my top 60 list of 4 sequential studio masterpieces:
60. Ramones
1976: Ramones, 1977: Leave Home, 1977: Rocket To Russia, 1978: Road To Ruin
1976: Ramones, 1977: Leave Home, 1977: Rocket To Russia, 1978: Road To Ruin
59. The Clash
1977: The Clash, 1978: Give 'Em Enough Rope, 1979: London Calling, 1980: Sandinista!
58. Kaleidoscope
1967: Side Trips, 1968: Beacon From Mars, 1969: Incredible! Kaleidoscope, 1970: Bernice
57. The Black Keys
2003: Thickfreakness, 2004: Rubber Factory, 2006: Magic Potion, 2008: Attack and Release
56. Black Sabbath
1973: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, 1975: Sabotage, 1976: Technical Ecstacy, 1978: Never Say Die
55. ABBA
1975: ABBA, 1976: Arrival, 1977: The Album, 1979: Voulez-Vous
54. Siouxsie and the Banshees
1978: The Scream, 1979: Join Hands, 1980: Kaleidoscope, 1981: Juju
53. Savoy Brown
1970: Looking In, 1971: Street Corner Talking, 1972: Hellbound Train, 1973: The Lion's Share
52. INXS
1985: Listen Like Theives, 1987: Kick, 1990: X, 1992: Welcome to Wherever You Are
51. Jefferson Airplane
1967: Surrealistic Pillow, 1967: After Bathing at Baxters, 1968: Crown of Creation, 1969: Volunteers
50. Leonard Cohen
1979: Recent Songs, 1984: Various Positions, 1988: I'm Yur Man, 1992: The Future
49. Paul Weller
1992: Paul Weller, 1993: Wild Wood, 1995: Stanley Road, 1997: Heavy Soul
48. Status Quo
1977: The Clash, 1978: Give 'Em Enough Rope, 1979: London Calling, 1980: Sandinista!
58. Kaleidoscope
1967: Side Trips, 1968: Beacon From Mars, 1969: Incredible! Kaleidoscope, 1970: Bernice
57. The Black Keys
2003: Thickfreakness, 2004: Rubber Factory, 2006: Magic Potion, 2008: Attack and Release
56. Black Sabbath
1973: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, 1975: Sabotage, 1976: Technical Ecstacy, 1978: Never Say Die
55. ABBA
1975: ABBA, 1976: Arrival, 1977: The Album, 1979: Voulez-Vous
54. Siouxsie and the Banshees
1978: The Scream, 1979: Join Hands, 1980: Kaleidoscope, 1981: Juju
53. Savoy Brown
1970: Looking In, 1971: Street Corner Talking, 1972: Hellbound Train, 1973: The Lion's Share
52. INXS
1985: Listen Like Theives, 1987: Kick, 1990: X, 1992: Welcome to Wherever You Are
51. Jefferson Airplane
1967: Surrealistic Pillow, 1967: After Bathing at Baxters, 1968: Crown of Creation, 1969: Volunteers
50. Leonard Cohen
1979: Recent Songs, 1984: Various Positions, 1988: I'm Yur Man, 1992: The Future
49. Paul Weller
1992: Paul Weller, 1993: Wild Wood, 1995: Stanley Road, 1997: Heavy Soul
48. Status Quo
1971: Dog Of Two Head, 1972: Pildriver, 1973: Hello, 1974: Quo
47. Yes
1971: The Yes Album, 1971: Fragile, 1972: Close To The Edge, 1973: Tales From Topographic Oceans
46. Mike Oldfield
1980: QE2, 1982: Five Miles Out, 1983: Crises, 1984: Discovery
1995: The Bends, 1997: OK Computer, 2000: Kid A, 2001: Amnesiac
44. Blondie
1976: Blondie, 1977: Plastic Letters, 1978: Parallel Line, 1979: Eat to the Beat
43. Kings Of Leon
2003: Youth and Young Manhood, 2004: Aha Shake Heartbreak, 2007: Because the Times, 2008: Only By The Night
42. Eurythmics
1985: Be Yourself Tonight, 1986: Revenge, 1987: Savage, 1989: We Too Are One
41. Rush
1978: Hemispheres, 1980: Permanent Waves, 1981: Moving Pictures, 1982: Signals
40. Cat Stevens
1970: Mona Bone Jakon, 1970: Tea For The Tillerman, 1971: Teaser and the Firecat, 1972: Catch Bull at Four
39. Roxy Music
1973: For Your Pleasure, 1973: Stranded, 1974: Country Life, 1975: Sirens
38. Kate Bush
1978: Lionheart, 1980; Never For Ever, 1982: The Dreaming, 1985: The Hounds Of Love
37. The Cure
1979: Three Imaginary Boys, 1980: Seventeen Seconds, 1981: Faith, 1982: Pornography
36. Roy Harper
1971: Stormcock, 1973: Lifemask, 1974: Valentine, 1975: HQ
35. AC/DC
1975: T.N.T., 1976: High Voltage, 1976: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, 1977: Let There Be Rock
34. Suede
1993: Suede, 1994: Dog Man Star, 1996: Coming Up, 1999: Head Music
33. Mike Oldfield
1973: Tubular Bells, 1974: Hergest Ridge, 1975: Ommadawn, 1978: Incantations
32. Queen
1975: A Night atthe Opera, 1976: A Day at the Races, 1977: News of the World, 1978: Jazz
31. The Police
1978: Outlandos d'Armour, 1979: Reggatta de Blanc, 1980: Zenyatta Mondatta, 1981: Ghost in the Machine
30. Iron Maiden
1980: Iron Maiden, 1981: Killers, 1982: The Number Of The Beast, 1983: Piece Of Mind
29. Neil Young
1970: After The Gold Rush, 1972: Harvest, 1974: On The Beach, 1975: Tonights The Night
28. The Beatles
1963: Please Please Me, 1963: With The Beatles, 1964: A Hard Days Night, 1964: Beatles For Sale
27. David Bowie
1977: Low, 1977: "Heroes", 1979: Lodger, 1980: Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
26. The Rolling Stones
1966: Aftermath, 1967: Between The Buttons, 1967: Flowers, 1967: Their Satanic Majesties Request
25. Simon And Garfunkel
1966: Sounds Of Silence, 1966: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme, 1968: Bookends, 1970: Bridge Over Troubled Water
24. The White Stripes
2000: De Stijl, 2001: White Blood Cells, 2003: Elephant, 2005: Get Behind Me Satan
23. Leonard Cohen
1967: Songs Of Leonard Cohen, 1969: Songs From A Room, 1971: Songs Of Love and Hate, 1974: New Skin For The Old Ceremony
22. AC/DC
1978: Powerage, 1979: Highway To Hell, 1980: Back In Black, 1981: For Those About To Rock
21. The Stranglers
1977: Rattus Norvegicus, 1977: No More Heroes, 1978: Black and White, 1979: The Raven
20. Dire Straits
21. The Stranglers
1977: Rattus Norvegicus, 1977: No More Heroes, 1978: Black and White, 1979: The Raven
20. Dire Straits
1978: Dire Straits, 1979: Communique, 1980: Making Movies, 1982: Love Over Gold
19. The Doors
1967: The Doors, 1967: Strange Days, 1968: Waiting For The Sun, 1969: The Soft Parade
18. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
1997: The Boatman's Call, 2001: No More Shall We Part, 2003: Nocturama, 2005: Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus
17. Bob Dylan
1975: Blood On The Tracks, 1975: The Basement Tapes, 1976: Desire, 1978: Street Legal
16. Black Sabbath
1970: Black Sabbath, 1970: Paranoide, 1971: Master Of Reality, 1992: Black Sabbath Vol. 4
15. R.E.M.
1991: Out Of Time, 1992: Automatic For The People, 1994: Monster, 1996: New Adventures in Hi-Fi
14. U2:
1984: The Unforgettable Fire, 1987: The Joshua Tree, 1988: Rattle And Hum, 1991: Achtung Baby
13. David Bowie
1970: The Man Who Sold The World, 1971: Hunky Dory, 1972: The Rise And Fall Of Zigy Stardust & The Spiders from Mars, 1973: Aladdin Sane
12. The Who
1966: A Quick One, 1967: Sell Out, 1969: Tommy, 1971: Who's Next
11. Deep Purple
1970: In Rock, 1971: Fireball, 1972: Machine Head, 1973: Who Do You Think You Are
10. Roger Waters
1984: The Pro's and Cons of Hitch Hiking, 1987: Radio K.A.O.S, 1992: Amused To Death, 2005: Ça Ira
9. Bob Dylan
1964: Another Side Of Bob Dylan, 1965: Brining It All Back Home, 1965: Highway 61 Revisited, 1966: Blonde on Blonde
8. Genesis:
1971: Nursery Cryme, 1972: Foxtrot, 1973: Selling England By The Pound, 1974: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
7. Led Zeppelin:
1973: Houses Of The Holy, 1975: Physical Graffiti, 1976: Presence, 1979: In Through The Out Door
6. The Rolling Stones:
1968: Beggars Banquet, 1969: Let It Bleed, 1971: Sticky Fingers, 1972: Exile On Main Street
5. The Beatles:
1965: Help!, 1965: Rubber Soul, 1966: Revolver, 1967: Sgt. Peppers Lonley Hearts Club Band
4. Jethro Tull:
1969: Stand Up, 1970: Benefit, 1971: Aqualung, 1972: Thick As A Brick
3. The Beatles:
1968: The Beatles, 1969: Yellow Submarine, 1969: Abbey Road, 1970: Let It Be
2. Led Zeppelin:
1969: Led Zeppelin I, 1969: Led Zeppelin II, 1970: Led Zeppelin III, 1971: untitled
1. Pink Floyd:
1973: Dark Side of the Moon, 1975: Wish You Were Here, 1977: Animals, 1979: The Wall
1973: Dark Side of the Moon, 1975: Wish You Were Here, 1977: Animals, 1979: The Wall
5 comments:
Ooooh, tricky.
I think it's incorrect to list an artist twice - should take the best run of 4 consecutive albums only.
Obviously there's a bunch of items in your list that I don't agree with (never liked punk), but more importantly, I think there's a few you've missed:
The first 4 King Crimson albums:
In The Court Of The Crimson King, In The Wake Of Poseidon, Lizard, Islands.
The next 4 King Crimson studio albums ;-)
Lark's Tongues In Aspic,
Starless And Bible Black,
Red,
Discipline
Tori Amos:
Little Earthquakes, Under The Pink, Boys For Pele, From The Choirgirl Hotel.
Porcupine Tree
Tricky to pick though - The Sky Moves Sideways was special, but the last four albums perhaps just tip the scale:
Lightbulb Sun, In Absentia, Deadwing, Fear Of A Blank Planet.
Tangerine Dream:
Phaedra, Rubycon, Ricochet, Stratosfear
Camel
Camel, Mirage, Snow Goose, Moonmadness
The Alan Parsons Project:
Tales Of Mystery And Imagination
I Robot, Pyramid, Eve
(which is a real shame, because Turn Of A Friendly Card just misses out, and it's possibly my favourite album!).
Barclay James Harvest:
Everyone Is Everybody Else, Time Honoured Ghosts, Octoberon, Gone To Earth.
Focus:
In and Out of Focus, Moving Waves,
Focus III, Hamburger Concerto
Groundhogs:
Scratching The Surface, Blues Obituary, Thank Christ For The Bomb, Split.
Van Der Graaf Generator:
The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other, H to He Who Am the Only One, Pawn Hearts, Godbluff
Yeah, I thought of a few more I should have added but stopped as the list was getting a little too long.
I'll concede, King Crimson, Porcupine Tree and Groundhogs should be on the list. Haven't got all of the other prog rock you listed so wasn't in a position to add them.
I defy anyone however to challenge my number 1 set of 4.
I can't really complain too much about your top 10 items - although:
1. it's a pity that Yellow Submarine had to make a presence.
2. I like some Rolling Stones, but couldn't listen to 4 albums in a row.
3. I don't own a single Bob Dylan album.
4. As good as Amused To Death is, I wouldn't rate Roger Waters so highly, because the other albums aren't as good. Didn't get the whole Opera thing at all.
Dude, this post must have taken FOREVER to put together. PROPS! (And Rush should have ranked higher! ;-)
And agree with Hergest that PT definitely needed to be there -- Lightbulb Sun through FOABP.
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