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‘Great’ Albums that you’ve never listened to?

Sloop John B said:
Rather existential thread- what are you not listening to?

I cannot think of anyone I’ve decided not to listen to. With streaming anything on your radar is so easily accessed it’s hard not to have at least cursorily heard most “great” albums.
.sjb
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Just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have the time or inclination to listen though. Some things just pass you by.
 
I can’t think of much if anything I’m aware of that I haven’t at least tried a track or two of. I’m genuinely curious, especially if an album is widely rated, and I’ll at least try it. As an example whenever someone is raving about something here I’ll go listen to a track on Youtube, so even if I only survive a few bars I have at least given it a go. There’s a lot of “classic albums” I’ve never listened to as I know the singles and they do nothing for me, e.g. pretty much any hard rock like AC/DC, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Van Halen etc. Just does nothing for me as a genre so why go further? Other stuff took a lot of effort to unlock, e.g. it took a very, very long time until I figured out why Trout Mask Replica was such a landmark. To be honest I suspect I had to venture to the outer reaches of jazz before that one fell into place, which is a long time given I first heard it in the late-70s or early-80s! There is loads of other stuff that is very highly rated that I have no real use for, e.g. Rolling Stones, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Abba, Queen etc. I can see it’s “good”, but it just doesn’t do anything for me.
 
For the sake of argument let's take the Rolling Stone Top 500 list as 'great albums'. They're certainly well-liked but enough people. There's a lot of the more recent stuff that I've not heard say Kanye West but I've never heard a Michael Jackson record either, Byonce, Madonna etc
 
Here’s the Rolling Stone list in an easier to read list format. I’ve got exactly half of the first two hundred and have at least heard most of the rest. Very little in the whole list I’m unaware of. As ever the rankings are bollocks (the first hundred and fifty should be Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Mingus, Can and Kraftwerk, obvs).
 
Tony L said:
I can’t think of much if anything I’m aware of that I haven’t at least tried a track or two of. I’m genuinely curious, especially if an album is widely rated, and I’ll at least try it.
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I kind of fluctuate between on the one hand feeling guilty/ignorant that I've not listened to every record by, say, The Byrds, and on the other enjoying disappearing down other rabbit holes for months/years.

It's not willful ignorance on my part - just that there are only so many hours in the day and generally some other music has caught my attention.

A friend once said to me that it was all just more stuff to look forward to discovering :)

I've just realised that I've never listened to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Another one for my (rather long) mental list.
 
Tony L said:
Here’s the Rolling Stone list in an easier to read list format. I’ve got exactly half of the first two hundred and have at least heard most of the rest. Very little in the whole list I’m unaware of. As ever the rankings are bollocks (the first hundred and fifty should be Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Mingus, Can and Kraftwerk, obvs).
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Not a single Aphex Twin record. Whole list is void I'm afraid.
 
Tony L said:
I can’t think of much if anything I’m aware of that I haven’t at least tried a track or two of.
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That’s where the OP’s criterion becomes a little murky. Although he has never listened to ATMP he is almost certain to have heard My Sweet Lord, What is Life, If Not For You, etc. I’m assuming he means an album you have made a conscious effort to listen to from start to finish.

(Which for me means nothing by Aphex Twin. Sorry, paulfromcamden!)
 
Kind of Blue despite being a Jazz fan. I think I have a CD somewhere and must dig it out
 
Still listening to the Wedding Present which reminds me (as per the subject of this thread):

The Birthday Party
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
 
Big Tabs said:
I have never heard an album by
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • The Ramones
  • The Band
  • Guns n Roses
  • AC/DC
  • Neil Young
  • Van Morrison
  • The Stone Roses
  • Oasis
  • The Verve
  • Coldplay
  • Bon Jovi
  • Black Sabbath
and many many more.

I don’t feel that I am missing anything.
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How can you make that assertion from a position of ignorance?
 
gavreid said:
For the sake of argument let's take the Rolling Stone Top 500 list as 'great albums'. They're certainly well-liked but enough people. There's a lot of the more recent stuff that I've not heard say Kanye West but I've never heard a Michael Jackson record either, Byonce, Madonna etc
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In terms of albums that I’ve either owned, or know well, I probably get to just over 80 on that list, although I would probably be aware of one or two tracks on numerous others.

I do think the list makes a conscious effort to cover more modern popular music, which is good (and which are blindspots of mine), but if you’re going to make rap and hip hop a focus, surely at least one of the early Linton Kwesi Johnson albums would feature? More generally, it does read like a list compiled by people who like modern indie, pop and rap music, and who have a reasonable awareness of some of the rock music that preceded that. No problem with that, but the downside is that I think the list pays lip service to reggae, jazz, electronica, punk, guitar, and so on, where the choices betray a lack of knowledge on what the enduringly important and influential musicians and recordings are.
 
Marchbanks said:
That’s where the OP’s criterion becomes a little murky. Although he has never listened to ATMP he is almost certain to have heard My Sweet Lord, What is Life, If Not For You, etc. I’m assuming he means an album you have made a conscious effort to listen to from start to finish.
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I don’t have a huge issue with that, everyone will have heard those, just as I’ve say heard the AC/DC hits, and if you don’t like them why go further in? FWIW I rate ATMP higher than at least 50% of the Beatles output.

Aphex Twin should unquestionably be in there, though deciding on which album would be hard as he’s shifted ground a lot over the years. As always with these lists they overly focus on conventional guitar-based rock music.

PS One thing that really irritates me with that RS and other lists is they include greatest hits compilations. I count those in my total even though I very actively avoid such things, e.g. I have a full set of Bob Marley, Leonard Cohen etc so just don’t need Legend or Songs Of, but I’ll count them as I have every song on them.
 
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