Does the perfect album exist ?

[RmanSL96]

Under that definition my perfect albums are Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction, Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory, A7X self titled album and HTTK. I could listen to them anywhere, anytime! But, there are others that also mean a lot for me and that I could choose as perfect albums but under a very different criteria. Black album would be one also

 

[Dhjort]

Today I stumbled across an old "Talk is Jericho" podcast episode from 2017 with Syn and Johnny in which they were on the hunt for the "perfect album". Syn's criteria was that every song on the album MUST be an A list track.

It got me thinking, what is my perfect album and do I even have one. Syn's criteria was a bit stiff imo. For me personally, I think my perfect album would be one in which I do not skip any songs. Sure, I may like some more than others, but even a "B" level track can still appease my listening appetite when its imbedded in a slew of "A" level tracks.


The first album that immediately came to mind was the self titled Metallica album. Yes, the all mighty holy grail that is best known as THE BLACK ALBUM.

I quickly realized though I had a really hard time coming up with any others and really had to think long and hard but I finally came up with a tiny personal list for myself:

Linkin Park- Hybrid Theory (ALL A TRACKS)
AFI- Sing the Sorrow
Sum 41- Does This Look Infected

(oddly enough these three were the main albums I listened to in my early teen years. There's just something about the music from that time in your life that really sticks with you)

Anywho.....

Do you guys have any albums that you consider the "perfect" album ?

Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction is the album that comes immediately to mind for this. I’ve listened to the full album without skipping on numerous occasions, easily one of the best rock albums of the era and one I would consider to be perfect.

 

[Dhjort]

Under that definition my perfect albums are Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction, Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory, A7X self titled album and HTTK. I could listen to them anywhere, anytime! But, there are others that also mean a lot for me and that I could choose as perfect albums but under a very different criteria. Black album would be one also

I put Appetite for Destruction without hesitation…every song on that is nearly perfect!

 

[Jeremy Healey]

I’m very picky and indecisive when it comes to my music. And for me to pick what I think are “perfect” albums is difficult lol. A lot of times I don’t give an album a full chance and straight listen to all the songs either. But I do have a few that comes to mind!

First being City of Evil. This one seems to be a very popular opinion, but I agree with it. It’s definitely the album I gravitate to most when picking songs to learn how to play, and it’s always been a constant on my current listening playlist.
A couple other mentions I would have to say are Halestorm’s Vicious album. Billy Talent’s 1, 2, and their Dead Silence album.
I have more that are very close to making the cut, but not quite.

 

[Dismemberer]

For me waking the fallen is the "perfect album" because there's not any song on the album I'd skip but I love mostly all A7X albums. They're my favourite band.

 

[RmanSL96]

I put Appetite for Destruction without hesitation…every song on that is nearly perfect!

Hell yeah dude!

 

[ari.mac]

Under that definition my perfect albums are Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction, Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory, A7X self titled album and HTTK. I could listen to them anywhere, anytime! But, there are others that also mean a lot for me and that I could choose as perfect albums but under a very different criteria. Black album would be one also

Aaaah omg yes!!! Appetite for Destruction

 

[William B.]

I like a lot of albums I can’t really pick one. Perfect album is a bit hard. Heard a lot of cool albums this year and stuff I’ve listened to in the past some I’ve forgotten for not saving them to my playlists or played them often and kind of burned out. I do like a lot of the albums mentioned and some I haven’t listened to yet. For me a perfect album depends more on the setting and my current mood. I’ll look through my playlists later and see if I can find anything nice but I don’t know about perfect. I did really enjoy that Queen album from the AOTM. I plan on getting new earphones soon, I feel like I’m missing something without it

 

[Ed Seith]

I'm down with Appetite and City of Evil. The Stage is my favorite Avenged record, but there are niggly bits in certain songs that I don't like (more the way they're mixed or mastered than anything else).

 

[Jamie London]

The eternal question haha

For me personally, I think the four albums that would fit the criteria are:

- Avenged Sevenfold’s Self Titled album, which is still my favorite album of all time to this day. I love that it’s experimental and strange while also accessible. Not an easy task to pull off and it includes many of my favorite songs, including my all time favorite track, A Little Piece of Heaven. To this day I’ve never heard a chorus that even comes close to th

- A Place Where the Sun Is Silent by Alesana, I practically lived in this album for half a decade. Musically, it hits everything I enjoy on the head and presents an incredible story on its own, and as the second piece to their equally amazing three album concept trilogy, “The Annabel Trilogy”.

- Waiting for the Sun by The Doors. It’s not a lot of Doors fans favorite album by the band, but it’s certainly mine lol. Lots of folks say it’s all over the place musically so it doesn’t feel cohesive, but I like the fact that it includes various styles (also why I love a7x’s self titled), and for the most part the song worrying is strong here. I’d disagree with those who say it’s not cohesive though. Lyrically a lot of the songs include shared themes, nature, the seasons, the elements, mysticism. It’s very cohesive, just not sonically.

- Pink Moon by Nick Drake. I could write an entire thread about Nick Drake and his music but to keep it short, this is album is simply extraordinary. The song lengths here are shorter then on his previous two albums but I think that actually makes it a a stronger album. It features some of the most beautiful guitar playing I’ve ever heard and lyrics that will take your mind to some very hidden and mysterious places. At this point in time his depression was at an all time high so much of the album, while beautiful, does hint at some other more hopeless themes (the song “Parasite” is a good example of this).

 

[Mauro FILHO]

Today I stumbled across an old "Talk is Jericho" podcast episode from 2017 with Syn and Johnny in which they were on the hunt for the "perfect album". Syn's criteria was that every song on the album MUST be an A list track.

It got me thinking, what is my perfect album and do I even have one. Syn's criteria was a bit stiff imo. For me personally, I think my perfect album would be one in which I do not skip any songs. Sure, I may like some more than others, but even a "B" level track can still appease my listening appetite when its imbedded in a slew of "A" level tracks.


The first album that immediately came to mind was the self titled Metallica album. Yes, the all mighty holy grail that is best known as THE BLACK ALBUM.

I quickly realized though I had a really hard time coming up with any others and really had to think long and hard but I finally came up with a tiny personal list for myself:

Linkin Park- Hybrid Theory (ALL A TRACKS)
AFI- Sing the Sorrow
Sum 41- Does This Look Infected

(oddly enough these three were the main albums I listened to in my early teen years. There's just something about the music from that time in your life that really sticks with you)

Anywho.....

Do you guys have any albums that you consider the "perfect" album ?

Hi! I guess this doesnt exist,...its like search a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You can do the climax all the time, even in a song, even in a whole album

 

[Hypnotic Ranger]

A lil bit late here , but only a few albums I can listen to without skipping any songs , the nr.1 pick its gotta be Nevermind by Nirvana
Other albums One X by three days grace
The connection by papa roach
Hail to the king by a7x

 

[William B.]

I like Deltron 30/30 it's hip-hop
he sounds like the guy from GORILLAZ, haven't checked if it's him or not

 

[TreSavedge]

Lots of different ways to answer this. The boring and true answer is 'No'. Humanity is imperfect in essence and music is subjective. But that's no fun right?

So after brainstorming some ideas to your great question and reading all the answers I started to think of all my 'S tier' fav albums. Ultimately some of the original considerations like 'Use Your Illusion' and 'Are You Experienced' ultimately I decided had to much filler under the said criteria. Then I started to consider 'perfect how?' Perfect in "execution of intention" or perfect in "technical prowess/achievement" or perfect "for and in relation to it's time" etc. 'Robocop' for instance isn't gonna run away with 10 oscars even if assuming that was a perfectly scientific peer review process, but it perfectly executes Paul Verhoven's thematic intention and is a perfectly competently shot 90 minute romp of a film and I would say perfect for its time. It perfectly does what it was supposed to do.

Then I saw your Sum 41 choice and realized that 90s/2000s pop-punk era is a great place to start looking for perfect execution of intention. Like Robocop everything those albums "don't do" simply doesn't hurt the final product because it never intended to do those things. Rip roaring solos, time changes, better technical prowess etc would probably actually hurt those songs. The color palette of that genre was perfect for it's time.

So then I started thinking of simply too many albums from Green Day, Blink, and Sum's peaks that there were too many perfect albums with valid arguments. Depending who you ask, their 'best' album is different and subjective. Ironically your choice and the album "Chuck" probably have even less filler than "All Killer no Filler".

So with my brain hurting at this point and this thought process going nowhere, I'll simply shut up and just throw in the mix a lot of ideas that might come close but ultimately I think will not make the cut... to be continued...

 

[TreSavedge]

I haven't heard the podcast you speak of in a long time and don't remember anything from it, but I would cut my fretting hand off if I lost a bet that those 3 guys didn't talk about Appetite.

Yes who are we all kidding? End of the day the only answer is Appetite. It's blues, it's the basis of western music, it's one perfectly written and produced album, perfect in execution of intention, it's appealing to massive audiences, 8 out of 12 singles, 4 very good album tracks. Almost 0 filler. It's rock and roll. The closing track started a riot in St Louis and got them banned 25 years. It has to be Appetite right? Stevie Wonder had a close to perfect album but the sum of his whole career is even more perfect than that album where as Appetite was technically their only LP. Their other releases were a double album and an EP and a lineup change. It's almost as if those ego and chaos infused maniacs were divinely created and existed only to give us Appetite. It's stuff of destiny!!!! It is Appetite!!!... to be continued.

 

[TreSavedge]

I haven't heard the podcast you speak of in a long time and don't remember anything from it, but I would cut my fretting hand off if I lose a bet that those 3 guys didn't talk about Appetite.

Yes who are we all kidding? End of the day the only answer is Appetite. It's blues, it's the basis of western music, it's one perfectly written and produced album, perfect in execution of intention, it's appealing to massive audiences, 8 out of 12 singles, 4 very good album tracks. Almost 0 filler. It's rock and roll. The closing track started a riot in St Louis and got them banned 25 years. It has to be Appetite right? Stevie Wonder had a close to perfect album but the sum of his whole career is even more perfect than that album where as Appetite was technically their only LP. Their other releases were a double album and an EP and a lineup change. It's almost as if those ego and chaos infused maniacs were divinely created and existed only to give us Appetite. It's stuff of destiny!!!! It is Appetite!!!... to be continued.

Appetite is the perfect album
Rust in Peace a few years later: hold my beer!!!!
To be continued...

 

[TreSavedge]

Appetite is the perfect album
Rust and Peace a few years later: hold my beer!!!!
To be continued...

Rust in Peace IS PERFECTION! But it's also too genre specific...

This is the moment where the guy who wasn't invited to the Royal Rumble, Billy, comes out with a chair or baseball bat and takes the belt for himself at the end after everyone else is spent. After Dave, David, Nick, and Marty are too tired from practicing songs that are insanely hard to play live. Lucretia is Latin for carpal tunnel syndrome and Poison isn't the Cure. In all it's purity this thing will even outlast it's other pop-culture juggernaut competitor from 1977, Star Wars, which is now a shell of it's former self. I'm sure we're no strangers to this one... which brings me to my FINAL ANSWER!!!!

 

[William B.]

Was fiddling my guitar with some songs in the background, nothing on my mind, then came this album and felt like went into a trance.
Started playing some nice riffs and listening was like sitting with him, wtf!? It may have been the occasion. I think I play a little bit like in this style cause some thing I learned early on from someone with experience taught me it, some scale notes.
Trying to figure out stuff by ear some, I get a note hear and there.
Anyway I heard it yesterday in it's entirety and enjoyed it much, probably where my mind was at at the time.

 

[mrenn000]

Today I stumbled across an old "Talk is Jericho" podcast episode from 2017 with Syn and Johnny in which they were on the hunt for the "perfect album". Syn's criteria was that every song on the album MUST be an A list track.

It got me thinking, what is my perfect album and do I even have one. Syn's criteria was a bit stiff imo. For me personally, I think my perfect album would be one in which I do not skip any songs. Sure, I may like some more than others, but even a "B" level track can still appease my listening appetite when its imbedded in a slew of "A" level tracks.


The first album that immediately came to mind was the self titled Metallica album. Yes, the all mighty holy grail that is best known as THE BLACK ALBUM.

I quickly realized though I had a really hard time coming up with any others and really had to think long and hard but I finally came up with a tiny personal list for myself:

Linkin Park- Hybrid Theory (ALL A TRACKS)
AFI- Sing the Sorrow
Sum 41- Does This Look Infected

(oddly enough these three were the main albums I listened to in my early teen years. There's just something about the music from that time in your life that really sticks with you)

Anywho.....

Do you guys have any albums that you consider the "perfect" album ?

100% on Hybrid Theory

Some other albums that I think are perfect:
Ghost - Meliora
Avatar - Hail the Apocalypse
Avatar - Avatar Country
Linkin Park - Meteora
Three Days Grace - One-X
A7X - Nightmare
MIRE - A New Found Rain
SOAD - Toxicity

I'm sure I could fine some more if I tried, these are just what comes to mind when I think about a perfect album

 

[Andrew Milner]

The perfect albums do exist for me and they're called:

- The Sufferer and the Witness by Rise Against
- Avenged Sevenfold by Avenged Sevenfold
- The Miracle or Innuendo by Queen ... those two are just so hauntingly beautiful in their own ways, especially Innuendo
- All That You Can't Leave Behind by U2
- These Days by Bon Jovi