When you want to try out a new band and you don't know what album to get, do you tend to get their first album?

Question

Assume that you don't recognize any of the songs.

BQ: What are some debut albums that are not very good?

Answer 1

Back before the fabulous Y!A existed, where I can ask the 'experts' specific questions about such things, I would spend quite a bit of time reading the reviews at amazon.com, trying to determine any given group's "best" album ~ or most highly recommended one at any rate.



No, I don't necessarily go for their first album.



BQ: Have never really connected with Led Zeppelin I. A couple of good songs, but just not my style. LZII, on the other hand, I *love*.

Answer 2

Well, it depends...



If the band has a large back catelogue {such as for when I discovered Jethro Tull, Capercaillie, Sandy Denny}, then I will begin with a "Greatest Hits" / "Best Of" album, to give me an overview of their entire career. [though not all long-term bands have compelations - Old Blind Dogs didn't when I was getting into them a couple of years ago]. At this point, I will then either begin at the beginning, or if I didn't like the sound of that era, then at a particular 'change point'.



If the band has a smaller discography {example: Blackmore's Night only had 5 studio albums when I found them [and the one compilation was only romantic songs]} then I will start with the first album and work through chronologically.



From experience, I know that many long-term bands have changed their sound over the years, so I do find it best to begin with their first album.





BQ : I'm still not over-impressed with the 1968 Fleetwood Mac debut...

Answer 3

Depends. A lot of the time, the reason that I'm checking out a band is because they have a new album out, so in that case, it would be their latest album. This is also often the case simply because record stores are more likely to stock a band's most recent album. Other times I will go with the band's "magnum opus", if there seems to be some consensus on what their best album is. Otherwise, it's whatever they have at the record store, or whatever I have heard from them before.

Answer 4

If I don't know any songs then I'll look up the albums and see which was the most successful. I know chart position and sales don't always reflect a bands best work but it is usually the bands most accessible work and from there you can work backwards.



For instance, when I was 14 or whatever I bought The Wall. If I had bought Piper At The Gates Of Dawn I would have been like what the hell is this?



BA: Not really bad but Thin Lizzy's and Deep Purple's debuts aren't nearly as good as what they went on to do.

Answer 5

No, a lot of the time a band's first album isn't their best. I have the now well-worn strategy of finding what is generally considered their best album, then listening to the last song on that album. 99 times out of 100 it works and I get a pretty good idea of whether I'm going to like the band. The whole idea is based on the fact that my favourite bands tend to have great closing tracks for their albums. Plus, singles that mightn't be terribly representative of the band's overall work are usually at the start of albums.

Answer 6

Hey Law Man



This is a tough question...



...not always

since I want to get an album by a band, I'm assuming there was something that caught my interest, a song, a recommendation...

...meaning a particular album

...but I usually do a little research and look at reviews...



I'm sure we all know the first album isn't always the safest choice... sometimes it doesn't even fit with the rest of the band's work



BA: let me think of that...



I mean... a good example would be David Bowie... his debut ("David Bowie") is not really bad... but it would be a terrible first album to get =P



Ministry is the same... ("With Sympathy")

Answer 7

Well, there are 3 ways that it goes down. Generally, my curiosity will be grabbed by a song or two that I've heard. When that's the case, I'll go with that album.

If I get into it from word of mouth, which has been more and more common lately, I will generally just ask what a good starting point is.

If I have neither and it's just a name that I've heard knocked around and I'm feeling adventurous I will generally go to Allmusic.com and see which album is rated the highest. Sometimes, now that I'm using amazon.com a little more it may depend on if I can cherrypick one as being particularly inexpensive. Otherwise it just comes down to a whim, if I get a feeling looking at one.



That's the long and not so short of my selection process for what it's worth.

Answer 8

Sometimes I go onto sites like Amazon, Allmusic and Wikipedia to read about some of their albums. I'd usually start off with their most critically acclaimed albums. They sometimes tend to be the best place to start off even if I end up liking some of the artist's other albums more.



Other times I'd actually ask a question here on Y!A to see what songs or albums I'm recommended to check out. I've done that a few times and it's always turned out well.



BQ: Pablo Honey. I like it but it doesn't really compare to the rest of Radioheads albums.

Answer 9

It depends, If the band is relatively new say 3 to 5 albums released I'll go with their first, if for a long standing band with at least a dozen albums released I look for something in the middle of the pack and generally many times I'll take what I can get!



BQ: Off hand....

Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla - I almost didn't get Sad Wings Of Destiny because of their debut



Oomph! - ST - Highly experimental, sounds nothing like the rest of their catalog.

Answer 10

Well I tend to get the newest album because of the fact that most bands get better with more experience. But usually since I download everything off of limewire, I just get a few songs from different albums for more variety.

Answer 11

Start with their hits then go into album cuts. Some bands first albums are awful and other changed way too much with their later material.

Answer 12

i go to the last.fm page, check out the bands charts for top songs, and download the top heard songs album. trust the fans :)

or i go to wiki page of the band , check out the discography, and check out the reviews for all the albums. the highest rated one is what i download.



colour haze - chopping machine



just not good enough, their later works though are right at the top albums in listen to

Answer 13

I tend to get their newest albums first as sound quality has improved and still is improving with time. Also as someone mentioned, the band's experience also increases and they seem to get better but sometimes that's not the case as they get more commercial.

Answer 14

Usually i'll research a chunk of their songs, and the album that has a few of the songs on that i then know and like, i buy that album first.

Answer 15

I tend to get their most critically acclaimed album, unless it's a band that I don't really like that much. If that's the case, I'll just get a "greatest hits."



BQ: "David Bowie"

Answer 16

Not really, I just pick an album, listen to a few of the songs and decide which one to get that way.



Pablo Honey is mostly ****, imo

Answer 17

If they have a greatest hits or some kind of compilation, I'll go with that. Otherwise, I'll go with the album that has the track or tracks that sparked my curiosity.

Answer 18

no i get the best hits album and listen to popular songs before i really go deep and discover more (that's what she said)

Answer 19

I usually start at the beginning and make my way through the catalogue

Answer 20

i just google their best songs

suppose the band is ac-dc

then you can google "top ten ac-dc song" and then you can check the links and get their best songs.

Answer 21

I think that's what most people do.