Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left. Most artists take at least 2–3 albums to get going at full steam, but in this case Drake never topped his first album (his career, however, was brief). Not only the finest album of Drake’s career, but perhaps the finest album of its kind.
@Dutchess_III Don’t even try. As EVERYBODY knows, Jethro Tull’s first album was entitled “This Was” and it really wasn’t. Tull didn’t find their sound until their second album, Stand Up.
@Blondesjon Hard to deny the chemistry, said the priest to…no one, ever.
It was close between those two albums for me, but I reckon the Pistols just shaded it.
Their only studio album, can’t improve on perfection.
Yes, I know Come On Pilgrim was technically released the previous year, but that was just an EP. Besides the quality of the songs, Surfer Rosa is hands down the best produced album. Steve Albini is the real thing. The recording (and mix) of the drums on this album are perfection, and ruined everything other recording for me. When Doolittle was released, I almost cried due to the limp production.
^ Nevermind was released 2 years after their debut (Bleach). And Bleach is arguably the better album. Actually, Nevermind may have been OK if Butch Vig hadn’t watered it down to muzak.
Tangerine Dream “Electronic Meditation” 1970. Introduced me to the then-nascent genre of electronica, and I was blown away!
(OK, the drugs might have had something to do with the “blown away” part, but I actually found the music to be extremely innovative and musical for the state of the genre at the time.)