Artists Who Only Made Consistently Excellent Records

[bart]

Hendrix didn’t put out any excellent albums, there was a decent amount of crap on each one

[Ello Sailor]

I think Faith No More might be the best example of this. Good call, VG.

[bart]

Including the stuff with that other singer??

[DWFB]

5 or so songs have been listed for albums to qualify for this? That means the 2 pj albums which are probably in question, lb and bs, could be included.

[Brett]

5 or so songs have been listed for albums to qualify for this? That means the 2 pj albums which are probably in question, lb and bs, could be included.

I, uh, what...?

[Higgs]

Yeah, I'm not convinced that anyone really fits this description. Lots of artists with lots of excellent and great albums, not many (if any) with only excellent albums.

[Kevin Davis]

The first two Beatles albums are not excellent.

I disagree so hard with this.

The only possible exception in my book is Yellow Submarine, but since the second side isn't really even Beatles music, and the first side has some repeats from previous albums, I have a hard time really subjecting it to the same criteria as a proper album. Either way, it definitely doesn't break the flow for me.

[liebzz]

Tom Petty is really close.

[DWFB]

How about old aerosmith? Cuz we cant really count pop aerosmith as the same band, can we? Steven tyler looks like an alien with those lips and long face, so lets just assume he became one during the pop phase?

[Norah]

Tom Petty is really close.

ehhhh

[Mike]

Joanna Newsom
Fleet Foxes

Not sure about anyone else. Their discographies are pretty small, though.

[liebzz]

Tom Petty is really close.

ehhhh

The only records of his I can think of that are not excellent are Let Me Up, I’ve Had Enough (meh), Southern Accents (very good, not excellent), and The Last DJ (had its moments but not excellent). Otherwise we are talking one excellent album after another. I am not keeping count but there’s at least a dozen of them, no?

[Chris_H_2]

The National
Run the Jewels
The War on Drugs
Radiohead

[Oh, Jimmy]

Tom Petty is really close.

ehhhh

The only records of his I can think of that are not excellent are Let Me Up, I’ve Had Enough (meh), Southern Accents (very good, not excellent), and The Last DJ (had its moments but not excellent). Otherwise we are talking one excellent album after another. I am not keeping count but there’s at least a dozen of them, no?

For as great as Petty is, he really had no all killer no filler albums.


RATM mentions are a joke.

[Brett]

Duster. Like Oceansize, they have a compact discography; only three full-length albums in a span of 21 years, with a long stretch of inactivity between the latter two. In fact, I'm coming to see that almost as a prerequisite for this thread. The fewer albums an artist has, the better their chance of meeting the definition.

Thinking of some of my favorite artists, they usually have an album or two that don't quite meet the criteria for greatness. Early albums that flounder a bit in finding an identity or latter day experiments that don't quite work out. Eric Chenaux is one such artist that falls into that category. Silver Mt. Zion almost reach consistent greatness, but I think their their first and third albums fall just a little too short of glory. Same for Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as their first two post-reunion releases are just a step below meeting the standard. Pearl Jam is a notorious example around these parts; had they quit after the 2000 tour, they would have had an incredible six album run, and even including Riot Act is a mighty impressive seven record stretch.

Oh, now that I think about it, Bon Iver might very well meet the mark. Four albums, all of a similar high quality.

So that makes three that I've thought of so far:

Oceansize
Duster
Bon Iver

[VinylGuy]

I should listen to the last Bon Iver´s but damn im so bored in the first minutes i never follow it.

[oasisfan35]

The National

As much as I'd like this to be true the first album is not excellent.

[Chris_H_2]

The National

As much as I'd like this to be true the first album is not excellent.

i think it suffers from a lack of production frankly.

[oasisfan35]

The National

As much as I'd like this to be true the first album is not excellent.

i think it suffers from a lack of production frankly.

The production certainly isn't stellar but the songs simply aren't that strong in my opinion.

[liebzz]

Tom Petty is really close.

ehhhh

The only records of his I can think of that are not excellent are Let Me Up, I’ve Had Enough (meh), Southern Accents (very good, not excellent), and The Last DJ (had its moments but not excellent). Otherwise we are talking one excellent album after another. I am not keeping count but there’s at least a dozen of them, no?

For as great as Petty is, he really had no all killer no filler albums.


RATM mentions are a joke.

Wildflowers is all killer no filler.

Damn the Torpedoes, Hard Promises, Full Moon Fever, She’s the One, Mojo, and Hypnotic Eye - is they had filler I never noticed it. The others - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, You’re Gonna Get It, Long After Dark, Into the Great Wide Open, Echo, and Highway Companion - all maybe have a song or two I can do without but would still rate as excellent. Even the Live Anthology which is like 4 hours long, is phenomenal. So I stay true to my original thought that he was close - especially for an artist with a large catalogue.