RANK THE ALBUMS

General Pearl Jam discussion.
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given2trade
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by given2trade »

i don't even know the names of the last 3 albums

no but really i couldn't tell you the order they came out in. i think oldest one was Pearl Jam/Avocado then the other 2? couldn't tell you the names of the last 2 right now without going through this thread.
Last edited by given2trade on Sun February 09, 2020 7:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jorge
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by Jorge »

given2trade wrote:i don't even know the names of the last 3 albums
http://forums.theskyiscrape.com/viewtop ... 0#p1466000

Do you remember this
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given2trade
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by given2trade »

theplatypus wrote:
given2trade wrote:i don't even know the names of the last 3 albums
http://forums.theskyiscrape.com/viewtop ... 0#p1466000

Do you remember this
i kinda do remember that...it's not my worst idea
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Thurman Murman
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by Thurman Murman »

Guys i listened to Backspacer and Lightning Bolt back to back last night for the first time in years....i was kind of shocked how much better Backspacer is to LB! I'm not saying either is great, but i can now safely say that LB is by far their worst album.
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by Clem Halibut »

Thurman Murman wrote:Guys i listened to Backspacer and Lightning Bolt back to back last night for the first time in years....i was kind of shocked how much better Backspacer is to LB! I'm not saying either is great, but i can now safely say that LB is by far their worst album.
I've listened to Lightning Bolt - Maybe 2x in the last 5 years.
Hands down - their worst album

Gigaton is already better
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
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stip
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by stip »

Clem Halibut wrote:
Thurman Murman wrote:Guys i listened to Backspacer and Lightning Bolt back to back last night for the first time in years....i was kind of shocked how much better Backspacer is to LB! I'm not saying either is great, but i can now safely say that LB is by far their worst album.
I've listened to Lightning Bolt - Maybe 2x in the last 5 years.
Hands down - their worst album

Gigaton is already better
I think my recent relistens of lightning bolt (i've done two in the past month or so) have maybe pushed it ahead of Backspacer.
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by Clem Halibut »

stip wrote:
Clem Halibut wrote:
Thurman Murman wrote:Guys i listened to Backspacer and Lightning Bolt back to back last night for the first time in years....i was kind of shocked how much better Backspacer is to LB! I'm not saying either is great, but i can now safely say that LB is by far their worst album.
I've listened to Lightning Bolt - Maybe 2x in the last 5 years.
Hands down - their worst album

Gigaton is already better
I think my recent relistens of lightning bolt (i've done two in the past month or so) have maybe pushed it ahead of Backspacer.
The Lightning Bolt songs are good live - but the record is just a mess production wise.
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by stip »

Lets figure this out for my middle 4 albums (Yield, S/T, Backspacer, L-bolt)

With the following scale (and this reflects how much I want to hear the song. There are good songs on here I might rank 'objectively' higher but I'm just not into them as much right now ):


Above 3 stars: A song I will actively seek out
3 Stars: A song I would not skip if it came on
2.5 Stars: A song I would only listen to if I was working my way through an album, but wouldn't skip then
2 Stars: Would skip but it's not the end of the world if I hear it
1 star: Hate


Yield
Brain of J: 4.5
Faithful: 2
No Way: 2.5
Given to Fly: 4.5
Wishlist: 4.5
Pilate: 2.5
Red Dot: 0 but not counting
Do the Evolution: 4.5
MFC: 3
Low Light: 2.5
In Hiding: 2.5
Push Me Pull Me: 2.5
All Those Yesterdays: 3
Total: 3.2

S/T
Life Wasted: 5
World Wide Suicide: 5
Comatose: 4.5
Severed Hand: 3
Marker in the Sand: 3.5
Parachutes: 4
Unemployable: 2
Big Wave: 2
Gone: 3
Wasted Reprise: - not counting, but 3
Army Reserve: 2.5
Come Back: 3.5
Inside Job: 2.5
Average: 3.17

Backspacer
Gonna See My Friend: 4
Got Some: 3.5
The Fixer: 4.5
Johnny Guitar: 3
Just Breathe: 3
Amongst the Waves: 3.5
Unthought Known: 3
Supersonic: 2
Speed of Sound: 3
Force of Nature: 5
The End: 3.5
Average: 3.45


Lightning Bolt:
Getaway: 2.5
Mind Your Manners: 5
My Father's Son: 2.5
Sirens: 3.5
Lightning Bolt: 4.5
Infallible: 3
Pendulum: 3.5
Swallowed Whole: 3.5
Let the Records Play: 2.5
Sleeping By Myself: 4
Yellow Moon: 4
Future Days: 3.5
Average: 3.5


So Lightning Bolt
Backspacer
Yield
S/T


I think L-bolt and backspacer and yield/st swapped places from the last time I did this. Pretty close though
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by stip »

Clem Halibut wrote:
stip wrote:
Clem Halibut wrote:
Thurman Murman wrote:Guys i listened to Backspacer and Lightning Bolt back to back last night for the first time in years....i was kind of shocked how much better Backspacer is to LB! I'm not saying either is great, but i can now safely say that LB is by far their worst album.
I've listened to Lightning Bolt - Maybe 2x in the last 5 years.
Hands down - their worst album

Gigaton is already better
I think my recent relistens of lightning bolt (i've done two in the past month or so) have maybe pushed it ahead of Backspacer.
The Lightning Bolt songs are good live - but the record is just a mess production wise.
it is, but I like a lot of the songs enough I can look past it. And there are still 4 songs on that album I adore regardless, and a bunch more that I would adore with better production
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by EJ »

stip wrote:Lets figure this out for my middle 4 albums (Yield, S/T, Backspacer, L-bolt)

Yield
Brain of J: 4.5
Faithful: 2
No Way: 2.5
Given to Fly: 4.5
Wishlist: 4.5
Pilate: 2.5
Red Dot: 0 but not counting
Do the Evolution: 4.5
MFC: 3
Low Light: 2.5
In Hiding: 2.5
Push Me Pull Me: 2.5
All Those Yesterdays: 3
Total: 3.2
Your opinions on the Yield songs are really tragic.
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stip
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by stip »

there's a lot of songs on Yield I just could care less about. The 4.5 songs are 5 star songs in terms of their quality - just not as interested in hearing them anymore.
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by stip »

in the interest of science and killing time until I pick my daughter up lets evaluate my bottom 3. This is important homework to do so gigaton can be precisely slotted into my rankings. And this reflects how excited I am about a song right now. Insignificance, for instance, is clearly a better song than I've ranked it.

Above 3 stars: A song I will actively seek out
3 Stars: A song I would not skip if it came on
2.5 Stars: A song I would only listen to if I was working my way through an album, but wouldn't skip then
2 Stars: Would skip but it's not the end of the world if I hear it
1 Star: Hate

No Code
Sometimes: 2.5
Hail Hail: 4
Who You Are: 4
In My Tree: 3
Smile: 2.5
Off He Goes: 1.5
Habit: 3.5
Red Mosquito: 3
Lukin: 2.5
Present Tense: 2.5
Mankind: 1.5
I'm Open: 1
Around the Bend: 3
Average: 2.65

(No Code is probably the album with the songs that have aged the most poorly for me in that even ones I used to really love I just don't care much about anymore)

Binaural
Breakerfall: 3
Gods Dice: 2
Evacuation: 2
Light Years: 2.5
Nothing As It Seems: 4.5
Thin Air: 2.5
Insignificance: 3.5
Of the Girl: 2.5
Grievance: 4
Rival: 4.5
Sleight of Hand: 1.5
Soon Forget: 1
Parting Ways: 3.5
Average: 2.84

Riot Act:
Can't Keep: 3
Save You: 4
Love Boat Captain: 2
Cropduster: 3
Ghost: 3.5
I Am Mine: 4.5
Thumbing My Way: 2
You Are: 2.5
Get Right: 3.5
Green Disease: 2.5
Help Help: 2
Bushleaguer:1.5
1/2 Full: 2.5
Arc: 2 but not including
All or None: 2
Average: 2.56

So Binaural, Riot Act, No Code. Feels right.
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by liebzz »

I haven’t done all this but I would clearly rank the songs higher than all of you, even while I am listening to less Pearl Jam the last year or so.
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by Anders »

I’m going to score them based on how I feel about the studio versions when listening today, and how much I would like to hear them again in the coming month, not based on how I felt when they were new and fresh, how they are live, or their classic status for Pearl Jam or in my life. I will score irregardless of how others feel, or how I have rated/ranked the albums previously.

Score 0= trash, 1 = do not like, 2 = could skip, 2.5 = would not turn off, 3 = good, 3.5 = really like this, 4 = great listen, 4.5 = what makes this the best band, 5 = I’m in love

Ten

Once 4
Even Flow 3
Alive 3
Why Go 4
Black 5
Jeremy 3.5
Oceans 4.5
Porch 4
Garden 2.5
Deep 2.5
Release 5

Score 3,72
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by Anders »

Vs.

Go 4
Animal 4.5
Daughter 4.5
Glorified G 2
Dissident 3
W.M.A. 2.5
Blood 3
Rearviewmirror 5
Rats 2.5
Elderly Woman 4.5
Leash 2.5
Indifference 4.5

Score 3,54

Vitalogy

Last Exit 3.5
STBC 2.5
Not For You 4
Tremor Christ 4.5
Nothingman 4
Whipping 2
Pry, To 0.5 (won’t count it)
Corduroy 5
Bugs 2 (won’t count it)
Satan’s Bed 3
Better Man 4.5
Aye Davanita 1.5 (won’t count it)
Immortality 5
Stupid Mop 0 (won’t count it)

Vitalogy 3,8 (without the filler tracks)

The score itself doesn’t lie, but my overall experience with Vitalogy did not feel as good as that of Ten. The fillers do nothing for me anymore, and there are too few good songs overall. Six songs each on all three albums with a score of 4 or more.
Last edited by Anders on Sun February 23, 2020 10:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by Anders »

No Code

Sometimes 4.5
Hail, Hail 5
Who You Are 4.5
In My Tree 5
Smile 4
Off He Goes 5
Habit 4.5
Red Mosquito 3.5
Lukin 3
Present Tense 4
Mankind 4.5
I’m Open 3
Around The Bend 3.5

Score 4,15

Yield

Brain of J 4.5
Faithful 4.5
No Way 3.5
Given To Fly 4
Wishlist 3
Pilate 3
Do The Evolution 4.5
Red Bar 0 (won’t count)
Mfc 4
Low Light 4.5
In Hiding 5
Push Me, Pull Me 3
All Those Yesterdays 4.5

Score 4,08
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by stip »

I've had the opposite experience to you - it is the first three albums (Ten in particular) where I am still as excited as ever (for the most part) to go back to my favorite songs. It's the albums afterwards where I've seen the real drop off in my personal excitment
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by burl jam »

I don't think you can discount the filler tracks from rankings, because when e.g. Vitalogy is experienced as a whole, those fillers tracks contribute to one's memory and overall takeaway from that album.
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by stip »

true, but this is just a ranking of the songs on the album and their aggregate total/average. The intangibles (which are super important - filler tracks, how they flow into each other, etc.) isn't something factored into this.
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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS

Post by KidC- »

I want to play. (Sorry this posted twice)

Sometimes - 4
Hail hail - 5
Who you are - 4
In my tree - 5
Smile - 5
Off he goes - 3
Habit - 1
Red mosquito - 4
Lukin - 3
Present tense - 4.25
Mankind - 1
I’m open - 2
Around the bend - 3.5




Brain of J - 3
Faithful - 4
No way - 4
Given to fly - 5
Wishlist 3.75
Pilate 2.5
DTE - 3.5
MFC - 3
Lowlight - 5
In Hiding - 4
Push - 2.5
All those yesterday’s - 4.5

Breakerfall - 3 (remember hearing this at a midnight release party. 30 seconds before midnight the time lady came on the speakers and did a countdown. When she said at the tone pacific daylight time will be...12:00... exactly—-Virgin megastore pressed play on Binaural and I breakerfall began. Loooooove the intro)
Gods Dice - 2.75
Evacuation - 2
Light Years - 5
NAIS - 2.75
Thin air - 2.5
Insignificance - 4.5
Of the girl - 3
Grievance - 5
Rival - 2
Sleight of hand - 3
Soon forget - 1
Parting Ways - 3.5

Can’t keep - 4
Save you - 3.75
LBC - 5
Crop duster - 2
Ghost - 2.75
I am mine - 3.75
Thumbing my way - 4
You Are - 5
Get right - 1.75
Green Disease - 2.25
Help help - 3 (that ending kills though)
Bush- 2.5
1/2 full - 2.5
Arc - 2
All or none 2.5

Life wasted - 4
WWS - 4
Comatose - 3 (why did I like “crapshoot rapture so much better??)
Severed hand - 4
Marker - 3.5
Parachutes - 3.5
Unemployable - 2
Big wave - 2
Gone - 3
Army reserve - 3
Come back - 4
Inside Job - 4


GSMF - 3
Got some - 4.25
The fixer - 3.75
Johnny Guitar - 3
Just Breathe - 5
Amongst The Waves - 5
Unthought Known - 5
Supersonic - 1
Speed of sound - 3.25
Force of nature - 3.5
The end - 3.5


Getaway - 4
Mind your manners - 4
Fathers son - 4
Sirens - 5
Lightning bolt - 4.5
Infallible - 3
Pendulum - 3.75
Swallowed whole - 3
Records - 2.5
Sleeping - 3
Yellow moon - 3
Future days - 1



This is obviously based on first listen alone. I have a strong feeling this album is a grower. Both released songs keep getting better and better with each listen. But this was my initial reaction.

Gigaton
Who Ever Said - 5
Superblood Wolfmoon - 4 (4.5 now it’s fucking insanely fun and energetic.)
DotC - 3.5 (4.75 now... and climbing)
Quick Escape - 3.5
Alright - 1.75
Seven O’Clock - 4
Never Destination - 1.5
Take The Long Way - 2.5
Buckle Up - 1
Comes then goes - 2
Retrograde - 5 potential
River Cross - 5 potential.

Again. I guarantee these scores will go higher not lower. The beginning and the end of the album were EVERYTHING I wanted from a new PJ album. The middle is stuff I have to chew on...and my scores reflect my initial knee jerk reaction to it not being what I wanted...
but I’m excited to bite down on it all soon.
Last edited by KidC- on Sat February 22, 2020 11:11 am, edited 2 times in total.
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