RANK THE ALBUMS

[Monkey_Driven]

Y'all like Vs way more than me; it's my least favorite of the 90s albums.

[PHATJ]

Y'all like Vs way more than me; it's my least favorite of the 90s albums.

Ed is at his best. Dave A is a monster. Basically every song is strong. There’s no “filler”. And it sounds awesome. Plus I love the album art.

Album Art Rankings?

Awe hell yeah.

1. Vitalogy
2. No Code
3. Vs.
4. Gigaton
5. Yield
6. Binaural
7. Riot Act
8. Ten
9. Lightning Bolt
10. Backspacer
11. Avocado

[RockPusher]

1. Vitalogy
2. No Code
3. Vs.
4. Gigaton
5. Yield
6. Binaural
7. Riot Act
8. Ten
9. Lightning Bolt
10. Backspacer
11. Avocado

1 is out of this world. 2 is pretty damn unique. 3-7 are all very solid. Yeah, I agree with this album art list. Also, does anyone know what the deal was with their horror heads pile in Avocado? Have they ever talked about that?

[blueviper]

Last weekend I had a long road trip. So I started to listen to the albums without skipping songs (except stupid mop)

I only got to In Hiding on Yield. I have to take the same road trip this weekend so I'll finish my album marathon then.

But rankings adjusted for the 1st leg of the marathon:

Ten
Vs.
Vitalogy
No Code
Yield
Riot Act
Gigaton
Lightning Bolt
Binaural
Backspacer
Pearl Jam

Hearing the first three back-to-back-to-back just solidified that they are the holy trinity. I don't think anything is going to top those three.

[stip]

Last weekend I had a long road trip. So I started to listen to the albums without skipping songs (except stupid mop)

I only got to In Hiding on Yield. I have to take the same road trip this weekend so I'll finish my album marathon then.

But rankings adjusted for the 1st leg of the marathon:

Ten
Vs.
Vitalogy
No Code
Yield
Riot Act
Gigaton
Lightning Bolt
Binaural
Backspacer
Pearl Jam

Hearing the first three back-to-back-to-back just solidified that they are the holy trinity. I don't think anything is going to top those three.

it took years of posting here before I accepted that anyone without that opinion wasn’t trolling in some way

[Leatherhead]

Ten dropped in my rankings pretty quickly after I started listening to Pearl Jam. Probably had it dropping quickly after about 3 years of listening to Pearl Jam.

[Anders]

It’s not trolling to believe No Code through Binaural was Pearl Jam at their very best.

[Thurman Murman]

It’s not trolling to believe No Code through Binaural was Pearl Jam at their very best.

I don't personally share that opinion but i think its valid.

For me personally i've got their studio peak at 94-96 (Vitalogy-Merkinball-No Code).

[stip]

It’s not trolling to believe No Code through Binaural was Pearl Jam at their very best.

No. It is still crazy, but I believe it is an authentic insanity

[gardenparty]

Vitalogy
Vs
Yield
No Code
Ten (never listen but too good to place lower)
Riot Act
Binaural
Gigaton
Lightning Bolt
Backspacer
S/T (0 replay value for me)

[Anders]

It’s not trolling to believe No Code through Binaural was Pearl Jam at their very best.

No. It is still crazy, but I believe it is an authentic insanity

Not crazy at all either.

[jdopj]

It’s not trolling to believe No Code through Binaural was Pearl Jam at their very best.

No. It is still crazy, but I believe it is an authentic insanity

It also could be a subconscious reaction to the popularity of those first three.
The No Code-RA period a lot of people jumped off the bandwagon so it’s almost more personal because you stuck with it and found some gems there. It also doesn’t help that a majority of their live shows are centered in the first 3 making the other songs even more elusive in some way.

[epilogue]

My all time favorite song (not just by Pearl Jam but of all time) is In My Tree.

My favorite Pearl Jam album is Riot Act. It also happens to be my second favorite album of all time.

So... yeah, I'm not one of those that prescribes to all that "the first three are untouchable" stuff.

To be fair though, Vitalogy and Ten are also two of my favorite albums of all time. And they are 2 and 3 on my Pearl Jam rankings. And VS had FIVE of Pearl Jam's all time best songs on it. So, it's not like those first three are any slouch either.

Basically, this band didn't make even a mediocre record until Binaural. And that album has aged better than a lot better than I ever expected (maybe better than any other PJ record). Ten - Riot Act to me is just unfuckwithable. It's a hell of a run and I'd put it up against any other band/artist's run out there.

What a fucking amazing band.

[darth_vedder]

No Code
Vitalogy
Binaural
Yield
Riot Act
Vs
Ten
Pearl Jam
Gigaton
Backspacer
Lightning Bolt

[Johnny Turner]

First time doing this...

Riot Act
Yield
Ten
Vs
Vitalogy
Binaural
Gigaton
No Code
Pearl Jam
Lightning Bolt
Backspacer

[warehouse]

It’s not trolling to believe No Code through Binaural was Pearl Jam at their very best.

No. It is still crazy, but I believe it is an authentic insanity

Not crazy at all either.

no code through binaural could be argued its more of a full band effort whereas ten-vitalogy was eddie vedder stealing the band from stone gossard. to me binaural has more of in common with riot act than no code or yield. but no code and yield are my favorite albums, and binaural isnt 3rd so it might be a personal preference thing.

[Tuolumne]

Y'all like Vs way more than me; it's my least favorite of the 90s albums.

I think Vs has 4-5 of the absolute all time greatest Pearl Jam songs ever. Like, if I was going to introduce someone to PJ for the first time, I'd play Daughter, Rearviewmirror, Elderly Woman, Indifference, even Leash is just an all-time great deep cut. But, as their career went on I felt like they one upped great rockers like Animal and Blood. Then, there are songs like Glorified G, Dissident, and Rats that are good but on later albums as they became a more complete band sound a little dated. Awesome album though.

[The Argonaut]

Vs.
Vitalogy
No Code
Binaural
Yield
Ten
Riot Act
Backspacer
Pearl Jam
Gigaton
Lightning Bolt

[joostone]

-No Code
-Vitalogy
-Ten
-Yield
-Vs
-Riot Act
-Binaural
-Gigaton
-Avocado
-Backspacer
-Lightning Bolt

[PHATJ]

Y'all like Vs way more than me; it's my least favorite of the 90s albums.

I think Vs has 4-5 of the absolute all time greatest Pearl Jam songs ever. Like, if I was going to introduce someone to PJ for the first time, I'd play Daughter, Rearviewmirror, Elderly Woman, Indifference, even Leash is just an all-time great deep cut. But, as their career went on I felt like they one upped great rockers like Animal and Blood. Then, there are songs like Glorified G, Dissident, and Rats that are good but on later albums as they became a more complete band sound a little dated. Awesome album though.

Like you said, Vs. is absolutely full of monster songs and should be near the top of the rankings to reflect that. I have five songs in my top 10 and seven in my top 20. It’s mind blowing, really.