RANK THE ALBUMS

[PHATJ]

For people's bottom rankings (I'm thinking of the meh comment or phatJ's so fucking bad comment for backspacer) are these albums you actually do not like at all, or are they just albums that you think are decent, but not up to the standards you had come to expect.

I know i'm in the former. Even the albums at the bottom of my list I think are pretty good.

I genuinely dislike Backspacer. I only like two songs on that album, maybe three if the mood is right. And nothing comes remotely close to a classic PJ song for me. I guess I would find Backspacer more appealing than most pop music, and country, and rap, but when comparing to music genres or other bands I actually like, Backspacer is way at the bottom. It just rubs me wrong in almost every way. I genuinely really like or love every other PJ album and I think every one would be at or very near the top of any list of albums released in the same year. Backspacer gets lapped by pretty much every other album made by artists I like from that year. As a matter of fact, If I were to rank all the albums made by my top 25-30 favorite artists, Backspacer would likely be very close to the bottom.

[Kaius]

Vitalogy
Binaural
Riot Act
No Code
Yield
Vs
Ten
Lightning bolt
Backspacer
Avocado

It's hard to argue about those top 5 albums, and not that I really care all that much about the bottom 3, but Avocado is way better than those other 2.

[tommymtcom]

I think it's just the shock of going from Riot Act to Avocado that makes me hate it so much. It also contains my absolute least favorite Pearl Jam song (WWS)

[tommymtcom]

I also think Avocado is much more shrill and grating than LB or BS which are just kind of there.

[tommymtcom]

Either way I never listen to those albums so it doesn't really matter.

[Kaius]

I really long for the album that should have come after Riot Act, wherever it went...

[tommymtcom]

I really long for the album that should have come after Riot Act, wherever it went...

Me too man. They were really on track to age gracefully. What the fuck happened.

[Leatherhead]

1. S/T
2. Avocado
3. Pearl Jam
4. S/T
5. Avocado
6. Pearl Jam
7. S/T
8. Avocado
9. Pearl Jam
10. S/T

[PHATJ]

1. S/T
2. Avocado
3. Pearl Jam
4. S/T
5. Avocado
6. Pearl Jam
7. S/T
8. Avocado
9. Pearl Jam
10. S/T

I never go with Avocado. I always go with S/T unless making a list, then you have to be proper and use "Pearl Jam".

[chewm]

1. S/T
2. Avocado
3. Pearl Jam
4. S/T
5. Avocado
6. Pearl Jam
7. S/T
8. Avocado
9. Pearl Jam
10. S/T

I love this album.

[knee tunes]

omg.

again?

1. Billy Squier
2. Juice Newton
3. Donald Drumpf
4. Olivia Newton John Stewart
5. Kaius
6. Skunk
7. Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania
8. Penis
9. Slot Machines
10. Vemeo

[Kaius]

number 5?!

This is an outrage!

[knee tunes]

number 5?!

This is an outrage!

yeah but you're the only one!

[knee tunes]

dick

[Kaius]

gasp

[Brett]

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

Not much change from the last time around, just a few slight movements.

Binaural has been my number one for a long time, and I don't forsee that changing. There's at least five songs from that album that I could comfortably put into a top ten ranking. The run from Vitalogy to Riot Act always follows, and sees the most movement; those four albums are pretty much interchangeable in my regard, all depending on how I'm feeling, what I've listened to most recently, etc. I think Yield typically has the most malleability because it's very consistent. It doesn't have any real lows, but it doesn't have stupendous highs, either. It's definitely a mood piece.

Ten and Vs. are the legacy albums. If not for the former, then I never would have gotten into the band, but I hardly ever put it on, and I don't have attachments to most of the songs anymore. Vs. is better, with more raw energy and some tracks that are still top-notch in the catalog. Yet, outside my favorites, it's another one I'm rarely compelled to listen to.

Then, of course, there's the bottom three, the same as many others' lists. There's a lot of residual resentment at Pearl Jam, despite the presence of a handful of strong tracks and the evidence that they were still on a creative high at the time. Lightning Bolt, on the other hand, was the first time since 2006 that it felt like the band could still do something surprising and interesting. Some of the choices they made on this album, like the bowed guitar in "Pendulum" and the twin basses in "My Father's Son," would have been bold and exciting, insofar as the band is concerned, a decade earlier. Instead, they feel under-formed, though still somewhat interesting. And then there's Backspacer, the one Pearl Jam album I couldn't muster up any interest in around release time. Even it's best songs, such as "Johnny Guitar" and "Got Some," are tepid compared to any other point in the discography.

As far as Stip's question about bottom rankings, it's a little of column A, a little of column B. Compared to the rest of Pearl Jam's output, those last three records are rather weak. Up against their contemporaries in radio-friendly arena-rock, probably a bit on the strong side. But looking at each of those three most recent records compared to other stuff that I liked that came out the same years ('06, '09, and '13), they don't come close to sitting in the same company.

[evenslow]

As far as Stip's question about bottom rankings, it's a little of column A, a little of column B. Compared to the rest of Pearl Jam's output, those last three records are rather weak. Up against their contemporaries in radio-friendly arena-rock, probably a bit on the strong side. But looking at each of those three most recent records compared to other stuff that I liked that came out the same years ('06, '09, and '13), they don't come close to sitting in the same company.

This is a good way of putting it. It all depends on the context.

[epilogue]

Vitalogy
Ten
Riot Act
Yield

These are all damn near flawless records.

No Code
Vs
Binaural

These are great records that have a couple of flaws that really keep them from being the best of the best but I still fucking love them with all my heart.

S/T
Lightning Bolt
Backspacer

Good to decent records full of things to love but also have some real groaning lows.

[Leatherhead]

Pearl Jam is so much better than Ten.

[LoathedVermin72]

Pearl Jam is so much better than Ten.

FFS