Seminal albums/bands

[b26354]

Great album!

think the difficulty is that it's possibly too soon to identify for certain what will be seminal or just good/great....as I said I toyed with the idea of mars volta - 'deloused in the comotorium' & sufjan stevens - 'illinoise'.

Equally Wondered about something like Joanna Newsom's - 'Ys', death cab for cutie's 'Transatlanticism, LCD Soundsystem's- 'sound of silver', or even minus the bear's 'menos el oso' with it's guitar-tapping style, atypical rhythm structure, varying time signatures, electronic elements etc. Not sure many contemporary bands that have done similar before...there perhaps is, but not whom I know.

Another from this decade I would add definitely tho....esbjorn svensson trio - strange place for snow

...and tho last decade, boards of canada - music has the right to children is probably worth a mention aswell.

[nina3d]

I'm wimping out of doing the decades thing, but here's my 5...

Beatles - Sgt Pepper

Jeff Wayne & co - War of the Worlds (does this count? Surely it's seminal....? Ooooo LaaaaaAAA)

Smiths - Queen is Dead

James - Gold Mother (narrowly beating Carter USM, and just because I think it's aged better)

Faithless - Reverence

I think I'll also back Elbow for the what will be.

[.jay.]

The Beatles - Sgt Pepper

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

The Who - The Who Sell Out

Small Faces - Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

The Clash - London Calling

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Run DMC - Run DMC

Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

The Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses

i got a bit carried away and couldn't stick to just 5

and a band around today that are capable and have done it imo are The Strokes with Is This It? and there are heaps of new artists out there capable of making obscenely good music and seminal albums

Edited March 29, 2009 by .jay.

[darrenbha]

The cure- the kiss, public enemy -nation of millions, run dmc- raisin hell, stone roses- stone roses, pulp -different class. Struggled on the decades thing. Not sure of anyone currently who could manage it

[crashnburn]

most recently -

the strokes - is this it? not an amazing album but it stopped the situation where travis and stereophonics were the only indi bands you ever heard of. it relaunced indie back nearer the mainstream. answeres on postcard whether this was a good thing.

Arcade fire funeral how is a band like that playing stadiums?

Libertines - up the bracket

Artic monkey- first album everybody seems to have it its influenced loads of bands came from nearly no where united hipsters and the general population.

cant think of any more form 00's

I think hope bright eyes, super furry animals and belle and sebastian are all capable of doing one but they are just too awkard adn i really dont think they want to do a seminal album

[sjhande]

Sticky Fingers

Born To Run

Never Mind The Bollocks

Catch A Fire

Revolver

Of the current:

Fleet Foxes next one.

Super Furries - if they could ever be bothered

[Ed209]

Seminal, world changing albums ...

Beatles - Sgt Pepper

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Radiohead - OK Computer

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Anyone around today capable of making one in the future.....? Not that i know of.

[Chickenburger]

Global Underground 9 - Sasha.Ibiza

[cavelier5]

60's - The Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds' (has aged better than its contempories, inc. Sgt Pepper)

70's - Neil Young 'After the Gold Rush (peerless, more heart and soul than Dylan)

80's - The Smiths 'The Queen is Dead' (Moz's funniest lyrics, and no filler)

90's - Spiritualized 'Ladies and Gentlemen...' (reveals itself only after several herbal biftas)

00's - Radiohead 'In Rainbows' (forget the format, their most consistantly affecting album)

[sifi]

Some seminal albums on here, quite a few just "good" albums.

And I'd take Straight Out of Compton over It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back.

And yes, Highway 61 revisited.

Edited March 30, 2009 by sifimaster

[ralph250]

Some seminal albums on here, quite a few just "good" albums.

Edited March 30, 2009 by ralph250

[The Nal]

I had never heard of Wilco before reading these forums. Not saying they aren't a great band, i honestly wouldn't know. But surely the whole idea behind a seminal album is that it reaches and affects the masses in a way that most artists and albums are unable to and influences fellow musicians in great numbers to make music. Not sure this can be the case for a band that are largely unknown

[ralph250]

Not sure Howlin' Wolf or Willie Dixon were widely known until the Stones/Who et al picked up on them, only takes one band to become successful doing your music to make you seminal or whatever.

But I see your point yeah sure. Also, go out and get some Wilco on board!

[crimsonking]

Hate this kind of thing but here we go:

Nevermind - Nirvana

Appetite for Destruction - Guns n Roses

Master of Puppets - Metallica

Hatful of Hollow - The Smiths

Led Zeppelin II

[Un Adepte Des Raconteurs]

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

The Stooges - Fun House

David Bowie - Low

The Cure - Disintegration

NEU! - NEU!

[Toilet Duck]

Hatful of Hollow - The Smiths

[crimsonking]

Hatful of hollow is a compilation album....as is galore by the cure that somebody mentioned earlier...which raises the point, should compilations be allowed?? Some do actually hang together quite well as albums (and hatful of hollow is a brilliant example, far better than the 2 disc best of that followed years later)...the question at the start of the thread was to name seminal albums/bands...I think the compilation reflects the work of a seminal band, whereas some bands can only release one seminal album (stone roses for example, though I do actually like sceond coming...maybe NMH are a better example)...

[shortleg]

Dave Brubeck - Take 5 - old (1959) but very recently highlighted on the Beeb.

Nice - Nice - another early prog rock with classical and jazz influences (and version of Brubeck's Rondo)

Bonzo Dog Band - The Doughnut in Grannies Greenhouse.

Faiport Convention - Liege and Lief

Potential:

Arcade Fire

Alex Turner in one of his guises (maybe not yet a gleam in his eye even)

Bright Eyes

Vampire Weekend

[cornholio]

Out of interest, what are the top 5 best selling albums of all time?

[The Nal]

Dave Brubeck - Take 5 - old (1959) but very recently highlighted on the Beeb.

[MikeyDoo]

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

The Beatles - Revolver

Surely there can be little argument about these two?

And a few from my own lifetime;

Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

Stone Roses

Primal Scream - Screamadelica

As for the near future, possibly Arcade Fire..? I was still holding out hope that my beloved Yeah Yeah Yeahs were heading towards producing something magical, but as fantastic as the new album is, it's certainly not what could be called genre-defining or ground-breaking.

[Tugger2k]

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

The Beatles - Revolver

Surely there can be little argument about these two?

[The Nal]

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

The Beatles - Revolver

Surely there can be little argument about these two?

[Tugger2k]

Nah, they're both shite.

I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times. f**king right you weren’t mate. You lot weren’t even real Beach Boys! None of you could f**king surf.

As for Revolver, awful name for an album, and who the f**k is Dr Robert?

[sonic_sam]

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

The Stooges - Fun House

David Bowie - Low

The Cure - Disintegration

NEU! - NEU!