Best First Time Listen Albums
 

As usual, apologies if this has been done before.

Post albums that blew you away straight from the first listen.

Here's a few of mine:

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The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

I had no clue what to expect when I bought this album. I had seen a few positive comments here and there on the internet and I liked the artwork but I really had no clue what to expect. From the very first song, I knew I had found one of my new favorite albums. Sadly, the Mars Volta have not topped this one in my opinion, but they still put out great music.

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Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas

The only song I was familiar with before picking this one up was "Iceblink Luck", which honestly sounded like a better than average 80's hit. Still, I had known of their reputation and decided any band that gets that much praise deserves a listen from me. I went for Heaven or Las Vegas first, and was completely blindsided. I did not expect music of this intense quality...I hungrily devoured the rest of their discography and proudly count them as one of my favorite bands of all time.

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Swirlies - They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons

I was in a real 90's guitar mood, did some searching around, and saw a few mentions about the Swirlies. I checked them out on Youtube and was impressed enough to check them out, but didn't expect to be blown away. I got this album and soon found out this is the kind of band whose songs need to be heard in the context of an album...from start to finish the creativity they show on guitar is just amazing.

And my most recent first time listen great:

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Bethany Curve - You Brought Us Here

I knew it was going to be shoegaze, so I figured I would like it at least a little. I really just wanted a new shoegaze band to listen to, found these guys, got the album, and went about my business. I subsequently stopped everything I was doing and was sucked into the dreamy ether that is a Bethany Curve song. Just wow.

I just made a thread for a band based on my first listen through of their albums... The Verve - "A Storm in Heaven" is breathtaking.

Some others:

Sonic Youth - "Daydream Nation"
7% Solution - "All About Satellites and Spaceships"
Big Blood - "Sew Your Wild Days Tour Vol. I"
Albert Ayler - "Spiritual Unity"
Kayo Dot - "Coyote"
Nujabes - "Metaphorical Music"
Talk Talk - "Laughing Stock"

Yeah I just saw the Verve thing. If you liked "A Storm in Heaven", you will love the Bethany Curve album I mentioned up there. In fact, I highly recommend you get it. Now.

Couple of random ones off the top of my head. I'll agree with The Mars Volta's debut, too.

Descendents - Hallraker Live!
A friend found this tape in the school parking lot in the early 90s, and we fell in love instantly. It got me into punk.

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Skinny Puppy - Last Rights
My introduction to the band. I hallucinated while laying on my bed in the dark, prior to ever having done an drugs. The start of an obsession.

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Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
I'd heard The Moon & Antarctica before this and liked it, but this one was just woahwtfawesomeman!

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Here are a few of mine.

Sufjan Stevens- Come On Feel the Illinoise!
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Absolutely beautiful album, I loved his voice instantly and the lyrics and instrumentals are fantastic.

Heathers- Here Not There
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I first heard this album about a month ago, and then I went on to listen to it for the rest of the day, love the simplicity, love the harmony in the vocals, and both the girls can sing, instantly loved it.

The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in America
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I heard this album and they became my favorite band, it's that simple. Craig Finn tells the best stories, and I actually do like his voice.

recently? this album was a hit with me from the first track

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Thrice - Vheissu

I agree with all of these...good choices. I heard Modest Mouse's Good News For People Who Love Bad News first and I thought it was great. Once I heard the Lonesome Crowded West, I was blown away.

Btw...I'm going to keep plugging the Bethany Curve album I mentioned. If anyone who reads this enjoys shoegaze it is an absolute must. Since it is so easy for me to get new music these days, very rarely will I only want to listen to one album over and over. You Brought Us Here is the first album in a long time to do that for me.

Doolittle-Pixies. Takes remarkably little getting used to.

Pink Floyd- Dark Side Of The Moon. Nuff said.

Others:
Porcupine Tree- Stupid Dream
Radiohead- OK Computer
The Unicorns- Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?

Funeral by Arcade Fire.

I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I came in here to say Funeral... In the sense that the first time I heard it I almost cried.

Now it barely affects me. Kind of lost impact.

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When I heard this album for the first time I fell in love with it. It shows Radioheads evolution.

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Going into this album for the first time it really hit me hard. To this day I could still relate to a lot of the lyrics.

^

I must've listened to DSOTM about 20 times, I still can't stand it.

Hmmm... I liked Dark Side Of The Moon better than the Wall.

Best First Time Listen though? Got to be Blood Sugar Sex Magic by the Chillies.

I can get behind that as an album I loved instantly.

While a lot of my fav bands/artists required repeated listening, here are some of the albums that I was able to instantly slip into and enjoy.

Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk
Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
Soft Boys - Underwater Moonlight
Cocteau Twins - Treasure
Ozric Tentacles - Erpland
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Kraftwerk - Die Mensch-Maschine
Thievery Corporation - The Richest Man in Babylon
Autechre - Chiastic Slide
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Elliott Smith - XO
Windir - Arntor
Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
The Kinks - Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire
Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles
King Crimson - Red
Wishbone Ash - Argus
Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley

Great first time listens for me too!

Bonobo- Days To Come
Tom Waits- Blood Money
Zao- Parade of Chaos

Agreed here, I was pretty blown away by both.

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Mer De Noms

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Sunny Day Real Estate-Diary

I had listened to a little bit of Sunny Day but picked up a used copy. Lets just say i don't know why it was a used copy.

Damn, I forgot about this thread. Nice. Glad to see it bumped.

I know it's already been said, but definitely "Daydream Nation".

I have experienced varying states of "blown away" during first listens, but these are probably the best of those.

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Neon Bible and.

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Illmatic by Nas was the only album that ever really blew me away. At the time I'd never even listened to rap aside from current radio and popular stuff that I didn't like. First time I heard Illmatic it just opened my eyes to a whole other style of rap I'd never heard before.

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i love all the songs but lime tree took some getting used to

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas.

His voice was just so.. potent. I genuinely thought the singer was a woman at first, I went in listening without knowing a single thing about the band, and there are so, so many catchy hooks in each of the tracks. Absolutely marvellous, instantly fell in love with this band after this fifty minute-ish album.

Others:

Elliott Smith - Either/Or
Isbells - Isbells
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
The Thermals - Fuckin' A
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Best Coast - Crazy For You
Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life
Eddie Vedder - Into The Wild
The Cure - Disintegration
Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell

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^ Both of these get right into your head from the word go and pretty much never leave. Not in the nasty tapeworm kinda way though :p:

Faust IV hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I heard it. "Krautrock" was immovable.

Same, that's why it's my favourite album of all time. It stopped me in my tracks.

I think I could add a couple to my list on page 1.

Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album
I'd been into some electronic music before this (mostly of the industrial variety) but hearing this really sparked something new and set me on a new path to total brain circuitry rewiring.

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Dead Horse - Peaceful Death and Pretty Flowers
I moved to Houston TX (where this band is from) in 1992 and was introduced to this within the first month. I was already into metal, and this just kicked me in the teeth. It wasn't cheesy, it was real. In the sense that the band allowed themselves to have fun and not take metal too seriously.

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Maybe some more after a meeting. This really coincides with the "10 most important albums" thread - which I've yet to participate in. It makes sense that the albums you instantly fall in love with end up being the most influencial on your tastes. Though I guess the second didn't have that much of an impact on my tastes...as I started moving away from metal around that time I think. Well somewhat.

Quite true, though I can't discount the satisfaction that comes with finally "getting" an album and then wanting to play it nonstop. I'd say my 10 most important albums would be a good mix of first listen classics and growers. I love growers.

Yeah good point.

Liveage! is one of my favorite albums ever and it was definitely my first exposure to Descendents. I fell in love with it instantly. All of the subsequent studio albums failed to compare. I got to see them live about 13 years ago and it was such an amazing show.

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LOOK AT YOUR SHOES

^

Really? On the first time? I'm impressed...even I didn't think too much of it when I first heard it and shoegaze is my favorite kind of music. It definitely gets classified as an all time grower for me.

I remember them touring, and it was a big deal, but for some reason I didn't go. :banghead:

Eh, I thought it was lukewarm on my first listen. Then again, maybe if I'd been listening to it in ear-threatening decibels, my opinion might have been different. It was only when I played Loveless loud that I saw anything worth keeping in it.

Man, this is why I posted it. I always see people say it was a grower - I listened to this straight through and it was like transcendental man.

wow that was thirteen years ago?!....i saw them twice that year....once at the Warped Tour and once in a club....and they were both amazing

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Texas Is The Reason - Do You Know Who You Are?

i ordered this album straight from the Revelation Records website....mainly because i liked the name....so a band whose name comes from a Misfits song and consist of ex New York hardcore kids (108, Shelter)....i was expect by the numbers hardcore music....and have to say was really blown away....those elements are there by much better than i expected....and i had never really heard anything like it