TboneFrank

They still make 'singles'? What do you do these days...go out to the record store and buy them? I have boxes full of 45's from the 60's and 70's that have collected dust for over 30 years now. Will probably never listen to them again unless someone gives me a jukebox for xmas.

If you just go for hit singles you'd miss out on a ton of great music still being produced in this sensory overloaded world. Exceptional albums like Dylan's awesome back-to-back trilogy (Time Out Of Mind '97, Love & Theft '01 and Modern Times '06) or swan song albums like Joe Strummer's Streetcore, Levon Helm's Electric Dirt and Warren Zevon's The Wind just to name a few would sneak under your radar if you are just considering the latest trending hot single.

I find it a lot less frustrating in the 21st century to find music I want to explore vs. back in the 70's, 80's and even most of the 90's. What's great about acquiring music these days is that you have a wealth of resources to find stuff you'd really like from any particular artist and not just a hit on the radio or a review in Rolling Stone. But back in my day Rolling Stone was a lot more reliable and lead me to some great music that I normally wouldn't be privy to through a hit single I'd hear on the radio. Artists like Midnight Oil, The Clash, Joy Division and Graham Parker which had very few to no hit singles had a lot of great albums.

Jack in green

well, I think that need albums, at least it most beautifuls or those what like us.
...and then have all singles that like us.

emalvick

I like albums... A good album or EP (not just a single) can provide 30 minutes + of entertainment. Singles I find short and unsatisfying. If I enjoy the song I want to hear more than 5 minutes of that artist. If an artist or album only has one good song, I'll usually get tired and dispose of the song anyway. My favorite songs on any album will often vary depending on mood.

JohnConnington

This! So true!

If I love a song I hear on the radio then I will always check out the album it is on. And then if I find the band fluked it I often get bored of the single.

Plus sometimes the album is better as a whole.

Take The Suburbs by Arcade For example, it's chock full of amazing tracks but when you listen to it back to back it seamlessly flows > contextually, lyrically and sonically > which makes the album better than the sum of its parts.

Thoughts?

Urban Hat€monger ?

I'm guessing you don't buy much punk rock, dance music or stuff on small independent labels because in those areas singles are frequently released and always have been.

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Cuthbert

Rock - albums
Hip-Hop - albums as well, but should really be singles as a I find the norm in Hip-Hop is 3-4 great tracks and then the rest ranges from average to filler. Rock is more consistent.

emalvick

THis is exactly how I feel... and that album is a great example. As much as I love albums, the first time I hear one, I often focus on songs first. The Suburbs was one that didn't grab me until I really got into the album.

Another one that was similar, although I got into it right away as an album was The Hazards of Love by the Decemberists. The sum is better than the parts there as well.

aesoprocky

There are a *ton* of albums where you need to hear the whole thing in order to feel the full effect of the songs. A favourite example of mine is Radiohead's In Rainbows (though you can apply this to any of their albums). If you listen to one of the songs, sure it's good...but taken in as an album, that is to say as an entire piece of art is much different.

A more "top 40" example would be Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, m.A.A.d City. That album is *definitely* a front to back listen. The hit single from that album "Swimming Pools" was catchy, but as a single there is no context whatsoever. I heard this song being played at parties because people took it as a celebration of drinking and getting wasted, when in reality, in the context of the album, it is exactly the opposite. It is not a happy song, it is a song about turning to alcohol to solve problems and the disastrous things that can accompany that lifestyle.

Albums >>> Singles.

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The_Rocker

After much deliberation I have changed my opinion, albums are the way to go, apart from the odd pop single