Here is the place to discuss the Top 5 Albums by Popular Rock Artists.

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_album-five.html

I pointed this out before the merge, but just to say it here too.

I think Amnesiac should be ahead of Hail to the Thief as RH's 5th album now. It placed decently in several end of decade lists (incl. RS and P4k) where HTTT did not. I think it eclipses it for lasting popularity and longevity now.

Hello everybody! I've returned to bring new life into this thread by proposing six new lists:

Neil Diamond
1. The Jazz Singer
2. Hot August Night
3. Gold: Recorded Live at the Troubadour
4. Home Before Dark
5. Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Britney Spears
1. ...Baby One More Time
2. Oops!...I Did It Again
3. Britney
4. Blackout
5. In the Zone

Sufjan Stevens
1. Illinois
2. Michigan
3. The Age of Adz
4. Seven Swans
5. The Avalanche

Usher
1. Confessions
2. My Way
3. 8701
4. Here I Stand
5. Raymond v. Raymond

X
1. Los Angeles
2. Wild Gift
3. Under the Big Black Sun
4. More Fun in the New World
5. Ain't Love Grand

Kanye West
1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2. The College Dropout
3. Late Registration
4. Graduation
5. 808s & Heartbreak

I'm also interested in your opinions about Neil Diamond and Britney Spears and whether they should be classified as rock music. Also other possibly list-worthy artists such as Céline Dion, Backstreet Boys, Barry Manilow, Carpenters, New Kids on the Block, Christina Aguilera, a.s.o. So basically acts whose music is based on rock influences but who lack any rock credibility and are usually tagged as pop.

Bon Jovi's top 5 albums is pretty good list though I'd make minor changes:

Old list:
1. Slippery When Wet
2. New Jersey
3. Keep the Faith
4. Crush
5. Bon Jovi

My version:
1. Slippery When Wet
2. Keep the Faith
3. New Jersey
4. Crush
5. These Days

Bon Jovi's self-titled debut definitely pales compared to These Days in terms of greatness and popularity. These Days was one of their most popular albums whereas self-titled only had one big hit "Runaway").

Also, Keep the Faith is greater than New Yersey in all aspects: it went higher in charts (if I remember right), got bigger acclaim and spawned many hits. Still, I'k okay with either way.

Alright, this is gonna be practically impossible, but anyway, i'll take a shot at a Nick Cave list. Seeing that all the albums have pretty much the same acclaim and not that much influence that a top 5 can be judged from it, fan community is gonna count for a larger part...

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds:

1. Tender Prey (Probably the closest to be the definitive Cave album)
2. Murder Ballads (Got his greatest hit, plus Henry Lee, another of his highest charting songs AND fan classics such as Stagger Lee and The Curse Of Millhaven... It's hard to meassure his albums to each other, but this seems fair)
3. Let Love In (The same accalim as...well all the other albums, but this one seems to be quite the fan favorite)
4. Abatoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus (Not sure if this one is ranked too high, but it has got lots of acclaim and has showcased lots of versatility and diversity)
5. The Boatman's Call (A turning point in his career and a larger fan favorite)

6. The Good Son (Mainly acclaimed for The Ship Song, and part of the fan community seems to disconnect toward this album, which is why i do not put it top 5)
7. From Her To Eternity (Got some acclaim, but is probably more acclaimed within the hardcore fan community than in general, so in the over all sense, i choose to leave it out of the top 5)
8. Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (Perhaps my personal favorite, but too new to define for a high placement)
9. Henry's Dream (One of my personal favorites, but there seems to be mixed opinions about it...definitely not top 5 anyway)
10. No More Shall We Part (Like with Henry's Dream and The Good Son there are mixed feelings toward this album within the community, and it didn't do anything which hadn't been done on The Boatman's Call)

You're wrong about "New Jersey" vs. "Keep the Faith". In the US NJ was a #1, KtF only a #5, while both topped the charts in Britain. Also NJ has sold better than KtF on a long term basis. In the US NJ spawned five Top Ten singles, KtF only one. Even if you provided sources for KtF having bigger acclaim (which I don't see either), I think NJ would still be able to maintain its spot. I definitely could see "These Days" above "Bon Jovi" though, since the latter had much poorer sales worldwide while both have similar acclaim. BJ might take influence, but I'm not sure about that either.

Cave is an absolute blighter to do when it comes to these lists. It's been discussed in the Cave thread how close together his albums are in acclaim and how hard it is to do.

I think that's a good list, agree that that should probably be the top 5, though personally I'd move Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus up to #2 as it is his most acclaimed and have the top 5 as:

1. Tender Prey
2. Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpeus
3. Murder Ballads
4. Let Love In
5. The Boatman's Call

The list definitely cannot stay the way it currently is on the site (I believe I originally proposed it but I now realise I have made a horrible mistake and bow my head in shame). I agree with the albums you selected for the Top 5 though I'm not sure about the order. "The Boatman's Call" looks a little low, but - as has already been proofed - I might possibly be wrong.

My first thought is, do you really need two live albums on there? Hot August Night definitely, but I think you could replace Gold with something like Moods.



Neil is an interesting case, because his early stuff is clearly rock and some of his later stuff isn't, but I'd put him in. Dance-influenced acts such as Britney or Cristina to me do belong, but I wouldn't consider Celine or the Carpenters to be rock. I don't, for example, have Whitney Houston's first album on the Debut Albums list, and if it were eligible it would be top ten easy.

I'll agree with that list...

I chose to include Gold, because it seemed to be his breakthrough album as a performer to me. It was his first Top 10 album in the US and also is his earliest album that has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA. If you really want to replace it, "Moods" would be one possibility, though "Beautiful Noise" seems to be slightly more acclaimed and popular. "12 Songs" would be a possibility, too.


Céline Dion is partly dance-influenced, too. Some of her songs probably aren't rock, but others most certainly are. Carpenters are a pop duo, that also draws from different sources (traditional pop as well as rock). Where do you draw the line?

I don't think Gold was really a breakthrough for him...it was a big chart success, yes, but only because it had versions of songs that had already been big hits. He was a pretty big star as a singles artist by then.

You're right about Beautiful Noise being up there with Moods. I wouldn't include both of the Rubin albums, though--I think that would be over-emphasizing that part of his career.



It's difficult. I mean, yeah, something like "That's The Way It Is" is dance-influenced, and if that were her only song, I'd call it rock. But I think Celine is really a pop balladeer at heart. I'd be interested to hear what other people have to say. (I will note that I can't recall anyone complaining about Whitney not being on that Debut Albums list. Then again, you could certainly say that some of her music is pretty dance-oriented. Hmmm....)

I couldn't see My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy any higher than #3, honestly. The College Dropout and Late Registration are just too damn popular and acclaimed to be beat.

Underworld:

1. Dubnobasswithmyheadman
2. Second Toughest In The Infants
3. Beaucoup Fish
4. Everything, Everything
5. A Hundred Days Off

You're probably right, though I believe MBDTF will make it to #1 eventually. For now #3 might be the best solution.


The Top 3 are undebatable and E,E would have been my choice for #4, too. I don't see how "Oblivion With Bells" beats "A Hundred Days Off" though. Neither is very acclaimed or influential, so popularity should make the decision and that goes to AHDO. Why did you choose OWB for #5?