Which band has the best discography?

Do we have a thread like this?

If you take in every single thing a band has recorded from start to finish – albums, B-sides, loosies – which bands have the absolute most flawless record of records.

Primus lock thread

FVGAZI

maybe husker du for me

seems like this by necessity will be the best band with the smallest discography ie Zeppelin or Steely Dan lol

I was gonna say Minor Threat, but yeah Fugazi too.

Life Without Buildings

1st thought was Zeppelin

Big Star never made a bad record

for lengthy career, Miles Davis prob

on the rap front I'd say Outkast but then I've never listened to Idlewild in its entirety lol

Missy's discography is incredibly consistent

Roxy Music

The Beatles were pretty great.

seems like this by necessity will be the best band with the smallest discography

VU's official releases -- minus maybe Another View, and definitely minus Squeeze -- hit this mark

Yeah, Velvets would def be the best answer but Doug Yule era fucks it up

Also, yeah, I would be hard pressed to name a bad Beatles song tbh

but the OP explicitly includes that crap, so this has to be a band with real strict quality control

like, say, the Stone Roses

*hides*

Missy's discography is incredibly consistent

GangStarr too

I would be hard pressed to name a bad Beatles song tbh

What's the New Mary Jane is pretty bad

A Taste of Honey

there's others...

E-40 and Scarface also incredibly consistent - although in both cases there's stuff I haven't heard cuz I can't keep up lol

Spacemen 3

Missy's discography is incredibly consistent

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, January 28, 2020 4:03 PM (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Love Missy but foh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTQkdQVcEIg

is there a bad Duke Ellington record?

D’Angelo, Big Black

did you mean to post this on RYM Whiney

womp womp

lol

D'Angelo is a good answer

The rap answer might be Biggie :(

surely M|A|R|R|S gets posted by now every time one of these threads is done

aren't there a bunch of Biggie verses scattered across all kinds of shitty post-mortem crap?

Wire - aside from maybe half of "Manscape" and "The First Letter", but both have great bits as well. The rest of their catalog is consistently stellar.

had skinny puppy truly hung it up after the process

surely M|A|R|R|S gets posted by now every time one of these threads is done

― don't care didn't ask still clappin (sic)

i was gonna say elizabeth city state, myself

Big Star never made a bad record

― Οὖτις

never sure when people say these things if they have forgotten about in space or if they actually like that record

Also, yeah, I would be hard pressed to name a bad Beatles song tbh

― The Mandymoorian (Whiney G. Weingarten)

i could name a half a dozen beatles song i hate, i won't because then the thread would just fill up with people trying to convince me that "you know my name, look up the number" isn't that bad, gtfo with that

not a band per se but duke is goddamn insuperable, greatest recording artist in the history of music imo. a bad duke ellington record, _that_ i would have trouble with. duke ellington was great in 1927 and was also great in 1970, with no real point in between where he _wasn't_ great.

if they have forgotten about in space

oh shit, that me

:(

Broadcast!

The answer is so obvious. Joy Division. Two perfect albums, no really bad song in their whole oeuvre including b-sides and stuff.

lol sister ray zzzz

Joy Division mostly sucks

(I say mostly because they have three songs I like)

Broadcast seconded!

Also and this is a feeling I’m just starting to feel so bear with me but maybe Jon Hassell?

portishead

Dolly Mixture

Considering bands with a big output Stereolab have to be taking into account. The quality of their work is consistently high.

Gonna go out on a limb here and say Autechre. I mean there's a LOT to sift through, and that's just their last three full length releases, but every album, EP, b-side, one off, most remixes, even collaborations are all very interesting and engaging at a minimum, and intensely beautiful and otherworldly when they hit their peak, which still happens every release. While their albums have a tendency to be somewhat inconsistent at times (there's more than a few songs I tend to skip), I've found bangers and classics on every single record. Often the songs I consider skip-worthy are tracks others here fawn over (I've noticed imago and I have very differing tastes when it comes to specific Ae tracks for instance). This speaks to their appeal and consistency. Considering the amount of time they've been relevant (nearly 30 years? Fuck me) that's impressive as all hell. Now, that said - they have a pretty significant stylistic split between 1990-2000 and 2001-present but if you're into both styles, that's a lot of amazing music to take in.

The Normal

Gonna go out on a limb here and say Autechre

oh yeah this is the answer

literally everything is worth listening to and figuring out your own relationship with it

I'd go with Goldfrapp. Even their weaker albums (Head First, Silver Eye) are still 8/10.

you say autechre i say boards of canada.

xxp yea the only one of them I think is less than great is Draft which for whatever reason is still somewhat impenetrable to me, outside of 6IE.CR & V-PROC

The Smiths must be a contender for this trophy. There is hardly a crap song in their catalogue and so many jewels. There is def. more consistency than in The Beatles discography. The Smiths did not make an Ob-la-di-ob-la-da.

early Autechre has not aged well imo

Codeine
Bark Psychosis
Talk Talk

Roxy Music

Yeah, Talk Talk and Roxy Music are both to be considered.

early Autechre has not aged well imo

― The Mandymoorian (Whiney G. Weingarten), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 3:10 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

how early we talking? incunabula is their weakest record but "bike" still goes. after that everything is golden

early Ae still sounds pretty good to me, I think the two that sound the most dated are Tri Rep (too crunchy & dry) and LP5, which is a bit over-the-top in that late 90's Aphex way that wasn't really followed up on. but I still think they've held up better than any other 90s IDM records outside of maybe Music Has the Rights to Children

i've been listening to trip rep a lot lately and idk it still sounds like the future to me

early Autechre has not aged well imo

I agree to a certain extent. Though their debut remains one of my favs from that era. Amber is actually my least favorite Ae album at this stage, but even that has some outright classics like Glitch, Yulquen and Teartear. However, Tri-Rep and Chiastic still hold up for me. Everything afterwards, once they really got into FM synthesis, has a very modern sound to it that absolutely still holds up to my ears.

Their 90's peak between 95-98 honestly could use some remastering/remixing. A lot of it sounds somewhat flat by today's standards. Would love to hear how it sounds with some restorative polish. Worked well for Kraftwerk

how early we talking? incunabula is their weakest record but "bike" still goes. after that everything is golden

This is why I love these guys. So many differing opinions on their records...

Yes, Broadcast, I was trying to make a sampler of their earlier stuff and gave up after realising I couldn't leave off anything from their compilation of early singles/EPs

i love the place amber takes me to specifically but i can also understand why someone would think that’s their weakest

take out the early stuff and you still have 2.5 decades of quality, and all of the side eps are events unto themselves

The fact that there's no consensus bad record from them says a lot.

Autechre's early stuff is their best, when they were still making techno. It's been downhill ever since.

^^^ see they even inspire the wrongest tuomas opinion possible, they win

Fugazi, Drive By Truckers, Smiths... I can get behind Autechre, Roxy, CCR ...

Fela's catalogue is extremely consistent; to a fault, some might say, but there's very few I'd warn people away from

A related question is the best band with exactly one album (or, for that matter, exactly one single).

A band that released exactly one undeniably perfect song, and then immediately broke up, could potentially win this category.

A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger) at 3:13 28 Jan 20

is there a bad Duke Ellington record?

there's probably a ton of old jazz artists who never made an out and out bad record

Uncle Tupelo

A band that released exactly one undeniably perfect song, and then immediately broke up, could potentially win this category.

― Okay, you're an ambulance (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 3:23 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

surely M|A|R|R|S gets posted by now every time one of these threads is done

― don't care didn't ask still clappin (sic), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 2:23 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

anyway I think my answer for this has to be Susumu Hirasawa, who from 1979 until now has put out about 30 "main" albums (including P-Model obviously), of which only maybe 2 or 3 are less than "very good". on top of that there's a ton of supplemental material worth checking out, not to mention the soundtrack work. of course there are a lot of artists who are very consistently good but Hirasawa is particularly interesting because like Autechre his music is constantly progressing, going from being part of a scene to something that's essentially peerless, and like Ae you're not really sure where the 'peak' is, you could argue for it being pretty much anywhere

if one-off all-star records count I would take "All in the Same Gang" over MARRS any day of the week

The Blue Nile have to be worth mentioning (for a change). Holy Love is probably the only weak song they put out.

Roxy Music

― ymo sumac (NickB)

Slightly let down by Flesh & Blood IMO

Is there a thread for "only released one single and nothing else"? There would be some good post-punk and dance acts in that thread.

surely M|A|R|R|S gets posted by now every time one of these threads is done

― don't care didn't ask still clappin (sic), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 2:23 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Nobody remembers "Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance)"

bands that put out only one great album:

the Vaselines
Althea and Donna

A band that released exactly one undeniably perfect song, and then immediately broke up, could potentially win this category.

see also: The Normal

bands that put out only one great album:

the Vaselines
Althea and Donna

― Οὖτις

Young Marble Giants

Also Sky Ferreira.. there's never going to be a second album is there.

Nobody remembers "Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance)"

M|A|R|R|S are so perfect for this that they split up before recording, and different people did the A and B sides

Incunabula, Anti and Amber sound almost like a different group compared to more abstract sound that came later on. Those early Autechre records had bass lines and pads etc like you would think a techno or idm track to have. Later on, it's WTF is that? pretty much became their sound. To be fair, the last one I got was Confield, but I got most of their early cds including eps.

xp Best band that never really existed but seem to have released a brilliant single anyway

The Smiths did not make an Ob-la-di-ob-la-da.

Girlfriend in a Coma, Golden Lights, Meat Is Murder, Never Had No-One Ever, Work Is a Four Letter Word...all less fun than Ob-La-Di, imo.

The Birthday Party's discography is really solid. Only thing that might be considered missing is a top notch sounding live record.

Low

Uh, "Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance)" is amazing.

Came here to post Roxy Music and see it's been done twice. Yeah, their quality control (and progression between albums) still amazes me.

"you know my name, look up the number" isn't that bad, gtfo with that

It's honestly among my favorite Beatles songs.

A band that released exactly one undeniably perfect song, and then immediately broke up, could potentially win this category.

― Okay, you're an ambulance (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 3:23 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

surely M|A|R|R|S gets posted by now every time one of these threads is done

― don't care didn't ask still clappin (sic), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 2:23 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Ooh, Low ...

xp. there is a doug groover track on here https://www.discogs.com/Various-Best-Of-Home-Tapes/release/4752119

Young Marble Giants is a good call since all their non-album stuff is ace

Tom Waits never really faltered imo (assuming you can get behind the early stuff, which I very much can)

Al Green and Pet Shop Boys, obviously. How is this even a question?

deffo second pet shop boys and third young marble giants

Bardo Pond

Motorpsycho have kicked out something great pretty much every year or two since 1992. only their debut album is 'less than good'.

I def think "reliable" bands in the AC/DC/Motorhead/Ramones tradition are their own separate argument

PSB are always worth checking in on to see where their ideas are at this year, but are hardly consistent across 35+ years (although if you stick to B-sides...)

PSB for sure. I think of anything of theirs that is less than good as kind of bonus music, like side three of Sandinista.

ok, musicians who only put out one song, here we go:

aspidistra - cradle (a single, but same song on both sides)
arthur miles - lonely cowboy (one song split over two sides)
the aforementioned elizabeth city state (track on a compilation album)
sphinx tush - crashville - german '70s band who appeared on a comp; only one song but there are two different recordings of it...

there are others but i tend to forget them or else find out that they did in fact do a _second_ song - like the calico wall would count it seems because their single was one song backed by an electronic beep, but they also did a song called "i'm a living sickness" which was released later so they're out.

tons of great blink-and-you-missed-them reggae one-offs

i would also add neu if we ignore 4 and pour one out for the 'remixes' off 2
writing that sentence probs means its a no go actually haha

The Death discography is wall-to-wall classics

if we're talking metal, Opeth has never really put out a bad album.

Mick Smiley just did Magic on the Ghostbusters soundtrack, not sure if it's the best song tbh, but it's a good story.

Wham!

pet shop boys, steely dan, afghan whigs, bijelo dugme, haustor, vu, joy division

a lot of the big names of the early 80s UK seemed to start out immediately big then end things while they were still on top - wham!, the police, the jam, the specials

i said husker du not haustor vu

Actually Nirvana is a good answer imo

I love the Police but they had some really really bad songs

I don't really like them, just starting an appendix

The Police had a few clunkers for sure but I think their non-single tracks are quite underrated as a whole. they even had some really great B-sides, like "how the fuck did this not make it on the album" level quality - "Low Life" & "I Burn For You" come to mind but there are several more

I like Broadcast as an answer. Or my heart does. But then my brain is all "not sure many people have actually made it through the entirety of those Microtronics EPs"

Judee Sill

ooo Death is a good one. Also Talk Talk/Hollis (mentioned early on).

but... now that I think about it, fucking KENDRICK LAMAR is on a path few pop artists have taken in terms of utter perfection on any and every release thus far.

Like his side project for Black Panther was just ridiculously good. And it seems any time he lays down a rap for another artist that track ends up being the best on the record. I mean this dude has some magic fairy dust of talent and taste that's pretty remarkable

Nick Drake

The Cardigans

If ths is limited only to bands, and only ones with sizeable doscographies (which it apparently isn't), I would say Can have the best discography overall.
"Flawless" is another thing. Yummy Fur?

Funkaelic and Can would be my two picks. So much goodness over so many records.

Yeah, if quantity of classic records is the criteria it's probably Can for me.

I actually dumped all my Can CDs post-Landed, did I fuck up?

I have no problems with Can and Funkadelic, even though ymmv will vary on albums in their respective streaks.

I was thinking their studio albums up to 1975 + Soundtracks and Delay 1968 + various odds and ends, side projects is a formidable enough discography that I feel disinclined to name a punk band with one incredible album. The Beatles are also a very good and sensible choice.

Inclusive of non-bands, this gets much harder. I love everything Jorge Ben recorded up to about 1980. Heck, there are dozens (at least) of Morricone scores I can't live without...

Suicide kept it short and sweet

Joanna Newsom is my choice, at least among more recent music

agree about Autechre though

Nick Drake

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 5:49 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

Aphex Twin

Keith Hudson
Jackie Mittoo
King Tubby

Erykah Badu

The answer is so obvious. Joy Division. Two perfect albums, no really bad song in their whole oeuvre including b-sides and stuff.

― walking towards the sun since 2007 (alex in mainhattan), Tuesday, January 28, 2020 4:42 PM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I actually dumped all my Can CDs post-Landed, did I fuck up?

― The Mandymoorian (Whiney G. Weingarten)

first five tracks of the s/t aka inner space are prime stuff very much of a piece of holger czukay's movies (czukay doesn't play but he does produce and his presence is definitely felt)

last couple tracks are crap but the same is true for scott walker's "till the band comes in" and that's an all-timer imo as well

Erykah Badu
― kitchen person, Tuesday, January 28, 2020 9:18 PM (twenty-five minutes ago)

Four LPs, one EP, one mixtape, one live album, none less than a masterpiece. This is the right answer.

if Worldwide Underground is her weakest, then otm

yep erykah’s a great choice

yes

Which band has the heaviest discography, is what I want to know.

harvey milk

also Fushitsusha, Current 93

if you listen to enough Ween, then Ween

Hermann Nitsch

and not because of the tragic recent thread revive, I hold that Nina Nastasia has a perfect and not-too-brief discography of six albums in ten years, each with a different shade but forming a cohesive whole.

Badu is a great answer too.

I've spent time with about two dozen Ellington albums, from the acknowledged peaks to weird 3 CD sets from Costco and it's all amazingly engaging. I listen to a collection of the 1920s sides and Afro-Eurasian Eclipse the most these days, the beginning and end of a 45 year span.

How about Derrick May? He released a bunch of classic singles in the late '80s and early '90s, and after that he hasn't (AFAIK) released any new material at all. Granted, I haven't heard those System 7 collaborations from the '90s, but his solo material and the other collabs are all great.

My answer was going to be the Breeders/Amps but Badu otm

Ellington's discography is too huge to deal with, pre-LP-era artists have such a scattered discography it's basically impossible to properly define it, and with jazz you have to put live stuff in the mix too.

Yeah, I can't imagine there are that many people, even among Ellington fans, who've actually listened to his entire discography.

Some good suggestions but https://www.discogs.com/artist/3001416-The-Fish-Brothers-And-Eastend is the most consistent

Derrick May is an interesting suggestion. I've always assumed (perhaps erroneously) that he's more of a coordinator/collaborator and with his early productions the collaborators took a backseat? Barnett, Craig, Oldham etc. I guess it's still his discography.

I have been listening to everything Ellington did, have so far got to 1932 and let me tell you, there is a lot. Even deciding which version of The Mooche is the definitive one is very contentious.

But I cannot thing of another artist where you could put together a couple of CDs of their work where every track would be sui generis.

This Mortal Coil
Kraftwerk

Obituary
Fire! (including Fire! Orchestra in this)
the Hedvig Mollestad Trio
Coroner
Funkadelic

Magma also seems like a good answer here

as recently discovered, Voivod have been impressively consistent over 30+ years for a band with so many lineup changes.

Broadcast otm. And scrolling through I foolishly thought I'd be the first to say Erykah but that was def who I had in mind when I opened the thread.

Possibly controversial, but I would definitely nominate Cocteau Twins. People can argue about weaker spots in their discography but I have varying amounts of love for all of it, even like BBC Sessions (some of the recordings on which top the original album versions).

Like they're probably the only band with a sizeable catalog whose discography I would (and have, a number of times) happily run through front-to-back without skipping over anything.

Radiohead, Pablo Honey notwithstanding.

*ducks*

I like Badu, D'Angelo (3 classic albums!), and Low (and Radiohead tbh). There's probably a lot of punk Sex Pistols-type examples of bands who broke up quickly, right? Unless they all ruined it with reunions.

And I know it's divisive, but there's a case to be made for Neutral Milk Hotel - one early album, one indie classic, then retire full stop.

Was going to add The Feelies ... but don’t know enough about the later releases.

i think old lunch is otm about cocteau twins

and while i wouldn't say i love everything, felt have one of the coolest discographies ever

Go-Betweens

are we gonna poll these

I would think D'Angelo, Badu and Broadcast (maybe Roxy Music too) would be the consensus front-runners. Maybe Steely Dan too. There's enough Beatles and Zep haters on board to keep them out of the running, I would think.

Current 93

I'm a fan, but no

I love Zep but their discography kinda sags the further you get from the middle. Lop off a couple albums from the front and/or back and it's a pretty unimpeachable run.

Gorguts are pretty damn solid throughout.

gorguts otm

autechre is the right answer, but then it's sometimes hard to be subjective about it, if that's the right word. there sound is so sui generis you can't really gauge it against anything else.

I wanted to say Oval but, oof, the vocals on that first album. Oof.

Was going to add The Feelies ... but don’t know enough about the later releases.

the first comeback album is fine but kind of a snooze. second one is good though

if we're going short but sweet...I guess Soul Coughing had basically a flawless discography. some dud tunes for sure but all 3 of their albums are really great

Big Star

I love Steely Dan but I don’t think this could be any band that has reunion albums which are clearly good but on a lower plane. Maybe ATCQ could be the exception that proves the rule.

Kraftwerk, Drexciya, Shellac

I always forget those Steely Dan reunion albums even exist!

d'oh

Magma also seems like a good answer here

Dunno about that, have you heard their LinnDrum-led funk/soul album from the 80s? Guess it has some fans.

Was going to suggest Kraftwerk but I can’t say I thought much of that Tour De France album they put out

Arthur Russell

Dunno about that, have you heard their LinnDrum-led funk/soul album from the 80s? Guess it has some fans.

I have - I think the first track is very bad but I actually love the second side a lot

xxp I'd call Tour De France solid, certainly not a disgrace. People have differing views on the pre-Autobahn records of course.

wait you mean there are some people who don't like those? madness.

so I've heard!

I'd say the only blot on the Kraftwerk discography is some of the dated-sounding reworkings on "The Mix", if that even counts.

The Mix was the first Kraftwerk album I ever heard and it's still one of my favorites.

Thinks of The Pretenders
Looks up on discogs
Realizes they put out albums after Learning To Crawl
Oh well.

Arthur Russell

― fetter, Wednesday, January 29, 2020 11:53 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Almost said Russell and his discography is the most intriguing and resonant to me has been the most rewarding to revisit over the last few years, but there's still a few things I haven't heard.

xp after the deaths of Honeyman-Scott and Farndon they were a different band anyway

Oneohtrix Point Never came to my mind immediately. there's not a single record of him i don't like. and his last soundtrack for 'uncut gems' is really incredible.

yeh i like that call

the correct answer is Prince and the Revolution

I see what you did there

good answer

My very unpopular take:

Ashra (incl. Gottsching solo).

Yes 2 Prince and the Revolution, A+ cheat. Makes me wish Bowie had thought to append a band name to his '70s albums.

The Prince and the Revolution discography is not that good, they have some great songs of course, but they're not quite as strong as albums as 1999 or Sign o' the Times, for example. Around the World and Parade especially have several meh filler tunes.

only song I don't think is great on ATWIAD is Condition of the Heart

1999 is Prince and the Revolution

and "Condition of the Heart" pwns

intentionally hueg image so you can see the backwards "and the Revolution" on the football hovering over the 1 in "Pr1nce":

https://townsquare.media/site/960/files/2017/10/1999.jpg?w=980&q=75

And Parade is all-killer, no-filler, gtfo.

I feel like this thread is really about trolling me

Prince and Autechre have huge volumes of bullshit output. The correct answer is a band that only made three albums but they were all good

I've never been seriously disappointed by Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Or Stars of the Lid, for that matter.

SotL is a good answer!

The way Prince uses the Joni ethos to structure, harmonies and weds it to this improvisatory approach in "Condition of the Heart" redeems its album; it's as if he's willing the girl and the condition into being in the act of singing and playing.

Prince ... ha(s) huge volumes of bullshit output.

I think you missed a caveat

Slowdive too, come to think of it.

I did not say Prince. I said Prince and the Revolution.

I feel like this thread is really about trolling me

Prince and Autechre have huge volumes of bullshit output. The correct answer is a band that only made three albums but they were all good

― El Tomboto, Wednesday, January 29, 2020 2:29 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

No one nominated Prince qua Prince, is the key here, no troll bruh.

YMO is a ton of fun but I wouldn’t nominate them because I’m not a prick who thinks his second favorite band made only good records

Autechre is still a bullshit answer to this thread question

If you don't hate them (lol), Tool are pretty damn reliable.

never really thought of Tombot as a big Portishead booster tbh

Portishead is also my ultimate answer to this question.

My suggestions seem niche-y - I can imagine people not liking some of these bands at all - but, taken on their own terms, I think these groups all have p flawless discogs (helps that some of them are not extensive discogs). Was also tempted to say someone like Dylan, just because the 'crap' is at the very least of DEEP interest to even the semi-committed fan. Or, Jandek.

Gastr del Sol - if anything, they went out on their best alb but it's all good
Television - their reunion alb may be a notch below Marquee Moon - or Adventure - but it's still a very good Television alb)
This Heat - the two studios albs, the EP, the Peel Sessions, the various live sets floating around - all golden
Harry Pussy - never heard a bad HP rec and I think I've heard most of them
Suicide - again, the first two albs are primal, but the subsequent albs are no disgrace

I like pretty much every Unwound album but I may be alone on that.

The correct answer is a band that only made three albums but they were all good

sugar

This is otm btw:

The Death discography is wall-to-wall classics

And if we're having Prince and the Revolution - and we should! - then are many many jazz bands, large and small, that maybe didn't stay together too long but released only gold (and whose legit live recordings are p smoking too)

If The Cure hadn't released Wild Mood Swings, I'd be making such an ass of myself in this thread

Oh, and Isis!

surprised no one's said My Bloody Valentine yet tbh

Harry Pussy are disqualified for Let's Build A Pussy, 80 minutes of timestretched nonsense

Maybe because of those early EPs?

xp

Have we discussed Warren Zevon, Ray Stevens and Weird Al? There’s something to be said for being an auteur who has a love/hate with music.

imo every Deftones album is at least "very good" which is something I don't think I can say for any other nu metal act

first few mbv eps and singles disqualify them

xpost to Tombot
^Careful you're opening the Zappa window

Let's Build a Pussy is cool, sleeve!

YMO is a ton of fun but I wouldn’t nominate them because I’m not a prick who thinks his second favorite band made only good records

I would

though I admit that 90s reunion album kinda fucks it up

Has anyone brought up Sade yet?

And if we're having Prince and the Revolution - and we should! - then are many many jazz bands, large and small, that maybe didn't stay together too long but released only gold (and whose legit live recordings are p smoking too)

― Ward Fowler, Wednesday, January 29, 2020 2:42 PM (ten minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

On that tip I would nominate Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi.

P sure I agree w u on Gastr Del Sol, as well. Including the fact that it's a niche nomination.

Yes to Mwandishi!

PAPERCLIP PEOPLE

sade otm

From upthread: Nina Nastasia also otm.

Tim Hecker

And I have no way of knowing whether this is entirely true but I suspect that Steve Roach also qualifies.

need collab album w Sade & Portishead

Has anyone mentioned Severed Heads?

The original REM lineup is ten very good-to-great albums in a row, several of which came out annually, that is dotted with terrible songs. All goes to shit after that obviously which probably disqualifies them.

I love Portishead but releasing three albums in 25 years is not really what we're talking about here.

What are the exact criteria?

All this MBV disqualification talk due to the "early EPs" makes me wonder if these people ever heard them (not the first obviously, because that's almost a different band), but the 2nd one and the singles around then are some of my favorite output of theirs:

30 years on: My Bloody Valentine - Ecstasy & Wine POLL

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have a remarkably solid discography for having so many album stretched out over 4 decades

I was thinking of This Is My Bloody Valentine really, which is actually just one mini-LP, yeah

xp

The Field Mice
Solid Doctor
Sabres of Paradise

Geek isn't that great either to be honest haha (xps)

my bloody valentine surely not eligible because m b v the album is bobbins

I choose to believe that regionalism I just had to look up means 'their best by a mile'.

I absolutely adore every single song I've heard from Laura Nyro, which is pretty much all of them.

Same with Harry Nilsson.

m b v the album is bobbins

Dunno about that but Instrumental No. 1 (or is it No.2?) from the EPs compilation really is bobbins.

This is a challops thread. That’s all that’s happening here.

I know we've talked about them a lot but Big Thief have released a lot of amazing material in such a short space of time. I hear their solo stuff is worth having too

if Worldwide Underground is her weakest, then otm

I regard the mixtape below everything else, but it's obv still awfully good. WU still has "I Want You" and "Back in the Day," both of which are all-time.

Big Thief totally belongs -- four incredible albums, all very different, couldn't pick a favorite.

wussy

bands that put out only one great album:

the Vaselines
Althea and Donna

― Οὖτις

Young Marble Giants

― kitchen person

X-Ray Spex

^The Heartbreakers (you just gotta hear the right mix!)

Sonic Youth had an amazing recording history from the mid 80s to the mid 00s

This question of a perfect discography can really only be answered by die-hard fans of whichever artist offered so I doubt we'll reach a consensus, though I'll agree with Sade, D'Angelo, and Death and offer Nirvana and the Dead C.

I've also likely heard every original Sonic Youth song and like to love them all.

cosign that

A worthwhile related question may be which label has a flawless discography.

sometimes i need a stinker in the catalog, because when a band is consistently amazing, I start to take their craftsmanship for granted, like it's automated. I need to see a band hit rock bottom sometimes - helps me appreciates the highs in their catalog.

plus it's always fun to have one album to jokingly shout requests from at shows and have people try to deck you

through 2009? Ghostface.

does E-40 have any stinkers? even the lesser of the "I released six albums" today albums I heard of his in recent years were usually pretty fire. but there's a lot of his 90s catalog I haven't heard.

almost every favorite band I have, or rapper seems to have one that rules them out.

Rudimentary Peni?

Stop suggesting artists who had really long runs of quality and then not, that's not what this thread is about

I've heard most of 40 Water's album output from like 1993 to 2016 and it's all good to great. He's def EASILY in the Top 5 of rappers for this question

He def loses points for not exactly having quality control on his features tho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNXb5roCBUY

xxp people disagree abt Rudi Peni's "Pope" album, I am among the detractors

If you take in every single thing a band has recorded from start to finish – albums, B-sides, loosies – which bands have the absolute most flawless record of records.

lol at everyone who's like 'with bill berry' 'before 2009' 'not pablo honey' 'up until rather ripped'

I understand this thread is about 'no mistakes'. I would still put Joanna Newsom in that category, she made four perfect albums. But thinking about artists who were more prolific and had an overwhelming percentage of great works - that widens the scope, and over the last 30+ years Sonic Youth fits that description for me the most

Galaxie 500

not to be a stickler, but it's not about "NO mistakes," but about the smallest possible ratio of mistakes taking every single item of their discography into account.

A "Cut the Crap" or a "Squeeze" are huge marks on an overall record, while, like the few noticeably shitty Nirvana songs are smaller marks.

"Who has a PERFECT discography" would be another thread!

I think "Fewest mistakes relative to solid material" is different from "fewest mistakes relative to epically, transcendently good material."

An act could be mostly great with a few spectacular missteps, or mostly okay with a few minor duds.

Does Quasi or Sleater-Kinney have a pretty good ratio? Perhaps, but fewer mind-blowing out-of-this-world moments than, say, Prince + Revolution.

Co-sign Broadcast, but would add Blonde Redhead. Their discography is nigh-on perfect imo.

Blonde Redhead def one of the most underrated bands of all time

Kazu made an album last year called Adult Baby, pretty cool

I did not know that, thanks for the heads up!

I feel like Sabbath need to be in here somewhere.

I am a firm believer that the cultural attention span is about 2.5 to 3 years. It's very hard for an artist to make five strong releases because they've got to resonate through two cultural moments - say post-punk and early indie for Smiths and Husker Du, or art rock and new wave for Roxy. It's really hard to do it without missteps and failures. Those three acts have enough meh in their second-cycle to disqualify them for me.

There's some ways around this. Like Badu, who only strikes when she's ready.

Hesitantly positing XTC. I haven't heard everything that's out there by a long shot, but for a band with such a large discography I really do love almost all of it. Loads of great B sides and many interesting experiments.

Ok hear me out, it's possible that the rapper Despot has a flawless discography, having never released an album (while having an actual career). You can't lose if you don't play.

X-Ray Spex

― anatol_merklich, Wednesday, January 29, 2020 7:33 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

This was the first one album wonder I thought of until I remembered the second album they put out in the '90s that no one speaks of.

Can't get on board with Roxy. The run through Viva! is astonishing and flawless, but Manifesto was a disappointment, and I can't get into post-Paul Thompson Roxy at all.

Ngolo Cantwell (Chinaski) at 9:26 30 Jan 20

I feel like Sabbath need to be in here somewhere

no way! post Dio is spotty at best

Roxy's arc post-Siren gets glossier and gauzier with each album, presaging Ferry's solo career. I love all three to death. Sequentially it's kind of like listening to the second side of Remain in Light. xp

there are at least two dozen duds between the XTC albums, no admittance

I feel like Sabbath need to be in here somewhere

no way! post Dio is spotty at best

lol yeah 80s Sabbath is a very grim graveyard (and not in a good, metal way!)

Nelson to thread!

Kraftwerk

Sun Ra
John Coltrane
Cecil Taylor
Sam Rivers

I knew the Sabbath thing was inherently ridiculous but the first six records are so far out there they excuse pretty much anything that came after. Although, that basically makes it a 'bands who have a discography' so I'll get my coat.

no way! post Dio is spotty at best

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, January 30, 2020 8:55 AM (thirty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

born again: somehow still underrated despite recent rehabilitation, one of my favorite sabbath records
seventh star: maybe the worst one for how much it doesn't feel like sabbath at all but still fun
the eternal idol: good record! sorta mishandled by the late introduction of tony allen, consensus suggests that the demos on the recent reissue are better than the actual album but both rule imo
headless cross: the tony allen-era masterpiece, simultaneously very cheesy and melodic and very dark and satanic, the kind of record that would've never left a late-'80s metalhead's boombox
tyr: almost as good as headless cross
dehumanizer: return of dio so everyone knows this record rocks

i actually haven't heard cross purposes, forbidden, or 13 (absence of ward made me feel so cynical toward it that i just couldn't do it) but i'll prob correct that soon

lmao please replace all "tony allen" references in that post with "tony martin," sabbath didn't suddenly get afrobeat

i'm very tired

Nelson to thread!

― Ngolo Cantwell (Chinaski), Thursday, January 30, 2020 10:29 AM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Came to joke about how blind we were to have thus far ignored the magnificence of After the Rain, now stunned to discover that Matt and Gunnar have kept on rockin' over several decades and 10+ albums.

lol was v confused by the Tony Allen refs

xps

Blacker Sabbath

No Accommodation for Birmingham.

this thread is an embarrassment and you all should feel ashamed of yourselves

another version of ilx would've been horrified by thread's very premise, let alone the trite offerings within it

that version sucked balls

Another vote for Sade. Would go with Steely Dan if they never release the two modern albums after "Gaucho." I like them both for the most part but never play them.

Only one mention of Creedence/CCR thus far but their 7 records are all great to amazing, and when coupled with the fact they released 7 records in just under 4 years is even more a testament to their greatness.

their low points (some of the first record and most of Mardi Gras) are p low tho

I thought maybe Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins would qualify as one bad album in his discography, but damn if this isn't a pretty swinging "Chim Chim Cheree"

I think Underworld's catalogue is an embarrassment of riches, so long as you cut out those bad electrofunk records from the 80s

so long as you cut out

disqualified as per OP

I mean I think you can make an exception there since it was basically a different band whose direction was steered entirely by the label - I'm not really sure why they want back to the "Underworld" name (though thank god they didn't stick with "Lemon Interupt")

similarly if you wanted to name the Moody Blues I think it's okay to say that Go Now doesn't count

If you take in every single thing a band has recorded from start to finish – albums, B-sides, loosies

yea my argument is "it's clearly not the same band" but I can definitely extoll the virtues of Underneath the Radar which I still say had some fun singles on it

IMO this band has a perfect discography, if you exclude the records that are not so good.

I thought maybe Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins would qualify as one bad album in his discography, but damn if this isn't a pretty swinging "Chim Chim Cheree"

― Brad C., Thursday, January 30, 2020 4:34 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah, even his weakest records, relatively speakin, in the Reprise years -- Ellington '65 and Ellington '66 -- have rich arrangements and great solos. It was physically impossible for them to phone it in.

I don't believe there's a single front-to-back bad Ellington album; there may be weak moments in some (The Second Sacred Concert has choir sections -- sung and spoken -- that are not easy to get through), but the weak moments never dominate.

Underneath the Radar is a good single, the rest of the album I would not care to hear again, also the next album.

how you guys feel about the Sinatra/Ellington album (which I have never listened to)

The only obvious to me contender that does not appear to have been mentioned is Saint Etienne, for reasons similar to Stereolab - lots of b-side and outtake comps that hold up, every era has its boosters and even the weakest effort (for me, Good Humor) is pretty great.

I feel like artists/groups that released less than say 5 albums don’t really count here.

xp I haven't heard that album, but the track list looks disappointing; there's only one Ellington original. Except for "Mood Indigo" (not on Francis A. & Edward K.) Sinatra doesn't seem to have recorded any of Duke's standards.

Fuck it, I'm campaigning for Depeche Mode and and Orbital

Both awesome groups that have released some pretty inessential material.

I think the following are all good suggestions:

Fela Kuti
Kraftwerk
Cocteau Twins
Sade
Stereolab
Autechre

deftones btw

saint etienne fits perfectly great suggestion

Man if you cut out their entire discography, Lividity's catalog is immaculate

I suggested three earlier, but the more I think about this, the more reggae (and jazz) artists spring to mind. If you made good reggae in the 70s and managed to not put anything about post-1985 (and there are good exceptions even to that) your discography is likely to be very strong. Someone mentioned record labels earlier, and if there's a bad Studio One release, I've never heard it

I have never heard a bad King Tubby record (as has already been noted)

the problem with a lot of prime-era reggae artists is it's fucking *hard* to hear absolutely everything people did, and credits are generally a mess. But I'd be surprised if Linval Thompson or Yabby You or Prince Jammy put out shitty records (Scientist has some later-period collabs I'm not wild about, and Lee Perry fell off hard in the 80s)

Funkadelic would've counted if George hadn't got the rights to the name back a few years ago to release a triple album under the name

parliament had a couple of stinkers at the end of their run before anyone mentions them

Trombipulation is a wild album

yeah i’ve definitely never heard a shitty yabby you song

Labradford

New Radicals

Said already but Galaxie 500 is a great shout.

But for me, the discography I would save above all others in my collection is American Music Club's.

how you guys feel about the Sinatra/Ellington album (which I have never listened to)

― Οὖτις, Thursday, January 30, 2020 4:57 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Only heard it once, and I thought it was fine, but a 1967 Ellington record should be much better than "fine," especially with Sinatra. Apparently, Frank had a cold that day, and for whatever reason (likely Duke's insane touring schedule) the date couldn't be rescheduled.

Kraftwerk is probably the best single answer, other than Electric Cafe what is skippable? The first three albums add to the mythos as well. Cocteau Twins surely the most consistent.

There must be some country artists with insanely long and consistent discographies? Willie Nelson maybe, although I don't believe that anyone has listened to all of it.

There must be some country artists with insanely long and consistent discographies?

haha actually I think the opposite is true - their discographies are insanely long because they're littered with garbage. This goes for most (if not all - I'm hard-pressed to think of an exception, even Merle had a string of crappy records) of the big names that might spring to mind: Willie, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings etc.

if I had to namecheck one country artist for consistency it would be the Louvin Bros.

Saint Etienne is an excellent suggestion IMHO

I haven't heard the Ellington/Sinatra, but I do find much to enjoy in Ellington's sixties dips into pop and kitsch, much more than, say, Armstrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oCnFvz8YKc

But for me, the discography I would save above all others in my collection is American Music Club's.

alas, San Francisco is a real step down. Otherwise I agree wholeheartedly. Still waiting on that reissue campaign...

Go-Betweens
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

I guess I can see this working in a 'their flaws only make them more charming' sort of way, but a debut LP that seems to be classed as 'strictly historical interest' by almost everyone who wasn't hip to it at the time seems a little problematic. Plus the insistence on giving an official release to barrowloads of never-progressed-beyond-demo-stage juvenilia seems almost like Forster actively ensuring that their record is anything but flawless.

Just thought of one more: Sisters of Mercy. I like all three albums, and even the early EPs (which a lot of people like a lot more than I do) are solid. I can't think of a single song I actively dislike.

Go-Betweens

Hm, now that you mention Australian post-punk bands... this is a very boutique suggestion but I think every Laughing Clowns release is pretty amazing (albeit they're such an acquired taste that it's kind of in for a penny in for a pound)

Autechre, forever.. all of it

~ sparks ~

just so ned will present a case

What about Soundgarden? I’m not a huge fan of the early stuff, but I don’t think it’s considered “bad”.

NIN? Godflesh?

Did A Tribe Called Quest ruin their legacy with the one after Midnight Marauders?

no way, i love all the tribe albums except the one they dropped a few years ago

XXXP: Yes, Laughing Clowns were pretty consistently good! Can only help that they disbanded after barely five years.

Drive By Truckers? First two albums are pretty weak.

Cocteau Twins? One of my top 5 bands but I think the 90s is a big letdown.

Brilliant one album band not mentioned yet: TOWERING INFERNO!

I'm hoping Trance To The Sun might qualify, but I haven't heard their newest album or the compilation appearances.

This might seem like too big a caveat, but enough dirt digging might prove that the band's newer albums are a case of stolen identity: Jacula.

no way, i love all the tribe albums except the one they dropped a few years ago

I have never encountered this opinion before

also Beats, Rhymes and Life did not destroy their legacy. The Love Movement is not well-regarded tho

The Love Movement is mostly bad except for the parts where it's really good

I have never encountered this opinion before

I don't know if you're being ironic or not but: me neither, and I'm more than a little baffled by it.

born again: somehow still underrated despite recent rehabilitation, one of my favorite sabbath records

Born Again is in that zone of records that's been "underrated" for so long I think it's almost becoming overrated

not ironic at all!

baffled that any Tribe fan would prefer the Love Movement to We've Got It From Here (which is incredible/probably the best "comeback"/reunion record ever)

xps

i don't think ATCQ ever destroyed their legacy (tho there was the whole Georgie Porgie thing which was obviously fucking awful and shameful), they just coasted on their last couple albums before WCTIFH...TYFYS, which it could be argued is their best one.

I wouldn't say "coasted" because both Beats, Rhymes and Life and The Love Movement are ambitious records. The first one wasn't understood in its time, which is not Tribe's fault. The second one is weak, which is.

Saint Etienne is a good suggestion tho I don't think Good Humor is their weakest (not sure what i would call their weakest, though i probably put on Sound of Water less than anything else, and it's really good nonetheless).

Ramones? I thought they were supposed to have years and years of bad albums?

What is the ILX verdict on '80s Miles Davis?

I think Alfred considers it his best era

some of it is fine, some of it is v bad imo

yeah. 80s production cheese was a menace.

Ramones? I thought they were supposed to have years and years of bad albums?

― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, January 31, 2020 2:13 PM (forty seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

I don't think they have any outright BAD albums, but they have like four classics, two or three actually p dope post-70s joints and a buuuuunch of middling-to-weak stuff flailing around in the metal '80s and alt-rock 90s.

I love w all my heart FoxBase Alpha and So Tough but rest of SE's catalog varies from meh to ugh

What is the ILX verdict on '80s Miles Davis?

― The Mandymoorian (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, January 31, 2020 2:13 PM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I think Alfred considers it his best era

― omar little, Friday, January 31, 2020

what the

sorry sorry just a bit of fun

Ramones footnote

Search: The four classic seventies joints, the Phil Spector experiment (1980's End of the Century), the chilly heavy metal one (1984's Too Tough to Die) and the Lollapalooza return to form (1995's Adios Amigos).

The rest are meh compared to their peaks but none are really terrible

nice to see someone else rep for End of the Century

my knowledge of Miles' '80s era extends mostly to a copy of 1986's Tutu being in a scene in The Talented Mr. Ripley.

80s miles is good imo. actually miles is a good answer for this thread, only one i think i can think of

the synth sounds on Star People are truly shocking

I remember liking Aura

cocteau twins don't really have any albums I dislike

100000 xps but "What's the New Mary Jane is pretty bad" yeah but it wasn't really officially released until relatively recently so I don't know that it counts

could argue for Royal Trux

OP: take in every single thing a band has recorded from start to finish – albums, B-sides, loosies

xps

Aura's fine, don't care for the rest in toto.

re AMC: "Still waiting on that reissue campaign..." 2021.

My Miles era is E.S.P. through In a Silent Way.

decoy i guess is kind of bad

good cover tho

Born Again is in that zone of records that's been "underrated" for so long I think it's almost becoming overrated

pfft one listen to "disturbing the priest" or "zero the hero" would disabuse you of this notion

'80s Miles:

The Man With The Horn has its moments
The 1981 comeback live band rules (We Want Miles, Miles! Miles! Miles!)
Star People and Decoy are just OK; Decoy is better
You're Under Arrest is really good
Tutu is a masterpiece
Amandla is pretty good, as is Siesta
Doo-Bop is a solid EP if you delete all the tracks with vocals (in fact, delete every track Miles ever recorded with a vocalist)
Any and all '80s live material is better than the studio stuff. His bands were uniformly hot from 1984-1989.

but i do think it's a bit much to consider sabbath for this thread xp

I've never made it all the way through Aura.

(in fact, delete every track Miles ever recorded with a vocalist)

truthbomb. the lone vocal on Birth of the Cool is abysmal.

Underworld would be a decent choice if we forget their first two rock albums, which they might want us to forget.

underneath the radar is a good single, a shame he looks like Francis rossi in the video

if we replaced those two with the two Freur albums then yeah totally it works

fwiw I think Change the Weather is a decent LP, not killer but kind of a guilty pleasure

Underneath the Radar would be alright if every song was shortened by a minute

WTF no way would Sabbath qualify for this thread. If they'd stopped after Sabotage and maybe regrouped for Mob, Heaven, and Born again and then stopped completely, sure.

second freur album is a bit dull imo

its one of those albums I dig that I suspect nobody else really does, its just full of catchy tunes front to back

really could use a remaster though, it sounds like garbage

unperson OTM; some 80s Miles is great, most of it is good

but his 80s lows are the deepest of his discography, thanks to poor decisions about production, guitar tones, and synth presets (and, yes, vocals)

otoh Aura is good not bad

even his fashion choices then were hideous

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Music/Pix/pictures/2010/8/27/1282918078033/Miles-Davis-in-1989-006.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e07ee1888c864f9d32057974b9375ced

Thanks for the lolz Miles

I've never made it all the way through /Aura/.

american bradass (BradNelson) at 1:30 31 Jan 20

Born Again is in that zone of records that's been "underrated" for so long I think it's almost becoming overrated

pfft one listen to "disturbing the priest" or "zero the hero" would disabuse you of this notion

I've heard it!

Miles would win best wardrobe - 80s included.

xp i assumed! :)

xps to frogbs: this is the pre-underworld compilation I put together a while back

01 The Screen Gemz - I Just Can't Stand Cars
02 Freur - Doot Doot
03 Freur - Steam Machine
04 Freur - The Devil and Darkness
05 Freur - You're a Hoover (Dun Difrunt)
06 Freur - The Piano Song
07 Freur - Bella Donna
08 Freur - This is the Way I'd Like To Live My Life (Snippet)
09 Freur - Hey Ho Away We Go
10 Freur - Alabaster White Thing
11 Underworld - Underneath The Radar
12 Underworld - Bright White Flame
13 Underworld - The God Song
14 Underworld - Stand Up
15 Underworld - Mercy
16 Underworld - Sole Survivor

guess yours would be a bit different

WGTIFH...TYFYS is definitely a solid comeback album but i would argue that it's the ONLY tribe album which, if you removed the vocals, would be somewhat boring to listen to.

now i agree BR&L and TLM are lyrically not the strongest albums. but the thing people sometimes forget is, the production on there is INCREDIBLE and a lot of the beats are by the GOAT himself (Dilla) ... so, if you think the love movement is bad album, try listening to the instrumental version and you may change your opinion !

lol why would I judge a rap album just by the instrumentals

actually I'm gonna say everything I've heard by clipping. has been 100% fire

also has anybody nominated Sun Ra yet

btw the Dilla beats on The Love Movement were the main things I found objectionable

I did, upthread.

xp

Amazed no one has mentioned Insane Clown Posse, tbh.

The Amazing Jeckel Brothers sucked hardcore and everything the did afterward was incredibly variant in quality, usually bad. Also, the debut is terrible.

but every Juggalo is a classic

actually I'm gonna say everything I've heard by clipping. has been 100% fire

btw the Dilla beats on The Love Movement were the main things I found objectionable

fair enough, but would you agree with me that they are better than the ones on WGTIFH...TYFYS

OP: take in every single thing a band has recorded from start to finish – albums, B-sides, loosies

adding in things that were deliberately not released at the time, only decades after the band split and a member or two died (as with Beatles and Go-Betweens), means that every other act in the thread also ought to be judged by the material they thought was too bad to release.

yup

Ghost (from the Far East)

ooh that's a good one. they really don't have any bad records!

Sleater-Kinney have a pretty good ratio?

Yes, but their debut is not good.

i love bands with perfect discographies other than their shitty debut, cf. sleater-kinney... jimmy eat world... idk there are others

I was thinking about Ghost but that album with Damon and Naomi is not great imo

they have two and I love them both!

Herbie Nichols
Derek Bailey
Fushitsusha

yeah was gonna say Fusitsusha or High Rise

Latter-day Fushitsusha records are not nearly as good as the ones with the classic lineup. Also Allegorical Misunderstanding, the one they did on Zorn’s Avant label, is pretty weak.

i love bands with perfect discographies other than their shitty debut, cf. sleater-kinney... jimmy eat world... idk there are others

Spoon! (Although I still haven't heard Telephono, which more people appear to ride hard for in comparison to the first SK or Jimmy Eat World)

i love bands with perfect discographies other than their shitty debut, cf. sleater-kinney... jimmy eat world... idk there are others

― american bradass (BradNelson), Friday, 31 January 2020 10:37 PM (forty-one minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Stina Nordenstam's debut album isn't shitty but there's a big leap between that and her second album, and she maintained a near-perfect discography thereafter.

as you guys noted above, duke, miles and coltrane were extremely consistent. i would add thelonious monk and charlie parker to that list as well

Only reason I would exclude Monk is Monk’s Blues, his last studio record, and...not a good one.

But Charlie Parker, definitely.

Mentioned GangStarr above but they def are another "perfect discography with shitty debut" group. Actually iirc correctly their debut has 1 classic & rest is, er, forgettable.

i kind of love monk's blues lol... but i feel u tho it has some cringey moments for sure. by the way it's not his last studio album, he actually recorded some dope underrated albums in the early seventies, such as 'something in blue' with art blakey

drive like jehu never fucked around

Maybe Boredoms? Although I guess fans of their late-period drum-oriented stuff might not be down with the early noise-dada stuff.

Several of the Super Roots EPs seemed kind of throwaway

considering the astonishing quantity and consistently invigorated records over a long long time - ok sure with the odd less successful patch -overall I would choose The Fall - but as others have said up there Fela Kuti is a good pick

Doo-Bop is a solid EP if you delete all the tracks with vocals (in fact, delete every track Miles ever recorded with a vocalist)

― shared unit of analysis (unperson)

i say thee nay, i dig his bob dorough shit, "blue x-mas" forever

i love bands with perfect discographies other than their shitty debut, cf. sleater-kinney... jimmy eat world... idk there are others

― american bradass (BradNelson),

Japan?

yeah!!!

lol why would I judge a rap album just by the instrumentals

because they better than the album itself

*are

...

https://ulozto.net/file/1miJFChe/a-tribe-called-quest-the-love-movement-1998-hip-hop-instrumental-zip

King Sunny Ade might fit here but I have only heard about 15 of 270 albums so can’t say for sure.

And if they try come stoppin' me
I show them my discography

https://images.genius.com/a7b3e345506d3954231a481447a62d7f.1000x762x1.jpg

who tf is that lolol

Souled American -- six perfect albums -- but nobody cares. Prince Far I never made a bad one while he was alive. Steely Dan's original run is legendary of course but the comeback albums, while quite good, sort of mess with the aura of it, because going out on "Gaucho" was just a God-level move.

But Souled American is 100% perfect from beginning to "end." (They never officially quit, just sort of vanished.)

Danish instrumental psych-rock quartet (now a quintet; they've added a saxophonist) Mythic Sunship haven't made a bad album yet. Four studio releases, one live album, all fantastic.

Souled American was supercool. There was this resurgence in interest here when the albums were reissued in the 90s, then ... they sort of vanished again. (Same with Shrimp Boat.)

I know they're not an ILM fave but Elbow's discography has been incredibly consistent.

Scott Tuma has a pretty perfect discography off the back of Souled American, too.

also has anybody nominated Sun Ra yet
― Οὖτις, Friday, January 31, 2020 9:23 PM

I did, upthread.

xp
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, January 31, 2020 9:26 PM

How many people have heard everything by him?

Also I think there's a promise in the original post that's not been entirely been fulfilled by the thread itself, in that the *best discography* isn't necessarily about having a short-but-consistent or flawless run of albums. Otherwise you might as well go 'Young Marble Giants' and leave it at that.

The bands I really think of as discography bands have catalogues that reward exploration, that are full of twists and turns and little rooms hidden off to the side. EPs, B-Sides, obscure early singles or non-album hits, perhaps remixes or reworks of other artists. There are so many bad or boring Sonic Youth songs even at their peak but there's also the sense that there might be a real treat hidden away in there that you hadn't previously heard. Ditto REM, New Order, Cocteau Twins, Prince and later on Autechre or Aphex Twin or Carl Craig. The demise of physical media kind of flattened this out among newer artists but not entirely.

yuup carl craig's discography is very very good!

the only techno artist as consistent as carl is probably... Gas

Not sure I can name anything by Carl Craig from the last twenty years that isn't a remix

Saint Etienne definitely ticks the deep cuts/buried treasure aspect for me (annoyingly the deluxe versions of their albums, excluding the remixes collection, have been off Spotify a while now)

Here to rep for Japan and the individual band members' post-Japan projects. TONS of signal, very little noise.

Saint Etienne are very consciously that sort of discography band I think because they understand the thrill of that kind of fandom. Does anyone really rate the more recent run of albums up against their 90s output though?

If I were to go for sheer quantity of great releases, I'd say REM and Swans.

Consistency is a terrible metric and is for people who enjoy filling out forms and informing on their neighbours.

If there's no garbage in there what's going on

I love w all my heart FoxBase Alpha and So Tough but rest of SE's catalog varies from meh to ugh

i think "catalogues that reward exploration" really nails it, Matt DC otm (altho i would pick very different artists as examples)

with a select few artists i even sort of dread coming to "the end"

Royal Trux has one of the best ratios I can think of, in terms of quantity:quality... everything they released was outstanding* until around ’99 (and even then they never got “bad,” just took their foot off the gas a lil bit). Even their reunion albums are enjoyable.

*it helps to be a fan to have opinions like this, as someone noted above

I feel like 5-6 releases is the sweet spot where you have a big enough discography to be respectable, but haven't been around long enough to run out of ideas. Works for Sade, Pavement, Erykah Badu.

to me, a discography HAS to be consistent in order to "reward exploration." i mean who really wants to wade through ALL the smashing pumpkins albums. whereas you can't go wrong with gorguts.

If there's no garbage in there what's going on

consistency lol

just to clarify, when i say consistent i mean "unchanging in standard" (not "always the same")

Saint Etienne are very consciously that sort of discography band I think because they understand the thrill of that kind of fandom. Does anyone really rate the more recent run of albums up against their 90s output though?

― Matt DC

I rate Tales From Turnpike House as their third best album and Words & Music isn't far behind. Sound Of Water and Finisterre are pretty solid but easily their weakest eras for me. Turnpike House really took me by surprise at the time and stands up 15 years on. Words & Music felt like a continuation of them sounding inspired again and contains some of my favourite songs of theirs (Tonight, DJ, Over The Border, Popular). I wouldn't say Home Counties is quite on the same level, but I still enjoyed it.

I don't like Led Zeppelin II and I don't like a lot of Sister Lovers, and I'm sure there are Jim O'Rourke or Pauline Oliveros records I haven't heard yet that I wouldn't like so much, so I'll cheat and say The Attractions.

Maybe Minutemen is the right answer.

Phenomenal catalog! Tho 3-Way Tie for Last is kind of not on par with the rest imo

meshuggah's discography is really cool and unique

i sort of feel like there's a balance between consistency and adventurousness. like to me looking at gentle giant's catalogue i value "civilian" more than i do, say, "in a glass house", because "civilian" is gentle giant doing an enjoyable record in a style they hadn't done before (and since it was their last record, wouldn't ever do again), whereas "in a glass house", well, you know, they have around eight pretty good records in that style. what can i get out of "in a glass house" that i couldn't get out of "power and the glory"?

the trade-off is that the two records before "civilian" are shit. what's better, a decent record i never listen to or a shitty record i never listen to? does it matter?

I want to say Rockpile, counting the records also nominally by Lowe and Edmunds, but basically all the same band

I agree In a Glass House & The Power and the Glory are pretty similar but the rest of GG's records seem pretty distinct to me

fwiw I think The Missing Piece is alright, especially the proggier second half. Giant for a Day on the other hand...who knows what they were thinking. has a Love Beach sorta vibe to it. what gets me about these records isn't so much that they suck, it's that the production is so weak and the performances so dispirited...its like the band themselves didn't really buy it either.

What's the New Mary Jane is pretty bad

A Taste of Honey

there's others...

They didn't release What's the New Mary Jane or write A Taste of Honey, so not sure what the point is here...

I know they're not an ILM fave but Elbow's discography has been incredibly consistent.

― akm, Saturday, 1 February 2020 17:06 (three days ago)

Elbow's is the only front-to-back catalog I regularly turn and return to as often as The Beatles and Underworld.

But also, Underworld. Dubno... to the present.

(The false start that is/was Underneath the Radar need not apply.)

What's the New Mary Jane was released on Beatles Anthology 3

the OP makes no mention of authorship

xps

and if we’re being extra pedantic OP says “every single thing a band has recorded” (i.e. whether the band released the recording or not shouldn’t matter, leaks and bootlegs fair game, presumably that’s what “loosies” means)

Loosies are songs on, like, soundtracks and comps.

Leaks and bootlegs are up to your own discretion I guess

not even leaks, everything that was ever put on tape, even if they recorded over it later

adding in things that were deliberately not released at the time, only decades after the band split and a member or two died (as with Beatles and Go-Betweens), means that every other act in the thread also ought to be judged by the material they thought was too bad to release.

― don't care didn't ask still clappin (sic), Saturday, February 1, 2020 9:07 AM (four days ago)

yup

― Οὖτις, Saturday, February 1, 2020 9:10 AM (four days ago)

Beatles Anthology 3 is an officially released comp

this is a stupid argument

which good band / artist has the worst discography?

imo if members are dead and the band split up decades earlier, then the intent was clearly not to release the abandoned demos as an authoritative contribution to the discography

this is a stupid argument

agreed, especially if we extend this to cover the entire thread

what is the argument ? i was really only noting that, if you wanted to, you could count bootlegs in a band's discography. or you don't have to. sometimes unofficial shit, particularly concert fan recordings and scrapped studio sessions, are essential to "knowing" a band's discography, at least to some fans. i'm not trying to make "rules" and my post was sort of in jest.

then again other times an artist comes around and says, "yeah those bootlegs, we own that, here they are officially." that was one of the main points of the anthology series ! see also dylan for another obvious example.

which good band / artist has the worst discography?

Black Flag

In a similar vein: Bad Brains

I'd go with The Kinks there, you remove a 5-year chunk of their 30-year career and pretty much all that's left is garbage with a handful of good singles

Start a new thread!

Joan Osborn- One Of Us.

I'm admittedly an album or two behind, but unless she's inexplicably gone into a qualitative freefall: Tara Jane O'Neill. And even if you feel like plugging all of her side work into the equation, it's still a pretty gahdamn unstoppable discography.

Hmm, no mention of Rush or the Ramones in here ...

Catherine Christer Hennix

whoa

Have The Fall been mentioned yet? Seems an obvious choice to me.

They have (I re-read this thread last night); but as much as I’m a fan, I would not call their catalogue “flawless”…

lol definitely not