Best debut album ever?

[Richardo]

Poll question: Best debut album ever?

My vote: The Pretenders eponymous first release...



Playlist:
Precious
The Phone Call
Up The Neck
Tattooed Love Boys
Space Invader
The Wait
Stop Your Sobbing
Kid
Private Life
Brass In Pocket
Lovers Of Today
Mystery Achievement

Not a weak track in the whole set. And "Precious" KICKS ASS as the opener.

I just got this on CD after not hearing it in its entirety for probably 15 years or more. I bought it on vinyl when it came out and it sounds just as fresh today. :headbang:

You?

[skypilot]

1. Rufus Wainwright's ...

...self-titled first CD. Awesome.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. Bad Company-Bad Company

The album.... The sigle.... The band's name...


Genius...

[Ishoutandscream]

3. The Rolling Stones first album

The Who's first was pretty powerful,too.

[Lefty48197]

80. England's Newest Hitmakers...

You beat me to it. A GREAT album. Nothing but covers of the black music that these guys grew up on.

[MissMillie]

4. I'll agree with you

It's a great debut album.

[dean_dem]

5. Joy Division- Unknown Pleasures

You know you never heard anything like it when it came out.

[XNASA]

8. That's a great choice. I'd like to add....

The first Public Image album and the first Clash album as well.

[givemebackmycountry]

6. I'll go with that

For it's day, when a lot of the popular music really sucked (garbage like Men at Work) this was groundbreaking.

The angriest release, or at least one of by a new band.

I had the pleasure of seeing them, intact and still alive on their second tour.

James Honeyman Scott ripped off a guitar solo on "Private life" that melted the paint off the walls at the venue I saw them at.

[Magrittes Pipe]

7. Dunno about the *best* debut...

...but it's definitely up there. I've had this conversation numerous times with numerous people: the first three Pretenders records rank with ANY band's first three albums. Period.

[JohnnyRingo]

9. That takes me back....

I loved the album...The cover, the back cover, the band....
I loved EVERYTHING about the debut Pretenders LP.

Jim "Honeyman" Scott's last project. RIP

Someone used "Mystery Achievement" as an intro for their TV show....I forget who.

[Magrittes Pipe]

12. They accomplished the rare feat of improving upon the Kinks

with "Stop Your Sobbing."

[sniffa]

10. cypress hiLL - seLf titLed

[maxpower]

11. R.E.M.

Murmur. Good stuff.

[Left Is Write]

20. Easily one of my favorite albums ever.

[tigerbeat]

30. wouldn't the debut technically be "Chronic Town"?

or are we only sticking with LP's here?

[driver8]

52. Chronic Town is an EP -- Murmur first album...

Murmur is probably my favorite album of all time. I remember when I first heard it and was blown away by how great it was and how different it was from anything else I had ever heard.

Pretenders first album is a very close second, however. Their is not a bad song on this album and James Honeyman Scott's guitar playing is amazing.

[Kid_A]

32. I'll second that.

"Murmur" is a classic.

[Zensea]

13. Are We Not Men? Devo

is right at the top of the list

[argyl]

14. "Are You Experienced?" - Jimi Hendrix

[livetohike]

23. I agree

there's no comparison.

[kwassa]

108. wasn't played on radio, a word-of-mouth hit in my town

but everyone had to buy it. It was huge.

[Hand]

112. Roger that!!!

The first time I heard it back in... 1967? (It's all rather a blur :hippie:), it was obvious that reality had shifted permanently--and for the better!
:toast:

[johnnie]

15. Ever? Yikes..

OK, I know a lot of people will disagree, but Van Halen's first album was pretty damn good. I lost interest after that one.

"Never Mind the Bullocks" was a great debut album.

I don't know if these count but.."All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison and "Plastic Ono Band" by John Lennon are both great debut solo albums.

[Richardo]

18. I know the 'ever' is hyperbolic, but what the hell...

:D

[greendog]

16. "My Aim Is True"

Elvis Costello's first album belongs on that list.

[On the Road]

22. Yes, That is a Great One

he has so many, I forgot the first.

[WateryHands]

34. Good answer!

[Danmel]

44. One of the greatest albums ever

Allison, The Angels Wanna Wear My Red SHoes, Mystery Dance, Watching the Detectives, it is a great album.

[Tikki]

45. This is the best "debut" album...

....ever.

[fluffernutter]

114. swoon. an all-time fave, i found it on CD

and still listen to it often.

[On the Road]

17. I Would Nominate Dire Straits

and Rickie Lee Jones

[Richardo]

19. Two excellent choices

Particularly the RLJ debut. Tasty.

[bobbobbins]

21. August and Everything After

counting crows kick ass, admit it

[Tyrone Slothrop]

24. Led Zeppelin I

Wow. I can't nobody else mentioned this one.

Probably my favorite Zep album, but when you consider that it was their first, Wow! What an entrance!

Good Time Bad Times
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
You Shook Me
Dazed & Confused
Your Time Is Gonna Come
Black Mountain Side
Communication Breakdown
I Can't Quit You Baby
How Many More Times

Not a false note on the album...

[Tafiti]

25. My favorite debuts are:

...Pearl Jam's Ten
...Outkast's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
...and A Perfect Circle's Mer De Noms

[underpants]

26. Alien Ant Fram's "Greatest Hits"

The name says it all. :bounce:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

27. Cannibal Ox - the Cold Vein

[jpgray]

28. Wire - Pink Flag, or Television - Marquee Moon

Or the Ramones debut.

[Magrittes Pipe]

40. Live at the Witch Trials

ain't half bad either. ;)

Though Pink Flag and Marquee Moon (and probably The Pretenders) are better.

[tigerbeat]

29. Talking Heads '77

runner ups (that occur to me right now):
The Ramones
My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Led Zeppelin I
Chronic Town - REM
Three Feet High and Rising - De La Soul
Piper at the Gates of Dawn - Pink Floyd
Come on Pilgrim - Pixies
The Velvet Underground and Nico - The Velvet Underground

the pretenders album would probably rank somewhere in there with me.

[Richardo]

31. I'll go with Talking Heads '77 for sure.

Good list!

[Tyrone Slothrop]

36. Talking Heads 77 - That's a great one too

Can't believe I forgot about that one.

[sundog]

90. another Heads freak

:bounce:

[Beware the Beast Man]

33. Oh, man, the Ramones!

[jandrok]

35. Boston's first - hands down

Imaginatively titled "Boston", it went on to sell millions and become a classic rock staple. Boston was an influential band, as lots of other groups quickly copied their heavy, yet melodic sound. They even had an impact on bands you wouldn't think of right off of the cuff....Nirvana for example....."Smells Like Teen Spirit" rips off the riff from "More Than a Feeling", a fact that Kurt Cobain didn't try to hide.

"Boston I" was full of hits. Try listening to a classic rock station for more than one random solid hour without hearing a Boston song from that first album.

[Va Lefty]

93. Timeless

I never here a song off that album that I don't find myself turning the volume up.

[DemGa]

37. A great debut from the Brothers, titled

"The Allman Brothers Band"

[RUDUing2]

38. Showing my age: Van Halen& here is a list of the 100 Best Rock Debut Album

1. Elvis Presley (1956) - (Elvis Presley)
2. Please Please Me (1963) - (The Beatles)
3. Led Zeppelin (1969) - (Led Zeppelin)
4. Are You Experienced? (1967) - (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
5. Rock Around The Clock (1954) - (Bill Haley & The Comets)
6. After School Session (1957) - (Chuck Berry)
7. The Chirping Crickets (1957) - (Buddy Holly)
8. Appetite For Destruction (1987) - (Guns 'N Roses)
9. Black Sabbath (1970) - (Black Sabbath)
10. The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) - (The Velvet Underground)
11. The Everly Brothers (1958) - (The Everly Brothers)
12. The Clash (1977) - (The Clash)
13. The Doors (1967) - (The Doors)
14. Kinks (1964) - (The Kinks)
15. Please Please Please (1959) - (James Brown)
16. Van Halen (1978) - (Van Halen)
17. Texas Flood (1983) - (Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble)
18. Here's Little Richard (1957) - (Little Richard)
19. Ten (1991) - (Pearl Jam)
20. England's Newest Hit-Makers (1964) - (The Rolling Stones)
21. Pronounced 'Leh-'Nerd - 'Skin-'Nerd (1973) - (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
22. Bluejean Bop (1956) - (Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps)
23. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) - (Derek & The Dominos)
24. Jerry Lee Lewis (1958) - (Jerry Lee Lewis)
25. The Allman Brothers Band (1969) - (The Allman Brothers Band)
26. Fresh Cream (1966) - (Cream)
27. In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969) - (King Crimson)
28. The Who Sings My Generation (1965) - (The Who)
29. Never Mind The Bullocks, Here's The Sex Pistols (1977) - (Sex Pistols)
30. Aerosmith (1973) - (Aerosmith)
31. Green Onions (1962) - (Booker T & The MG's)
32. Yes (1969) - (Yes)
33. Truth (1968) - (The Jeff Beck Group)
34. Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ (1973) - (Bruce Springsteen)
35. Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968) - (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
36. Kick Out The Jams (1969) - (MC5)
37. Funkadelic (1970) - (Funkadelic)
38. Boston (1976) - (Boston)
39. Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1970) - (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
40. The Grateful Dead (1967) - (The Grateful Dead)
41. Bo Diddley (1958) - (Bo Diddley)
42. Crosby, Stills, & Nash (1969) - (Crosby, Stills, & Nash)
43. Steppenwolf (1968) - (Steppenwolf)
44. Music From Big Pink (1968) - (The Band)
45. Kill 'Em All (1983) - (Metallica)
46. Santana (1969) - (Santana)
47. Bleach (1989) - (Nirvana)
48. Ted Nugent (1975) - (Ted Nugent)
49. Bad Company (1974) - (Bad Company)
50. Iron Maiden (1980) - (Iron Maiden)
51. Five Live Yardbirds (1964) - (Yardbirds)
52. Chicago Transit Authority (1969) - (Chicago)
53. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) - (Rainbow)
54. Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967) - (Pink Floyd)
55. Climbing! (1970) - (Mountain)
56. Blue Oyster Cult (1972) - (Blue Oyster Cult)
57. Vincebus Eruptum (1968) - (Blue Cheer)
58. Procol Harum (1967) - (Procol Harum)
59. Twice Removed From Yesterday (1973) - (Robin Trower)
60. The Animals (1964) - (The Animals)
61. Blizzard Of Ozz (1980) - (Ozzy Osbourne)
62. Meet The Temptations (1964) - (The Temptations)
63. ZZ Top's First Album (1970) - (ZZ Top)
64. UFO 1 (1971) - (UFO)
65. Montrose (1973) - (Montrose)
66. Wishbone Ash (1970) - (Wishbone Ash)
67. Mr. Fantasy (1967) - (Traffic)
68. Pablo Honey (1993) - (Radiohead)
69. On Time (1969) - (Grand Funk Railroad)
70. Can't Buy A Thrill (1972) - (Steely Dan)
71. Buffalo Springfield (1966) - (Buffalo Springfield)
72. Mr. Tambourine Man (1965) - (The Byrds)
73. Rocka Rolla (1974) - (Judas Priest)
74. Canned Heat (1967) - (Canned Heat)
75. Dummy (1993) - Portishead
76. Spirit (1968) - (Spirit)
77. Do You Believe In Magic? (1965) - (The Lovin' Spoonful)
78. The Traveling Wilburys Volume 1 (1988) - (The Traveling Wilburys)
79. Shades Of Deep Purple (1968) - (Deep Purple)
80. Heavy (1968) - (Iron Butterfly)
81. Uriah Heep (1970) - (Uriah Heep)
82. Rush (1974) - (Rush)
83. Moby Grape (1967) - (Moby Grape)
84. Ultramega OK (1988) - (Soundgarden)
85. Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968) - (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
86. Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (1966) - (Jefferson Airplane)
87. This Was (1968) - (Jethro Tull)
88. Inner Mounting Flame (1972) - (The Mahavishnu Orchestra)
89. Definately Maybe (1994) - (Oasis)
90. Big Brother & The Holding Company (1967) - (Big Brother & The Holding Company)
91. Ten Years After (1967) - (Ten Years After)
92. Bob Dylan (1962) - (Bob Dylan)
93. There Imaginary Boys (1979) - (The Cure)
94. Grace (1994) - (Jeff Buckley)
95. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (1964) - (Simon & Garfunkel)
96. Rage Against The Machine (1992) - (Rage Against The Machine)
97. Begin Here (1965) - (The Zombies)
98. Boy (1980) - (U2)
99. It's A Beautiful Day (1969) - (It's A Beautiful Day)
100. Undertow (1993) - (Tool)

Honorable Mention
At Newport (1960) - Muddy Waters
Nothing's Shocking (1988) - Janes Addiction
Rock And Rollin' With Fats Domino (1956) - (Fats Domino)
Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 (1969) - The Jackson 5
Off The Wall (1978) - Michael Jackson
http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_albums-debut.html

[Richardo]

41. Pretenders and Talking Heads not even in the top 100? Feh.

:thumbsdown:x(

[NewJeffCT]

48. Van Halen's first album was great

Great cover of You Really Got Me, Runnin' with the Devil, Ice Cream Man, Eruption...

[Seabiscuit]

88. Great list - many of my choices are on it.

[trogdor]

107. Led Zeppelin R0X0RZ

[Wat_Tyler]

39. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left.

[MrScorpio]

42. Zero 7 - Simple Things

An album that appeals to everybody... and I do mean everybody

[LibertyorDeath]

43. My own Favorite debut Album

[Wat_Tyler]

46. No one has mentioned 'Horses'? FOR SHAME!

[jpgray]

58. Horses? Boo. Hiss.

:D

[Wat_Tyler]

59. You sir, are a crunt.

[jpgray]

62. She doesn't suck, but I don't like her

And your appreciation of my cruntmanship is duly noted. Just remember to stop by and mock me next time I express my fanboyism for Soft Machine.

:dunce:

[Cornjob]

87. Heart - Dreamboat Annie

Not bad for starters!

[mr blur]

47. Television's Marquee Moon (nt)

[AngryLizard]

49. Sheryl Crow's first album - Tuesday Night Music Club

Which I bought for like, 8 bucks at Target, six months before "All I Wanna Do" hit the radio. And that is the worst song on that album.

[bigwillq]

71. A very good choice. One of my fave albums of all-time!

Crow rocks.

[Joe Power]

50. jane's addiction

Loved The Pretenders, though.

[KurtNYC]

51. Either Van Halen (1) or Led Zepplin

both revolutionary.

[Mike Daniels]

53. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight

Richard and Linda Thompson

[brentspeak]

54. "Moby Grape"

Thirteen incredible songs.

[maveric]

55. Led Zeppelin I

A masterpiece IMO.

[donheld]

56. Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" gets my vote

All I Really Want
You Oughta Know
Perfect
Hand in My Pocket
Right Through You
Forgiven
You Learn
Head over Feet
Mary Jane
Ironic
Not the Doctor
Wake Up

[Wat_Tyler]

57. Not a debut, though.

[donheld]

60. That's debateable

[Wat_Tyler]

61. No it isn't - she released three albums before 'Jagged Little Pill'.

In no way, shape or form is JLP a debut.

[HeyManThatsCool]

65. JLP was a debut as far as the new kind of music she was doing

[Wat_Tyler]

67. In which case, every David Bowie album is a debut.

JLP is a debut as far as I am a goat.

[HeyManThatsCool]

78. true

very true

[bigwillq]

70. That would've gotten my vote

that cd rocked. But I don't think it really counts as a debut album.

[HeyManThatsCool]

63. Pearl Jam- Ten & Tori Amos- Little Earthquakes

Guns n Roses- Appetite for Destruction
Motley Crue- Motley Crue
Counting Crows- August & Everything After


:headbang:

[Wat_Tyler]

64. Little Earthquakes was not a debut album.

I'd like to take this opportunity to nominate 'Y Kant Tori Read' for this category.

[HeyManThatsCool]

66. Y Kant Tori Read was with a band.... L.E. was a SoLo Debut

[Wat_Tyler]

68. It was released under her name.

Therefore, it's her debut.

And it's a classic.

[HeyManThatsCool]

72. No it wasn't

So, is "Y Kant Tori Read" the name of the band or the album? Where did that name come from?

It was both the band and the album name. It was not considered to be an album by Tori Amos. In fact, all the credits on the album simply refer to "Tori" with no last name given.

Why doesn't Atlantic Records just re-release YKTR? They know that they'll sell lots of copies.

Tori doesn't want them to. Tori has said that while she doesn't necessarily hate the songs on YKTR, she doesn't feel that they represent what she is doing musically now

Tori has pretty much distanced herself from the album and will not talk much about it in interviews except in passing

[Wat_Tyler]

73. Hmm. The only reason an artist wouldn't be proud of her work,

would be if she made it for non-artistic reasons. I suppose the same goes for Alanis Morrisette.

[HeyManThatsCool]

74. this would normally hold true

( & I Believe it does for Alanis)

but in Tori's case she prefers not to talk about it because it was during this period of time that she was raped.

[Wat_Tyler]

76. Why then would she make the album in the first place?

If the subject is painful 18 years later, why wouldn't it be at the time?

[HeyManThatsCool]

77. ask Tori

I can only tell you she was raped during the time the Album was coming out. One of my friends is very friendly with her, & when he brought it up to her she said the CD does not represent a happy time for her. Also, Atlantic Records cut alot of things she wanted on the CD- and brought in new bandmembers. I dont think she hates it or anything, but I do know she doesn't consider it her debut effort.

[dolo amber]

92. Do artists get to decide what is or isn't their debut?

I mean, first album = debut. Pretty cut and dried, really... :shrug:

[Kat45]

69. Guns'N'Roses "Appetite for Destructon"

Excellent album; I still listen to it.

[jonnyblitz]

75. I never could handle that band. his voice drives me NUTS

bleh.

[Kat45]

95. He's got a voice that you either love it or hate it.

I love it! He certainly does have a distinctive voice.

[Threedifferentones]

79. I had forogtten that Are You Experienced was a debut

This album is hard to top no matter which way you look at it.

[Atlas Mugged]

109. I still play 'Hey Joe' all the time.

It's on every mix tape/cd I've ever made.

[cheesesnackidea]

81. Why hasn't anyone mentioned Molly Hatchet yet?

"Beatin the Odds" was such a good song.

[Zomby Woof]

86. "Beatin' The Odds"

That was the title track of their third album, released in 1980. The debut was in 1978, and is a good one, with "Dreams I'll Never See", "Bounty Hunter", and "Gator Country". It certainly has the best album cover art of any debut.

[tishaLA]

82. De La Soul -- Three Feet High and Rising

and The Barbra Streisand Album is pretty badass, too.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

83. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

[donheld]

101. The Barbra Streisand Album Indeed

[ok_cpu]

84. Rage Against the Machine

Sunny Day Real Estate Diary and a few already mentioned; Ten, August and Everything After, and Three Feet High and Rising are my picks.

[FrankBooth]

85. Pavement "Slanted and Enchanted"

NM

[NNadir]

89. Rikki Lee Jones

by Rikki Lee Jones

[benny05]

103. This One Brings Back memories

Good choice..

[stpalm]

91. Streetlight Manifesto- Everything Goes Numb

KICKASS CD

[Boswells_Johnson]

94. Pere Ubu--The Modern Dance n/t

[Martin Eden]

96. Arthur, by The Kinks

OK, maybe it's not the best of all time, but there isn't another album for which I have greater affection.

God Save The Kinks
(and Raymond Douglas Davies)

[Wat_Tyler]

97. That's not their debut though, is it?

[Martin Eden]

98. Sometimes I'm not very observant

I didn't notice "debut" until after I posted.
:freak:

[Wat_Tyler]

106. Ah. I thought you might have known something I didn't, or something.

[colinmom71]

99. "Bat Out of Hell" - MeatLoaf

[Salviati]

100. That's not a Debut album....

...this is a Debut album:

[screwfacecapone]

102. Too many for me to list but here goes

notorious big - life after death
ice cube - amerikkka's most wanted
master p - get away clean
c-murder - life or death
Esham - boomin words from hell

[mark414]

104. hmm i may have to second the cube and biggie choices

and also throw in

epmd - strictly business
eric b and rakim - paid in full

and also maybe

gang starr - step into the arena

shit pretty much any late 80's/early 90's hip hop album haha

edit: oh and how could i forget wu-tang's 36 chambers

[benny05]

105. Carole King's Tapestry

Was also another good debut album...

[2bfree]

110. Nora Jones.............

I think it was self titled. That one just blew me away.

[chenGOD]

111. Define debut album?

I mean cause many people would consider "Mellow Gold" Beck's debut album although it wasn't really, but it was the first one to see any kind of real release (and if ti counts as a debut, I would probably choose that one, cause goddamn it's one powerful record).

And does it have to be a full-length album? Cause if not then I would choose AFX's Analogue Bubblebath 1.

But if neither of those meet the criteria, then my choice is Pink Floyd-Piper at the Gates of Dawn

[Spider Jerusalem]

113. Massive Attack. "Blue Lines".

Almost singlehandedly created a genre. How many debut albums do that?