Pearl Jam - Best Album so far...?

[Magic]

I would say Ten is my fav.

 

[Musikwala]

Tough one this, for me there’s been no better ‘band’ in the past 20 years

Indeed!! They are so much more than simply the debut album!

Disagree slightly with the wider view on Binaural which I think is just phenomenal from first to last, that amazing run of 4 tracks through the middle of the album from Nothing as it Seems to Of the Girl, and finishing with the beautiful Parting Ways, has to be a big contender for my best PJ album

Binaural is an interesting one. Like I said earlier on in this thread, despite it being one of my least fav albums of theirs, I like several songs here. One of my complaints regarding this album is that the production is a bit muddy. The album desperately needs a remaster. But overall, I still like it slightly more than Riot Act.

Riot Act is very under-rated, though it’s an album of two distinct halves, the first 7 tracks up to Thumbing My Way are as good as the band has ever been in the studio, but then the rest of it can’t maintain the same quality

Agreed. The first half is excellent! notably Love Boat Captain and I Am Mine. The second half is not terrible but patchy.

The 8th album ‘Pearl Jam’ is OK, World Wide Suicide, Life Wasted, and then Come Back and Inside Job at the end of the record I love …..

Gone is probably my favourite on that record. But I more or less agree with your fav songs. Come Back and Inside Job are both glorious! some of their very best!

Same for the Backspacer album, never a huge fan, lots of very short punchy songs, nothing really above 3 or 4 minutes and I love it when they throw in some of those longer extended tracks, favourite song is Amongst the Waves, but it’s still a good album ….

I love Backspacer! It is my absolute favourite of their latter day albums. The album is chock full of punchy numbers like you said and it all sounds pretty cheerful and catchy. There is pretty much not a song on there that I don't like.

And the last album Lightning Bolt I can hardly find any fault in it at all, for me their best album since Binaural.

Lightning Bolt was good but I didn't care much for Let The Records Play (which I felt did not fit in thematically) and Future Days.

For me it's No Code. It's one of those albums that took a few spins to really appreciate. If I want a PJ album to listen to it's either that, Vs. or the 6-16-00 Poland show.

Yesss! I voted No Code too. It takes a few listens to sink in but once it does.. the whole thing is so damn consistent! Even if it doesn't have their greatest songs per se, the album as a whole is brilliant! Experimental as heck and yet it has some incredibly melodious, calming songs.

 

[Aktivator]

I'm going with Vs but the first 5 albums are all excellent.
After that the albums have all had a few duds although live they Can play just about anything in their catalog and make it shine.

Pearl Jam 20 @ Alpine Valley 9/3/11

 

[Jet]

Ten

 

[ecisgod]

My kind of poll, so nice job there musikwala!!

Tough one this, for me there’s been no better ‘band’ in the past 20 years, and all their albums have many individually brilliant things on them which might make me vote for them in a ‘best of’ poll ….

Ten is just epic, an astonishing rock sound world that I barely believed my ears when I first heard it…

V’s was almost as good, merciless but with some subtlety that was missing from the first album ….

Vitalogy got a bit strange and experimental in parts, but I totally forgive it as it also has Nothingman, Not for You, Corduroy, Immortality, and Better Man all on it, which are right up there with the band’s very best songs, could be 5 of my top 10 PJ songs all on one record ….

No Code I really love, with Around the Bend, Off He Goes, Present Tense, and Hail Hail….

Yield was not for me a classic PJ album, best tracks by far are Low Light, No Way, Do the Evolution, and In Hiding, but there’s some other pretty sub-standard songs …..

Disagree slightly with the wider view on Binaural which I think is just phenomenal from first to last, that amazing run of 4 tracks through the middle of the album from Nothing as it Seems to Of the Girl, and finishing with the beautiful Parting Ways, has to be a big contender for my best PJ album ….

Riot Act is very under-rated, though it’s an album of two distinct halves, the first 7 tracks up to Thumbing My Way are as good as the band has ever been in the studio, but then the rest of it can’t maintain the same quality, and there’s also, for me, that very rare thing, a couple of totally crap PJ songs on there, Bushleaguer and ½ Full, but then the album ends with All or None, which is a gorgeous track ….

The 8th album ‘Pearl Jam’ is OK, World Wide Suicide, Life Wasted, and then Come Back and Inside Job at the end of the record I love …..

Same for the Backspacer album, never a huge fan, lots of very short punchy songs, nothing really above 3 or 4 minutes and I love it when they throw in some of those longer extended tracks, favourite song is Amongst the Waves, but it’s still a good album ….

And the last album Lightning Bolt I can hardly find any fault in it at all, for me their best album since Binaural.

Of course you’re only asking us to vote for the 10 studio albums, which is fine, but to me PJ are essentially a live band who live for the moment, and their best albums to me are all live albums, which gets a bit complicated as there are as you will know – quite literally – 100’s of Pearl Jam live albums, because as far as I am aware they are the only band who record and release every single gig that they play (which mostly last for 3+ hours plus) and they release all their shows as an official band ‘bootleg’ at a cheap cost via the band website, either as a download, or as a CD you can order.

Of their ‘official’ live albums released through a record label, Live at Benaroya Hall, Live on Two Legs, Live on Ten Legs, and the live soundtrack album to the Pearl Jam Twenty movie are as good as it gets, and also the Lost Dogs collection of b-sides and unreleased stuff is worth a mention.

Anyway, after just playing it whilst I typed out this post, in the end I voted for Vitalogy, it was either going to be that or Ten, and I went with the album with the better songs, over the album with the most visceral sonic effect! ..... with honourable mention for Binaural which, unlike many people, I really love.

Very nice post Sound!! Although, not surprised at all...I agree with alot of your points. But, not all of them...how boring would that be!

But, your point about PJ's live shit is bang on and cannot be said loud enough. I have seen PJ several times and they never ever disappoint!

Great poll. I could go on forever how great they are live. All of my favourite bands are best on stage...period!

As for my favourite Pearl Jam studio album. I will have to take a closer look and write down pros and cons of each album

Cheers

ecisgod

 

[joker1961]

the debut Ten is amazing but I`ve vote Vitalogy

 

[Magic]