Uh, The Wall?

Yeah, it was a Pink Floyd album. You may have heard of it. They made a movie about it and everything.

I know. I was calling it overrated.

Geez Ace, if you have to explain the joke, it isn't funny.

Fuck it, I'm done with this. . .

The Wall (and Pink Floyd in general, after Sid left) was completely overrated.

"The Wall" is still pricey and is worth every penny.

Most overrated album: anything by Madonna. Period.

Later,
bbeck

i voted for radiohead, but Sgt pepper is probably the better pick since it has years and years of being overrated

The wall is a great album, although not the best of the Waters era, which beats most anything of the Syd era

ace:

Pfft. The Wall sucks! There, I said it, and I'm glad: it sucks like nothing has ever sucked before. Pretention, thy name is Pink Floyd; and thy Holy Writ shall be called The Wall. The whole album is nothing but stoner anthems written by a fellow stoner (Roger Waters). I'm amazed he hasn't choked to death on his own vomit yet.

When you're realy to experience some quality music, I can help you get started.

Gotta go with "Nevermind" by Nirvana.

Although anything by Radiohead would come in a close second.

I would say Nirvana's Nevermind. I still can't figure out what was so great about them other than Kurt Cobain blowing his head off (did I say that out loud?). And all THAT accomplished was unleashing Courtney Love on an unsuspecting population.

the only reason "Nevermind" gets so highly rated is for bringing "alt-rock" mainstream....the singles are ok though overplayed, the rest of the album is mediocre

The key here is *most* overrated. The Wall isn't as good as its fans think, but even its fans don't take it all that seriously. Sgt. Pepper, OTOH, is a fairly weak Beatles album with some intrusive recording gimmicks that was widely regarded by idiot boomers as the greatest rock album of all time. Sgt. Pepper wins hands down.

Bat out of Hell. I happen to think Meatloaf sucks, so this was an easy one.

Pink Floyd is great music, but is too damn depressing. Roger Waters is a schmuck for not rejoining the band when he had the chance.

Captain and Tennille, Love Will Keep Us Together

What?

I'm gonna go off the board with anything and everything by Dylan. Never enjoyed it and most people I know who do start talking bout his 'genius lyrics.'

Lyrics, most of the time, mean nothing to me. Just don't say stuff so stupid I'm embarrassed to sing along with and I couldn't care less. If you're looking for clever words in your music, you're sorta missing the point in my book.

Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA"

Nirvana's "Nevermind"

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" because "Off the Wall" was better and this is all since tainted because he is a card carrying member of NAMBLA

Bjork's "Debut" argh. She sounds like shit and looks like a deranged pixie. Critics loved this shit. Still love her and her music makes me want to open a vein.

Of the albums I was familiar with, I was torn between Nevermind and Never Mind the Bollocks. I came down on the side of Nevermind. Pink Floyd gets a pass from me, even on The Wall - if nothing else, the song Comfortably Numb paid for a lot of the rest of it - and Sgt. Pepper remains incredibly well put together.

Nirvana was barely interesting all on their own. Nevermind got sold after I tried to listen to it and decided that every single song sounded the same, like Bruce Hornsby without the musical ability.

Other overrated stuff:

Anything by Bruce Springsteen, but especially Born in the USA.

Any rap/hip-hop album released in the last 20 years. A few decades from now middle-aged people will look back on this time and wonder what the hell they saw in this pack of no-talent clowns.

"Complaint Rock" from the likes of Alanis Morrisette, Sarah McLachlan, et. al. It's the aural equivalent of Lifetime Television or the Oxygen Channel.

Anything by Moby. There is a special corner of hell reserved for people who think that ambient/techno-funk is anything other than a soundtrack for lethergic twentysomethings who are too blasted on X or meth to understand lyrics anyway.

Off the Wall was a better album than Thriller, yes.

"Born in the USA" was overrated when that piece of shit was released, but does anyone regard it as anything other than a joke anymore?

Sgt. Pepper is "overrated" in the sense that Romeo and Juliet is "overrated": wildly popular but not the artist's best work -- and yet still pretty fucking amazing.

I wipe my ass with The Wall.

Sex Pistols-- not overrated. Maybe a little underrated, in that a lot of people don't get how very good it really is.

Nevermind-- yes, yes, apart from the singles, this is a hard fucking album to listen to. But it did define a new(ish) genre of music, heavy metal guitar with alt-rock depressive/sensitive lyrics.

Three Lock Box was a better album... though it had the same problem. Once you get through the three or four great singles, the rest of the album is self-indulgent pap like "Rape Me."

-- and yet still pretty fucking amazing.

The only amazing thing is that it's a compilation of novelty tracks widely mistaken for a classic.

Everything by Celine Dion.

Three Lock Box? Sammy Hagar in the 80s is hawt. _I wouldn't change one thing_ great single. Great album. It reminds me of being a dumb ass teenager and drinking _Strawberry Hill_ and lip smaker lip gloss.

Now, "VOA" was shit. Can't drive 55 and the classic Dick in the Dirt. Yick.

sorry for the _ I am a textile tard

btw i didn't drink lip smacker lip gloss, I wore it though the comment sounds like a drank it. Hell I might have.

Shit... you know what I meant, you twat. Heart-Shaped Box.

Twat. Twat, twat, twat, twat, twat.

gratuitous usage of twat is illegal in several state.

no jury in the world would convict me.

Ace asked: "Born in the USA" was overrated when that piece of shit was released, but does anyone regard it as anything other than a joke anymore?

Dick Gephardt called it his favorite song at the nomination debates. I guess someone wasn't listening to the verse - weird confluence there with a scene from Michael Moore's Canadian Bacon, somewhat appropriately.

Anyway, I guess the answer to your question is "no" - I mean, it was Dick fucking Gephardt, for goodness sakes.

Pink Floyd's a homo

(yeah, i know there was no "Pink" you turkeys)

Ummm... I don't put much stock in what songs politicians claim to be their favorite song.

It's all crap like "Little Pink Houses" (John Edwards) and that sort of vaguely pro-American pap.

Actually, as has just been pointed out, much of these "pro-American" songs are anti-American, if you bother to listen to the lyrics, which I guess Dick Gephardt's staff didn't.

Frampton Comes Alive - overrated and overplayed. Although when I was spinning records and needed to go make a big stinky, I did appreciate the length of "Do You Feel Like I Do"? You could breeze through two issues of People magazine.

The only amazing thing is that it's a compilation of novelty tracks widely mistaken for a classic.

"A Day in the Life" and "She's Leaving Home" are novelty tracks?

The Sgt. Pepper/Mr. Kite shtick can grate, but except for that little curry-flavored scat pellet dropped by George in track 8, I think it might be their best album from a purely melodic standpoint.

Just spark up and flow with it, dude. Let the fuckin' sounds wash over you.

Overrated albums, from a man who owns more CDs than skin cells:

- The Wall - Pink Floyd, 1979
- Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd 1973
- Everything Pink Floyd has put out since 1971 - Pink Floyd, 1971-1995
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles, 1967 (Unlike the Floyd stuff, this is actually still a great album. But overrated.)
- Who's Next - The Who, 1971 (not even close to being their best; that's either The Who Sell Out, Live At Leeds, or Quadrophenia.
- Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen, 1984
- OK Computer - Radiohead, 1997
- Aftermath - The Rolling Stones, 1966
- Blood On The Tracks - Bob Dylan, 1974 (the best stuff from these sessions didn't even get released until The Bootleg Series)
- The Joshua Tree - U2, 1987
- What's Going On? - Marvin Gaye, 1971
- Forever Changes - Love, 1967 (most overrated "lost masterpiece" album of the decade)
- Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin, 1969
- Harvest - Neil Young, 1972
- Pornography - The Cure, 1982
- My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello, 1977

I could go on forever. Next: the most overrated "cult"/post-punk albums. First up: Joy Division's Closer.

That album by Yes...90124 or 90210 or some stupid thing like that. Owner Of Lonely Heart was, like, omnipresent on the Top 40 stations when I was in High School. I hated that fucking song the first time I heard it, and the eight million or so follow-ons just hardened my hatred into a small diamond-like nugget. And yet even now I hear some "progressive" music lovers rhapsodize over that album. Makes me want to hit 'em in the mouth with a pipewrench.

One more:

- Paul's Boutique - The Beastie Boys, 1989 (Oh look! It's white people! And they're rapping! And sampling! Lots of obscure stuff! It's "experimental!" Shame it doesn't cloak the lack of decent songs.)

Gahhhh, that song sucked.

But the follow-up, Leave It, was good.

Help me, I can't stop, I don't know how it works!....

- Document - R.E.M., 1987 (Three singles, one decent album cut - "Disturbance At The Heron House" - and a pile of otherwise piss-poor, lazy bullshit.)

Yes's 90125 was actually a pretty darn good "proggers-go-new-wave" album, though not as great as Genesis' Abacab (which is really spectacular, an early '80s fusional synth-pop/prog masterpiece).

But the best song is neither "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" nor "Leave It" (which annoys the fuck out of me): it's "It Can Happen."

Y'all do this for a living, Jeff?

Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits. Not a bad album, but MTV and the endless replays of Money For Nothing killed it for me. Fo rmy money their original Dire Straits album was better, and Water of Love was a great (and vastly underappreciated) song. And Sultans of Swing is just the coolest song ever.

Most of Lou Reed's stuff is overrated, even among the eight or so people who have ever heard any of his stuff other than Walk On The Wild Side.

Dissing the band that brought us "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", Jeff B?

I once did, Megan. I literally have a pathetically near-encyclopedic knowledge of classic rock/art-rock/new-wave/prog acts from the '60s, '70s and '80s. The only stuff I know nothing about is the disposable '80s pop junk Ace seems to love so much. No hair metal (or metal PERIOD, really) for me.

Great, you ruined my first ever attempt at an O'Brien crack by posting again before my post went through, and then you went ahead and took the question seriously. Jerk. :(

are there really people out there that like Syd Barret PF better than any Waters PF, or is this just one of those cases of "look-how-cool-i-am-i-liked-the-band-before-they-got-big" or "anyone-who-likes-the-songs-that-actually-get-radio-play-is-a-poser" syndrome?

And Jeff, you suck, too, because Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (not to mention Powerslave) were absolutely brilliant.

More overrated:

- Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire - The Kinks, 1969. (All the hipster kids claim to love this album. They're all lying. I suspect half of them have never ever heard this crap. The Kinks released some immortal albums in the '60s, but this tiresome, unmelodic, preachy bucket of warmed-over tripe wasn't one of them. I count two good songs, both available on any greatest hits album.)

If we're talking metal:

Any 1990s or later Metallica, especially the Black album

Yeah, fair enough.

brak,

My question exactly. A lot of people claim to be big on Syd Barrett; I frankly don't believe them.

The very fact that Peter Fucking Frampton is being mentioned with the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Eagles and (in these comments) Dylan PROVES that his stupid "FCA" album is the most overrated.

Frampton wouldn't even be a decent wedding singer for the above mentioned Bands/Artists. How the hell does he make the list?

I'm with A-dub on "Sgt. Peppers". The "Sgt. Peppers Reprise/A Day in the Life" is my favorite Beatles song. "With a Little Help from my Friends" is a great song even if Ringo sings it. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" still stands up. "Good Morning, Good Morning" is just fun to listen to, as is "Lovely Rita".

And, Ray, I've never banned anyone from the Blogtower, but keep up the Dylan-bashing and you might be the first. Provided you ever visited. Which I don't think you do or have. Or ever will. But still, it's the spirit of the thing. You know? :)

You didn't fully experience the 80s without at least one iron maiden concert. It is a right of fucking passage.

I'm supposed to take a guy who thinks Genesis' Abacab was great seriously? Feh.

(Oh, I'm gonna catch heat for these...)

Def Leppard's Pyromania. Dork-metal at its worst.

Steve Winwood's Arc of a Diver. Not bad, but overrated and not his best stuff by any stretch.

The Dave Matthews Band. Pick an album at random; a representative one is Under The Table And Dreaming. Occasional flashes of old fashioned goodness behind loads of pretension and faux "world beat" hipness.

Hootie and the Blowfish's Cracked Rearview. A good album, don't get me wrong -- I still listen to it sometimes -- but way overrated.

Jennifer -

Thank you.

A lot of people claim to be big on Syd Barrett; I frankly don't believe them.

I listened to "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" once.

Once.

Monty -

Def Leppard (God, I can't even type that name without cringing) was pretty fucking bad no matter which album you pick. I'd go with Hysteria as the absolute nadir, though. And you know why. Don't fucking make me say it or I'll start crying.

the sole purpose of DMB is to get into sensitive girl's with "save the whales" tshirts pants, or to induce vomiting in heterosexual males

I make it a point to call anybody claiming to be "a big fan of Syd Barrett's solo career" a poseur twat. That stuff is unlistenable, and I happen to be a conoissieur of unlistenable noise. I do think Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and those early singles are a hell of a lot more interesting than the later, boringly programmatic Floyd material, though.

More overrated:

White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground, 1968: See my entry for Arthur, above. Anybody who pretends to REALLY love this album has either read too much Lester Bangs or is a hateful elitist prick. "Sister Ray" is intolerable here, however interesting it could be in live performance. The album's abysmally produced (people who offer the "it's INTENTIONALLY Lo-Fi!" argument ought to have the smugness beaten out of them with a 2x4), and only "Here She Comes Now" is the VU at their best.

Additionally, anybody who says (listen carefully for the submerged smugness in their voice) they're "a really big fan of The Fall" and then goes on to explain how "you probably wouldn't like them, they're a bit avant-garde" should have their kneecaps broken.

In fact, Mark E. Smith probably deserves an category all his own in the overrated sweepstakes.

JeffB:

Harvest is overrated? Harvest?

I'm leaving. I'm not going to sit here and be a party to religious slander.

Well, here's one comfort - I come out of this with all my limbs intact because I've never heard of anyone Jeff's been talking about. :)

Monty -

I forgave Hootie's entire existence (provided I could ignore it) for one song - Let Her Cry. The rest of it is just drek (shudders).

Anybody who thinks Harvest represents the best of Neil Young's work needs to have copies of Time Fades Away, Tonight's The Night, and On The Beach shoved down their esophagus.

If it's dippy noncommittal pop you're looking for from Neil Young, at LEAST go with After The Gold Rush or his S/T debut album.

I second "Thriller." Didn't like it then, don't like it now. The Jackson 5ive had some great catchy tunes, though.

See, now you guys are just naming crappy albums. No argument with most of these--but has anyone ever put Def Leppard or Hootie and the Blowfish up there with the all time greats? They're not overrated, they're just crap.

On the subject of politicians and rock, my favorite line was when Al Gore met Courtney Love and told her she was one of his favorite artists. She said: "Really? Name one song."

The woman's a train-wreck, but she's quick with a comeback.

*Fingers in ears*

Nananananananananananana! I can't heeeeeeear you!

I actually liked "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". In fact, though I will be ridiculed (like that's never happened before) I think it and "Animals" are Floyd's two best Albums.

As far as Barrett goes, I do enjoy his "The Madcap Laughs" album. Haven't heard his other solo stuff.

And I like VU, but not Lou Reed solo. The "Velvet Underground and Nico" album is overrated (and probably should have been on the list) but I still listen to it.

Sorry Jack, we're just gonna have to agree to violently disagree on D. To me, just a con game of lyrics and 'backstory.' Oooh, his move to electric was seminal, troubadour to a generation.... Backstory's good for a soap opera, no place in music. Too much 'thinky' going on there.

megan:

Don't fucking make me say it or I'll start crying.

Say it! Say it!

For in much wisdom is much sadness, so saith the Preacher.

No! You can't make me! Don't!

Hey Ray, don't take this the wrong way, but you're a fucking retard. Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisted, taken together, represent the greatest output of any band or artist within the space of a year (more like 6-7 months, really). The guy came up with "Subterranean Homesick Blues," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Positively 4th Street," "It's Alright, Ma," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "She Belongs To Me," "Maggie's Farm," "Love Minus Zero," "Like A Rolling Stone," "Tombstone Blues," "Highway 61 Revisited," "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," and "Desolation Row" ALL DURING THIS TIME.

It's just impossible to overrate that. It stands, to this day, as one of the great achievements of rock music.

you can't beat "Pour Some Sugar on me" when you're drunk at a strip club

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH

Brak, you're dead. [sobbing] You hear me? You are so dead!

Add another 6 months to your timeframe, JeffB., and you get to include the following tracks off Blonde on Blonde too.

"Rainy Day Women #12 and 35; Visions of Johanna; Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again; Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands; Just Like a Woman; I Want You; Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat; Absolutely Sweet Marie"

A pretty fuckin' stellar 18 months worth of work.

oh, i thought you were talking about "Foolin'"

haha

Jeff, this is so weird. It's like you're channeling my most personal musical picks and then setting out to annoy the living bejezus out of me.

Seriously. Loved the Fall; loved the Kinks, and, if pressed, would probably pick Arthur as their best album. Loved the Velvet Underground. I worship Elvis Costello. And Closer is a great, great album. If I went through the rest of your picks we'd be on diametrically opposite sides almost every time. Seriously, this is eerie.

Anyone who says they don't like at least four or five Def Leppard songs is a frigging LIAR.

Those days are behind me, Ace. FAR behind me. Do I bring up all those times you prostituted yourself for crack cocaine and throw them in your face? Do I? Huh? Do I?

"should have their kneecaps broken."

I never realized that listening to music could be so.....dangerous.

I rated the Sex Pistols album as the most over rated. I didn't much care for British punk until the Clash brought at least a small bit of musical talent to it. Frampton's live album would probably be next, if I didn't have such fond memories of removing the panties from young girl's while listening to it.

ace:

I take umbrage at your implied insult! I like nary a one of Def Leppard's stinking bolides, nor will I accept such slander from one such as you! A dork-metal devotee you may be, but do not foist your miserable fetishes on us!

Now, if we want to talk about guilty pleasures, let us speak of Blondie's Greatest Hits. I can put on my headphones and groove to Heart of Glass or Call Me without prompting laughter and pointing from my colleagues.

JeffB:

Next: the most overrated "cult"/post-punk albums. First up: Joy Division's Closer.

Stick it up your gaping asshole, Jeff.

(gosh that was a little harsher than I intended)

Seriously, I've never heard anyone talk about Closer at all. I thought it was just an album I picked up when I found out they were the band New Order came from, and they were a good bit darker.

I think it's a great album, but how it's "rated" I have no idea.

Jeff, Jack, I just don't... I mean, I take you at your words here, you've actually listened to the songs you list, right? Not just read the lyrics?

Not a slam here. Actual question. You guys like poetry don't you? A lot? Not saying that's a bad thing, or even the tired point that such is unmanly. Just trying to make sense of minds so unlike mine, how they experience the world. (Maggie's Farm? Really? Really?)

Hey Jeff? No offense, but you're a raging prick.

"Anyone who says they don't like at least four or five Def Leppard songs is a frigging LIAR."

I can't even name a Def Leppard song. I think I spent the 80's listening to 70's greatest hits albums or something.

I love technology. I can just press two buttons and I'm listening to Closer now.

The Wall? Yawn. Anything by Bob Dylan other than "Lay Lady Lay" and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"? The original Pretentious Crap™.

The Sex Pistols? Bollocks was the hookiest album ever. Severely underrated for their sheer musicianship, as were Def Leppard. (See, I can talk the rockmusic-critic craptalk just like the big boys, who are all pothead retards anyway.)

Oh hell. Rock music just sucks. I can't believe people wasted years of their lives on that garbage. I can't believe I wasted years of my life on that garbage. Years I'll never get back.

The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall is one of the best albums ever released, though.

Def Leppard made a few great songs. "Bringing on the heartache" is they best by far. Pre-Pyromania.

Think is, they are handsdown the worst concert I saw in the 80s. Totally blew live. That was the pyromania tour.

Best tour in the eights was probably a toss up between Styx either Paradise Theater or Kilroy was Here and Saxon's "Wheels of Steel" tour.

I saw them all in the 80s those are the best shows I saw. Saxon was with Rainbow and Styx never had an opening act when I saw them.

As far as overrated albums, "Kilroy was Here" was nowhere near as good as Paradise Theater which doesn't have a bad song on it. Not really.

which reminds me of "closer" by NIN... that's on my "overplayed in strip clubs" theme along with "Pour some sugar on me"

brak:

As far as strip-club overexposure, how about Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood? Every damned titty-bar from Seattle to Bombay played that song about fifty times a night (back when I was still into such things, anyway).

Seriously. Loved the Fall; loved the Kinks, and, if pressed, would probably pick Arthur as their best album. Loved the Velvet Underground. I worship Elvis Costello. And Closer is a great, great album. If I went through the rest of your picks we'd be on diametrically opposite sides almost every time. Seriously, this is eerie.

I guess it's not clear from the amount of detail I'm dropping here, but I love all these guys too. Seriously, my Fall collection alone runs something like 40 CDs. Love the VU (esp. the Quine Tapes), went through a phase where I wanted to BE Elvis Costello, etc.

Grotesque (After The Gramme) and Hex Enduction Hour are two of the greatest albums of the 1980s. But Mark E. Smith is a total scumbag asshole. We can all agree on that, right?

Er...that last one was me.

N.B. The two best Kinks albums are Face To Face (1966) and The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968). "Do You Remember Walter?" is the finest thing Ray Davies ever wrote. Breaks my heart every time.

2nd N.B. Joy Division's Closer is a pale shadow next to Unknown Pleasures, which is their real classic, or the great singles like "Transmission," "Atmosphere," and "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

Okay, JeffB, we're a bit closer to agreement. Mark E. Smith was a complete asshole, but that was almost a requirement for British prog-punkers in the 80s. And yes, the last few Joy Division singles were better than most, if not all, of Closer (I'll disagree with you about Unknown Pleasures).

Let's just avoid the whole topic of Genesis and Abacab. I'm working at a public desk, and if you make me start laughing so hard that I go into convulsions and projectile vomiting it will require some very awkward explanations.

Anyone who says they don't like at least four or five Def Leppard songs is a frigging LIAR.

Just try to resist "Photograph." Go on. Try.

Can't be done, kids. If Allah can't do it, what hope is there for the rest of you?

Jennifer said, Think is, they are handsdown the worst concert I saw in the 80s. Totally blew live. That was the pyromania tour.

Personally, the worst ever concert for me was the Cars. Completely lifeless show. No movement from the guys, the lightshow didn't move or change, no interaction with the audience. They just stood there and played the music exactly like it sounded on the album, while Ric Ocasek sucked the energy out of the place.

At least I assume it was Ric, and not a Ric-like mannequin, with the music being played off a tape deck. Actually, the more I think about it, the more likely that seems -- they were all just mannequins that night....

Beach Boys, Pet Sounds. It's not even that I don't like the album, it's just that I don't see what the hell the big damn deal is.

I very reluctantly must agree, Kerry. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows" are two of the best songs ever written, but most of the rest of the album bores me.

Worst concert for me was Blues Traveller at some piss-smelling club (the Atheneum?) in Providence, RI. No seats at all -- just three hundred people jammed onto a dance floor, vainly trying to see over the heads of people in front of them to see the stage. The band was an hour late, the lead singer was so drunk he could barely stand and forgot the lyrics to half the songs, and the sound system was lousy -- the speakers popped like rifleshots everytime a plosive "P" or "T" was uttered. Some chick in front of us had an asthma attack halfway through and damn near died because she couldn't get out through the crush of people. I had to hand out some kidney shots to get some assholes to move out of the way.

I'll always have a soft spot for Nirvana and Nevermind b/c it seemed to put the nail in the coffin of 80's hair bands. No more fuckin' Poison, thank you.

We didn't know how good we had it. "Talk Dirty to Me" still kicks ass.

There. I said it.

C.C., pick up that guitar and, uh, talk to me.

Sg. Pepper's is highly regarded not only for the songs but for the way they were recorded: on a reel to reel 4-track, in large part. New forms of mixing and overdubs were used along with other new stuff.

Although most don't know, or care, the whole recording industry took note, and borrowed their methods. ALthough some of these things seem primative and silly today, recording methodology was even more primative before this album. This broke ground for people like Hendrix to do the studio stuff we all know about.

Sg. Pepper's stands with Les Paul's work and Phil Collins in greatly advancing the art.

and yet another song for my list of "overplayed in strip clubs"

i do own the Poison greatest hits album though

Sg. Pepper's stands with Les Paul's work and Phil Collins in greatly advancing the art.

I'm going to assume you mean Phil Spector.

I'M PHIL COLLINS LOOK! I USED TO BE IN A BAND TOO! GENESIS! BUT, ALL THOSE BASTARDS DID WAS HOLD ME BACK AND HOLD ME BACK! BUT THEN FINALLY, I WENT SOLO, AND THAT'S WHEN I STARTED WRITING REALLY GREAT SONGS! BUT LOOK! IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE SIDELINES, Y'KNOW, BEEN MORE OF A CHEERLEADER THAN A PLAYER, WELL THEN, I GUESS YOU SHOULD STAY ON AS TIMMY'S SHADOW!

Overrated -anything by Prince

Sgt. Pepper is indeed the most overrated.

Face it: The Beatles made like 5 good songs total and cranked out about 2,000 clunkers.

"The Wall" - Most boring album ever made. And that's pretty boring since it needs to be more boring than all the other non-Syd-Barrett Pink Floyd albums. Worse than boring, it's also a very whiny album.

"Sergeant Pepper" is an overrated Beatles album, but there is no such thing as a bad Beatles album.

"Nevermind"-One of the ten best albums of all time. Presented a genre to the world (nevermind whether the genre was worthwhile or not). Almost every song kicks ass. Kurt whined a lot too, but at least he could rock, unlike Roger Waters. Dave Grohl, one of the best sounding drummers of all time.

Nevermind is a great album, actually. Overrated? Yes. But like Sgt. Pepper, it's still a justly-praised classic.

However, Nirvana were never close to being as good as Pavement, if you ask me. Best band of the '90s, I say. Slanted & Enchanted is one of the all-time great debut LPs, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is even better, and Wowee Zowee is their White Album. God could those smart-ass college kids write good melodies.

Nirvana and "Nevermind" just got there first in breaking the "alternative" sound to the mainstream. That, coupled with Cobain's suicide, is why it apperas on so many "best of all-time" lists. There were a few other bands that probably could have done it as well.

Most underrated album - Quadrophenia-The Who

The Who is both underrated and overrated at the same time. A lot of their hits were total crap, but Quadrophenia proves that Pete had more in him than My Generation.

If you put a gun to my head, I would nominate Quadrophenia as the greatest rock album ever created. Certainly it's my favorite out of the thousands and thousands I own. It's breathtaking both in its ambition and the success with which it's executed.

Jeff B. - Unfortunately, nowadays you can't get the nifty booklet that goes with the album and helps put more meaning (to songs that can stand on their own anyway).

Best Song on the album? My pick - Cut My Hair

For me it was a tough choice between Sgt Pepper, London Calling, Never Mind the Bollocks, and The Wall. And I even like Sgt Pepper (except for Mr. Kite and She's Leaving Home - but Getting Better and Good Morning redeemed it).

Many of the other choices were not "overrated" enough by my definition - e.g. Frampton, which sold shitloads but wasn't critically acclaimed, or Kid A, which some people gushed over (the kind of college-radio dork who deliberately affects a taste for "difficult" music), but made too many others, including me, scratch their heads in puzzlement for the bulk of it (but I did like Everything In Its Right Place, Morning Bell, and How to Disappear).

Finally had to vote for London Calling, because it's so worshipped by the kind of jagoffs who write for Rolling Stone and Spin. It's OK, I guess, but not that good.

The most overrated album of all time has to be the highest rated album of all time. That's because all albums are overrated, and therefore suck.

Except, of course, for the ones I like. Which I won't tell you fuckers, because I know you'll say something shitty and I'm just not in the mood to listen to your jealous, retard, inbred, lunatic, critic-wanna-be, ignoramous ravings.

Jesus, where's that fucking Midol?

Unfortunately, nowadays you can't get the nifty booklet that goes with the album and helps put more meaning (to songs that can stand on their own anyway).

Incorrect. The remastered version, which made the album into the juggernaut it is, includes the entire booklet in miniature, along with Townshend's liner notes.

By the way, the original, unremastered version of Quadrophenia is merely a promising disappointment. Only the remixed/remastered version is truly the greatest album ever made. It's stunning how much better the remixed version is. Your comment leads me to believe you might not have heard it yet, in which case you absolutely must buy it.

Jeff B. - Will do. Thanks for the info. I haven't had my booklet since about '79.

Ray,

I actually like Dylan's MUSIC without regard for the lyrical component (although, admittedly, it's difficult to seperate them at timies).

For example, the fingerpicking on "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" always struck me as being beautiful. His performance as a singer on songs like "Boots of Spanish Leather" or "Chimes of Freedom" also always impressed me.

But even when he "sold out" and went electric, his tunes still contain a lot of just damn good "music". The harmonica bits on "All Along the Watchtower" for example, or the entirety of "Tangled Up in Blue".

In fact two of his (in my opinion) greatest songs from a "music" standpoint are on two of his little heard gospel albums. I will maintain to my dying day that the 2 minute harmonica solo on the end of the song "What Can I Do For You" is the greatest harmonica piece ever recorded. And the piano playing on "When He Returns" is just incredibly powerful.

So, yeah, I hear more in Dylan than just the lyrics. If you like, send me an e-mail and I'll send you a list his songs that you might like for the musical component alone. :)

Oh..and Def Leppard sucks monkey balls. Always has. Always will.

Never Mind The Bollocks came to my mind quickly. Just largely a case of good timing.