Top 10 Classic Albums I Don't "Get".

[Jesse]

I'm working up my list, how about you? What Classic albums do you not "get" the appeal of?

[Jesse]

Not that anybody noticed, but I started this thread several weeks ago and am just getting around to my list! I would like to preface the list by saying that, just because I don't "get" an album, doesn't mean I don't like, at least some parts of it. Also, just because I don't like an artist, doesn't mean I don't "get" the appeal of them or an album. For example: It is (or rather WAS) well-known among the rnruniverse regulars that I do not care for The Beatles. However, I DO "get" their appeal, so you won't find any Beatles' albums on this list. Same with Rush. I don't particularly like them, but I do "get" them. Some of the artists on my list, I actually like very much, I just don't get why certain albums were such a hit and considered "classic". Anyhow, let's begin the list (I may not finish today):

10-"Dreamboat Annie"-Heart. I love Heart! Love, love, love them! "Dreamboat Annie" has two of their best, most classic songs on it in "Magic Man" and "Crazy On You", so why don't I "get" it? Because that's all it has to offer me. You have those two songs and, I believe, one more rocker and the rest is soft, acoustic, folk rock. Not necessarily bad. Enjoyable taken one song at a time when the iPod is on shuffle, but listening to the whole album at once they are boring wastes of space that seem like the band was just filling out an album that they knew people were going to buy just for "Magic Man" and "Crazy On You". This album is considered such a classic that Heart did a tour a few years ago playing this album start to finish. Seems like a wasted show IMO. If they were going to do an album start to finish, "Little Queen" would've been a much better pick!

9-"Thriller"-Michael Jackson. When I was in 5th grade, people could not get enough of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album. Everybody in my class LOVED Michael Jackson except me! Then, a year later, it seemed like NOBODY liked him and nobody would ever admit to EVER liking him. So, maybe this isn't "classic" in the sense of the rest of my list, but I'm putting it on because I still will hear people say that they like "Beat It" because of Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo. Don't care. It's still a shit song on a shit album. I don't get it and I never did.

8-"Girls, Girls, Girls"-Motley Crue. I'm keeping this toward the bottom of the list too, because I'm not sure how "classic" this is considered today. However, back when it came out, it was huge and I still know quite a few people who really dig it today. I never "got" Motley Crue to begin with. I so don't get them that I think "Dr. Feelgood" was their best album! I recently acquired a cassette copy of "Girls, Girls, Girls" and took a listen to it. I gotta admit, "Wild Side" is one killer track! But the rest? Some of the stupidest, most child-like songwriting I've ever heard in my life. I really can't believe they went into the studio thinking this was good music to record and that the producer and record company just went along with it. Sold millions, so what do I know? Still don't get it.

More to come...….

[Jesse]

7-"Powerslave"-Iron Maiden. I love Iron Maiden, but it took a while. "Powerslave" was the first Iron Maiden album I got a hold of and..... I didn't get it. To me, it sounded like Molly Hatchet on 45 instead of 33, which was cool, but gave me little desire to seek out the rest of their catalog. I bought this album for "Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner", but after a few listens, the length of that song became tedious. "Two Minutes To Midnight" was really the only song that resonated with me. Years later, I got "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" and it all clicked as to why Iron Maiden was great. I eventually got all of their albums up to "Brave New World" and liked them all except the Blaze Bayley albums. As I revisited "Powerslave", I still feel that one is lacking compared to the rest. People swear by this album today, but I still don't get it.

6- "Operation Mindcrime"-Queensryche. Probably has something to do with the fact that I was already way into Kiske-era Helloween by the time I got "Operation Mindcrime", but I was never impressed with it and Queensryche as a whole always seemed rather pedestrian compared to Helloween and Iron Maiden IMO. Doesn't mean that there aren't some great tracks on this album. I have a few of them on my iPod, but my cassette sits in a drawer and gathers dust. Don't really need to keep listening to it, cuz I don't get it.

5-"1984"- Van Halen. Can't honestly say that I "get" Van Halen to begin with and this came out when I was still totally immersed in Country music, so that might have something to do with my perspectives. Still, even once I kinda "got" Van Halen, this album still perplexes me. Though "Jump" is a pretty good hook and I always liked the dark tempo of "I'll Wait", I'm not sure how fans of early Van Halen could take so kindly to all of the keyboards and Pop productions. Even the guitary songs like "Panama" and "Hot For Teacher" seem more like parodies of what Van Halen did on previous albums than any serious pieces of music. I'm not overly offended by this album, but I never got the popularity of it either.

[Jesse]

4-"Eliminator"- ZZ Top. My first tastes of ZZ Top, this overpolished turd of techno boogie metal kept me from enjoying early ZZ Top for years. I eventually got their early albums and love them! And, while I admit to enjoying the likes of "Sharp Dressed Man", "Gimmie All Your Lovin'" and "Got Me Under Pressure" on their own, lumped together on the same album, they all sound the same to my ears. "Legs" is crap, "Thug" is worse, the rest is only mildly amusing filler. Why 10 million+ people needed to buy this album when the best songs are overplayed anyhow has always been a mystery to me.


3-"...And Justice For All"-Metallica. This was the big album when I was in High School. I was still just getting into Classic Rock at the time and had little to no use for Metal. The snippets I heard from this album at the time did nothing for me. Somewhere toward the end of 10th grade, I heard the song "Master Of Puppets" and, all of a sudden, I "got" Metallica. I got all 4 of their full-length albums on cassette and liked them all except this one. While I do like "One" and a few others, I still feel that the overall sound of the album sucks. Guitars sound cold and the drums sound like cardboard. Songwriting wise, there's some decent stuff here though I feel side 2, save "Harvester Of Sorrow" is total crap. People still swear by this album, often citing it as Metallica' creative peak...… I don't agree..... AT ALL!


2-"Simple Man"-Charlie Daniels Band. Arguably my favorite band of all time, but this was a stinker IMO. Didn't sound at all like the Charlie Daniels Band that I grew to love. Didn't even sound like a band to me, but rather Charlie Daniels solo. And being pushed by the record company to be more Country in the process. Songwriting is mostly stupid and performances mostly rote. People bought it in droves though. Released in late 1989 and was certified Gold by the Spring of 1990, platinum a few short years later. I think it sucks. Don't know how any CDB-loving fan can listen to this pile of shit and think otherwise. A lot of them do though, I don't get it.

[duojett71]

Interesting thread....I am surprised about the 'Powerslave' pick though. To me that album is bulletproof. Not a bad song on it. For years 'Piece of Mind' was and probably still is my favorite Iron Maiden album but that album has "Quest For Fire" which is almost like Steve in his younger years was writing a song with Blaze Bailey in mind. It sounds like a song Blaze Bailey would sing....corny melody and all.....but I digress. 'Powerslave' is probably tied for #1 on my favorite Maiden albums with 'Killers' almost right there. The only Maiden albums I do not like are the Bailey albums and 'No Prayer For The Dying'. 'Fear of The Dark' is ok...but essentially Maiden without Adrian Smith does not make much sense.....and besides the Di'Anno albums a hard sell without Bruce.

Some of my picks for heralded albums I don't get:

1.Led Zeppelin-IV....I love Zeppelin and I was very influenced as a guitar player by Page's gift at writing some of the best chord progressions of all time. This album has a couple songs I really love like "When The Levee Breaks" and "Battle Of Evermore"......but I never want to hear "Rock N Roll" , "Black Dog" or "Stairway To Heaven" ever again. The first two were mediocre songs anyway and I always found "Going To California" annoying. I basically like half the album. To me Zeppelin I, 2, 3, 'Houses Of The Holy' and 'Physical Graffiti' crush IV and I even think 'In Through The Outdoor' and Presence' are better and more interesting albums.

2. Judas Priest-Painkiller....never understood the appeal of this album. I thought it was Priest trying to keep up with Pantera and not sounding like Priest. The production is horrible, the guitars sound horrible, the drums sound horrible. The whole recording just sounds digital.....but that alone I could live with. The main issue is the songs. It sounds like what Priest is still doing to this day but albums like 'Angel Of Retribution' and 'Firepower' have better songs. I have never owned a copy of it.....I have every Judas Priest album but 'Painkiller' and 'Redeemer of Souls'. I will take 'Ram It Down' over 'Painkiller' any day.

3. Motley Crue-Dr. Feelgood...I remember when the video to the title track was released on MTV and I watched it and said....."....holy shit....this sounds like something off 'Shout At The Devil!'.....I bought the cassette and realized I was completely wrong. The rest of the album sucked balls......and yes I hated "Kickstart My Heart"....shit song and shit album.

4.Pearl Jam-Ten....don't like this band at all....and 'Ten' is probably their best album.....but I never got why this album is considered so great. To me it sounds like generic hard rock that takes very little chances. Pearl Jam was never near as good as Soundgarden. I feel guilty for putting them in the same sentence.

5. Metallica-The Black Album....I think this was their worst album through that period. The Load albums are much worse......but to me compared to the first four albums this was a dumbed down version of Metallica. I loved this album when it first came out but over time I started comparing it to their early albums and found myself really missing THAT band. Then for the longest time I really could not listen to it. I do like about half the album and I don't think there is anything terrible on it.....but it marked the beginning of the end of one of the greatest thrash bands of all time. I do like their last album and would put it higher on the list at number 5....the Black album being number 6. The load albums and 'St. Anger' I think should be forgotten.

I will think of more later.....

[Jesse]

Sept 19, 2019 16:48:39 GMT -5 duojett71 said:

Interesting thread....I am surprised about the 'Powerslave' pick though. To me that album is bulletproof. Not a bad song on it. For years 'Piece of Mind' was and probably still is my favorite Iron Maiden album but that album has "Quest For Fire" which is almost like Steve in his younger years was writing a song with Blaze Bailey in mind. It sounds like a song Blaze Bailey would sing....corny melody and all.....but I digress. 'Powerslave' is probably tied for #1 on my favorite Maiden albums with 'Killers' almost right there. The only Maiden albums I do not like are the Bailey albums and 'No Prayer For The Dying'. 'Fear of The Dark' is ok...but essentially Maiden without Adrian Smith does not make much sense.....and besides the Di'Anno albums a hard sell without Bruce.

Some of my picks for heralded albums I don't get:

1.Led Zeppelin-IV....I love Zeppelin and I was very influenced as a guitar player by Page's gift at writing some of the best chord progressions of all time. This album has a couple songs I really love like "When The Levee Breaks" and "Battle Of Evermore"......but I never want to hear "Rock N Roll" , "Black Dog" or "Stairway To Heaven" ever again. The first two were mediocre songs anyway and I always found "Going To California" annoying. I basically like half the album. To me Zeppelin I, 2, 3, 'Houses Of The Holy' and 'Physical Graffiti' crush IV and I even think 'In Through The Outdoor' and Presence' are better and more interesting albums.

2. Judas Priest-Painkiller....never understood the appeal of this album. I thought it was Priest trying to keep up with Pantera and not sounding like Priest. The production is horrible, the guitars sound horrible, the drums sound horrible. The whole recording just sounds digital.....but that alone I could live with. The main issue is the songs. It sounds like what Priest is still doing to this day but albums like 'Angel Of Retribution' and 'Firepower' have better songs. I have never owned a copy of it.....I have every Judas Priest album but 'Painkiller' and 'Redeemer of Souls'. I will take 'Ram It Down' over 'Painkiller' any day.

3. Motley Crue-Dr. Feelgood...I remember when the video to the title track was released on MTV and I watched it and said....."....holy shit....this sounds like something off 'Shout At The Devil!'.....I bought the cassette and realized I was completely wrong. The rest of the album sucked balls......and yes I hated "Kickstart My Heart"....shit song and shit album.

4.Pearl Jam-Ten....don't like this band at all....and 'Ten' is probably their best album.....but I never got why this album is considered so great. To me it sounds like generic hard rock that takes very little chances. Pearl Jam was never near as good as Soundgarden. I feel guilty for putting them in the same sentence.

5. Metallica-The Black Album....I think this was their worst album through that period. The Load albums are much worse......but to me compared to the first four albums this was a dumbed down version of Metallica. I loved this album when it first came out but over time I started comparing it to their early albums and found myself really missing THAT band. Then for the longest time I really could not listen to it. I do like about half the album and I don't think there is anything terrible on it.....but it marked the beginning of the end of one of the greatest thrash bands of all time. I do like their last album and would put it higher on the list at number 5....the Black album being number 6. The load albums and 'St. Anger' I think should be forgotten.

I will think of more later.....

Interesting list. I could've just as easily added Pearl Jam's "Ten" to my list (or ANY Pearl Jam album for that matter!). As for Led Zeppelin "IV" and Metallica's black album, I "get" what you're saying about not "getting" those albums, but I actually do "get" them. Get it?

[Jesse]

Ok, so my #1 album that I don't "get":


"The Wall"-Pink Floyd. This was the album that made me think to do this list, but I originally had it much lower on the list. I mean, just looking at the tracklisting, there's "Hey You", "Comfortably Numb", "Run Like Hell", "Young Lust" and "Happiest Days Of Our Lives/ Another Brick In The Wall [part 2] (One song as far as I'm concerned), all classics no matter how overplayed they may be. Then you have "Another Brick In The Wall [part 1]", "Mother" and "Goodbye Blue Sky" which are all nearly as good. So how do I end up with this being the #1 album I don't "get"? Because there is so much crap in between those song that I can NOT listen to this album start to finish. I listened to it in its entirety once when I first got it on cassette. Second time through, I had it on my dual cassette deck and taped the songs I liked. If the whole album only comprised of the 9 good to great songs, this would be a killer album. But it doesn't. And I haven't been able to listen to this album in full since that first time. Just crap. And it's such a shame. As I said, I originally had this album lower on my list because of all the great songs on it, but I decided that the fact that I can't listen to this album all the way through DESPITE all of the great songs was what made this album the number 1 classic album that I don't get.

[duojett71]

Anything by Chicago...I just don't get the appeal of that band. Their songs sounded like game show themes....