Best Debut Albums
 

Inspired by Mixedmedia's excelent "Fully Realised Album" thread (here: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=112454) I thought we might take a look at a "Best First Album" list.

I'm not making set rules, but for myself, I'd say that it ought to be the first widely available album by a new artist, good as it is, I'd not count Thom Yorke's Eraser, as even though it's his first album as a solo artist, he's made several with pretty much the same group of people as Radiohead.

That said, I do count the first ELO album as fair game, even though they all made earlier records, so I'm already not making sense. :lol:

Do what you like.

Here's my stab at a list (based purely on what I have on this PC):

Air: Moon Safari
Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes
Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say
Asia: Asia
Barenaked Ladies: Gordon
The Beatles: With The Beatles
James Blunt: Back To Bedlam
British Sea Power: The Decline of British Sea Power
Buggles: The Age of Plastic
Eric Clapton: Eric Clapton
Counting Crows: August and Everything After
The Darkness: Permission To Land
Dire Straits: Dire Straits
Eagles: Eagles
Fleetwood Mac: Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
Fun Lovin' Criminals: 100% Colombian
Billy Idol: Billy Idol
Iron Maiden: Iron Maiden
Jean-Michel Jarre: Oxygene
Keane: Hopes and Fears
Levellers: A Weapon Called The Word
Lightning Seeds: Cloudcuckooland
Madness: One Step Beyond
MeatLoaf: Bat out of Hell
Katie Mellua: Call Off The Search
Metallica: Kill 'Em All
The Mission: God's Own Medicine
Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill
Muse: Showbiz
NIN: Pretty Hate Machine
OK Go: OK Go
Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells
Alan Parsons Project: Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Pink Floyd: Piper At The Gates of Dawn
Queen: Queen
Sade: Diamond Life
Sex Pistols: Never Mind...
The Streets: Original Pirate Material
Rick Wakeman: Six Wives of Henry VIII
Yes: Yes

:thumbsup:

Jagged Little Pill was not the first album by Alanis Morissette, she released dance pop album called Alanis in 1991.

The Barenaked Ladies first album was not Gordon. It was also an eponymous album released on a cassette with a yellow label (it was an indie release but it did go Platinum in Canada).


My vote for best debut album would be The Violent Femmes - The Violent Femmes.

The fully realized album, I can't do. This I can! Since this is a "best debut album" thread, I think this should imply that the artist(s) in question should have released more than one album and that first album needs to be compared to all other releases by the artist. This is my definition and only applies to my list at the time being. Feel free to appropriate it for your own lists as needed.

I agree on the following:
The Streets - Original Pirate Material
And thats about it when compared to an artists complete catalogue of albums.

Additions:
Ace of Base - The Sign
Aqua - Aquarium
Bic Runga - Drive
* ---- I wish I could add Bjork - Debut here, but I can't due to Sugarcube problems
* ---- I wish I could add Conjure One - Conjure One here, but I can't due to FLA/Delerium/10,000 other bands he was in
Emiliana Torrini - Love In the Time of Science
The Hot Club of Cowtown - Hot Jazz, Hot Swing, Hot Club
Kasey Chambers - The Captain
Madeleine Peyroux - Dreamland
Mariza - Fado Em Mim
Shivaree - I Oughtta Give You A Shot In The Head

Bob Mould - Workbook
Pearl Jam - Ten
Jonathan Richmond - Jonathon Richmond
REM - Murmur

1973's "Greetings From Asbury Park" (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) was pretty hot as debuts go.

That first Ramones album "Ramones" in 1976 was smokin hot too. :cool:

I'll go with Sex Pistols, Sade, and Yes from the first post.....:thumbsup: Those were some fresh, new sounds, well developed. :love:

Ok, after much deliberation....I know I'm leaving lots out.

Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
The Police - Outlandos D'Amour
Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes (nod to Charlatan)
Bill Withers - Just As I Am
Fiona Apple - Tidal
The B-52's - The B-52's (for being so exactly, completely B-52's :) )
Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill
Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
Alison Krauss - Too Late to Cry
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me


Ones that don't count but I'm including them anyway. :p
Aimee Mann - Whatever
Michael Jackson - Off the Wall
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
Paul Simon - Paul Simon

One that kinda, sorta counts???
Blind Faith - Blind Faith

Oh yeah...The Police was a good one....:thumbsup:
Heh! The B-52's couldn't be better! :lol: :cool:

Nas - Illmatic
Atmosphere - Overcast!

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Metallica - Kill 'em All

Allison Krauss - LIVE
Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift
and Jewel's very first album. Can't recall the name.

never mind...added it to my list above

Starsailor - Love is Here
Doves - Lost Souls
Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show
Reverend Horton Heat - Smoke Em' if you Got Em'
Secret Machines - Secret Machines
The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
Nirvana - Bleach
Ralph Covert - Eat at Godot's

Trust you to know about the Canadian bands. :lol:

I stand corrected. As I said in the OP the rules ar variable and non-sensical. :rolleyes:

Aside from the Aimee Mann, all of the ones you slipped in on a technicality were in my original long list, as was "Live Peace in Torronto" by the Plastic Ono band.

Also, if we can have Cream, Eric Clapton, Blind Faith and Derek & The Dominoes, I can get 4 EC albums, which is no hardship. Shame he wasn't on the first Yardbirds or Mayal albums... :lol:

What about Boston??? Boston is the definitive classic first album!

Also, we may not look so fondly on them now, but Hootie & The Blowfish did break all kinds of records with Cracked Rear View.

These are all time greats, but they do rank highly in terms of sales, I believe.

Vast-Vast complete with rocking guitar, monks in the background and 1 man named John Crosby doing all the music

Zepellin I
Monster Magnet - Spine of God
Jimi F'n Hendrix - Are you experienced?
Primus - Frizzle Fry
Sublime - 40 oz to freedom

Dar Williams--The Honesty Room

Lucy Kaplansky--The Tide

Ani Difranco--Ani Difranco

Melissa Etheridge--Melissa Etheridge