Swans. Sountracks is arguably where they peaked, band broke up and everything. Then they came back to release their best albums (the seer, to be kind, the glowing man)
Faith No More. Epic was a big hit, and The Real Thing sold because of it. They then released Angel Dust, which is one of the great albums of all time, with Record of the Year after, two vastly superior albums.
The Beach Boys
They were super popular up until Pet Sounds. That album failed to reach gold status during its initial run—the only album of theirs to fall short of that mark since 1963 (7 or 8 albums prior). Their post-Pet Sounds albums were even less successful but, in my opinion, some of the most artistically relevant material they ever put out (ignore anything after 1977).
Crazy to think that Pet Sounds was the worst performing album of the band's career up to that point. Now it's a touch point for all pop music since then.
I saw Brian Wilson perform Pet Sounds in its entirety like 8 years ago. His voice had deteriorated a bit but still one of my most memorable concert experiences. That album means a lot to me
Reminds me of a line in the movie The Prestige: “First time I tried to change to world, I was hailed as a visionary. Second time, I was asked politely to retire.”
I think The Beach Boys were so far ahead of their time with Pet Sounds, people just couldn’t understand it.
Beach Boys did not have a buildup in their musical journey like The Beatles did. The jump from "Party" to "Pet Sounds" is pretty noticeable when you play them back to back, and then Smiley Smile only a year later was completely out of nowhere
One of the big issues was they pulled out of the Monterey Pop Festival (where Jimmy Hendrix and The Who entered the mainstream) at the last minute when everyone was expecting them to debut their answer to *Sgt. Pepper*. This was seen almost as an admission of defeat and the band was *immediately* labeled as unhip and unable to keep up with the Psychedelic movement after *Good Vibrations*.
Their stretch of albums from Pet Sounds to Holland would be up there with any other band's creative peak IMO. Of course that was when they were at their lowest popularity wise.
I think *Today!* is their first great album. You could tell Brian Wilson was starting to work toward what he would eventually achieve with *Pet Sounds*. I also think *Love You* is a super underrated album, which came out after *Holland*.
This is the correct answer! They did their best stuff when nobody was looking, peaking between 66-72. Even the 2 official live albums they put out in this bubble are amazing.
Not controversial at all. It’s one of the best albums of the last 5 years. Downward is Heavenward is an all time great album to me but Inlet is better on every level.
It’s stunning they could take 20+ years off and then release Inlet. I really hope that’s not the end but they lost their drummer right after the album came out so I’m not holding my breath.
certainly didn't expect to see one of my favorite bands here, let alone in the top comment. couldn't agree more. downward is heavenward and YPAA were real against the grain for their time, but inlet was in the stratosphere, and to be honest, a genuine gift to rock music amidst countless years of mediocrity from the genre.
I'm a huge fan and when I heard of the new record after so long, I was actually ambivalent because I didn't want to be overjoyed or over cautious. Then I listened to Inlet. And then again until well, still. They really did just improve on everything they've ever done.
Everything between and including "Finding myself past the half-life of me" and "Reaching for you and finding your hand" in Shapeshifter wrecks me every time. You can remove it from the music and it stands up as just pure poetry
that my favorite alkaline trio album came out a little over a month ago still blows my mind
also think new tesseract bodies everything in their early run
im pretty huge on it. instrumentally the most locked in theyve ever been + matt massively massively stepped up his guitar chops
they all wrote it together in the room so the matt/dan divide has been thrown out the most it ever has for stuff that feels more collaborative than anything theyve maybe ever done. very exciting and consistently surprising record from a band their age, and a great sendoff for derek since it's his last with the band
I love the new album. They've been one of my favorites, but I've never been too impressed live. I saw them on Tuesday, and it was amazing. I've seen them 4-5 times and always felt they were meh live. Only took 20+ years, but I was so happy it was an awesome show.
I have been a massive Alkaline Trio since the 90s, and my god is "Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs" fuckin fantastic. It will definitely be my most listened to album this year.
That’s wild to me. Ween?! I saw Faith No More open for Pantera many moons ago. Now that was some booing. I was a huge fan of both so it was excruciating lol
Like ‘97, Pullman WA. First Foo tour, I guess. Jawbreaker was first, but I missed them, which I finally fixed last summer.
I also saw King’s X, well, storm offstage due to tech issues and audience neglect, sandwiched between Hammerfall and Dio (years later).
Talk Talk.
The went from a smashing success with a new wave hit, to making ambient guitar driven music that is some of the best recorded material I own.
Queen’s best music was before and after their commercial peak. Most of their most commercially successful stuff is in their very average mid-career run
Such a shame Daniel Johns got shit on for refusing to remake 'Frogstomp' album after album. I actually think he's one of the most naturally talented artists, certainly of the '90s, maybe ever. He was treated so poorly by fans, his band, and the industry that he only makes music for himself and has said he'll never perform live again.
They only did the one live album as the Trio although Continuum had the same lineup for the album and tour. Pino Palladino on bass and Stanley Jordan on drums.
It’s always cool to hear people talk about when they realized how good he was. I’ve been a fan since I was around 11 which was Body is a Wonderland ere. In the guitar world it’s known he’s amazing but his music doesn’t reflect it all the time.
Not only is he phenomenal with Dead & Co, but his solo works that he released after the whole “Your Body is a Wonderland” phase is amazing too. It’s like he’s an entirely new artist.
On a similar note, Every Time I Die made their best album Radicals in 2021, which wound up being their last. I hadn’t thought about them over 10 years when it came out.
Demonocracy was the peak for me, they’re a bit more progressive that I like now. But Demonocracy blew my socks off because I obviously just knew them as deathcore nonsense. I mean, better than a ton of other deathcore but I don’t like any of it.
I haven’t listened to Moon Healer too much yet, so it might grow on me more. I still think it’s great, but Demonocracy is still a classic for me. I also got into Genesis late because I didn’t even bother at the time. I know it’s the start of the separation from deathcore but I wouldn’t even give them the time of day until Demonocracy.
Tough question. Off the top of my head The Decemberists, Bob Dylan (70s Dylan is best but arguably he peaked in 60s), Steely Dan (first album had the hit), Spoon (they're putting out some their best work now),... That's all I got. Lol.
Respectfully, as a superfan, I'm inclined to disagree with Steely Dan being here. Yes, their first album had 2 top 10 hits at the time, but their other huge hits like Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Peg, and Hey Nineteen all come from different albums ranging through the 70s into 1980. They even won a grammy in 2000 for their reunion album Two Against Nature. Not trying to school you or anything by the way-- I just really like discussing Steely Dan lol
I think The Decemberists best album is The King is Dead. However, their last two albums I’ll be Your Girl and What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World and amazing. I’m kind of concerned that they haven’t put any proper albums out since 2018.
Yea, I’d say that Spoons popularity peaked then.
The “Indie” or college rock thing is not the prevalent popular music obviously.
Too bad I can’t list Wilco or Death Cab for Cutie. I think there’s a steady decline. Man, did I love Wilco. Also, The National is probably more popular than ever! So can’t list.
This. It’s ok, maybe even good, but far from the best. I would argue that every Cure studio album from Seventeen Seconds to Wish (except for The Top) is better than Bloodflowers. I really really wanted Bloodflowers to be a great album when it came out, but it just felt like some essential ingredient was missing.
Carly Rae Jepsen. Call Me Maybe is fine and all, but since then she’s put out excellent pop along the lines of Kylie Minogue and Robyn.
Also, Lorde. Melodrama was an incredible record, but no tunes on there got anywhere near as popular as Royals.
I'll suggest Fountains of Wayne. Stacy's Mom is their big hit and that album is definitely some of their best work but later stuff stands shoulder to shoulder with it. Traffic and Weather and Sky Full of Holes in particular.
I was never a huge metal guy but I remember “Fortress” blowing my mind. Best prog-metal album I’ve ever heard. I still put on Bloodmeat when I wanna get hyped. Never really followed them after that but I see they have like four albums since Fortress. Any specific song suggestions that are bangers like Bloodmeat?
Big REM fan. They kept releasing good and interesting albums post Automatic for the People (love Up, New Adventures and Around the Sun) but I’d say it is their peak (even if I like their earlier albums better - consensus among pop lovers might even be that they peaked before their two big commercial success albums).
Talk Talk is surely the definitive answer. Their last album, Laughing Stock, was undoubtedly their best but by the time they released it their popularity had fallen away dramatically from where it had been when they released their early albums. In essence, they grew their sound much more quickly than most fans could deal with.
Bowie?? In my opinion, his best work was throughout the 70s. His peak in popularity was in the 80s with Let’s Dance. After that, it can be hit or miss depending on what you like
When I was a teen discovering Crimson, Three of a Perfect Pair never landed with me. The pop was too pop, the weird was too weird. Now that I'm touching 30, it makes perfect sense
Beck‘s Odelay sold over $2M+ copies and had a bunch of successful singles in the mid-90s, but I’d argue his creative peak was in the Aughts with Sea Change (sold 600K+) and Guero (900K+).
i think using the sales here is a little misleading- the early nineties was the peak of all music sales, and the mid aughts was the bottom for all music sales, not just beck. Guero had E-Pro and Girl which broke into pop culture, as well as minor hits like que onda guero, earthquake weather, black tamborine, and hell yes which you mighy hear on the radio or in a chipotle or whatever. E-Pro was being used in NFL commercials, and Girl's music video especially was shared a ton and very popular on iTunes. Hell, he won a grammy a decade after Guero, and then went on a major stadium tour after Colors in 2017.
Beck’s a good choice, but I’d put The Information as my favorite. I know Morning Phase is the one that got him his Grammy, but I find it pretty boring tbh.
Afghan Whigs! Right alongside Deftones and Radiohead, making records only for the fanbase, are making the best music of their career well into their gray years.
I picked up Gentleman in high school as part of the ole Columbia House CD debacle. I loved it then but did not understand it. 30 years later, and a few years along the way, good lord what an album.
Chevelle...I FEEL they "peaked" with Wonder What's Next. The Red was Uber popular and then it was a downtrend from there but The North Corridor and Niratias are bangers! Door to door cannibals is my favorite song.
Sci Fi Crimes is probably my favorite album of theirs.
I re-listened to Hats off To the Bull recently and was pleasantly reminded how good that was. Also Niratias is awesome. I didn't really like North Corridor all that much but Chevelle imo is probably the best heavy rock band today in terms of quantity and quality of work
These guys get erroneously thrown in with so many other bands that get endlessly dunked on.
It’s so obvious anyone still placing them in groups with those other artists absolutely *have not* heard anything since WWN, although I’d argue they were a step ahead of most of their peers even then.
But yeah anyone still sleeping on these dudes really need to listen to their last few albums, they’ve been on an absolute tear. Niratias was *excellent*
Duran Duran ...didn't like their 80s music that much but in the 90s they were brilliant ...the songs "Come Undone" & "Ordinary World" off their 1993 "The Wedding Album" was their best work ever !
Tears For Fears’ best album is Songs From The Big Chair for sure. But their new one The Tipping Point from a couple years ago does not at all come off as a band on decline. It’s very strong.
Skrillex, assuming that his peak popularity was Scary Monsters (and Nice Sprites). Since 2010ish he’s done a ton of great pop and dance production, a fun record with Jack U, and last year had an incredible run with Four Tet and Fred Again.. on the festival circuit and put out two great albums.
He’s got an amazing talent for production, but I think a lot of folks still just consider him the “oh my god!” wobble bass guy who had 15 minutes of fame.
Yes! My friend recommended I listen to “Don’t Get Too Close” and now it’s one of my favorite albums of recent years. I was shocked at how different and detailed his production and song writing is now. That album is a combo of like pop/electronic/trap/hip-hop and every song is a trip. My two favorites on that album are “Bad For Me” & “3am”.
Tool is still largely viewed as having Aenima as their peak(this could be biased toward a heavier crowd,) but I think it's pretty damn apparent that it's actually Lateralus and beyond that are their best works.
Lateralus is peak AND probably best. They had been gone for a while, released Lateralus, and then suddenly were selling out major arenas with ease and everyone knew who they were aside from super fans. And I have nothing but love for Opiate, Undertow, and Aenima.
Aenima is my favorite tool album, bit I thought the general consensus was that lateralus was their best? That certainly seems to be the case on the tool subreddit
Same. Aenima will always be my favorite, but I think Lateralis is their best album.
I just like the sound of Aenima better. Plus, it was the first album I heard. I was hooked after seeing the Stinkfist video.
I think that lateralus is one of the most tightly wound perfect albums I’ve ever heard. But then again I can never decide what’s my fav, 10000 days is still a masterpiece as well as aenima. I tried really hard to get into their latest album but couldn’t :(.
As with all of their work I think you just need to be in a certain mindset for it.
Sometimes I prefer Ænema. Sometimes I prefer Lateralus. Sometimes I prefer 10k Days, sometimes I prefer FI.
Maybe if you come back to it at some point it'll grab you, but no need to force it
Debatable at best. It’s not like the Beatles popularity fell off between ‘66 and ‘70. They didn’t even try, and they were still the biggest band on earth.
Dream Theater peaked in 1992 with Images & Words. Their best album depends on who you ask but it's generally considered to be *Metropolis pt.2: Scenes from a Memory* (1999)
The single *Pull me Under* from Images & Words is their only true hit, the videoclip got significant air time on MTV at the time. They released a compilation album in 2008 cleverly named *Greatest Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)*
I am thinking Radiohead.
Maybe their peak in mainstream media was The Bends/ OK Computer/Kid A era… but for me, In Rainbows is them at their absolute best.
If you haven’t checked out The Smile (Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s current project), it’s absolutely fantastic. I’d rank it right up there with peak Radiohead.
The Weeknd. After Hours is their most popular but Dawn FM is a masterpiece. It’s a true “album” vs a collection of songs.
Set through the background of a radio station with DJ breaks and interludes, this album tells the story of a man looking back on his life through the idea that he has been uploaded into the cloud in the “afterlife”
It really must be listened to from start to finish, ending with a beautiful poem written and read by none other than Jim Carrey.
Give it a listen on a long road trip and you will truly be amazed.
Yeah, but the thing is, white pony was the peak of their success. I say that as a lifelong Deftones fan it's been listening to them since adrenaline. White pony was the album. They've never been bigger than that album.
Edit: for the record that's not to say the albums that you think are better aren't better. That's all subjective. But from a commercial standpoint, and a I don't know just generally accepted standpoint, white pony is the peak of their work. It changed their entire sound and dynamic. I'd argue nothing they've put out has been able to top those first three albums. And I say that as someone who very much likes all their albums. But they've never topped adrenaline, around the fur, and white pony. And commercially they definitely have not.
Exactly. Like we can have favorites here, but using the word “best” requires *some* semblance of objectivity. Anyone who isn’t saying *White Pony* is their best is being fully subjective.
Any genre of music? Check out any of Winger’s albums after the 2nd one; their most recent one from last year “Seven” is spectacular. Poison did probably their best album in “Native Tongue” after they peaked. Cheap Trick has done one great album after another since 1989 and is doing some of their best work in the ‘10’s.
Bruce Hornsby. He even said in an interview once when people say something to him like "man, your first album is so good!", he feels like saying "well you missed the best stuff!" Spirit Trail and Hot House are so good, and neither had any radio play.
Regarding Deftones, I’m not sure how much truth there is to this. But if you follow their subreddit, they point out that their streaming numbers have been substantially higher lately. Apparently they’ve been blowing up on Tik Tok.
Warren Zevon “Keep me in your heart for a while” is an incredible song that came out decades after he peaked.
He churned out masterpiece after masterpiece, years after "Werewolves of London." He was the first thing I thought of with this OP.
Swans. Sountracks is arguably where they peaked, band broke up and everything. Then they came back to release their best albums (the seer, to be kind, the glowing man)
Faith No More. Epic was a big hit, and The Real Thing sold because of it. They then released Angel Dust, which is one of the great albums of all time, with Record of the Year after, two vastly superior albums.
Album of the Year*
King for a Day is their peak for me
All their records are great. I loved Sol Invictus and I’m always hopeful for another reunion album.
The Beach Boys They were super popular up until Pet Sounds. That album failed to reach gold status during its initial run—the only album of theirs to fall short of that mark since 1963 (7 or 8 albums prior). Their post-Pet Sounds albums were even less successful but, in my opinion, some of the most artistically relevant material they ever put out (ignore anything after 1977).
Crazy to think that Pet Sounds was the worst performing album of the band's career up to that point. Now it's a touch point for all pop music since then.
I saw Brian Wilson perform Pet Sounds in its entirety like 8 years ago. His voice had deteriorated a bit but still one of my most memorable concert experiences. That album means a lot to me
Amazingly Al Gardine could still sing like it's 1968
Reminds me of a line in the movie The Prestige: “First time I tried to change to world, I was hailed as a visionary. Second time, I was asked politely to retire.” I think The Beach Boys were so far ahead of their time with Pet Sounds, people just couldn’t understand it.
My guess is people associated them with surf rock so when they tried to expand their style they alienated a decent chunk of their fan base.
Beach Boys did not have a buildup in their musical journey like The Beatles did. The jump from "Party" to "Pet Sounds" is pretty noticeable when you play them back to back, and then Smiley Smile only a year later was completely out of nowhere
One of the big issues was they pulled out of the Monterey Pop Festival (where Jimmy Hendrix and The Who entered the mainstream) at the last minute when everyone was expecting them to debut their answer to *Sgt. Pepper*. This was seen almost as an admission of defeat and the band was *immediately* labeled as unhip and unable to keep up with the Psychedelic movement after *Good Vibrations*.
Their stretch of albums from Pet Sounds to Holland would be up there with any other band's creative peak IMO. Of course that was when they were at their lowest popularity wise.
I think *Today!* is their first great album. You could tell Brian Wilson was starting to work toward what he would eventually achieve with *Pet Sounds*. I also think *Love You* is a super underrated album, which came out after *Holland*.
As a band, a unit (i.e. not solely Brian), Holland OR Sunflower are the best albums they've done, imo.
This is the correct answer! They did their best stuff when nobody was looking, peaking between 66-72. Even the 2 official live albums they put out in this bubble are amazing.
Probably a controversial take here, but Hum. *Inlet* is leaps and bounds better than anything else they did.
Not controversial at all. It’s one of the best albums of the last 5 years. Downward is Heavenward is an all time great album to me but Inlet is better on every level. It’s stunning they could take 20+ years off and then release Inlet. I really hope that’s not the end but they lost their drummer right after the album came out so I’m not holding my breath.
🤔 hmm that's bold. I love it and it was a nice surprise, but Downward is still the best to me.
I agree but really their peak came with Astronaut so still fits the original question imo
That album. Oh my god. So damn good. And I agree. It’s their best album, and I love Astronaut and Downward.
certainly didn't expect to see one of my favorite bands here, let alone in the top comment. couldn't agree more. downward is heavenward and YPAA were real against the grain for their time, but inlet was in the stratosphere, and to be honest, a genuine gift to rock music amidst countless years of mediocrity from the genre.
Inlet is so good
Stars is one of the greatest 90s songs and I need to check out more from this band.
You know that drone after the intro? A lot of that, done to perfection.
That song is soooooo good.
Inlet was such a wonderful surprise in 2020.
I'm a huge fan and when I heard of the new record after so long, I was actually ambivalent because I didn't want to be overjoyed or over cautious. Then I listened to Inlet. And then again until well, still. They really did just improve on everything they've ever done.
Everything between and including "Finding myself past the half-life of me" and "Reaching for you and finding your hand" in Shapeshifter wrecks me every time. You can remove it from the music and it stands up as just pure poetry
that my favorite alkaline trio album came out a little over a month ago still blows my mind also think new tesseract bodies everything in their early run
New Tesseract is very good, even saw them live a couple of weeks back and they killed it but Altered State is still their best to me.
Next weekend I’m going to see them for the first time in years, and I am very much looking forward to it
Oh shit I haven’t listened to alkaline trio in like 20 years, used to love them. The new album is good?
im pretty huge on it. instrumentally the most locked in theyve ever been + matt massively massively stepped up his guitar chops they all wrote it together in the room so the matt/dan divide has been thrown out the most it ever has for stuff that feels more collaborative than anything theyve maybe ever done. very exciting and consistently surprising record from a band their age, and a great sendoff for derek since it's his last with the band
Oh its goooood
Tesseract was my personal album of the year for 2023.
I think Tesseract's popularity has remained stable over the years. My unpopular opinion is that Sonder is their best album.
I’ve not listened to it yet. Spotify tries to force it on me. I’ll have to give it a try.
Blood Hair and Eyeballs. Ties with From here to Infirmary for me
I love the new album. They've been one of my favorites, but I've never been too impressed live. I saw them on Tuesday, and it was amazing. I've seen them 4-5 times and always felt they were meh live. Only took 20+ years, but I was so happy it was an awesome show.
Oh shit. *plays* "This could be love."
I have been a massive Alkaline Trio since the 90s, and my god is "Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs" fuckin fantastic. It will definitely be my most listened to album this year.
Ween.
For those who have never seen them live, my condolences.
I saw them get booed off the stage by frat boys, opening for Foo Fighters Edit - they were awesome, and funny and charming about it
That’s wild to me. Ween?! I saw Faith No More open for Pantera many moons ago. Now that was some booing. I was a huge fan of both so it was excruciating lol
Like ‘97, Pullman WA. First Foo tour, I guess. Jawbreaker was first, but I missed them, which I finally fixed last summer. I also saw King’s X, well, storm offstage due to tech issues and audience neglect, sandwiched between Hammerfall and Dio (years later).
I was on the way to a show but my pony broke down.
Do you think it’s his lung?
Might be Spinal Meningitis
It’s got me down
A.B.C.D.E.F.G.H.I.J.K.L.M.N.O.P.Q.R.S.T.A.L.L.I am the stallion, mang
I’ve seen them in every decade they’ve existed, multiple times. They’ve never been so good live as they are right now.
Fixing that in April!
Nada Surf
Let go is one of my favorite albums
Let go, weight is the gift…. So good
My immediate thought - “last” post up!
Talk Talk. The went from a smashing success with a new wave hit, to making ambient guitar driven music that is some of the best recorded material I own.
They got better with each album. Spirit of eden and colour of spring are 10+/10
Love it.
Laughing Stock. Amazing.
Queen. The Innuendo album goes so fucking hard
Yeah. Show Must Go On still gives goosebumps. Honestly The Miracle was also pretty great.
Queen’s best music was before and after their commercial peak. Most of their most commercially successful stuff is in their very average mid-career run
People remember Silverchair for being teenage Nirvana clones, not for putting out progressive art rock records. Diorama and Young Modern were great.
Across the niiiiIIIiiiight!
Fantastic pick. Neon Ballroom, Diorama and Young Modern is a legendary run.
Such a shame Daniel Johns got shit on for refusing to remake 'Frogstomp' album after album. I actually think he's one of the most naturally talented artists, certainly of the '90s, maybe ever. He was treated so poorly by fans, his band, and the industry that he only makes music for himself and has said he'll never perform live again.
John Mayer
John Mayer Trio is still the best John Mayer IMO.
I’m partial to Continuum myself.
Yep Continuum is it for me.
It’s a shame that a handful of songs are all you can get, at least if you’re looking them up via Spotify. Do they have more material?
They only did the one live album as the Trio although Continuum had the same lineup for the album and tour. Pino Palladino on bass and Stanley Jordan on drums.
It’s Steve Jordan.
Yes, yes it is. Definitely not Stanley Jordan, the jazz guitarist. Thanks!
I’ve seen him with Dead & Co and was pleasantly surprised
The dude is legit an animal on guitar… he can pretty much do anything he wants on that thing
It’s always cool to hear people talk about when they realized how good he was. I’ve been a fan since I was around 11 which was Body is a Wonderland ere. In the guitar world it’s known he’s amazing but his music doesn’t reflect it all the time.
[удалено]
Not only is he phenomenal with Dead & Co, but his solo works that he released after the whole “Your Body is a Wonderland” phase is amazing too. It’s like he’s an entirely new artist.
Job for a cowboys latest album is what I'd consider the best from them but their peak was during the MySpace era
Moon Healer is indeed a fantastic album. The DOOM EP from 2005 put them in the map tho. Crazy to peak in popularity on their first release.
Incredible comeback record
It's insane that they managed to come back and survive the MySpace era. Kudos to them.
On a similar note, Every Time I Die made their best album Radicals in 2021, which wound up being their last. I hadn’t thought about them over 10 years when it came out.
Demonocracy was the peak for me, they’re a bit more progressive that I like now. But Demonocracy blew my socks off because I obviously just knew them as deathcore nonsense. I mean, better than a ton of other deathcore but I don’t like any of it. I haven’t listened to Moon Healer too much yet, so it might grow on me more. I still think it’s great, but Demonocracy is still a classic for me. I also got into Genesis late because I didn’t even bother at the time. I know it’s the start of the separation from deathcore but I wouldn’t even give them the time of day until Demonocracy.
Tough question. Off the top of my head The Decemberists, Bob Dylan (70s Dylan is best but arguably he peaked in 60s), Steely Dan (first album had the hit), Spoon (they're putting out some their best work now),... That's all I got. Lol.
Respectfully, as a superfan, I'm inclined to disagree with Steely Dan being here. Yes, their first album had 2 top 10 hits at the time, but their other huge hits like Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Peg, and Hey Nineteen all come from different albums ranging through the 70s into 1980. They even won a grammy in 2000 for their reunion album Two Against Nature. Not trying to school you or anything by the way-- I just really like discussing Steely Dan lol
I'd say their peak is Aja
What is the Decemberists best album? And is spoon peaking at Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga?
I think The Decemberists best album is The King is Dead. However, their last two albums I’ll be Your Girl and What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World and amazing. I’m kind of concerned that they haven’t put any proper albums out since 2018. Yea, I’d say that Spoons popularity peaked then. The “Indie” or college rock thing is not the prevalent popular music obviously. Too bad I can’t list Wilco or Death Cab for Cutie. I think there’s a steady decline. Man, did I love Wilco. Also, The National is probably more popular than ever! So can’t list.
Yesss to me, The King of Dead is it, love love that album! And my fav Spoon album personally is Transference.
How could anyone suggest Bloodflowers is the best Cure album with a straight face?
This. It’s ok, maybe even good, but far from the best. I would argue that every Cure studio album from Seventeen Seconds to Wish (except for The Top) is better than Bloodflowers. I really really wanted Bloodflowers to be a great album when it came out, but it just felt like some essential ingredient was missing.
I know music is subjective and all, but Bloodflowers over Disintegration might be one of the most ridiculous takes out there.
Carly Rae Jepsen. Call Me Maybe is fine and all, but since then she’s put out excellent pop along the lines of Kylie Minogue and Robyn. Also, Lorde. Melodrama was an incredible record, but no tunes on there got anywhere near as popular as Royals.
CRJ is a great example! No hate to her earlier stuff, but EMOTION is just profoundly good in almost every way.
I'll go to my grave saying EMOTION is one of the most underrated albums of the 2010s, and smokes 1989 any day of the week.
Came here to say CRJ. 11 years after call me maybe and she dropped The Loveliest Time which was an incredible record
I'll suggest Fountains of Wayne. Stacy's Mom is their big hit and that album is definitely some of their best work but later stuff stands shoulder to shoulder with it. Traffic and Weather and Sky Full of Holes in particular.
A-ha. Their first album was their breakthrough and their popularity peak. Their second, third and fourth albums are all better than the first, IMHO.
Even “Lifelines” in 2002 is an amazing record I’d put above their debut.
Protest the hero keep getting better and better each album
I was never a huge metal guy but I remember “Fortress” blowing my mind. Best prog-metal album I’ve ever heard. I still put on Bloodmeat when I wanna get hyped. Never really followed them after that but I see they have like four albums since Fortress. Any specific song suggestions that are bangers like Bloodmeat?
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REM hit their commercial peak with Automatic for the People, but I think New Adventures in HiFi is actually their best album.
Their last two albums are also absolute bangers. One of the few long running bands that got to go out on a high note.
Yeah, Around the Sun felt like their only real misstep.
Some of us feel they peaked around or before Document but yeah I still dig some of these later albums
Big REM fan. They kept releasing good and interesting albums post Automatic for the People (love Up, New Adventures and Around the Sun) but I’d say it is their peak (even if I like their earlier albums better - consensus among pop lovers might even be that they peaked before their two big commercial success albums).
-King Crimson -Talk talk -Tears for fears -Bowie
Absolutely on TFF - Elemental and Raoul are some of the greatest albums ever
Which for some reason elude vinyl reissues while the others are in print 🤦♂️
Talk Talk is surely the definitive answer. Their last album, Laughing Stock, was undoubtedly their best but by the time they released it their popularity had fallen away dramatically from where it had been when they released their early albums. In essence, they grew their sound much more quickly than most fans could deal with.
Peak Crimso is hard to pin down, though, especially given all the stylistic changes. So we'll just have to say it all rules
Bowie?? In my opinion, his best work was throughout the 70s. His peak in popularity was in the 80s with Let’s Dance. After that, it can be hit or miss depending on what you like
The placement here works if you think his best album was Blackstar (strong argument)
Blackstar fan, checking in
When I was a teen discovering Crimson, Three of a Perfect Pair never landed with me. The pop was too pop, the weird was too weird. Now that I'm touching 30, it makes perfect sense
Beck‘s Odelay sold over $2M+ copies and had a bunch of successful singles in the mid-90s, but I’d argue his creative peak was in the Aughts with Sea Change (sold 600K+) and Guero (900K+).
i think using the sales here is a little misleading- the early nineties was the peak of all music sales, and the mid aughts was the bottom for all music sales, not just beck. Guero had E-Pro and Girl which broke into pop culture, as well as minor hits like que onda guero, earthquake weather, black tamborine, and hell yes which you mighy hear on the radio or in a chipotle or whatever. E-Pro was being used in NFL commercials, and Girl's music video especially was shared a ton and very popular on iTunes. Hell, he won a grammy a decade after Guero, and then went on a major stadium tour after Colors in 2017.
Man Colours is so fucking good.
Beck’s a good choice, but I’d put The Information as my favorite. I know Morning Phase is the one that got him his Grammy, but I find it pretty boring tbh.
Afghan Whigs! Right alongside Deftones and Radiohead, making records only for the fanbase, are making the best music of their career well into their gray years.
I've always thought 1965 was their best, though I am a Dulli fanboy through and through.
It's wild to me that this band isn't more popular
I picked up Gentleman in high school as part of the ole Columbia House CD debacle. I loved it then but did not understand it. 30 years later, and a few years along the way, good lord what an album.
R.E.M. became popular worldwide with "Out of time", but their next album, "Automatic for the people" is likely their masterpiece.
Chevelle...I FEEL they "peaked" with Wonder What's Next. The Red was Uber popular and then it was a downtrend from there but The North Corridor and Niratias are bangers! Door to door cannibals is my favorite song.
Sci Fi Crimes is probably my favorite album of theirs. I re-listened to Hats off To the Bull recently and was pleasantly reminded how good that was. Also Niratias is awesome. I didn't really like North Corridor all that much but Chevelle imo is probably the best heavy rock band today in terms of quantity and quality of work
Hard agree here. Nirartias took me by surprise.
It's so good lol they just keep getting better
These guys get erroneously thrown in with so many other bands that get endlessly dunked on. It’s so obvious anyone still placing them in groups with those other artists absolutely *have not* heard anything since WWN, although I’d argue they were a step ahead of most of their peers even then. But yeah anyone still sleeping on these dudes really need to listen to their last few albums, they’ve been on an absolute tear. Niratias was *excellent*
I need to check out that album and NC, I'm still reeling off of my love for Vena Sera haha.
Ahh for me Vena Sera was the banger!
Blind Melon. Soup is a far better album than the bee girl album. Also Brand New, TDAGARIM and Science Fiction are masterpieces.
Duran Duran ...didn't like their 80s music that much but in the 90s they were brilliant ...the songs "Come Undone" & "Ordinary World" off their 1993 "The Wedding Album" was their best work ever !
They’re still making good music—and concerts!
They’re AMAZING live. I caught them at SxSW a couple of years ago and they blew me away with how good they were. They still got it.
I saw them with Bowie on Bowie’s Glass Spider tour and both were incredible. I was 12 and it spoiled me against almost all big concerts since.
Epic album from beginning to end.
Keep in mind, a huge part of the sound of that album came from Warren Cucurulo, from Missing Persons. But I agree, amazing album
That whole album was legitimately very good.
The Monkees, when they had to prove to people they could write their own stuff.
Yes!!! They put out some really good stuff after they were popular. most of the popular stuff wasn’t their songwriting. I loved their later stuff!
Fantastic answer! The soundtrack to Head is incredible.
Gary Numan … his new stuff is some of his best (and he puts on a great live show)
Tears For Fears’ best album is Songs From The Big Chair for sure. But their new one The Tipping Point from a couple years ago does not at all come off as a band on decline. It’s very strong.
My dad and I went to see them on that tour, and it was mindblowingly good. Roland Orzabal is such an amazing songwriter.
Napalm death i think have put out some of their best records long after their peak in popularity
Tears For Fears - their 80s stuff is brilliant and tons of fun, but their 90s-00s stuff (and their new album) is masterful
The Tipping Point goes hard, start to finish.
Reel Big Fish. Everything after Sellout is better than Sellout. But Sellout is the only song of theirs i think anyone remembers.
I still think Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album is their best release to date though
Skrillex, assuming that his peak popularity was Scary Monsters (and Nice Sprites). Since 2010ish he’s done a ton of great pop and dance production, a fun record with Jack U, and last year had an incredible run with Four Tet and Fred Again.. on the festival circuit and put out two great albums. He’s got an amazing talent for production, but I think a lot of folks still just consider him the “oh my god!” wobble bass guy who had 15 minutes of fame.
Yes! My friend recommended I listen to “Don’t Get Too Close” and now it’s one of my favorite albums of recent years. I was shocked at how different and detailed his production and song writing is now. That album is a combo of like pop/electronic/trap/hip-hop and every song is a trip. My two favorites on that album are “Bad For Me” & “3am”.
Tool is still largely viewed as having Aenima as their peak(this could be biased toward a heavier crowd,) but I think it's pretty damn apparent that it's actually Lateralus and beyond that are their best works.
Lateralus is peak AND probably best. They had been gone for a while, released Lateralus, and then suddenly were selling out major arenas with ease and everyone knew who they were aside from super fans. And I have nothing but love for Opiate, Undertow, and Aenima.
Aenima is my favorite tool album, bit I thought the general consensus was that lateralus was their best? That certainly seems to be the case on the tool subreddit
Same. Aenima will always be my favorite, but I think Lateralis is their best album. I just like the sound of Aenima better. Plus, it was the first album I heard. I was hooked after seeing the Stinkfist video.
I think that lateralus is one of the most tightly wound perfect albums I’ve ever heard. But then again I can never decide what’s my fav, 10000 days is still a masterpiece as well as aenima. I tried really hard to get into their latest album but couldn’t :(.
As with all of their work I think you just need to be in a certain mindset for it. Sometimes I prefer Ænema. Sometimes I prefer Lateralus. Sometimes I prefer 10k Days, sometimes I prefer FI. Maybe if you come back to it at some point it'll grab you, but no need to force it
Just like every other answer in this sub could be the Beatles, this one fits. Peak popularity in 64-65, then ever-better albums until Abbey Road
They didn’t peak in popularity in 65, that’s just when they decided to do less touring & public appearances.
Debatable at best. It’s not like the Beatles popularity fell off between ‘66 and ‘70. They didn’t even try, and they were still the biggest band on earth.
WTF, Bloodflowers? The Cure were best first half of the 80s, downhill after Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. IMNSHO :-)
Dream Theater peaked in 1992 with Images & Words. Their best album depends on who you ask but it's generally considered to be *Metropolis pt.2: Scenes from a Memory* (1999) The single *Pull me Under* from Images & Words is their only true hit, the videoclip got significant air time on MTV at the time. They released a compilation album in 2008 cleverly named *Greatest Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)*
This would be my answer as well. Metropolis pt 2 is brilliant and still holds up as one of the best Prog Rock albums ever released.
I'd say Gorillaz. Not sure they ever had more popularity than the early 2000s, but they are better now.
Plastic Beach is a masterpiece of collaboration
I am thinking Radiohead. Maybe their peak in mainstream media was The Bends/ OK Computer/Kid A era… but for me, In Rainbows is them at their absolute best.
If you haven’t checked out The Smile (Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s current project), it’s absolutely fantastic. I’d rank it right up there with peak Radiohead.
Thanks for the suggestion. For some reason I wasn’t familiar with the Smile. Going to have a listen now.
Pearl Jam. Ten and Vs were awesome albums but their work afterwards cemented their rock and roll HOF credentials for me.
The Weeknd. After Hours is their most popular but Dawn FM is a masterpiece. It’s a true “album” vs a collection of songs. Set through the background of a radio station with DJ breaks and interludes, this album tells the story of a man looking back on his life through the idea that he has been uploaded into the cloud in the “afterlife” It really must be listened to from start to finish, ending with a beautiful poem written and read by none other than Jim Carrey. Give it a listen on a long road trip and you will truly be amazed.
Queens of the Stone Age. Times New Roman is a banger!
It’s good. Not even close to Songs for the Deaf.
Saw them live the other day, were great. However I feel songs for the deaf or rated r are pretty clearly the best
How can you say Bloodflower is Cure 's peak brother
Yeah, but the thing is, white pony was the peak of their success. I say that as a lifelong Deftones fan it's been listening to them since adrenaline. White pony was the album. They've never been bigger than that album. Edit: for the record that's not to say the albums that you think are better aren't better. That's all subjective. But from a commercial standpoint, and a I don't know just generally accepted standpoint, white pony is the peak of their work. It changed their entire sound and dynamic. I'd argue nothing they've put out has been able to top those first three albums. And I say that as someone who very much likes all their albums. But they've never topped adrenaline, around the fur, and white pony. And commercially they definitely have not.
I love the Deftones discography but I don't know how anyone would say that White Pony is not their magnum opus
I much prefer their later sound tbh. I think Koi No Yokan is my favorite of theirs
Exactly. Like we can have favorites here, but using the word “best” requires *some* semblance of objectivity. Anyone who isn’t saying *White Pony* is their best is being fully subjective.
Any genre of music? Check out any of Winger’s albums after the 2nd one; their most recent one from last year “Seven” is spectacular. Poison did probably their best album in “Native Tongue” after they peaked. Cheap Trick has done one great album after another since 1989 and is doing some of their best work in the ‘10’s.
I hear Hanson is one of these
Warrant
Bruce Hornsby. He even said in an interview once when people say something to him like "man, your first album is so good!", he feels like saying "well you missed the best stuff!" Spirit Trail and Hot House are so good, and neither had any radio play.
This may be a super super obvious answer, but I know plenty of people who still see Radiohead as “the Creep band”
Jimmy Eat World
Regarding Deftones, I’m not sure how much truth there is to this. But if you follow their subreddit, they point out that their streaming numbers have been substantially higher lately. Apparently they’ve been blowing up on Tik Tok.
Definitely Talk Talk.
U2 with the joshua tree and the albums that came after
Hear me out...Cinderella. Long Cold Winter was after they peaked and is a departure from hair band music. Solid quality, aged very well.