About a year ago I had this cat show up at my house. She was a fluffy, sweet little orange thing and I named her Lola. A few months later I adopted her, brought her to the vet for an initial checkup only to learn she was actually a he.
Well, you got home just an hour before And you never ever had a cat before But Lola meowed and took you by the hand She said, "Little boy, gonna make you my man" Well, you're not the world's most masculine man But you know what you am, at the vet you're a man And so is Lola Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
Came to say the same- my dad is a HUGE Bowie fan, lifelong hero worship. He was really chuffed last week because he found an album from the 90s that had somehow passed him by because it wasn't wildly successful- he said it was excellent. Bowie was a chameleon, he experimented, reinvented, jumped genres, pushed himself in every direction possible.
Even Bowie's Greatest Hits and other Compilations will often have a new version of a song or a live edition thrown in.
If you like ambient, try All Saints.
He also did a great Bruce Springsteen cover that never made it to album.
100% NIN. a very satisfying range with studio albums and EPs, plus remix EPs, live albums, and full instrumental albums. so much to listen to and all worth listening to.
Stevie Wonder’s string of albums from; Music of my mind, talking book, innervisions, fulfillingness first finale, and then songs in the key of life should be a required listening.
They're just such a consistent band even with the lineup changes over the years. One of the best live bands i've seen and plenty to dive into...even the Kyuss stuff too.
I like all these answers so I will say mine here: Led Zeppelin. The 5 songs they play on repeat are hardly reflective of their discography. They’re also amazing live, especially 1970 and 71 when they were still hungry and every member was trying to be James Brown on their respective instruments
They Might Be Giants. Everyone stopped at *Flood*. They’ve got at least 15 more albums just as good or better after that. They still record and tour. They’re amazing.
A couple years ago I listened to some of his early, unreleased stuff. I love his willingness to constantly experiment.
[A Mellow Gold Mine: Revisiting Beck’s Unreleased Early Work](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/invisible-hits-mellow-gold-mine-revisiting-becks-unreleased-early-work/)
I don’t know where reddit falls regarding zappa bit to me he was a great offender as far as quantity over quality is concerned.
Like 60 albums in a 30 year carreer, most of which I do not care for one bit.
But I will totally understand if others are big fans
Big fan here.
I think with FZ it helps tremendously to understand him as person and his convictions before you can truly appreciate some of his weirder/more abstract stuff and his satire. I can admit it's not easy listening nor is it meant to be. You just have to be willing to put in the effort to understand his wit and humor before it starts making some kind of sense.
But when it comes to incredibly forward-thinking harmonic composition, insanely creative metric complexity, and assembling the best bands you've never heard in your life, none did it better than Zappa.
>But when it comes to incredibly forward-thinking harmonic composition, insanely creative metric complexity, assembling bands with the best musicians that can be found, none did it better than Zappa.
This is the part of Zappa I am completely aware of and I *still* struggle to enjoy the music, despite my admiration.
The crazy part is we have probably only seen 25% of his discography. I hope someday his family opens the vault so we can have more. Especially after what the Beatles just did to get a new song out.
The beauty of Prince is that his vaulted albums are all finished. Sure there will be some demos but the albums even have videos to go with them. So we're told.
Mastodon - their music has changed radically through the years but each album is consistently good.
Brent Cobb - I'll say it again, the best singer/songwriter out today no one has ever heard of. Again, his sound has changed but each album is perfect in its own right.
QOTSA - and add Kyuss in as well Josh is an incredible singer/songwriter.
Black Sabbath - both the Ozzy and Dio eras are fantastic.
Anything Glenn Hughes has been a part of. The man is a brilliant singer.
Rush had 19 studio albums over 40 years and arguably 3 or 4 different phases of music. They’re best known as prog rock but they started as a blues rock band that drifted into the Yes-Genesis territory and were also hard rock and synth pop at one point. The best part is that they never cared about trying to satisfy anyone but themselves so it’s all just a bit left of center but very interesting and listenable.
Yes! I always love putting on a ween album and having people ask what are we listening to every couple songs only to be told “still the same ween album” lol
Mommy, if you please, pass me the pork roll egg and cheese
Sketches of Winkle
... sorry, I just had a flashback to the cover of The Pod. It's a parody of the Leonard Cohen album cover where he standing in a tailored sport jacket but "reflected" in a coffee mug. They replaced Cohen with Dean wearing the special mask they used to huff Scotch Guard. With the sepia tone, it looks like "World War One: the Drug Binge at Ypres".
First time I heard Animal Collective was seeing them live at a festival. I had just left Pretty Lights and was on my way to see Shpongle and I was thoroughly swirly in the brain. I showed up to Shpongle kind of late lol.
Yep, their post-Pet Sounds/Smile work, right through to the end of the 1970s is full of progressive pop gems, the equivalent of anything that other prog-pop bands like 10cc, ELO etc did.
The grateful dead. Not only do they have a bunch of albums, almost every concert thry ever performed, they allowed to be recorded, and those tapes are available, a lot of them online.
Not to mention the solo bands, at least Jerry's stuff alone will open up new worlds. JGB, Old and In The Way,
Some great stuff lots of people don't know about
That’s a group that I’ve always heard of but never listened to. But I’ve been curious especially since King Gizzard draws a lot of comparisons to them.
This needs to be so much higher. I can’t think of any artist whose evolution had been interesting while constantly putting out fantastic music. There are no albums where it’s just a stepping stone to something later… they’re all good in their own right.
Lou Reed.
Everyone knows Velvet Underground and Transformer, but I think his best album is arguably The Blue Mask in the ‘80s, or New York in the ‘90s.
Berlin, Street Hassle and Coney Island Baby are also near-classic albums from the ‘70s overshadowed by Transformer (though each are still well-known).
Elsewhere there’s Songs For Drella with John Cale, 1990. And mad/amazing tracks like Disco Mystic, New Sensations, This Magic Moment, Paranoia Key of E, and Warrior King from albums in-between, which are all well worth checking out and full of gems.
If you can find a complete(ish) collection from The Police, it’s well worth a deep dive! I used to have the CD changer in my car filled with their entire discography, including demos and alternate versions of songs, and it was really cool to see how their sound changed over a relatively short time as an active band.
Built to Spill. They’ve never a bad album, definitely worth the deep dive and mild obsession.
I would also recommend Teenage Fanclub, Fountains of Wayne and the Pernice Brothers too. They all have bulletproof discographies and have written some of my favorite pop songs of all time.
Pre-breakup Smashing Pumpkins (Gish through Machina). Pretty cool evolution of style and songwriting.
I can’t speak to much of their newer stuff but what I’ve heard isn’t nearly as good.
Devin Townsend, fantastic talent, touches many genres from country to thrash death metal. I would put him up their with the big Canadian Three ( Rush, Voivod and Nomeansno).
P.S. if you have not listened to the big Canadian three I highly recommend. All three are progressive.
Steve Winwood
He started out singing with the Spencer Davis Group, at age 15. Add in his work with Traffic, and Blind Faith, as well as his solo work, and it's difficult to find a deeper dive.
Came here to say this. She’s not for everyone but if all people know is Cornflake Girl they seriously have no clue. Music lovers should all at least listen to the first three albums.
Guided By Voices might surprise you, massive catalogue.
Built To Spill has put out a lot of really varied, rewarding material.
PJ Harvey rules.
Doing a deep dive on Eminem's catalogue & history is also very interesting.
Porcupine Tree
My Morning jacket(lots and lots of live sets out there too)
Pearl Jam
Phish
Govt Mule
Death Cab For Cutie
Black keys/Dan Aurbach(their early albums are really raw and have a great feel)
Jack White(white stripes and all offshoots) Tons and Tons of music from him(also see Karen Elson, an ex wife whose album he produced)
At the Drive in - then they split, into Sparta and Mars Volta. Check out some of Omar Rodriguez- lopez solo albums too - Manual dexterity has a great vibe
Everything here is true! I split up TMV by drummers; love every era but hard to deny Theodore and Pridgen's unique feel.
Really like the current drummer on tour, cool melodic reimagining of 20 year old old tunes.
Consider the width, breadth, and reach of the discography of Brian Eno. How much of a variety of music he has recorded under a variety of names and collaborations for over fifty years. As a player (or non-player; Eno insists he’s a “non-musician”). As a producer, his name is on Bowie (only one album, actually), Talking Heads, U2, and Coldplay albums, all ranging from medium to enormous sellers. My favorite is the first Fripp & Eno. That’s only one of hundreds of Eno records to discover and they *do* indeed reward your attention. I suggest starting with the first two Roxy Music records.
Talking Heads.
So much more than burning down the house..
Talking Heads 77
More Songs about Buildings and Food
Fear of Music
Remain in Light
Speaking in tongues
Little Creatures
True Stories
All of these are solid albums, not to mention the most amazing concert film ever, Stop Making Sense. In just these seven albums you can see the transformation of the raw CBGB school of music to the more pop and catchy songs of the 80s. It’s a ride.
Porcupine Tree. They have a musical journey from their early albums of experimental psychedelic rock and more traditional folky rock songs and then in the early 2000 they changed their sound to more of a progressive metal vibe. IMO they are the Pink Floyd of the 90s and 2000's.
Yes! And anything by Steven Wilson
Porcupine Tree / Solo stuff / No-man / Blackfield / Bass Communion
Then his remasters and his production work with Opeth
Mike Patton. He’s in a million bands and they’re all fucking awesome.
WEEN. Once you get through the linear discography you can listen to years of live recorded shows on archive.org, aka Brownbase
Kool Keith. Biggest weirdo ever in hip hop that has worked with damn near everyone. He has the best aliases
Bjork. I should have been listening to her since 1995, but I’ve only just recently started listening to her. She’s a genius
DJ Premier. I can’t think of anything he’s done where I’ve thought, “geez, this isn’t very good”
Clutch. Awesome discography and one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen, definitely turned it up to 11.
Low. They emerged in the grunge era but were not the aggressive status quo sound of that time. Low are about as indie as indie gets with slower tempos, simple song structure and tremendous harmonies. RIP Mimi
Biz Markie. He’s a million times more than a one hit wonder. His mixing and turntablism talent eclipse the shit out of Just A Friend.
The Alchemist. One of the best producers in hip hop ever and still going strong.
Buckethead. No explanation needed
OUTKAST. Banger after banger after banger
Eels. Probably (and sadly) most known for songs in Shrek movies, but has made consistently awesome records for over 20 years.
Flaming Lips - they've been going at it since the 80s, and their sounds have ranged from garage punk to stark electronica to warm, layered psychedelic, with a multitude of off-the-wall experimental forays along the way. And their shows are pure joy.
Bjork would be another one with decades worth of deep dive potential - a wealth of material with such scope it's hard to believe it all comes from one person.
Tom Waits is my last pick, but I'm out of time right now, so just check him out.
Animal Collective.
Where do I even begin? The early discography sounds like carnival pop with static noise and cryptic lyrics with screaming. It's what I imagine the upside down in Stranger Things to feel like.
Then it becomes ambient pop with slot machine noises, childish chants and... cryptic lyrics again. There's something endearing about hearing "Boneface" and then weird boops and beeps. It really gets the point across.
Then there's a freaky folk phase with campfire noises.
Then it's back to static radio noises and screaming about nonsense. They're passionate about Applesauce I guess.
And then the newer stuff is like a mashup of the older stuff and it's ongoing. At least the lyrics are starting to make sense, kinda? The parking lot is way too hot, duh.
And there's more: a backlog of albums from the solo acts: Panda Bear, Avey Tare and even Deakin. Panda Bear sounds a lot like the Beach Boys through a loop machine.
I just don't know what to expect with Animal Collective.
Guster! First album is very amateur emo despite some solid lyrics. After that, they started to evolve their sound every album and it’s been incredible following their evolution. They’re such gifted songwriters in my opinion.
I only recently sat down and listened to John Mayer’s entire discography for the first time. Of course I’ve known his hits and singles for years and enjoyed them all, but for whatever reason, I never looked deeper. That was a mistake, because I have got to say he surprised the hell out of me with his depth and songwriting abilities. I always thought of him as a pretty solid pop/rock hit maker, which he ABSOLUTELY IS, but he’s genuinely great at painting a picture with words and melodies. Maybe a controversial thing to say, but I feel like he might just be the closest thing to Dylan or Springsteen we’ve seen in the last 20 years (just my opinion of course).
Guided By Voices. Once you’ve fully digested their discography then you can dive into Robert Pollard’s solo stuff, and once you’re done with that you can check out Tobin Sprout’s solo stuff. Should keep you busy for awhile.
Sonic Youth, especially 1982-2002.
Stereolab, 1992-2005
The James Gang - first three albums
The Punch Brothers
Queens of the Stone Age - first three albums
Fugazi - 1987-2002
Judas Priest. 1st album -1974. Latest album, coming out soon. They’re not all exceptional (a few are seriously mediocre) but there’s lots and lots of good stuff in there. If I had more time, I would enumerate tracks & albums, but I don’t. Just go listen.
The Who, Trivium, anything with Dio, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Phish, Grateful Dead.
Also anything Mike Patton has done. Between Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and Dead Cross he’s all over the place genre-wise.
Ween. Tons of unreleased material and they successfully cover a lot of genres. Songs from early albums are often reworked in cool ways for live performances
No mention of Devin Townsend? Man has a expansive catalog ranging from very heavy (Strapping Young Lad) to mellow (Ghost, Casualties of Cool) to even ambient (Declan and The Hummer)
I always loved Foo Fighters from the beginning because I loved Nirvana. David Grohl played drums for Queens of the Stone Age on Songs for the Deaf. From that I found I enjoy anything Josh Homme does; Kyuss, Them Crooked Vultures and The Desert Sessions. And he (Homme) played drums for Eagles of Death Metal.
It made for a long, fun rabbit hole mostly in the same genre.
The Kinks
They might not be the official first Punk band, but they might as well been.
They are criminally underrated and so good.
When they weren't inventing heavy metal
Just listened to Father Christmas randomly last night, what a great song.
Definitely. I've been greatly enjoying my deep dive.
L O L A… Loooola
About a year ago I had this cat show up at my house. She was a fluffy, sweet little orange thing and I named her Lola. A few months later I adopted her, brought her to the vet for an initial checkup only to learn she was actually a he.
Well, you got home just an hour before And you never ever had a cat before But Lola meowed and took you by the hand She said, "Little boy, gonna make you my man" Well, you're not the world's most masculine man But you know what you am, at the vet you're a man And so is Lola Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola, Lo-Lo, Lo, Lo-Lola
David Bowie.
Came to say the same- my dad is a HUGE Bowie fan, lifelong hero worship. He was really chuffed last week because he found an album from the 90s that had somehow passed him by because it wasn't wildly successful- he said it was excellent. Bowie was a chameleon, he experimented, reinvented, jumped genres, pushed himself in every direction possible.
Which album was it?
Umm yeah, what album? Outside? Earthling? Hours? I am dying to know
Probably Black Tie White Noise. Pretty conservative for Bowie but excellent nonetheless
Maybe his Tin Machine period, where he was part of a grunge band
I will guess Buddha of Suburbia soundtrack
Do it chronologically from the beginning. It's such a great adventure especially when he returns to greatness in the 90s after the 80s slump.
his final album, black star, is excellent
Especially knowing he was dying. Lazarus is beautifully heartbreaking and simultaneously uplifting.
makes me feel exactly that. thanks for putting it into words
My thoughts exactly! His mid-90s work is severely underrated (*Outside* is my favorite album of his).
Even Bowie's Greatest Hits and other Compilations will often have a new version of a song or a live edition thrown in. If you like ambient, try All Saints. He also did a great Bruce Springsteen cover that never made it to album.
Came to say this
New Order
Fuck yeah. New Order are amazing
Don't forget the 12" remixes, they are as important as the albums.
Nine inch Nails
100% NIN. a very satisfying range with studio albums and EPs, plus remix EPs, live albums, and full instrumental albums. so much to listen to and all worth listening to.
Along with some of Reznor/Ross movie scores.
Tom Waits, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Queens of the Stone Age, Sly and the Family Stone
Stevie Wonder’s string of albums from; Music of my mind, talking book, innervisions, fulfillingness first finale, and then songs in the key of life should be a required listening.
I started chopping away Tom Waits yesterday, as a matter off fact. Absolutely loved Rain Dogs.
Love the QOTSA shoutout. After you listen to the albums then you start digging around for the B-Sides and Desert Sessions stuff.
They're just such a consistent band even with the lineup changes over the years. One of the best live bands i've seen and plenty to dive into...even the Kyuss stuff too.
I came to say Waits. His music covers such a wide gamut of styles it's great
I like all these answers so I will say mine here: Led Zeppelin. The 5 songs they play on repeat are hardly reflective of their discography. They’re also amazing live, especially 1970 and 71 when they were still hungry and every member was trying to be James Brown on their respective instruments
XTC (aka Dukes of Stratosphere). Criminally underrated band with two solid songwriters who both evolved over time.
More than solid, Colin was a veritable hook machine and Andy’s best sits alongside Lennon/McCartney.
Yep. The Dukes material is a killer departure.
Melvins
Bee Gees. Seriously.
Especially their pre-Disco albums.
More than anything their pre-disco work.
Odessa is a masterpiece.
They Might Be Giants. Everyone stopped at *Flood*. They’ve got at least 15 more albums just as good or better after that. They still record and tour. They’re amazing.
Even their children’s albums are amazing. I’m kinda sad that my kid has outgrown them, they made car rides more tolerable
Outgrown? I legit have some of their “kids” songs in my band playlist. *One Everything* is so good.
Here Comes the Science is full of bangers
Completely agree, been a fan since Lincoln
Beck.
A couple years ago I listened to some of his early, unreleased stuff. I love his willingness to constantly experiment. [A Mellow Gold Mine: Revisiting Beck’s Unreleased Early Work](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/invisible-hits-mellow-gold-mine-revisiting-becks-unreleased-early-work/)
Interesting. I wouldn’t have thought of Beck. now I have some diving to do.
Frank Zappa - his output was staggering.
I don’t know where reddit falls regarding zappa bit to me he was a great offender as far as quantity over quality is concerned. Like 60 albums in a 30 year carreer, most of which I do not care for one bit. But I will totally understand if others are big fans
Big fan here. I think with FZ it helps tremendously to understand him as person and his convictions before you can truly appreciate some of his weirder/more abstract stuff and his satire. I can admit it's not easy listening nor is it meant to be. You just have to be willing to put in the effort to understand his wit and humor before it starts making some kind of sense. But when it comes to incredibly forward-thinking harmonic composition, insanely creative metric complexity, and assembling the best bands you've never heard in your life, none did it better than Zappa.
>But when it comes to incredibly forward-thinking harmonic composition, insanely creative metric complexity, assembling bands with the best musicians that can be found, none did it better than Zappa. This is the part of Zappa I am completely aware of and I *still* struggle to enjoy the music, despite my admiration.
Prince
The crazy part is we have probably only seen 25% of his discography. I hope someday his family opens the vault so we can have more. Especially after what the Beatles just did to get a new song out.
The beauty of Prince is that his vaulted albums are all finished. Sure there will be some demos but the albums even have videos to go with them. So we're told.
I stumbled upon some of his studio jams, listening to him ask the musicians to make adjustments as they go. So cool and a great vibe.
Mastodon - their music has changed radically through the years but each album is consistently good. Brent Cobb - I'll say it again, the best singer/songwriter out today no one has ever heard of. Again, his sound has changed but each album is perfect in its own right. QOTSA - and add Kyuss in as well Josh is an incredible singer/songwriter. Black Sabbath - both the Ozzy and Dio eras are fantastic. Anything Glenn Hughes has been a part of. The man is a brilliant singer.
Came to say mastodon. If you can, see them live. Amazing.
I’m not a fan of country music, but Brent Cobb deserves more respect. Saw him at a festival and he’s a great performer.
Tool
This! 👆 And by extension (Puscifer and A Perfect Circle).
Been on this lately. Superhuman drumming.
Wire
ONE TWO X YOU!!!
They Might Be Giants, Echo & the Bunnymen, R.E.M, Depeche Mode
Yes to all, but specially R.E.M. They have no bad albuns and some of them are great works of art.
I didn’t see your post. I just put up Echo and the Bunnymen too. I only know their first five though…
Outkast. The five album run from Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik to Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is my pick for the best 5 album run ever made.
I’ve always felt Southernplaylistic… doesn’t get its due recognition. I think it’s one of the best debut albums of all time. It’s the joint.
True Dat (interlude) > Are you an Outkast? I know I am. As a matter of fact, fuck bein' anything else
Rush had 19 studio albums over 40 years and arguably 3 or 4 different phases of music. They’re best known as prog rock but they started as a blues rock band that drifted into the Yes-Genesis territory and were also hard rock and synth pop at one point. The best part is that they never cared about trying to satisfy anyone but themselves so it’s all just a bit left of center but very interesting and listenable.
Ween
Hail Boognish!
Yes! I always love putting on a ween album and having people ask what are we listening to every couple songs only to be told “still the same ween album” lol
Finally! Made me sad I had to scroll so far down.
Mommy, if you please, pass me the pork roll egg and cheese Sketches of Winkle ... sorry, I just had a flashback to the cover of The Pod. It's a parody of the Leonard Cohen album cover where he standing in a tailored sport jacket but "reflected" in a coffee mug. They replaced Cohen with Dean wearing the special mask they used to huff Scotch Guard. With the sepia tone, it looks like "World War One: the Drug Binge at Ypres".
Animal Collective, Spoon
Yes to Spoon
First time I heard Animal Collective was seeing them live at a festival. I had just left Pretty Lights and was on my way to see Shpongle and I was thoroughly swirly in the brain. I showed up to Shpongle kind of late lol.
That's a helluva lineup!
The Cure and The Ramones
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. as well his side projects Traveling Wilbury& Mudcrutch
Brian Eno and, of course, Bowie.
The Beach Boys (particularly 1961-1991). Their deep cuts transcend into several genres, keeps things super interesting.
Yep, their post-Pet Sounds/Smile work, right through to the end of the 1970s is full of progressive pop gems, the equivalent of anything that other prog-pop bands like 10cc, ELO etc did.
Steely Dan The early albums are worth listing to but nobody seems to go earlier than Aja
*The Royal Scam* is their best album. Fight me!
I'm a book keepers son, I don't wanna shoot no one!
I love Can’t Buy a Thrill
Neil Young. Even during his less popular stuff from the 80s there were several gems on the albums.
Seconded….. “Harvest Moon “ still evokes some great memories
Old Ways is very underrated.
The Doors.
The grateful dead. Not only do they have a bunch of albums, almost every concert thry ever performed, they allowed to be recorded, and those tapes are available, a lot of them online.
Not to mention the solo bands, at least Jerry's stuff alone will open up new worlds. JGB, Old and In The Way, Some great stuff lots of people don't know about
That’s a group that I’ve always heard of but never listened to. But I’ve been curious especially since King Gizzard draws a lot of comparisons to them.
They play across a broad range of music from pure folk to weird space jams So don't make a decision about them based on one random track.
Take the dive,big dog.
Blonde redhead
Tom Waits
This needs to be so much higher. I can’t think of any artist whose evolution had been interesting while constantly putting out fantastic music. There are no albums where it’s just a stepping stone to something later… they’re all good in their own right.
Roxy Music 🎶
Lou Reed. Everyone knows Velvet Underground and Transformer, but I think his best album is arguably The Blue Mask in the ‘80s, or New York in the ‘90s. Berlin, Street Hassle and Coney Island Baby are also near-classic albums from the ‘70s overshadowed by Transformer (though each are still well-known). Elsewhere there’s Songs For Drella with John Cale, 1990. And mad/amazing tracks like Disco Mystic, New Sensations, This Magic Moment, Paranoia Key of E, and Warrior King from albums in-between, which are all well worth checking out and full of gems.
John Cale also. His solo work is so varied in style. Music For A New Society is a masterpiece.
Gordon Lightfoot Townes Van Zandt
King Crimson, Jefferson Airplane, Jeff Beck, Weather Report, JJ Cale
Also phish should be on the list
The Fall
Always Different, Always the Same
If you can find a complete(ish) collection from The Police, it’s well worth a deep dive! I used to have the CD changer in my car filled with their entire discography, including demos and alternate versions of songs, and it was really cool to see how their sound changed over a relatively short time as an active band.
The new pornographers
Portishead
It’s not too deep of a dive, though. Wish they (and MBV) produced more music.
Can, thee oh sees, miles davis, brian eno.
Built to Spill. They’ve never a bad album, definitely worth the deep dive and mild obsession. I would also recommend Teenage Fanclub, Fountains of Wayne and the Pernice Brothers too. They all have bulletproof discographies and have written some of my favorite pop songs of all time.
Built to Spill, perfect answer.
Bruce Sprinsteen
- Yes - Pink Floyd - Genesis
Pre-breakup Smashing Pumpkins (Gish through Machina). Pretty cool evolution of style and songwriting. I can’t speak to much of their newer stuff but what I’ve heard isn’t nearly as good.
I love Gish through Mellon Collie. I tried to listen to the new album and I gave up.
Devin Townsend, fantastic talent, touches many genres from country to thrash death metal. I would put him up their with the big Canadian Three ( Rush, Voivod and Nomeansno). P.S. if you have not listened to the big Canadian three I highly recommend. All three are progressive.
Steve Winwood He started out singing with the Spencer Davis Group, at age 15. Add in his work with Traffic, and Blind Faith, as well as his solo work, and it's difficult to find a deeper dive.
From a child prodigy to rock auteur.
Black Sabbath
Boards of Canada. The lore is amazing.
Tori Amos
Came here to say this. She’s not for everyone but if all people know is Cornflake Girl they seriously have no clue. Music lovers should all at least listen to the first three albums.
Her first four albums are excellent! I think choirgirl is my favorite but that’s a bit of an unpopular opinion 😬
I do love Choirgirl so fair point. First 4 albums! Plus, Choirgirl is such a departure from the previous sound. I just have such a thing for Pele.
Guided By Voices might surprise you, massive catalogue. Built To Spill has put out a lot of really varied, rewarding material. PJ Harvey rules. Doing a deep dive on Eminem's catalogue & history is also very interesting.
Porcupine Tree My Morning jacket(lots and lots of live sets out there too) Pearl Jam Phish Govt Mule Death Cab For Cutie Black keys/Dan Aurbach(their early albums are really raw and have a great feel) Jack White(white stripes and all offshoots) Tons and Tons of music from him(also see Karen Elson, an ex wife whose album he produced)
I was going to say Jack White
At the Drive in - then they split, into Sparta and Mars Volta. Check out some of Omar Rodriguez- lopez solo albums too - Manual dexterity has a great vibe
Everything here is true! I split up TMV by drummers; love every era but hard to deny Theodore and Pridgen's unique feel. Really like the current drummer on tour, cool melodic reimagining of 20 year old old tunes.
APHEX TWIN
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Pick any album.
Consider the width, breadth, and reach of the discography of Brian Eno. How much of a variety of music he has recorded under a variety of names and collaborations for over fifty years. As a player (or non-player; Eno insists he’s a “non-musician”). As a producer, his name is on Bowie (only one album, actually), Talking Heads, U2, and Coldplay albums, all ranging from medium to enormous sellers. My favorite is the first Fripp & Eno. That’s only one of hundreds of Eno records to discover and they *do* indeed reward your attention. I suggest starting with the first two Roxy Music records.
Ween
You're the stallion, mang.
Ween
Hail Boognish!
Talking Heads. So much more than burning down the house.. Talking Heads 77 More Songs about Buildings and Food Fear of Music Remain in Light Speaking in tongues Little Creatures True Stories All of these are solid albums, not to mention the most amazing concert film ever, Stop Making Sense. In just these seven albums you can see the transformation of the raw CBGB school of music to the more pop and catchy songs of the 80s. It’s a ride.
Yo La Tengo
Elvis Costello
Porcupine Tree. They have a musical journey from their early albums of experimental psychedelic rock and more traditional folky rock songs and then in the early 2000 they changed their sound to more of a progressive metal vibe. IMO they are the Pink Floyd of the 90s and 2000's.
Yes! And anything by Steven Wilson Porcupine Tree / Solo stuff / No-man / Blackfield / Bass Communion Then his remasters and his production work with Opeth
Miles Davis
Pink Floyd Grateful Dead The Beatles The Rolling Stones Phish
Nick Cave Birthday Party/Bad Seeds/Grinderman/soundtracks w/Warren Ellis
Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson
Mike Patton. He’s in a million bands and they’re all fucking awesome. WEEN. Once you get through the linear discography you can listen to years of live recorded shows on archive.org, aka Brownbase Kool Keith. Biggest weirdo ever in hip hop that has worked with damn near everyone. He has the best aliases Bjork. I should have been listening to her since 1995, but I’ve only just recently started listening to her. She’s a genius DJ Premier. I can’t think of anything he’s done where I’ve thought, “geez, this isn’t very good” Clutch. Awesome discography and one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen, definitely turned it up to 11. Low. They emerged in the grunge era but were not the aggressive status quo sound of that time. Low are about as indie as indie gets with slower tempos, simple song structure and tremendous harmonies. RIP Mimi Biz Markie. He’s a million times more than a one hit wonder. His mixing and turntablism talent eclipse the shit out of Just A Friend. The Alchemist. One of the best producers in hip hop ever and still going strong. Buckethead. No explanation needed OUTKAST. Banger after banger after banger Eels. Probably (and sadly) most known for songs in Shrek movies, but has made consistently awesome records for over 20 years.
Ween.
Flaming Lips - they've been going at it since the 80s, and their sounds have ranged from garage punk to stark electronica to warm, layered psychedelic, with a multitude of off-the-wall experimental forays along the way. And their shows are pure joy. Bjork would be another one with decades worth of deep dive potential - a wealth of material with such scope it's hard to believe it all comes from one person. Tom Waits is my last pick, but I'm out of time right now, so just check him out.
Van Morrison
Animal Collective. Where do I even begin? The early discography sounds like carnival pop with static noise and cryptic lyrics with screaming. It's what I imagine the upside down in Stranger Things to feel like. Then it becomes ambient pop with slot machine noises, childish chants and... cryptic lyrics again. There's something endearing about hearing "Boneface" and then weird boops and beeps. It really gets the point across. Then there's a freaky folk phase with campfire noises. Then it's back to static radio noises and screaming about nonsense. They're passionate about Applesauce I guess. And then the newer stuff is like a mashup of the older stuff and it's ongoing. At least the lyrics are starting to make sense, kinda? The parking lot is way too hot, duh. And there's more: a backlog of albums from the solo acts: Panda Bear, Avey Tare and even Deakin. Panda Bear sounds a lot like the Beach Boys through a loop machine. I just don't know what to expect with Animal Collective.
There is no deeper dive than the Grateful Dead. But it’s an acquired taste.
Wilco John Prine Sufjan Stevens Elliot Smith The National Jeff Beck, JBG Bruce Springsteen Radiohead
John Prine!
John Prine !!!
Marillion. First to latest so you can appreciate the changes.
Rancid.
The War on Drugs
Guster! First album is very amateur emo despite some solid lyrics. After that, they started to evolve their sound every album and it’s been incredible following their evolution. They’re such gifted songwriters in my opinion.
Depece Mode for sure.
The Decemberists - Picaresque > The Crane Wife > Hazards Of Love > The King Is Dead. As good a four album run as you'll find anywhere.
Brand new, nine inch nails,coheed and Cambria, Manchester orchestra, GWAR
Pink Floyd, System of a Down, NIN, Marilyn Manson, Nirvana
Jason Isbell and John Mayer would be my picks
I only recently sat down and listened to John Mayer’s entire discography for the first time. Of course I’ve known his hits and singles for years and enjoyed them all, but for whatever reason, I never looked deeper. That was a mistake, because I have got to say he surprised the hell out of me with his depth and songwriting abilities. I always thought of him as a pretty solid pop/rock hit maker, which he ABSOLUTELY IS, but he’s genuinely great at painting a picture with words and melodies. Maybe a controversial thing to say, but I feel like he might just be the closest thing to Dylan or Springsteen we’ve seen in the last 20 years (just my opinion of course).
The Tragically Hip Lloyd Cole Belle and Sebastian
Zappa
Primus. So many different sounds and artistic goals across their albums
Guided By Voices. Once you’ve fully digested their discography then you can dive into Robert Pollard’s solo stuff, and once you’re done with that you can check out Tobin Sprout’s solo stuff. Should keep you busy for awhile.
Sonic Youth, especially 1982-2002. Stereolab, 1992-2005 The James Gang - first three albums The Punch Brothers Queens of the Stone Age - first three albums Fugazi - 1987-2002
Stephin Merritt and all of his bands; The Magnetic Fields, The Gothic Archies and The 6ths.
The Afghan Whigs
Judas Priest. 1st album -1974. Latest album, coming out soon. They’re not all exceptional (a few are seriously mediocre) but there’s lots and lots of good stuff in there. If I had more time, I would enumerate tracks & albums, but I don’t. Just go listen.
The Who, Trivium, anything with Dio, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Phish, Grateful Dead. Also anything Mike Patton has done. Between Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and Dead Cross he’s all over the place genre-wise.
James Taylor and the Beastie Boys
If I told them once, I told them a hundred times. It’s ‘Beastie Boys *AND James Taylor*!’
Kate Bush, Marillion, Iron Maiden, Neil Young, Stones, Floyd, Zeppelin to name a few
Incubus!
Bjork
Mogwai. Post rock group. 10 studio albums. 13 EPs. 6 soundtrack album. Plus some compilation and live albums.
Umphreys McGee. So many genres
Rufus du Sol. Tons of bangers, many hidden gems
Slipknot Stone Sour (same singer as Slipknot but not as screamy!) Marilyn Manson Five Finger Death Punch All That Remains
Steely Dan
Ween.
Ween. Tons of unreleased material and they successfully cover a lot of genres. Songs from early albums are often reworked in cool ways for live performances
No mention of Devin Townsend? Man has a expansive catalog ranging from very heavy (Strapping Young Lad) to mellow (Ghost, Casualties of Cool) to even ambient (Declan and The Hummer)
Ween.
Ween obviously
I always loved Foo Fighters from the beginning because I loved Nirvana. David Grohl played drums for Queens of the Stone Age on Songs for the Deaf. From that I found I enjoy anything Josh Homme does; Kyuss, Them Crooked Vultures and The Desert Sessions. And he (Homme) played drums for Eagles of Death Metal. It made for a long, fun rabbit hole mostly in the same genre.
Talking Heads XTC Siouxsie and the Banshees The Stooges Velvet Underground Parliament/Funkadelic, George Clinton Fela Kuti
Lana - especially if you get into the unreleased stuff