How many times do you listen to an album before...

[wrighty]

Before I really enjoy listening to a record, I have to know it.  Takes me about 8-10 plays before that happens.  So unless there's some hook that grabs me, or unless I'm a confirmed fan of the particular band, I probably don't bother to get that far.  There's probably some great stuff that I've dismissed after a single listen as not particularly interesting.

Is everyone else the same?  How many times do you listen before passing judgement, and do you always persist with stuff that doesn't necessarily grab you in case it 'grows'.

[Kotowboy]

Nowadays I rarely love an album instantly from beginning to end.

Hardwired to Self Destruct I did though.

[Mister Gold]

Hmm. It really just depends on the album for me. I fell head over heels for Witherfall's Nocturnes & Requiems almost instantaneously when I first heard it back in February, but it also took me years to get into Iron Maiden's The X Factor and Fates Warning's Parallels.

[MirrorMask]

Can't put a number on it 'cause there are too many variables: If I'm a fan / BIG fan of the band and dedicate all the possible time to the new album, if it's a band I still like and consider myself a fan of but not THAT dedicated, if it's a new band I heard good things about and one-two songs I really dig but the other at first listen are meh...

For sure the more I know the band / I'm a fan of the band, the more listens will happen, before I eventually "give up" if the album sucks.

[ChuckSteak]

There isn't a rule. If I could not digest the album properly and found something good in it, I would listen to it again. If not, if I didn't like it at all, the chances of me listening to it again are next to zero. Of course there were some cases where I did not enjoy an album and gave up. Years later I listened to it again and loved it. It has something to do with your mood in the moment and your musical maturity.

[RoeDent]

It varies. But I certainly don't give up on an album even if it takes a while for it to click. Something usually does. At least, it has for all 199 albums I've purchased so far. Even some where I've thought it might not work with (see Script for a Jester's Tear, Valley of the Windmill and Marillion .com, three recent examples of this), something has eventually clicked, and now I really enjoy those albums.

[Lowdz]

These days something has to grab me straight away or I won't go back. Unless I've bought it, in which case it gets a chance. Streaming has certainly made me lazy in this regard.
Back in the day, albums were given every chance because I'd paid for them, though I remember taking back Zappa's Jazz From He'll because I hated it on first listen.Cant remember what I traded it for.

[TheCountOfNYC]

It depends on the album. To use Dream Theater as an example, I loved Scenes From a Memory from the first moment I heard it but it took quite a few listens for Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence to click.

[jammindude]

I have a "5 spin rule" that I push on my show....but even that is a bare minimum.   Albums can sometimes take 8-10 to "click", and I've even had some that really enjoyed after 10 spins....but hit a whole new level of amazing once it got past 40 spins.  Especially if it's a large piece of work.   

Odd Logic's Monta albums were like that.  2 full album fantasy concept.  I liked it after 5, loved it after 10, and didn't pick up on a lot of the patterns until I got up past 30 spins.  Just amazing albums. 

[wolfking]

I use to give albums like 10 listens back in the day to really try to get into it, but I don't have time these days, 2-3 spins max.  1 a lot of the time if I know it's not gonna cut it.

[ytserush]

Depends on the band...

[Mladen]

Six.

[jjrock88]

The vast majority of times I can tell after the first or second listen.

[Elite]

It will take me once to realise I don't like it, a couple more if I do like it. I have no way of telling which albums are the one I'll be spinning next year on. In fact, there's not many newly released records that outlast a year of enjoyment, and that's mostly due to way too much music being released. You can't keep listening to the same stuff if you want to discover new stuff as well and I don't have enough time to listen to music, so I prefer not to listen to bad stuff.

[KevShmev]

These days something has to grab me straight away or I won't go back. Unless I've bought it, in which case it gets a chance. Streaming has certainly made me lazy in this regard.
Back in the day, albums were given every chance because I'd paid for them, though I remember taking back Zappa's Jazz From He'll because I hated it on first listen.Cant remember what I traded it for.

This is basically me. I can think of several albums that might not have been given more chances by me nowadays, but because they were blind purchases back in the day, I was invested, so I gave them more chances and eventually came around to absolutely loving them (Promised Land by Queensryche, Discipline by King Crimson).

Now, if it is a band or artist I am already familiar and the general consensus is positive, I will give it a few more chances, because some albums really do take a few listens to really grab you (especially if your expectations get in the way), but if it is a new artist (to me) and I don't like it at all at first, I am not likely to go back.

[IDontNotDoThings]

Relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCbd1JC4Q78

[V_R11]

If it has absolutely nothing that intrigues me the first time, I won't bother to go back. If I feel like there's something there, I will give it another chance. Don't think I've ever given more. If it doesn't click,it doesn't click

[Elite]

Relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCbd1JC4Q78

Oh boy, this dude again.

[YtseBitsySpider]

The last DT album got that from me.
1, maybe 2 full listens.
Not much there for me.

And I'm like that with things. I may come back to them eventually but if nothing grabs me right off the bat they get shelved

[wrighty]

So recently, I asked on these forums for suggestions for new music to try out.  I bought 7 albums on the back of those recommendations, from Symphony X, Redemption, and Fates Warning.  Only Symphony X - Underworld, has 'grabbed me' and it's taken me several listens before I know it. What grabbed me was the overture/Nevermore - that was enough to make me replay it such that I got to know it and love it.  The other stuff doesn't have a hook, at least for me.  I'm more likely now to give other SX material a fair go - even though it may well be no better or more likely inferior to the Redemption/FW albums I have.

When it comes to DT, I still don't know WDADU, A, and FII after probably 6 or so listens, but because I know their other albums I'm more likely to persist with them as I'm a fan now!

[Mister Gold]

So recently, I asked on these forums for suggestions for new music to try out.  I bought 7 albums on the back of those recommendations, from Symphony X, Redemption, and Fates Warning.  Only Symphony X - Underworld, has 'grabbed me' and it's taken me several listens before I know it. What grabbed me was the overture/Nevermore - that was enough to make me replay it such that I got to know it and love it.  The other stuff doesn't have a hook, at least for me.  I'm more likely now to give other SX material a fair go - even though it may well be no better or more likely inferior to the Redemption/FW albums I have.

When it comes to DT, I still don't know WDADU, A, and FII after probably 6 or so listens, but because I know their other albums I'm more likely to persist with them as I'm a fan now!

If you're having a hard time getting hooked on Fates Warning, I've gotta ask what album(s) you went with?

They're a much more experimental band than Dream Theater, which has resulted in some of their albums being more challenging to get into than others, though I think by and large they're all worth the payoff.

[wrighty]

So recently, I asked on these forums for suggestions for new music to try out.  I bought 7 albums on the back of those recommendations, from Symphony X, Redemption, and Fates Warning.  Only Symphony X - Underworld, has 'grabbed me' and it's taken me several listens before I know it. What grabbed me was the overture/Nevermore - that was enough to make me replay it such that I got to know it and love it.  The other stuff doesn't have a hook, at least for me.  I'm more likely now to give other SX material a fair go - even though it may well be no better or more likely inferior to the Redemption/FW albums I have.

When it comes to DT, I still don't know WDADU, A, and FII after probably 6 or so listens, but because I know their other albums I'm more likely to persist with them as I'm a fan now!

If you're having a hard time getting hooked on Fates Warning, I've gotta ask what album(s) you went with?

They're a much more experimental band than Dream Theater, which has resulted in some of their albums being more challenging to get into than others, though I think by and large they're all worth the payoff.

Theories of Flight.  I find it relatively uninteresting after about 5 listens.  It was the one recommended by other posters on here.

[Mister Gold]

So recently, I asked on these forums for suggestions for new music to try out.  I bought 7 albums on the back of those recommendations, from Symphony X, Redemption, and Fates Warning.  Only Symphony X - Underworld, has 'grabbed me' and it's taken me several listens before I know it. What grabbed me was the overture/Nevermore - that was enough to make me replay it such that I got to know it and love it.  The other stuff doesn't have a hook, at least for me.  I'm more likely now to give other SX material a fair go - even though it may well be no better or more likely inferior to the Redemption/FW albums I have.

When it comes to DT, I still don't know WDADU, A, and FII after probably 6 or so listens, but because I know their other albums I'm more likely to persist with them as I'm a fan now!

If you're having a hard time getting hooked on Fates Warning, I've gotta ask what album(s) you went with?

They're a much more experimental band than Dream Theater, which has resulted in some of their albums being more challenging to get into than others, though I think by and large they're all worth the payoff.

Theories of Flight.  I find it relatively uninteresting after about 5 listens.  It was the one recommended by other posters on here.

... Well damn. I absolutely adore that album and find it to be better than anything Dream Theater's ever put out, so I really can't say much else on that. I'd say be patient and come back to that album in due time, but who knows.

As for other Fates Warning albums, I'd suggest checking out Parallels, Inside Out and Perfect Symmetry next.

[Evermind]

Yeah, well, tastes. I haven't recommended anything in this thread, but Theories of Flight is amazing and definitely better than anything DT has put out since SC for me (well, I love SC), and I think it's way better than SX's Underworld (or any SX album, for that matter).

[Mister Gold]

Yeah, well, tastes. I haven't recommended anything in this thread, but Theories of Flight is amazing and definitely better than anything DT has put out since SC for me (well, I love SC), and I think it's way better than SX's Underworld (or any SX album, for that matter).

Yeah, it really does come down to tastes.

[CB]

I usually know after listening to an album once if it grabs me or not. If I don't like it I don't need to listen to it a 2nd or 3rd time, that wouldn't change my opinion. But if I like it and listen to it again and again I either realize it's not as good as I thought, OR it's getting better and better. With my favorite bands/artists it's usually "better and better", I need a bit of time to realize greatness.

[dparrott]

Albums or songs rarely have to "grow" on me.  If it doesn't grab me on first listen, it probably won't at all.  I usually know my feelings on it even before the song/album ends.

[Stadler]

I never quite got the logic of "forcing" myself to like something.  I either do or I don't, and it may not stay static over time.  I remember in the '80's LOVING the Matthias Jabs Scorpions and laughing at "shit" like "In Trance" and "Virgin Killer".   Now?  If I'm grabbing a Scorpions album, it's something from pre-Blackout.  Why would I waste time trying to get into Steven Wilson (an artist whose catalogue currently escapes me) when I have so much King Crimson, Marillion, and Neal Morse/Transatlantic to enjoy? 

I get that some albums are growers. There are a handful of records - Grace Under Pressure is one - that I listen to about once a year or so to see if it clicks, but that is only because I love the rest of the catalogue, and it is an outlier.   Sometimes it clicks - I did this with Afraid of Sunlight for YEARS - it was an album that started me on the path to writing off Marillion (which I did for a couple of years) but I gave Marbles a chance and decided to go back to AoS, and it hit me (yes, even the at-first-incomprehensible "Cannibal Surf Babe").   But those are few and far between I must say.

[PixelDream]

First-listen experiences to new albums by my favorite artists are usually incredible and unique experiences for me, because I'm already familiar with the signature sound of that particular artist (unless there's a dramatic stylistic shift going on). If it's something I'm not familiar with, then of course I have to get used to the fabric of the sound. It takes more effort because it doesn't immediately connect with my established musical taste palette. But it's worth it, branching out is fun and rewarding in the long run.

I remember giving away my copy of Tool's Lateralus (it was my first introduction to them) to a friend, because I didn't like what I was hearing. A few years later, I gave it another chance, and after a few listens it all made sense. Turns out the problem wasn't that I didn't like it back then, I just didn't understand the music. When I got to the point of giving Lateralus a second chance, Dream Theater had already made me understand/like 'odd time signatures'.

Nowadays, and my assumption here could be wrong, but I have listened to enough music to know if 'there's something for me in it' on first listen. If there's absolutely nothing that sounds interesting, I'll give up. There has to be some kind of reaction, but it doesn't have to be entertaining or soothing. If I'm disgusted by what I'm hearing; that's essentially a better reaction for me than being indifferent towards what I'm hearing.

[Sacul]

Usually 3,  but it really comes down to the genre - like I could easily tell in one listen whether a prog or trip hop album is for me, but stuff like jazz or IDM I'd have to give it a close listen, and sometimes several of them due to me being not really familiar with that kind of music.  And the complexity of the music can play a big role too: records like Between the Buried and Me's Colors, GYBE! 's Lift Your Skinny Fists,  Sufjan Steven' s Illinois and DT's Six Degrees took a long time but I ended up loving them. I guess how much of the music sticks in my mind is a factor in whether I like an album or not.

Sometimes I can't even finish a first listen because I'm fucking bored and it's a style I already know pretty well so I don't feel bad for not returning to it - ain't nobody got time for bad albums when you listen to a new record every day 

[ytserush]

I never quite got the logic of "forcing" myself to like something.  I either do or I don't, and it may not stay static over time.  I remember in the '80's LOVING the Matthias Jabs Scorpions and laughing at "shit" like "In Trance" and "Virgin Killer".   Now?  If I'm grabbing a Scorpions album, it's something from pre-Blackout.  Why would I waste time trying to get into Steven Wilson (an artist whose catalogue currently escapes me) when I have so much King Crimson, Marillion, and Neal Morse/Transatlantic to enjoy? 

I get that some albums are growers. There are a handful of records - Grace Under Pressure is one - that I listen to about once a year or so to see if it clicks, but that is only because I love the rest of the catalogue, and it is an outlier.   Sometimes it clicks - I did this with Afraid of Sunlight for YEARS - it was an album that started me on the path to writing off Marillion (which I did for a couple of years) but I gave Marbles a chance and decided to go back to AoS, and it hit me (yes, even the at-first-incomprehensible "Cannibal Surf Babe").   But those are few and far between I must say.

Warmed a bit toward Afraid Of Sunlight over the years but Brave remains a lost cause (Well that and Less Is More.)

[lordxizor]

An album has to grab me a little bit at least to warrant a second listen. There is plenty of stuff I don't even bother to finish if I'm not immediately liking it. It rarely takes more than a few listens for an album to grow from kinda like to really like, though there are times it does. Sometimes I revisit a band se real times over many years based on people's recommendat ions before it really clicks, though that's probably due to my changing tastes.