"Must-have" or huge classic albums that you "don't get"?

[WildRanger]

Can you name some albums that are widely considered to be timeless classics (or "must-have" in the collection) but you could never get into them for some reason? And why?

[Architeuthis]

Anything by Queen..

[Cool Chris]

I am sure these are "You had to be there at the time" material but:

Pet Sounds: Has one of my favorite songs ever (Sloop John B, a reworked folk song) and two excellent time classics (Wouldn't It Be Nice and God Only Knows) but otherwise nothing that impresses or resonates with me or compels me to ever listen to.

Sgt Pepper: Just because they had 3-4 better albums. Which I guess says something about the quality of their discography. 

[Adami]

I feel like (as evidenced by the first response) this will likely be more band related than specific album related. For me it's anything by Pink Floyd. Nothing against them at all, but I just don't "get it" the way other people do.

I can't think of a specific album that i don't get when I get other albums by that band.

[The Walrus]

Anything by The Beatles or Black Sabbath. Most Metallica. Slayer's Reign in Blood if that counts I guess. Literally anything and everything by Chris Cornell, I guess Temple of the Dog's album was highly important but it's noise to me. Anything by Floyd except Dark Side and The Wall but especially WYWH and Animals.

I can probably think of 30 more classics if I tried. Yes, there is stuff I do like, too.   

[Podaar]

The Beatles (White Album)
Foxtrot - Genesis

[Train of Naught]

Awake, never knew why but I could never really get into it, it's a bottom 3 or 4 DT album for me.

Oh and In The Aeroplane Over The Sea seriously what's the hype for that album about

[twosuitsluke]

Sgt Pepper: Just because they had 3-4 better albums. Which I guess says something about the quality of their discography.

The Beatles (White Album)

Both of these! I mean I really love The Beatles but Revolver and Abbey Road beat these hands down. The former is pretty good, and I'm a fan of all the late Beatles stuff, but I don't 'get' all the love it gets. The latter has some of my all time favourite Beatles songs but also plenty I don't care for.

[axeman90210]

King Crimson's Red. Big ol' pile of Do Not Want as far as I'm concerned.

[twosuitsluke]

If we're talking DT then ToT, it does literally nothing for me.

[Podaar]

Anything by The Beatles or Black Sabbath. Most Metallica. Slayer's Reign in Blood if that counts I guess. Literally anything and everything by Chris Cornell, I guess Temple of the Dog's album was highly important but it's noise to me. Anything by Floyd except Dark Side and The Wall but especially WYWH and Animals.

I really thought that one day we could be friends, but now I see that it's just not going to work out.

[Silent Man]

Anything by Queen and Oasis. Queen because of their overplayed sing-along songs, Oasis because that annoying singer who gives me the creeps.

[Crow]

Edge of Sanity - Crimson
why do people freak out over this garbage sounding album, maybe the composition is good I dunno it's impossible to tell half the time though

Anything by Radiohead, they're at best "decent" but definitely not one of the best bands of all time

I'm sure I have more tbh I'm too lazy to browse my RYM page though

[twosuitsluke]

Prepared to be crucified but....anything by Iron Maiden!

I guess I get it if they were your gateway metal band and what introduced you to metal. My gateway metal band was Metallica though and they did everything bigger, better and were 'cooler' as far as I'm concerned.

I compare it to my thoughts, growing up, on sci-fi. I was a massive Star Wars fan (still am). I lived and breathed Star Wars. It was cool as fuck and just epic. Then there was Star Trek...

Star Trek (in my head) was just inferior, kinda lame and leagues behind Star Wars in the 'cool' factor. It was for complete nerds and people who would probably live at home forever, letting their mum buy their clothes and never getting laid. Star Wars on the other hand, I was convinced, was for cool kids who would basically all grow up to be Han Solo!

My view on Iron Maiden is kind of the same. I understand they came before Metallica (and influenced them), just as Star Trek helped pave the way for Star Wars. However, I wasn't around to witness that so I've always seen them as the 'nerdy, never get laid, tucks their t-shirt into their jeans' band which attracts those sort of fans. It doesn't help that I can't really stand Bruce Dickenson's voice. Anyway, I digress, I basically don't 'get' Maiden.

Ready for the backlash

[Zook]

I am sure these are "You had to be there at the time" material but:

I don't believe this is a real thing. I don't like The Beatles, but I own 3 Pink Floyd albums, and I wasn't alive when they came out. You could say the same thing about any huge pop star in 50 years and it would be just as meaningless.

[pg1067]

I'm not exactly sure what the "why" part of this question means, and "classic" is obviously open to a lot of interpretation, but....

Pretty much anything by Pink Floyd.  Other than finding "we don't need no education" amusing as a middle school student, I have never found anything interesting in anything I've heard by the band.  Even Comfortably Numb, whose chorus is somewhat melodic, is just deathly boring.

Also the Grateful Dead.  I'm not sure there is any single album that is considered to be a "classic," but I don't see the appeal in this band.

Back in Black by AC/DC.  I love the title track; "Hells Bells" is pretty cool; and "You Shook Me All Night Long" is a fun party song (albeit now so overplayed that I really don't need to hear it again), but I think the rest of the album is no better than mediocre and cannot comprehend how it is one of the best selling albums in history.

I'm sure something else will come to me as soon as I click "post."

[Indiscipline]

OK Computer - Radiohead.

It's not a you needed to be there thing. I WISH I wasn't there.

Why? Can't stand the vocals, orchestration, sound, phoney spleen. I was young, and very educated people I respected vouched for that album's incredible smarts and innovation, but I couldn't - and still can't - help but feeling like the kid who saw the emperor naked.

[TAC]

Back in Black by AC/DC.  I love the title track; "Hells Bells" is pretty cool; and "You Shook Me All Night Long" is a fun party song (albeit now so overplayed that I really don't need to hear it again), but I think the rest of the album is no better than mediocre and cannot comprehend how it is one of the best selling albums in history.

Wow, I'm surprised to read this. I've heard Shoot To Thrill on the radio a couple of times in the past few weeks and it stopped me dead in my tracks. This was a real coming of musical age album for me.

[Adami]

Back in Black by AC/DC.  I love the title track; "Hells Bells" is pretty cool; and "You Shook Me All Night Long" is a fun party song (albeit now so overplayed that I really don't need to hear it again), but I think the rest of the album is no better than mediocre and cannot comprehend how it is one of the best selling albums in history.

Wow, I'm surprised to read this. I've heard Shoot To Thrill on the radio a couple of times in the past few weeks and it stopped me dead in my tracks. This was a real coming of musical age album for me.

So you've heard of AC/DC?

Hm.

[King Postwhore]

Tim, no joke.  That song gets my blood rising.  I love it.  Hell, every song was on rock radio.

[Architeuthis]

Back in Black by AC/DC.  I love the title track; "Hells Bells" is pretty cool; and "You Shook Me All Night Long" is a fun party song (albeit now so overplayed that I really don't need to hear it again), but I think the rest of the album is no better than mediocre and cannot comprehend how it is one of the best selling albums in history.

Wow, I'm surprised to read this. I've heard Shoot To Thrill on the radio a couple of times in the past few weeks and it stopped me dead in my tracks. This was a real coming of musical age album for me.

Have a Drink On Me absolutely rocks too!   

[Architeuthis]

Prepared to be crucified but....anything by Iron Maiden!



My view on Iron Maiden is kind of the same. I understand they came before Metallica (and influenced them), just as Star Trek helped pave the way for Star Wars. However, I wasn't around to witness that so I've always seen them as the 'nerdy, never get laid, tucks their t-shirt into their jeans' band which attracts those sort of fans. It doesn't help that I can't really stand Bruce Dickenson's voice. Anyway, I digress, I basically don't 'get' Maiden.

Ready for the backlash

Interesting!  I am the opposite, I knew Metallica way before Maiden. Once I finally gave Maiden a chance, I realized they are more melodic and I like their compositions more than Metallica. I also like Bruce Dickinsons vocals alot more. It's just a matter of personal taste, but Maidens music just grabs me more. That's saying alot because I really like Metallica!

[The Walrus]

Back in Black by AC/DC.  I love the title track; "Hells Bells" is pretty cool; and "You Shook Me All Night Long" is a fun party song (albeit now so overplayed that I really don't need to hear it again), but I think the rest of the album is no better than mediocre and cannot comprehend how it is one of the best selling albums in history.

Wow, I'm surprised to read this. I've heard Shoot To Thrill on the radio a couple of times in the past few weeks and it stopped me dead in my tracks. This was a real coming of musical age album for me.

So you've heard of AC/DC?

Hm.

 

[TAC]

Prepared to be crucified but....anything by Iron Maiden!

I guess I get it if they were your gateway metal band and what introduced you to metal. My gateway metal band was Metallica though and they did everything bigger, better and were 'cooler' as far as I'm concerned.

I compare it to my thoughts, growing up, on sci-fi. I was a massive Star Wars fan (still am). I lived and breathed Star Wars. It was cool as fuck and just epic. Then there was Star Trek...

Star Trek (in my head) was just inferior, kinda lame and leagues behind Star Wars in the 'cool' factor. It was for complete nerds and people who would probably live at home forever, letting their mum buy their clothes and never getting laid. Star Wars on the other hand, I was convinced, was for cool kids who would basically all grow up to be Han Solo!

My view on Iron Maiden is kind of the same. I understand they came before Metallica (and influenced them), just as Star Trek helped pave the way for Star Wars. However, I wasn't around to witness that so I've always seen them as the 'nerdy, never get laid, tucks their t-shirt into their jeans' band which attracts those sort of fans. It doesn't help that I can't really stand Bruce Dickenson's voice. Anyway, I digress, I basically don't 'get' Maiden.

Ready for the backlash

Luke, I just read this post like 3 times. Not sure what to even say...but let me start..

If you don't get Iron Maiden, that's cool. Especially if you don't like Bruce's voice.


I am not a Sci Fi guy. I cannot watch Star Trek, though I do appreciate it. I think the original Star Wars movie was one of the best ever made. But that's all I can watch, really. Like Metallica did with Death Magnetic trying to recapture the 80's vibe, didn't a new Star Wars movie come out recently that totally ripped the original?


Anyway..I respect your opinion.

[Anguyen92]

Well, for me, it's pretty much the majority of the heralded classic rock albums that I do not care for.  I don't care much for anything from Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath in particular.  Don't have anything against them since they've influence the bands that influenced my favorite bands, but I honestly don't have much interest or personal reason to check their stuff out.

Heck, for me, I don't care much about the majority of the albums from classic rock bands except for Rush and Iron Maiden (and that's mainly because they've created great stuff in the 2000s that allows me to be interested enough to go further back into their catalog.  I can't say that for other bands that's as old as them.)

[ChuckSteak]

A lot of Floyd haters around here. You heretics! 

[jammindude]

The Black Album

I grew to "like" it later.  But seriously.  The first Metallica album with several skip tracks.  There are some really cool songs there, but it's over polished and when you consider lame tracks like Don't Tread on Me, the entire album is just OK. 

Empire

Pretty much the same thing.  Remove the trash that is Jet City Woman and Another Rainy Night and the album becomes instantly better.  Not as great as their truly classic stuff, but still really good.   

[PowerSlave]

The Beatles (White Album)

I've had this discussion with my brother and one of our friends several times. The White Album would have been incredible if they had cut a lot of the crap out of it, and had let George Harrison get at least another song on the record. Around that time. George had written a song called Badge that ended up being given to Cream due to his friendship with Eric Clapton. George was having trouble getting songs on Beatles' albums because John and Paul kept dominating the track lists, so instead of getting a stellar song like Badge to accompany another stellar song like As My Guitar Gently Weeps from George, we got utter garbage like Why Don't We Do It In the Road from Paul.


As far as stuff that I just don't get, I'll have to go with King Crimson and ELP. I love the classic era of Genesis, and some of the classic era of Yes, so you'd think that KC and ELP would be in my wheelhouse, but they just irritate the shit out of me.

[jingle.boy]

Anything by Floyd except Dark Side and The Wall but especially WYWH and Animals.

I really thought that one day we could be friends, but now I see that it's just not going to work out.

Right?

I'll pop this one back on Katt again .... King Crimson/ITCOTCK.
I'll also agree with OK Computer
And it's a bit obscure (and RJ's gonna hate on me for this), but Tales from Topographic Oceans.
Early/experimental Floyd
Master of Puppets
Is American Idiot considered a 'classic/must-have'?  If so, then that one too.
Any of the big ones from grunge - Nevermind and Ten particularly

I'm sure more will come to mind.

[The Walrus]

Sorry fellas. Those Floyd albums are dullsville. Just don't get it. Also, you love me, Chad 

[Peter Mc]

Anything by The Beatles or Led Zeppelin. I appreciate these bands are hugely influential on bands that I love but just don’t enjoy listening to them. I’m also a huge guitar fan (although not a musician myself) and I don’t get why Jimmy Page is so revered. Nothing I’ve heard has ever sounded impressive but then, I’ve never delved too deep into their back catalogue.

[Evermind]

Sorry fellas. Those Floyd albums are dullsville. Just don't get it. Also, you love me, Chad 

Glad you weren't around when WYWH topped my Top 50 albums list.

[Samsara]

Every AC/DC album ever recorded. I just don't get it. 

[Stadler]

Edge of Sanity - Crimson
why do people freak out over this garbage sounding album, maybe the composition is good I dunno it's impossible to tell half the time though

"Must-have" or "huge classic" albums.   

[mikeyd23]

Prepared to be crucified but....anything by Iron Maiden!

I guess I get it if they were your gateway metal band and what introduced you to metal. My gateway metal band was Metallica though and they did everything bigger, better and were 'cooler' as far as I'm concerned.

I compare it to my thoughts, growing up, on sci-fi. I was a massive Star Wars fan (still am). I lived and breathed Star Wars. It was cool as fuck and just epic. Then there was Star Trek...

Star Trek (in my head) was just inferior, kinda lame and leagues behind Star Wars in the 'cool' factor. It was for complete nerds and people who would probably live at home forever, letting their mum buy their clothes and never getting laid. Star Wars on the other hand, I was convinced, was for cool kids who would basically all grow up to be Han Solo!

My view on Iron Maiden is kind of the same. I understand they came before Metallica (and influenced them), just as Star Trek helped pave the way for Star Wars. However, I wasn't around to witness that so I've always seen them as the 'nerdy, never get laid, tucks their t-shirt into their jeans' band which attracts those sort of fans. It doesn't help that I can't really stand Bruce Dickenson's voice. Anyway, I digress, I basically don't 'get' Maiden.

Ready for the backlash

I'm with you on this. So many people on this forum love IM, so I've tried to get into them, but I just can't. Just not my thing.

My other (probably unpopular) one - Queensryche - same thing - I've tried and I just can't get into them.