Albums you appreciate but you feel no one else appreciates

[splent]

Kingschmegland aside since he's the only one who likes Mr. Mister as much as I do, I feel that Mr. Mister's "Welcome To The Real World" is a freaking near-perfect album and doesn't get the love it deserves outside of Broken Wings. I basically grew up on this album, my dad played it non-stop. Anyone have an album that resonates with them that you feel very few if any resonate with you? and I"m not talking about local releases. Like an album by a significant artist that just never clicked with the genral public or was released before the artist gained noteriety (i.e. Y Kant Tori Read before Tori Amos)

[twosuitsluke]

Having a look through my albums a few stand out. As far as I recall these albums didn't get a great reception from the fans (although I could be mistaken with some). Anyway, here's my list:

Machine Head - Supercharger (I know this one was shit on by the fans but I love it)

The Haunted - Dead Eye (I'm not 100% on this one but I think the change to their sound upset fans)

Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow (I love all the C&C albums and following the amazing run of their first 4 albums this was a slight dip in quality but I still love it)

In Flames - A Sense of Purpose (another one met with poor reception and it came as their sound kinda started to stagnate but I think it's the last good album they made)

Slayer - God Hates Us All (Easily my favourite after the classic run of 3 albums from RiB  )

Megadeth - United Abominations (easily my favourite Megadeth album that was released after Rust in Peace)

Sum 41 - Chuck (not even sure this was badly received by the fans but it didn't sell as well as their previous 2 albums. They took a different approach to the skate/pop punk sound and I think it's a great album)

There are probably more but that will do for the moment. Bring the hate 

[TheCountOfNYC]

Metallica- Death Magnetic: Shitty production aside, there is a lot to like about this record. All Nightmare Long in particular lives up to the Metallica classics of the 80's.

Sum 41- Screaming Bloody Murder: There wasn't much fanfare for this album as Sum 41's popularity had severely declined at this point but I truly believe that this is the band's best work. More mature from a songwriting and lyrical standpoint, it shows Deryck's growth as a songwriter. With songs like the 12 minute multi-part suite A Dark Road Out of Hell, the cynical title track and Blood in my Eyes, and an intro and outro track to give the album a better sense of together-ness, Sum 41 gave the fans more to sink their teeth into than with past releases.

Good Charlotte- The Chronicals of Life and Death: Much like with Screaming Bloody Murder, The Chronicals of Life and Death is a more mature album than others in Good Charlotte's discography. This also resulted in what I believe is their best work. Yet for some reason, this album gets ignored by everyone including the band themselves who only play the poppy single I Just Wanna Live in concert.

[Bolsters]

I seem to like Journey's Raised on Radio a lot more than the majority of Journey fans.

I'll second Death Magnetic. It's quite good, shame about the horrendous production.

I think Chinese Democracy is a great album. I don't care about any of the drama surrounding it or Axl.

[Evermind]

Nostradamus by Judas Priest. I know Scorpion loves this one, and I know I do, and that's pretty much it.

[IDontNotDoThings]

I think Chinese Democracy is a great album. I don't care about any of the drama surrounding it or Axl.

 

[Architeuthis]

Boston - Walk On
Journey - Trial by Fire, Arrival, Revelation, Eclipse..

[KevShmev]

Here comes the 80s fan in me...

Europe - Out of This World: had a few minor hits at the time in Superstitious and Open Your Heart, but I remain steadfast that the whole album is quite good. Deep cuts like Never Say Die and Just the Beginning are still highly enjoyable.

[splent]

I seem to like Journey's Raised on Radio a lot more than the majority of Journey fans.

Agreed, that album is fantastic.

[SoundscapeMN]

King's X - Manic Moonlight. Most fans think it's spotty at best, but personally I find it to be a freaking masterpiece. It became really addictive to me once the whole thing clicked. This sucker flows so fucking well. Every track has something to enjoy and look forward to.(sans for the closing "Water Ceremony")

[Scorpion]

Sum 41 - Chuck (not even sure this was badly received by the fans but it didn't sell as well as their previous 2 albums. They took a different approach to the skate/pop punk sound and I think it's a great album)

Sum 41- Screaming Bloody Murder: There wasn't much fanfare for this album as Sum 41's popularity had severely declined at this point but I truly believe that this is the band's best work. More mature from a songwriting and lyrical standpoint, it shows Deryck's growth as a songwriter. With songs like the 12 minute multi-part suite A Dark Road Out of Hell, the cynical title track and Blood in my Eyes, and an intro and outro track to give the album a better sense of together-ness, Sum 41 gave the fans more to sink their teeth into than with past releases.

I agree with these two - easily my two favourite Sum 41 albums. 88 is still one of my favourite songs, period.

Nostradamus by Judas Priest. I know Scorpion loves this one, and I know I do, and that's pretty much it.

Yup, yup. Such a great album - Pestilence and Plague is a Top 5 Priest song imo, and Future of Mankind and the title track aren't far behind. I have to spin it again, it's been a while.

[Crow]

The Mars Volta - Amputechture

people always seem to unfavorably compare this to their first two, but imo it's better than Frances and just a little behind De-Loused

[Train of Naught]

Sum 41 - Chuck (not even sure this was badly received by the fans but it didn't sell as well as their previous 2 albums. They took a different approach to the skate/pop punk sound and I think it's a great album)

Sum 41- Screaming Bloody Murder: There wasn't much fanfare for this album as Sum 41's popularity had severely declined at this point but I truly believe that this is the band's best work. More mature from a songwriting and lyrical standpoint, it shows Deryck's growth as a songwriter. With songs like the 12 minute multi-part suite A Dark Road Out of Hell, the cynical title track and Blood in my Eyes, and an intro and outro track to give the album a better sense of together-ness, Sum 41 gave the fans more to sink their teeth into than with past releases.

I agree with these two - easily my two favourite Sum 41 albums. 88 is still one of my favourite songs, period.

#37: Sum 41 – Chuck
#27: Sum 41 – Screaming Bloody Murder

#Train'stop50

They wouldn't be this high anymore though and I probably like Chuck a bit better

[pogoowner]

Opeth - Heritage

I think it's one of their best albums, while most consider it one of their worst. And while Pale Communion is generally considered a step up, I disagree (not to say PC is bad).

[Tomislav95]

Lately I've read many negative things about Dream Theater's self titled here even though I remember it was well received after release. I think it's the best DT album since SDOIT.
Also, Load and Reload by Metallica. Too bad I discovered those just this year.
EDIT: By "discovered" I mean: listened to them, I was aware of them before this year

[Evermind]

Opeth - Heritage

I think it's one of their best albums, while most consider it one of their worst. And while Pale Communion is generally considered a step up, I disagree (not to say PC is bad).

I do think Pale Communion is better, but Heritage is mighty strong too. I really like that one.

Nostradamus by Judas Priest. I know Scorpion loves this one, and I know I do, and that's pretty much it.

Yup, yup. Such a great album - Pestilence and Plague is a Top 5 Priest song imo, and Future of Mankind and the title track aren't far behind. I have to spin it again, it's been a while.

These songs, and also Revelations, Persecution, Exiled, Alone... the album is filled with great tunes to a brim.

[twosuitsluke]

Sum 41 - Chuck (not even sure this was badly received by the fans but it didn't sell as well as their previous 2 albums. They took a different approach to the skate/pop punk sound and I think it's a great album)

Sum 41- Screaming Bloody Murder: There wasn't much fanfare for this album as Sum 41's popularity had severely declined at this point but I truly believe that this is the band's best work. More mature from a songwriting and lyrical standpoint, it shows Deryck's growth as a songwriter. With songs like the 12 minute multi-part suite A Dark Road Out of Hell, the cynical title track and Blood in my Eyes, and an intro and outro track to give the album a better sense of together-ness, Sum 41 gave the fans more to sink their teeth into than with past releases.

I agree with these two - easily my two favourite Sum 41 albums. 88 is still one of my favourite songs, period.

#37: Sum 41 – Chuck
#27: Sum 41 – Screaming Bloody Murder

#Train'stop50

They wouldn't be this high anymore though and I probably like Chuck a bit better

I haven't even listened to a Sum41 album since Chuck to be honest. I lost interest when Brownsound left as he brought the metal influence. He's back in the band now though, I will probably give their new album (and the ones I've missed) a try.

[Lowdz]

Here comes the 80s fan in me...

Europe - Out of This World: had a few minor hits at the time in Superstitious and Open Your Heart, but I remain steadfast that the whole album is quite good. Deep cuts like Never Say Die and Just the Beginning are still highly enjoyable.

I agree. Very underrated.

KISS Unmasked and the Elder for me.

Journey - Arrival.best and most consistent Journey album.

[MirrorMask]

Nostradamus by Judas Priest. I know Scorpion loves this one, and I know I do, and that's pretty much it.

Add me to the list! Always loved Nostradamus from the first listenings, it was their Astonishing in a sense and it's a pity that it wasn't well received 'cause it's full of gorgeous songs. Prophecy, Revelations, Pestilance and Plague, Love which is one of Priest's best ballads ever, the title track which one again is an absolute monster of a song... wonderful album!!!

[The King in Crimson]

Guns n' Roses - Chinese Democracy
While I wouldn't call it a great album, it is certainly not the dumpster fire that everyone makes it out to. I actually quite enjoy most of the songs on the album.

Judas Priest - Nostradamus
Trim this down to one album and you'd have a very good, very different Judas Priest album. Maybe even one of their best? I dunno about that one as I'm not super familiar with most of Priest's catalog but Nostradamus has some killer tunes. As it is, it's overlong and it has some filler, so it's like two typical Priest albums crammed together.

High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine
Fans like to crap on this album or single it out as the worst of the bunch, but hey, it got me into the band and it has some great songs on it so it can't be that bad! The title track, Frost Hammer, Bastard Samurai, and Fire, Flood, and Plague are all awesome. There is some forgettable material amongst the rest, but this is nowhere near a terrible album.

Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door
This is a great album that shows the band changing direction slightly, but it's singled out as 'the worst' I think for two, primary reasons: 1) It was not as good as 1 through Physical Graffiti and 2) It had the honor of being the last Led Zeppelin album (if you don't count Coda). But, if you look past those two issues, it's pretty good. Certainly better than Presence at least. I like nearly all of the songs on the album and while they might not hit as hard as their earlier work, that is no reason to discount this album as being bad.

The Mars Volta - Amputechture
Any album that has Tetragrammatron, Vermicide, Viscera Eyes, and Day of the Baphomets on it cannot be bad. Period.

Voivod - Phobos
Phobos and Negatron are generally regarded as some of the worst work that Voivod has ever done. While I can't speak for Negatron's quality (haven't listened to it), Phobos is actually pretty good. It's almost nothing like their earlier work at all. Gone is the thrash and the prog and instead the album is full of slow, spacey sludge. It's a bit one-dimensional and too long for it's own good, but it's actually kind of cool, as long as you don't think about what Voivod were before this or should've been and just focus on what they are at that time.

[Enigmachine]

Add me to the list! Always loved Nostradamus from the first listenings, it was their Astonishing in a sense and it's a pity that it wasn't well received 'cause it's full of gorgeous songs. Prophecy, Revelations, Pestilance and Plague, Love which is one of Priest's best ballads ever, the title track which one again is an absolute monster of a song... wonderful album!!!

I agree. It's my 2nd favourite JP album after Painkiller.

[Kotowboy]

Therapy? - Troublegum.

Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible.

Green Day - Warning.

[Train of Naught]

Sum 41 - Chuck (not even sure this was badly received by the fans but it didn't sell as well as their previous 2 albums. They took a different approach to the skate/pop punk sound and I think it's a great album)

Sum 41- Screaming Bloody Murder: There wasn't much fanfare for this album as Sum 41's popularity had severely declined at this point but I truly believe that this is the band's best work. More mature from a songwriting and lyrical standpoint, it shows Deryck's growth as a songwriter. With songs like the 12 minute multi-part suite A Dark Road Out of Hell, the cynical title track and Blood in my Eyes, and an intro and outro track to give the album a better sense of together-ness, Sum 41 gave the fans more to sink their teeth into than with past releases.

I agree with these two - easily my two favourite Sum 41 albums. 88 is still one of my favourite songs, period.

#37: Sum 41 – Chuck
#27: Sum 41 – Screaming Bloody Murder

#Train'stop50

They wouldn't be this high anymore though and I probably like Chuck a bit better

I haven't even listened to a Sum41 album since Chuck to be honest. I lost interest when Brownsound left as he brought the metal influence. He's back in the band now though, I will probably give their new album (and the ones I've missed) a try.

That's fine. But for all that's holy, skip Underclass Hero, by god that's a bad album. Almost all Sum41 fans would agree I bet. But yeah Screaming Bloody Murder is solid, a bit heavier again like Chuck.

[twosuitsluke]

Green Day - Warning.

Was Warning not so well received? I guess all the albums between Dookie and American Idiot had a lower degree of success. I love Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning. But then I love all the classic Green Day 

Damn, it's been a LONG time since I listened to some of those albums in full. Might bust a few out tonight.

Thread goal achieved!!

[Scorpion]

Sum 41 - Chuck (not even sure this was badly received by the fans but it didn't sell as well as their previous 2 albums. They took a different approach to the skate/pop punk sound and I think it's a great album)

Sum 41- Screaming Bloody Murder: There wasn't much fanfare for this album as Sum 41's popularity had severely declined at this point but I truly believe that this is the band's best work. More mature from a songwriting and lyrical standpoint, it shows Deryck's growth as a songwriter. With songs like the 12 minute multi-part suite A Dark Road Out of Hell, the cynical title track and Blood in my Eyes, and an intro and outro track to give the album a better sense of together-ness, Sum 41 gave the fans more to sink their teeth into than with past releases.

I agree with these two - easily my two favourite Sum 41 albums. 88 is still one of my favourite songs, period.

#37: Sum 41 – Chuck
#27: Sum 41 – Screaming Bloody Murder

#Train'stop50

They wouldn't be this high anymore though and I probably like Chuck a bit better

I haven't even listened to a Sum41 album since Chuck to be honest. I lost interest when Brownsound left as he brought the metal influence. He's back in the band now though, I will probably give their new album (and the ones I've missed) a try.

That's fine. But for all that's holy, skip Underclass Hero, by god that's a bad album. Almost all Sum41 fans would agree I bet. But yeah Screaming Bloody Murder is solid, a bit heavier again like Chuck.

I like The Jester on Underclass Hero, and that's it. Total shitshow.

[425]

Opeth - Heritage

I think it's one of their best albums, while most consider it one of their worst. And while Pale Communion is generally considered a step up, I disagree (not to say PC is bad).

This so much. I'm not, like, a huge Opeth fan—I really only listen to their albums Ghost Reveries and later—but I like this album a ton. I feel like it's got a perfect atmosphere and is the rare album where I like how meandering and noodly it is. My favorite Opeth album alongside Watershed, and probably ahead of it.


I'd also third Death Magnetic and second Load and Reload. Particularly the latter two—so many of my favorite Metallica songs come from those albums: Fixxxer, The Outlaw Torn, Hero of the Day, Low Man's Lyric, Until It Sleeps, etc.

In addition, I would add:

Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto and Ghost Stories
Coldplay gets a lot of hate always, and particularly for "going pop." But I think at least some of the hatred directed towards these two albums stems from a fixation on instrumentation. Because they definitely retained a great deal of their songwriting style and ability from their early albums, but applied it to a totally different instrumental style. I think these two form an interesting duo, because MX is blazingly upbeat and happy, while GS is a very muted, therapeutic, depressed album. But both of them resonate very strongly with me and my view of life. And they have some truly incredible songs: Hurts Like Heaven, Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall, Us Against the World, Don't Let It Break Your Heart on Mylo Xyloto and True Love, Midnight and Oceans on Ghost Stories. Anyone who doesn't like pop isn't going to like these, but for those who do like pop, I think they're worth a look. At least check Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall and Midnight.

Iron Maiden - The X Factor and Virtual XI
I've said this many times already, so I will be brief, but the two Blaze albums were essential to Iron Maiden's development. Sometimes people act like Brave New World was this revelation that came out of nowhere, but really it was an outgrowth of leaps and bounds of progress on these two albums. The X Factor is the better and the better-liked of these two (having undergone somewhat of an image rehabilitation) and is one of a few truly depressed albums that I care for, but Virtual XI is both interesting as a proto-BNW and good in its own right. Beyond The Clansman and Futureal, look to When Two Worlds Collide and Como Estais Amigos. Also, try to imagine The Angel and the Gambler with about half the choruses taken out—I think it's a good radio rock song that goes on a bit too long.

Transatlantic - Kaleidoscope
This isn't really a hated album, but it's seen as a lot of "Transatlantic by numbers," and easily the weakest of the four albums, which I think sells it short. Call it by numbers if you want, but this one distills a lot of what I love about Transatlantic into a single album. It has the best short non-ballad they've done in Black as the Sky, it has tons of sections that emphasize the different vocalists and is overall just a fun album. I really like the title track, and I think it's one of the band's better epics (Into the Blue not so much, but it's still good). the Black Gold section is so much fun, and the rest is exceptional as well.

[Kotowboy]

Green Day - Warning.

Was Warning not so well received? I guess all the albums between Dookie and American Idiot had a lower degree of success. I love Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning. But then I love all the classic Green Day 

Damn, it's been a LONG time since I listened to some of those albums in full. Might bust a few out tonight.

Thread goal achieved!!

Wikipedia says Nimrod sold 10 million copies so a big success... I think Insomniac and Warning sold considerably less.

IMO Nimrod is one of their top 3 albums along with American Idiot and Dookie.

[SoundscapeMN]

Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door
This is a great album that shows the band changing direction slightly, but it's singled out as 'the worst' I think for two, primary reasons: 1) It was not as good as 1 through Physical Graffiti and 2) It had the honor of being the last Led Zeppelin album (if you don't count Coda). But, if you look past those two issues, it's pretty good. Certainly better than Presence at least. I like nearly all of the songs on the album and while they might not hit as hard as their earlier work, that is no reason to discount this album as being bad.

I love In Through the Out Door; it's just they changed the sound and JPJ maybe had a bigger role in the writing at that time.

And as far as The Mars Volta, I would add Noctourniquet. While I guess part of it is the fact they improved on many of the issues of their 3 previous records (mixing/production and meandering sections without charm, or lacking in go-to sections), it also just included more music that stays with me. Is it different? sure, but it still sounds like them, and there's a few moments that I get goosebumps every time (namely some of Cedric's vocal melodies).

[twosuitsluke]

Green Day - Warning.

Was Warning not so well received? I guess all the albums between Dookie and American Idiot had a lower degree of success. I love Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning. But then I love all the classic Green Day 

Damn, it's been a LONG time since I listened to some of those albums in full. Might bust a few out tonight.

Thread goal achieved!!

Wikipedia says Nimrod sold 10 million copies so a big success... I think Insomniac and Warning sold considerably less.

IMO Nimrod is one of their top 3 albums along with American Idiot and Dookie.

Yea, I love all their albums up until 21st Century Breakdown. Nimrod is great, I knew it would have sold well, I just assumed that comparatively to American Idiot and Dookie it sold less. Then again, Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) would have helped it sell a shit ton.

I have many fond memories of getting into Green Day. It was around the same time that I got into Metallica and also stopped listening to hip-hop 

Me and my buddies used to sit around playing Super Mario Sunshine, Splinter Cell, GTA Vice City and listening to all of Green Days' back catalogue. They had not long released International Superhits as well which was just a perfect compilation. We'd drink until we were too drunk to successfully play computer games then stick on the DVD with all Green Days' music videos and talk shit. Seriously great times!! If I remember rightly The Red Hot Chilli's had just released By The Way around this time and that got a LOT of spins as well!!

[SebastianPratesi]

And as far as The Mars Volta, I would add Noctourniquet. While I guess part of it is the fact they improved on many of the issues of their 3 previous records (mixing/production and meandering sections without charm, or lacking in go-to sections), it also just included more music that stays with me. Is it different? sure, but it still sounds like them, and there's a few moments that I get goosebumps every time (namely some of Cedric's vocal melodies).

Yeah, me too - "Aegis" and "Zed & Two Naughts", my 2 favourite songs from the album (they remind me a bit of "Desperate Graves", which has been my favourite Mars Volta song since I first listened to it in 2009).

As for albums I feel aren't as appreciated as others, I'd say The Ladder by Yes, and 4:13 dream by The Cure - both featuring great songs.

[Zantera]

A few that comes to mind:

Anathema - The Silent Enigma
I'd put this one really high up among their albums. It was the first album Vinny sang on, but it still kept the Doom Metal sound at its core. Even though the more modern Anathema sound is what has made them big and popular right now, I think their take on metal, especially The Silent Enigma (a big improvement over Serenades IMO) still holds up as a really strong and underrated album. Some really great songs on it, like Sunset of Age.

Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
My favorite LP album happens to be the one that most people rank the lowest, and it's a shame. I love Hybrid Theory and Meteora a lot, and nostalgia plays a part. I listened to those albums thousand of times back in the day, and I'll credit Hybrid Theory as the one album that got me into music period. But Minutes to Midnight to me felt like a band blooming and branching out. It was an album that helped me find genres outside of metal to appreciate. It has my favorite LP-song "The Little Things You Give Away", it features some great songs like "Given Up", "No More Sorrow", "Bleed it Out", "What I've Done" and "Valentine's Day", and overall I just really like it. It's not a popular choice, but I think people give it too much hate.

Riverside - Rapid Eye Movement
Often overlooked when people talk about Riverside's best albums. You have the Out of Myself crowd, the Second Life Syndrome crowd, some even putting ADHD up there as their best. I have a hard time picking myself, but REM is one that I would put pretty high. You have maybe their best opener "Beyond the Eyelids", maybe their best closer "Ultimate Trip" and between that you have a great mix of simple and straight forward songs like "Panic Room", "Through the Other Side" and an underrated gem like "Parasomnia". I think the album deserves some more love.

Sigur Rós - Valtari
I think it's safe to say that this was the album that disappointed most of us when it came out. But since then, it has really grown on me. It's a more ambient, more chilled out album than the other albums they've done, but that's the strength of it for me. At the time of its release, I expected this epic Sigur Rós album with intense build-ups and epic loud crescendos, and I think that's why I was disappointed. Now that I can look back at it and listen to it for what it is, I like it a lot more. Probably my third favorite after ( ) and Takk, it's such a good night time album.

Steven Wilson - Insurgentes
Perhaps not as much underrated as it is underappreciated now with the albums that has followed. I'd argue that it's probably his best solo album (GFD is close) and I still reach for this album every now and then, because it's so unique and interesting for SW. I think he did a great job of going outside his wheelhouse and doing music genres he hadn't really done before, and also improvising the lyrics there in the moment. I've liked the other albums since, but there's an element of safety and I haven't gotten that same sense of him pushing himself as far that I got from Insurgentes.

The Cure - The Top
Definitely an odd ball in their discography, it goes down a more psychedelic route and goes off the rails in some aspects. But I like it. It's quirky, it's funny, compared to some of the albums that surrounded it (Faith, Pornography for example) it's just so different. And I can see why that bothers people. For me, it's not on the same level as those albums, or several albums that followed, but it's an entertaining listen and I'd put it somewhere in the middle of their discography.

[Imaginos]

King's X - Manic Moonlight. Most fans think it's spotty at best, but personally I find it to be a freaking masterpiece. It became really addictive to me once the whole thing clicked. This sucker flows so fucking well. Every track has something to enjoy and look forward to.(sans for the closing "Water Ceremony")

Agree on every point. On the first listen I had mixed feelings, wasn't sure about the loops etc. But after repeated listens I fell in love with it. The choruses on songs like Believe and the title track are so strong it's ridiculous. And it does flow really well. Plus it's cool that they tried something different like using the loops in that stage of their career. I also found during my senior year of high school that Manic Moonlight was a great album to listen to while doing homework.

And I've also really started to enjoy In Through the Out Door in recent months too.

[cramx3]

Iron Maiden - The X Factor and Virtual XI
I've said this many times already, so I will be brief, but the two Blaze albums were essential to Iron Maiden's development. Sometimes people act like Brave New World was this revelation that came out of nowhere, but really it was an outgrowth of leaps and bounds of progress on these two albums. The X Factor is the better and the better-liked of these two (having undergone somewhat of an image rehabilitation) and is one of a few truly depressed albums that I care for, but Virtual XI is both interesting as a proto-BNW and good in its own right. Beyond The Clansman and Futureal, look to When Two Worlds Collide and Como Estais Amigos. Also, try to imagine The Angel and the Gambler with about half the choruses taken out—I think it's a good radio rock song that goes on a bit too long.

Definitely hear ya with the X Factor.  Fantastic album.  Not a big fan of Virtual XI though.

[Snow Dog]

Two come to mind, both by Rush, and I know they're appreciated by fans, but they're also slagged pretty well too.

Vapor Trails - pretty much universally panned, justifiably, by the atrocious production. The song format for the album was also a departure for Rush, with hardly a beloved Lifeson solo in sight. But in spite of this, I love this record, and it didn't leave my car stereo for months. I was excited when the remix for this album was announced, but it didn't do much for me and, oddly, I prefer the original mix (or rather the HD Tracks version...)

Presto - also not a favorite among fans, again criticized for its production (and Superconductor...), but for the opposite side of Vapor Trails, that being too quiet and thin.  But again, I love this album. It's what started my love for Rush, and my own taste in music in general.  It'll always be a favorite of mine.

[Mosh]

I like Presto, it's the second best album from the 90s (not that there's a lot of competition) and there are some really great songs. Available Light is an amazing tune, one of their best closers. What really kills it is the production. It's so thin and void of any energy.

I also like the Blaze era Maiden albums, DT12 (best album since Train of Thought), Kiss Unmasked and Psycho Circus, and Waiting For the Punchline by Extreme.