• Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Servbot24

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
43,180
Albums that were panned by critics or spurned by fanbases... yet given the chance, these albums offer as much if not more to appreciate as their more traditionally praised counterparts.

Three of my favorite examples:

Radiohead - Amnesiac

Radiohead_-_Amnesiac_cover.png


This first one I can understand why someone wouldn't like it. Especially coming off of Ok Computer and Kid A, Amnesiac is clunky, blunt, and abrasive. I saw an interview with Thom Yorke where he said it just sounds like someone shaking their car keys which isn't terribly far off.

Yet I think this is my favorite Radiohead album behind only OK Computer. The sound is so incredibly distinctive and mysterious in a non-traditional way. It contains maybe their best song ever in Pyramid Song, but beyond that the clashing, jangling production effects throughout this create a shocking atmosphere that I have never heard duplicated.

What's more - the b-sides for Amnesiac are absolutely god tier. Thom Yorke is maybe my favorite musician, but if I have one criticism for him it's that he sucks at arranging a track list. Amnesiac era tracks have all the material to be Radiohead's best album (and consequently my favorite album of all time) if only songs like Hunting Bears and Morning Bell had been removed in favor of songs like Amazing Sounds of Orgy, Cuttooth, and Transatlantic Drawl.


Tool - 10,000 Days

10000Days.jpg


When this album released many saw it as inferior to Lateralus and Ænima... and I just don't get it. Those albums are both really good but 10k is greatness. This is easily the peak for Tool in terms of tone - guitar, vocals, percussion, everything. Not to mention it has Tool's best song ever - Wings for Marie 1 & 2.

The only problem I have with this album is that it lacks a good closer. I like ambient music - Viginti Tres isn't very good. They needed a good closer heavy on the atmosphere to put the cap on this one.


Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Coldplay_-_Mylo_Xyloto_%28Official_Album_Cover%29.png


This album came right after Viva la Vida, which is probably the high point for Coldplay in terms of achieving both chart success in combination with critical recognition. The follow up had fairly high expectations as Coldplay was proving their interest in stretching their artistic capabilities, but Mylo Xyloto was not what people had in mind. If anything this album doubles down on the pop. It is colorful, glittering, and has this pseudo-world influence where it sounds like they have aspirations of uniting the planet - with a result that is completely artificial.

That sounds damning, and I guess in a way it is, but it resulted in a sound that I genuinely love (probably not in the way they intended). The combined vibrancy and fakeness of it in a strange way reminds me of modern PC Music adjacent artists, but with the infused stadium production that only a band like Coldplay would be able to provide. I will grant that the lead single ("Paradise") is maybe the worst song on the album which got things off on the wrong foot for critical reception. But with very minor blunders aside, this is probably my favorite Coldplay album... along with X&Y, which I also could have easily highlighted in this group.




Curious to hear yours, Era!
 
Last edited:

Orayn

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,003
Iron Maiden's Virtual XI is good, actually, though I can't explain why I believe this.
 

Mesoian

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 28, 2017
26,577
music.youtube.com

The Love Movement

The Love Movement is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, and their last album released during group member Phife Dawg's lifetime. Released on September 29, 1998, by Jive Records, it is a concept album, exploring the lyrical theme of love. Musically, it is a...

I love this album, despite it mostly being radio jams. Find my way lives rent free in my brain even today. But surprisingly, apparently people fucking hate this album.
 

Skade

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,869
Tool - 10,000 Days

10000Days.jpg


When this album released many saw it as inferior to Lateralus and Ænima... and I just don't get it. Those albums are both really good but 10k is greatness. This is easily the peak for Tool in terms of tone - guitar, vocals, percussion, everything. Not to mention it has Tool's best song ever - Wings for Marie 1 & 2.

The only problem I have with this album is that it lacks a good closer. I like ambient music - Viginti Tres isn't very good. They needed a good closer heavy on the atmosphere to put the cap on this one.

Yup, and to be fair, the same happens with Fear Inoculum. Both are fantastic albums on par with Lateralus to me. It's just that Tool songs seem to take quite a lot of time to worm themselves into your brain. And thus you tend to not exactly be enthralled on the first listen.

I mean, when you know every songs by heart including all the drum fills and time signatures changes, when a brand new album arrives, the songs in it feel weird because you don't know them properly yet.
 

Kraid

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,276
Cuck Zone
Chain Gang of Love by The Raveonettes is the fucking best and I still remember how upset people were that it was more poppy sounding than Whip it On. Ya, it's in a major key, dummies!
 

krazen

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,173
Gentrified Brooklyn
music.youtube.com

The Love Movement

The Love Movement is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, and their last album released during group member Phife Dawg's lifetime. Released on September 29, 1998, by Jive Records, it is a concept album, exploring the lyrical theme of love. Musically, it is a...

I love this album, despite it mostly being radio jams. Find my way lives rent free in my brain even today. But surprisingly, apparently people fucking hate this album.


HA! I was just having a debate about post Midnight Marauder's Tribe. And yeah, I still hate this in my head☹️ But I think its because they updated their sound and it was less jazz than expected, I will give this another listen. The previously released tribe b sides at the end though at fucking top tier and equal to anything from their seminal albums.
 
Oct 29, 2017
12,751
The MMLP for me. A lot of people have said Em is overrated due to this album's success. But there is some great tracks on here. B-Please part 2 is one of Dre's best beats from that era. Remember me was dope as well.
 

Zukkoyaki

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,286
hugzies.256.600800.jpg


I'll die on the hill that Revolution Radio is a good album. Not top-tier Green Day but genuinely solid.
 

Mathieran

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,866
Load and Reload by Metallica are pretty good albums. They're a little hit or miss, but I think if you took the best songs from both albums and condensed them into one, it would be a killer album.
 

Skiptastic

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,699
The MMLP for me. A lot of people have said Em is overrated due to this album's success. But there is some great tracks on here. B-Please part 2 is one of Dre's best beats from that era. Remember me was dope as well.
MMLP was nominated for Album of the Year and sold millions of records. How is it unfairly maligned? (I agree with you that there are a lot of great tracks.)

Pinkerton is a famous one for being criticized upon release but has had a change in view retrospectively.

Pink Floyd's Animals is seen as their lesser album during the Dark Side - The Wall era, but I like it much more than The Wall.
 

Serule

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,766
Load and Reload by Metallica are pretty good albums. They're a little hit or miss, but I think if you took the best songs from both albums and condensed them into one, it would be a killer album.

I came here to post this almost verbatim - even the part about combining them into one.
 

teruterubozu

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,921
I love Yes - Drama but people say it's not a real Yes album because of no Jon Anderson. But it's their best album.
 

Killyoh

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,089
Paris, France
latest

Clearly a product of its time but I vastly prefer to listen to Artpop today than the much more popular Born this Way which aged terribly I think.
 
OP
OP
Servbot24

Servbot24

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
43,180
It's not my favorite of theirs, but it is definitely more universally beloved than HTTT or TKOL. wouldn't call it maligned at all.
I think people have warmed up to it over the years, but the chorus of "Kid B-Sides" comments when it released was resounding. Which is odd to me since it sounds nothing like Kid A at all.

I love Yes - Drama but people say it's not a real Yes album because of no Jon Anderson. But it's their best album.
I haven't heard this, I'll need to give it a try. Though I'll admit that Yes without Jon is a really tough sell.
 

Capricorn

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
707
inb4 St. Anger.

I never knew 10,000 days nor Amnesiac were maligned, they're both great albums that contain some at least some top 10 songs from each bands catalogue.

For me, the answer is Deftones' Gore (and to a lesser extent, Ohms):

71o-wmXP7wL._UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg


ohms-album-art-in-4k-wallpapers-v0-37zjc9d2p3ib1.jpg


I *love* these albums. I can definitely understand that the production in Gore feels a bit off at first (particularly Chino's vocals), but I really dig it. And Ohms is honestly their most balanced album and my personal favorite of theirs Yes, maybe it doesn't have a mega smash hit like some of their earlier work, but as a whole package the album is pretty much perfect. Yet people on their subreddit seem to be super down on both, and particularly Gore seems to be get meme levels of derision.
 
Last edited:

Bulgowski

Member
Apr 8, 2022
352
Amputechture by The Mars Volta was one of my favorite albums in high school and college and I still think it's one of their best albums. It was often dismissed as being self-indulgent and having poorly written songs but I'd argue it has really strong song writing, it's just not presented Ina standard style with really smart uses of motifs throughout the record in particular.

The Glowing Man by Swans is another. It wasn't a maligned album per se but I do think it's a lot better than most. I'd put it top 3 alongside "The Seer" and "The Great Annihilator" quite honestly and is one of my top albums of the 2010s.

It's not my favorite of theirs, but it is definitely more universally beloved than HTTT or TKOL. wouldn't call it maligned at all.

Agreed. I'd say every Radiohead album with the exception of TKOL is pretty beloved.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Servbot24

Servbot24

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
43,180
Amputechture by The Mars Volta was one of my favorite albums in high school and college and I still think it's one of their best albums. It was often dismissed as being self-indulgent and having poorly written songs but I'd argue it has really strong song writing, it's just not presented Ina standard style with really smart uses of motifs throughout the record in particular.
Yes! I love Amputechture. Probably my 2nd favorite behind Frances. Amp just has so many utterly brilliant stretches of music.
 

Bulgowski

Member
Apr 8, 2022
352
Yes! I love Amputechture. Probably my 2nd favorite behind Frances. Amp just has so many utterly brilliant stretches of music.
Exactly how I feel. Frances was my GOAT album for a good stretch of my late teens and 20s but Amputechture wasn't far off. I'd rank Deloused third and then Goliath after that.
 

Graefellsom

Avenger
Oct 28, 2017
1,644
I remember Amnesiac being really well received when it came out, while Kid A was the one people were iffy about. But thats a vague recollection of magazine reviews so that is probably far off.

Nothing Coldplay has done was unfairly maligned. Only appropriately or even under maligned. And anyone who tells you I enjoyed their first album is a goddamn liar.
 

ultraluna

Member
Jun 3, 2020
1,918
the killers' "sam's town" was trashed when it came out, but i honestly think it's one of the best rock albums of that decade, and i vastly prefer it to hot fuss. some critics have come around on it too.
 
OP
OP
Servbot24

Servbot24

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
43,180
I remember Amnesiac being really well received when it came out, while Kid A was the one people were iffy about. But thats a vague recollection of magazine reviews so that is probably far off.
This is the opposite of what I remember… but then again it was 24 years ago :P


Come to think of it HTTT might have been the better album to highlight. It's not as good as Amnesiac but I really love it. HTTT is better than The Bends and In Rainbows for sure imo.
 

krazen

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,173
Gentrified Brooklyn
This is the opposite of what I remember… but then again it was 24 years ago :P

Nah, you're right. I am on this line.

Kid A was clearly divisive with the fanbase (I remember an article with Courtney Love panning it hard on why have a fantastic guitarist you won't let play guitar, lol) but it was a critical darling which obviously showed the way rock music was going.

Amnesiac was like 'Ho hum, b-sides of what we were arguing about a year earlier' from both fans and a bunch of critics
 

skeezx

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,187
NS5qcGVn.jpeg


and lot of of their post 2000 stuff is underrated too. unfortunately the last album (the "sequel" to Melon Collie and Machina) was pretty mid though
 

Cipher Peon

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,833
I think I'm the only one on planet earth who likes Green Day's Father of All Motherfuckers.

It's the best GD album since 21CB imo. But nobody will ever be on board with that. I guess the really gross album art didn't help.

Father_of_All.jpg


So maybe it's not that unfairly maligned bc it sure is ugly.
 

Altazor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,166
Chile
I love Yes - Drama but people say it's not a real Yes album because of no Jon Anderson. But it's their best album.

I haven't heard this, I'll need to give it a try. Though I'll admit that Yes without Jon is a really tough sell.

absolutely listen to it, Machine Messiah and Tempus Fugit are really fucking good songs and the latter has one of my favorite Squire performances. That bassline is superb.

I actually like the songs in the middle, too. They're not top-tier Yes songs but they're more than enjoyable - even though I prefer The Buggles' take on Into the Lens (titled I am a Camera).
 

higemaru

Member
Nov 30, 2017
4,108
It's Lulu by Lou Reed and Metallica. It's good, I swear. Metallica fans just hate their albums for sport and Reed projects got caught up in a late 2000s "kill your darlings" phase where solid albums by old artists were either ignored or critically savaged by the music press.
 

haziq

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,661
The MMLP for me. A lot of people have said Em is overrated due to this album's success. But there is some great tracks on here. B-Please part 2 is one of Dre's best beats from that era. Remember me was dope as well.
Out of all his albums, you name the one that's largely accepted as a classic and one of the best rap albums ever?

If any of Em's work has the distinction of aging better then initially expected, it's probably Encore & Relapse. Especially Relapse because that was probably the one of the few times in the last couple decades Dr. Dre put any creative effort in behind the boards & Em was at least trying something different with the accent. And there are some legit good joints on there, like 3am, Deja Vu, Stay Wide Awake, all the joints dropped on the re-release, etc. Encore is dragged down by a low-effort middle portion of the album, but I'd argue the first six tracks, Ass Like That, Mockingbird, and the title track are all really good. If the special edition cuts like We As Americans had made the cut on the normal retail edition & he trimmed the fat outside of those tracks I named, he probably has a solid contender for a 3rd or 4th classic in four attempts.
 

Capricorn

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
707
NS5qcGVn.jpeg


and lot of of their post 2000 stuff is underrated too. unfortunately the last album (the "sequel" to Melon Collie and Machina) was pretty mid though

You have my sword, Machina is amazing, and their last great album!

I keep checking the Smashing Pumpkins subreddit from time to time just in case a miracle happens and a solid release date for the Machina 1 & 2 reissue is announced, I just want that one final thing so I can finally stop caring about that shithead Billy Corgan and the terrible music he puts out nowadays.
 

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,656
Amnesiac is where I fell off the Radiohead bandwagon personally, but it's really collateral damage from Kid A. My friend had the album and thought it was amazing. I suspect the general discourse at the time was colored immensely by Kid A in varying ways, most of them negative. It's been on my list of albums to examine at some point.

The Smashing Pumpkins already came up here but I'd maybe add Adore to the list. The people that like that album like it a lot, but the people who came in expecting another Mellon Collie were mostly scratching their heads. With the distance of time I think it's much more roundly appreciated, though.
 

djplaeskool

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,788
tcBKDSC.png

DJ Shadow - The Outsider

Dude put together one of the best Hyphy albums of the 2000s and, like all his records as he explores new styles, so many folks looked past the insane number of collabs and amazing lyrical work and complained that it wasn't another Entroducing.
 

Mathieran

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,866
I came here to post this almost verbatim - even the part about combining them into one.

Yeah I've always considered them like a double album that didn't release at the same time. I listened to them a ton when I was kid, they've blended together at this point. I couldn't tell which songs are from which albums.
Came to post this. Totally agree.

I recall a lot of people being mad that they cut their hair and I can't help but feel like that played into the hate. And because it was more of an alt rock album than a metal one. So metal heads felt abandoned.
 

LossAversion

The Merchant of ERA
Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,718
Agreed on 10,000 Days. Easily my favorite Tool album. Honestly, Right In Two is the closer for me and one of their best songs. All of Tools albums have "filler" that you pretty much ignore unless you're giving the whole thing a spin.

My pick is Crash Love by AFI.

AFI_-_Crash_Love_cover.jpg


It got a lot of flak from fans when it first came out but I think it's one of their best albums, particularly when you include the deluxe edition with all the b-sides. I think a lot of fans have come around to it over the years and rightly so.

www.youtube.com

Okay, I Feel Better Now

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupOkay, I Feel Better Now · AFICrash Love℗ 2009 Interscope RecordsReleased on: 2009-01-01Producer: Joe McGrathProdu...
www.youtube.com

Darling, I Want To Destroy You

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupDarling, I Want To Destroy You · AFICrash Love℗ 2009 Interscope RecordsReleased on: 2009-01-01Producer: Joe McGra...
 

Layla

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,785
music.youtube.com

The Love Movement

The Love Movement is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, and their last album released during group member Phife Dawg's lifetime. Released on September 29, 1998, by Jive Records, it is a concept album, exploring the lyrical theme of love. Musically, it is a...

I love this album, despite it mostly being radio jams. Find my way lives rent free in my brain even today. But surprisingly, apparently people fucking hate this album.

don't hate it, but yeh this was a massive disappointment for me when it came out. maybe time to revisit, still have triple LP around here somewhere
funnily enough I love the Towa Tei album that Find A Way was sampled from, and that album was maligned at the time iirc
 

Melody Shreds

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,590
Terminal Dogma
I remember people being down on Frozen in Time by Obituary when it came out but goddamn not only does it start strong with Redneck Stomp but it really doesn't stop going imo. great record and a solid return for a classic death metal band that had been out of the game for a long time.

www.youtube.com

Redneck Stomp

Provided to YouTube by Roadrunner RecordsRedneck Stomp · ObituaryFrozen In Time℗ 2005 The All Blacks B.V.Music: Allen WestMusic: Donald TardyMixer, Producer:...
 

Ernest

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,501
So.Cal.