No Bum Album

December 11, 2006 6:04 PM

I need a list of CD albums in which all the songs are great (no more than one filler).

My Ipod died. I'm doing a series of road trips and want to buy some CD's to listen to with only great songs on them. I'm tired of buying CD's with one good or two good songs on them and then having to click through a lot of junk till I get to something wonderful.

I need a list of fabulous CD albums with good tunes all the way thru. There is no accounting for taste, so anything goes, all genres, greatest hits, tribute albums, bring it on. The only criteria is there can be no more than one filler song on the album.

I'll start it off with the Beatles White Album, and any early Jonathan Richman.

posted by Xurando to media & arts (98 comments total)

R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People, Kirsty MacColl's Kite
posted by shallowcenter at 6:05 PM on December 11, 2006

OK Computer by Radiohead.. and Funeral by the Arcade Fire.
posted by TheOtherGuy at 6:06 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Belle and Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister
posted by Kifer85 at 6:08 PM on December 11, 2006

BTW I could burn playlists but I don't want to. I'm looking for off the shelf albums.
posted by Xurando at 6:12 PM on December 11, 2006

Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Pulp - Different Class
NOFX - Punk in Drublic
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun

There's a mix for you. Although I think this could turn out to be very subjective...
posted by Jimbob at 6:15 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Oh, almost forgot - The Mark of Cain - Ill at Ease.
posted by Jimbob at 6:17 PM on December 11, 2006

Wilco's "A Ghost Is Born." Billy Bragg & Wilco - "Mermaid Avenue," has maybe two filler songs, but still really good. Wilco. Otis Redding's greatest hits is all meat, no filler.
posted by Frank Grimes at 6:18 PM on December 11, 2006

Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair
The Lonesome Crowded West, Modest Mouse

Hope this helps!
posted by princesspathos at 6:18 PM on December 11, 2006

Here's a weird list, off the top of my head.

Elvis Costello, This Year's Model.

New Order, The Best of New Order.

Simon and Garfunkel, Greatest Hits.

The Smiths, Meat is Murder.
posted by jayder at 6:21 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Counting Crows - August and Everything After
posted by parma at 6:21 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Concrete Blonde, Bloodletting.
posted by deadmessenger at 6:22 PM on December 11, 2006

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.
posted by emptyage at 6:22 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Annie Lennox - Medusa
Peter Gabriel - US
Seal - Seal
They Might Be Giants - Flood
10,000 Maniacs - Our Time in Eden
posted by necessitas at 6:26 PM on December 11, 2006

Beck-Odelay
posted by landedjentry at 6:26 PM on December 11, 2006

"Sliver" movie soundtrack-every song is great!
posted by JujuB at 6:30 PM on December 11, 2006

Paul Simon, Graceland
The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
Cowboy Junkies, Trinity Sessions
posted by sonofslim at 6:31 PM on December 11, 2006

Actual Miles - Don Henley
posted by SPrintF at 6:34 PM on December 11, 2006

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (obvious, I know, but nobody's mentioned it)
posted by cerebus19 at 6:34 PM on December 11, 2006

Sleater-Kinney: The Woods
Wire: Pink Flag
The Go-Betweens: Before Hollywood
Television: Marquee Moon
Captain Beefheart: Safe as Milk
Velvet Underground: 1969
The Wrens: Meadowlands
Matthew Sweet: 100% Fun

Seconding Wilco: A Ghost is Born
Seconding Arcade Fire: Funeral

New Pornographers: all 3 albums, amazingly
posted by unSane at 6:40 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Seconding unSane for the New Pornographers.

If you're going to put the White Album in your list, you need to have Abbey Road as well --- even the Ringo song is good.

Billy Bragg, Back to Basics
The Flaming Lips, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
posted by nathan_teske at 6:49 PM on December 11, 2006

The Elvis Costello suggestion is spot-on. This Year's Model is as good as it gets. I'd add Blondie's Parallel Lines. Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is one of the best discs of the 90s, IMO. The White Stripes' White Blood Cells and, especially, Elephant are the best of this decade.

Contemporary indie rock: The Arcade Fire's Funeral and The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America. Country: Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose and Dwight Yoakam's Blame the Vain. Miscelleneous: MIA's Arular.
posted by smorange at 6:51 PM on December 11, 2006

Meat Loaf: Bat out of Hell II
Drivin' N' Cryin: Fly Me Courageous
System of a Down: Toxicity
Bruce Springsteen: Born in the USA or his 3CD Essentials where each one covers a different Boss Genre.
NiN: Pretty Hate Machine
Another big vote for Beastie Boys: Ill Communication and S&G's Greatest Hits (even if I think GH albums are kind of cheating here).
posted by jmd82 at 6:53 PM on December 11, 2006

The Bangles, All Over the Place
Billy Bragg, Workers' Playtime
Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
The Clash, London Calling
The Connells, Ring
Crowded House, Woodface
Dire Straits, Making Movies
Fountains of Wayne, Fountains of Wayne
Lyle Lovett, The Road to Ensenada
The Pogues, If I Should Fall From Grace With God
Sam Phillips, The Indescribable Wow
Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense
Richard and Linda Thompson, Shoot Out the Lights
Sugar, Copper Blue
Velvet Crush, Teenage Symphonies to God
The Waterboys, Room to Roam
posted by kirkaracha at 6:55 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Oh yeah, Van Lear Rose, that was gonna be on my list too. What a great album that is. Worth the price of admission for "High on a Mountain Top" alone.
posted by unSane at 6:58 PM on December 11, 2006

Great thread; from cruising through my iTunes:

My Bloody Valentine: Loveless
R.E.M.: Lifes Rich Pageant
Belle and Sebastian: If You're Feeling Sinister
Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited
Brian Eno: Here Come the Warm Jets and Another Green World
David Bowie: Low and Hunky Dory
Clinic: Internal Wrangler
DJ Shadow: Endtroducing...
Herbert: Scale
Dntel: Life Is Full of Possibilities
Al Green: Call Me
Motörhead: No Remorse
Arcade Fire: Funeral
The Wrens: The Meadowlands
Fleetwood Mac: Rumors
Fela Kuti: Expensive Shit
Galaxie 500: On Fire
Goldfrapp: Felt Mountain
Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison
Joy Divsion: Closer
Louis Armstrong: Black and Blue
Marvin Gaye: What's Goin' On
New Order: Low Life
Pavement: Brighten the Corners
Radiohead: OK Computer
The Go-Betweens: Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
Slowdive: Souvlaki
Songs: Ohia: Magnolia Electric Co.
Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation
The Cure: Disintegration
Deerhoof: The Runners Four
Gil-Scott Heron: Pieces of a Man
Isolée: Wearemonster
Kate Bush: Hounds of Love
Neil Young: On the Beach
Scott Walker: Scott 2
Talk Talk: Laughing Stock
Talking Heads: More Songs About Buildings and Food
Television: Marquee Moon

Comps:
Michael Mayer: Fabric 13
Mr G's Hard Texas Funk
Tropicalia - A Braqzilian Revolution in Sound
Nu Yorica Roots
The Philly Sound
Saturday Night Fish Fry!
The Best Northern Soul All Nighter
posted by josh at 7:00 PM on December 11, 2006 [3 favorites has favorites]

The first album that comes to mind is "Rockin' the Suburbs" by Ben Folds.
posted by eswusp86 at 7:02 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

David Bowie- Ziggy Stardust
David Bowie- Diamond Dogs
The Waterboys- Fisherman's Blues
Pixies- Doolittle
Mark Knopfler- Golden Heart

Seconding:
Concrete Blonde- Blood Letting
Bill Bragg- Back to Basics
They Might Be Giants- Flood
posted by kimdog at 7:03 PM on December 11, 2006

A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
Be by Common
posted by Rubbstone at 7:04 PM on December 11, 2006

Alice In Chains, Greatest Hits
Kelley Stoltz, Below The Branches
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Yanqui U.X.O.
Stereolab, Margarine Eclipse
King Tubby & The Soul Syndicate, Freedom Sounds In Dub
posted by deepbeep at 7:05 PM on December 11, 2006

The Weary Boys, Jumpin Jolie. Love it all the way through.
posted by dpx.mfx at 7:05 PM on December 11, 2006

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
posted by lampoil at 7:08 PM on December 11, 2006

So- Peter Gabriel
Murmur- REM
Remain In Light- Talking Heads
posted by brandz at 7:12 PM on December 11, 2006

Sloan - Twice Removed
Weezer - Self-titled (aka. The Blue Album)
posted by saraswati at 7:12 PM on December 11, 2006

The Campfire Headphase, by Boards of Canada
posted by O9scar at 7:13 PM on December 11, 2006

Streetlight Manifesto- Everything Goes Numb
posted by hopeless romantique at 7:13 PM on December 11, 2006

Oh and:

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

In my opinion much more so than A Ghost Is Born
posted by saraswati at 7:13 PM on December 11, 2006

Christine Kane - Right Outta Nowhere
- Rain & Mud & Wild & Green
Missy Higgins - The Sound of White
Eva Cassidy - Songbird
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
posted by BoscosMom at 7:14 PM on December 11, 2006

Top of my head:

London Calling - The Clash
The Specials - The Specials
Wildwood - Paul Weller
In The Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
Mercy Now - Mary Gauthier
The Boatman's Call - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Handcream for a Generation - Cornershop
In A Silent Way - Miles Davis
Horses - Patti Smith


Of all of these, London Calling is really THE one that fits your criteria. I only heard the album all the way through about ten years ago and, not knowing that I was listening to London Calling, thought it was some sort of "best of" comp. It's that good.
(and, on preview, seconding those I'm... seconding)
posted by bunglin jones at 7:20 PM on December 11, 2006

Shinedown Leave a Whisper
Lacuna Coil Comalies (Karmacode is good, but Comalies is better)
Delerium Chimera
Jamiroquai Traveling without Moving
Poe Hello
No Doubt Tragic Kingdom

Journey's Greatest Hits is also pretty good, but maybe it's because I'm a closet Journey fan.
posted by Verdandi at 7:21 PM on December 11, 2006

Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream
Elliott Smith XO
A Tribe Called Quest Midnight Marauders
Mos Def Black on Both Sides
Dismemberment Plan Emergency & I
Fiona Apple When The Pawn...
Foo Fighters The Colour and the Shape
Spoon Kill The Moonlight
The Cardigans Gran Turismo
Kent Hagnesta Hill
Sufjan Stevens Illinois
Queens of the Stone Age s/t
Weezer Pinkerton
Soul Coughing Ruby Vroom
Explosions in the Sky The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
Death Cab For Cutie The Photo Album
Depeche Mode Violator
posted by bwilms at 7:22 PM on December 11, 2006

This is a great thread, by the way.
posted by unSane at 7:22 PM on December 11, 2006

Two albums that I love but never see on these sorts of lists:

Teenage Kicks: UK Pop 1976-1978

Eno/Cale's Wrong Way Up

The Who's Who's Next and XTC's Skylarking are strong all the way though, too.
posted by kimota at 7:32 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Without doubt, Tool's Lateralus and Pearl Jam's Ten.
posted by Effigy2000 at 7:36 PM on December 11, 2006

Any of Aimee Mann's solo albums
The Doors first album
Teenage Head - Flamin' Groovies
Shake Some Action - Flamin' Groovies
Muswell Hillbillies - The Kinks
Maria Muldaur - Maria Muldaur
Diva - Annie Lennox
Computer World - Kraftwerk
Pure Pop For Now People (aka Jesus of Cool) - Nick Lowe
Supernature - Goldfrapp
Ambient 1 - Music For Airports - Brian Eno
posted by rfs at 7:40 PM on December 11, 2006

Revolver and Rubber Soul by The Beatles
War and October by U2
posted by Lucinda at 7:43 PM on December 11, 2006

Truth by Jeff Beck.
Fear of Music by the Talking Heads
posted by marxchivist at 7:46 PM on December 11, 2006

Oh, and Live at the Ryman by Emmylou Harris.
posted by marxchivist at 7:49 PM on December 11, 2006

Chris Whitley - Dirt Floor
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
Dada - Dada
D'Cückoo - D'Cückoo
Collective Soul - Disciplined Breakdown
Carole King - Tapestry
Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age Of Wireless
U2 - The Joshua Tree
VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater
Chicago - Greatest Hits Vol 1
The Best of George Harrison
posted by dbiedny at 7:51 PM on December 11, 2006

weezer - pinkerton

or

weezer - blue album

if you're into that kind of thing
posted by white light at 7:51 PM on December 11, 2006

Right now I'm listening to Birds by Bic Runga which I think is a very solid album all the way through. The Guards Themselves by Minuit is the same, 88 is a bit patchy.

Compilations and Greatest Hits packages can be a good way round this problem too.
posted by shelleycat at 7:52 PM on December 11, 2006

Can I just point out that it's absurd to ask for a list of albums with no filler and then start it with the white album? WTF!

Rubber Soul has filler, too. The Word, What Goes On, Run for Your Life.

Revolver (Yellow Submarine) and Sgt Pepper's (Within You Without You) pass the test though. And definitely Pet Sounds and In the Aeroplane.

And I'd agree about Boys and Girls in America and Funeral (Haiti) as well.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:05 PM on December 11, 2006

I'm coming in late, but I'm surprised no one has mentioned Iron & Wine: Creek Drank The Cradle and Our Endless Numbered Days are both 100% perfect albums. Not a single weak song on either one.

And I third Costello's This Year's Model: Not a weak track on that one either. I'd also submit Costello's King Of America. One filler track on there, IMO, but it still passes the test, and the rest is just amazing.
posted by crapples at 8:13 PM on December 11, 2006

... And I agree with ludwig about the White Album. It's a brilliant album over-all, but about one-third filler.
posted by crapples at 8:15 PM on December 11, 2006

In my book:

• Sloan, "Navy Blues"
• Wolf Parade, "Apologies to the Queen Mary"
• Massive Attack, "Mezzanine"
• Hayden, "Skyscraper National Park"
• Rheostatics, "Whale Music"
• Soul Coughing, "El Oso"
• The Weakerthans, "Reconstruction Site"

And as far as Wilco goes, "Summerteeth" is where it's at.
posted by Johnny Assay at 8:19 PM on December 11, 2006

I think that every album Marillion has put out meets this criteria.

Same with the european metal bands Lullacry, After Forever, and Epica. Oh, and Nightwish.
posted by drstein at 8:21 PM on December 11, 2006

I second the suggestion of the Pixies, Doolittle. There's no filler on that album

As to the suggestion of Thomas Dolby, The Golden Age of Wireless, I originally had that on my list, but I struck it off as being too eccentric a suggestion (i.e., I thought I was the only one who thinks that album is fucking fantastic). Glad to hear someone else loves it.

Here's a really great album that has no filler -- Tortoise, TNT.
posted by jayder at 8:24 PM on December 11, 2006

Bim Skala Bim -Live at the Paradise
Jethro Tull- Aqualung
Ian Anderson- Divinities
Robert Fripp- Exposure
Alan Parsons Project- Tales of Mystery and Imagination (All Poe all the time)
Genesis- Selling England by the Pound
John Hiatt- Crossing Muddy Waters
Joe Strummer- Global a Go Go
posted by Gungho at 8:29 PM on December 11, 2006

Oldies but goodies:
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blook Sugar Sex Magik
Led Zeppelin I, II and IV
AC/DC, Back in Black
Prince, Purple Rain
Chris Whitley, Living With The Law
Herbie Hancock, Head Hunters
Jeff Buckley, Grace
Jimi Hendix, Are You Experienced

A newie:
Calexico & Iron and Wine, In The Reins

And some compilations:
James Brown, 20 All-Time Greatest Hits!
BB King, Best of BB King
Ella Fitzgerald, Best of the Songbooks: The Collection
Frank Sinatra, My Way: The Best of Frank
posted by gottabefunky at 8:35 PM on December 11, 2006

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
Funkadelic - Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow
posted by Pollomacho at 8:44 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Indie
----
Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill
Bright Eyes - Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
Rilo Kiley - The Execution of All Things
Death Cab For Cutie - Photo Album
Stars - Set Youself on Fire
posted by unreasonable at 9:13 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Nobody's mentioned Dark Side Of The Moon yet?! (I'm kinda partial to The Final Cut, too, but millions will disagree...). Any TMBG ≤ Apollo 18 or John Henry, Dance Hall Crashers' The Live Record, cub's Box Of Hair, Bu¢k's self titled CD and/or the Buck In Black EP, ...
posted by Pinback at 9:17 PM on December 11, 2006

The soundtrack of Kill Bill, Vol 1.
posted by of strange foe at 9:21 PM on December 11, 2006

What?! No "Thriller"?! 7 of it's 9 tracks made the top 10 (the other two are pretty good, too); it's tied with "Nebraska" and "Rhythm Nation 1814" according to wikipedia for most singles in the top 10 in history. It's as close to pop perfection as you get.

For something radically different, I think Avey Tare and Panda Bear's "Spirit they're gone, spirit they've vanished" is great from start to finish, and so is Jill Sobule's self-titled album (better without "Supermodel"). And lately, Devendra Banhart's "Cripple Crow" has had me humming along throughout and so has Wu Tang Clan's "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)." Also, the Magnetic Fields' "69 Love Songs" triple disc, though I stick mainly to the first two parts. Oh, and I've got a greatest hits compilation of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles that can pick me up out of any sort of mood.
posted by msbrauer at 9:22 PM on December 11, 2006

Second or third Blondie's "Parallel Lines"
T'Pau's "T'Pau".
10,000 Maniacs "In My Tribe"
Joss Stone's "Right To Be Wrong"
Shakira's "Laundry Service"
Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Emmy Lou Harris's "Trio"
Sophie B. Hawkins' "Whaler"
posted by lhauser at 9:23 PM on December 11, 2006

Parliament: Mothership Connection
Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul
Tito Puente: Dance Mania
Curtis Mayfield: Roots
Iggy Pop: The Idiot
posted by Vervain at 9:23 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Some great albums listed here - but please, people we're talking about albums that are 100% good. You should have a tough time thinking about which song is the weakest...

beck - mutations
the arcade fire
portishead - dummy
Elliot Smith - either/or
Franz Ferdinand- both self-titled or "you could have it so much better"
pavement - crooked rain
beastie boys - check your head ("ill communication? please, "heart attack man" alone kills it.)
talking heads - stop making sense
Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
Simon and Garfunkel - Live in central park (yeah, kind of a best of...)
Neil Young - Harvest
sigur ros - Ágætis byrjun
posted by kamelhoecker at 9:26 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

I second Fiona Apple, When The Pawn....

(Tidal is a better album, but it has a couple of enh songs.)
posted by raf at 9:45 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
Michael Jackson - Instant Dance Party, I mean, Off The Wall
Silver Jews - American Water
Madvillain - Madvillainy
Quickspace - Death of Quickspace

Seconding Mos Def's Black on Both Sides, the first two New Pornographers albums, and Television's Marquee Moon.

Also, if you don't get sick when you hear the opening notes to "Frontier Psychologist," The Avalanches' Since I Left You
posted by thecaddy at 10:11 PM on December 11, 2006

Off top of head: (some are seconds, but that should give you a good sense of theire appeal):

Love -- Forever Changes (the best album of the entire 60s)
The National -- Alligator
Neutral Milk Hotel -- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
The Wrens -- Meadowlands
Big Star -- Third/Sister Lovers
Carla Bruni -- Quelqu'un M'a Dit
Graham Parker -- Squeezing Out Sparks
Marvin Gaye -- What's Going On
T. Rex -- Electric Warrior
Robbie Fulks -- Country Love Songs
T-Bone Burnett -- The Criminal Under My Own Hat
The Clash -- s/t
Cheap Trick -- In Color
Mink Lungs -- I'll Take It
Leonard Cohen -- I'm Your Man
Magnetic Fields -- 69 Love Songs
Dusty Springfield -- Dusty in Memphis
The Handsome Family Twilight
Daniel Johnston -- Yip/Jump Music
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:31 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

One more Elvis Costello and the Attractions, "Imperial Bedroom."
posted by Listener at 10:35 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

This is what best hits CD's are made for.
posted by empyrean at 10:38 PM on December 11, 2006

Definitely Citizen Cope "The Clarence Greenwood Recordings"
posted by vito90 at 10:50 PM on December 11, 2006

FelliniBlank: nice list - but NO fillers on 69 Love Songs?

The Clash: The Clash
The Clash: London Calling
Ramones: Ramones
Primal Scream: Screamadelica
The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses
David Bowie: Hunky Dory
David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin
Happy Mondays: Pills n Thrills n Bellyaches
Iggy and the Stooges: Funhouse
Jesus and Marychain: Psychocandy
Joy Division: Closer
The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground and Nico (banana album)
Marvin Gaye: What's Going On?
Nick Cave: The Boatman's Call
Pixies: Doolittle
Pogues: Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions...
Rancid: And Out Come the Wolves
Wilco: Summerteeth

If you like that sort of stuff.
posted by Infinite Jest at 12:33 AM on December 12, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

hip hop:
black star - mos def and talib kweli are black star
the roots - things fall apart
nas - it was written, lost tapes (illmatic is nas' classic debut but it sounds dated by today's standards, particularly if you're not a hip hop fan)
raekwon - only built 4 cuban linx
the fugees - the score
jay-z - the blueprint (there are some missteps but none that are de facto 'skip' songs, at least for me)
kanye west - the college dropout
lauryn hill - the miseducation of...
lil wayne - the carter (to a lesser extent, the carter II)
clipse - lord willing
little brother - the listening
lupe fiasco - food and liquor
masta ace - a long hot summer
murs - murray's revenge
the notorious b.i.g. - ready to die (i actually prefer life after death but that has exponentially more skippable songs)
outkast - aquemini

non hip hop:
bon jovi - cross road
tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain (if you ignore all of my other suggestions, at least check out this one...album of the year)
stevie wonder - songs in the key of life
portishead - dummy
elliott smith - either/or
jeff buckley - grace
john legend - get lifted
joni mitchell - blue
m. ward - post-war
madonna - the immaculate collection
mj - thriller
morrissey - your arsenal
nirvana - nevermind, unplugged in ny

these are the albums that i can think of that i consistently listen to all the way through...depending on your musical tastes, ymmv
posted by cosmic osmo at 12:42 AM on December 12, 2006

Continuum by John Mayer
posted by Rubbstone at 12:56 AM on December 12, 2006

The Foreign Exchange
posted by Rubbstone at 12:57 AM on December 12, 2006

I make no claims that these are in any way the artists' best work overall, just that I never skip tracks on these albums. Some of them require you to listen all the way through to work completely (e.g. "Fitter Happier" is perfect where it is on "OK Computer" but annoying if it comes up on shuffle) so if you're looking for standalone songs, the more thematic albums might not satisfy so much.

Queensryche: "Operation: Mindcrime"
Dream Theater: "Images and Words"
Todd Rundgren: "A Cappella," "Nearly Human," "Liars", "No World Order"
Toy Matinee: "Toy Matinee"
Porcupine Tree: "Signify"
Thomas Dolby: "Aliens Ate My Buick," "Astronauts and Heretics" (you could just play the first track ten times too)
In The Nursery: "Duality"
The Police: "Synchronicity"
Ben Folds Five: pretty much any and all except for "Naked Baby Pictures", also Folds' solo "Rockin' the Suburbs"
Phish: "Billy Breathes" (atypical of them)
Angie Aparo: "The American"
Don Byron: "Bug Music"
Tony MacAlpine: "Maximum Security"
Del Amitri: "Change Everything"
Beth Orton: "Daybreaker"
Luka Bloom: "The Acoustic Motorbike"
Yes: "Drama"
Kitchens of Distinction: "Strange Free World"
Ahmad Jamal: "Crystal"
Blue Oyster Cult: "Imaginos"
Chroma Key: "Dead Air for Radios"
Adrian Belew: "Inner Revolution"
Tangerine Dream: "Poland" (the full four LP sides, not the short 1-CD version), "Tangram," "Exit"
Leftover Salmon: "Euphoria"
Hem: "Rabbit Songs"
Jean Michel Jarre: "Revolutions"
King's X: "Gretchen Goes to Nebraska"
Rachel's: "Selenography"
Radiohead: "OK Computer"
New Radicals: "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too"
Carbon Leaf: "Indian Summer"
Jerry Goodman: "It's Alive"
Shadowfax: "The Odd Get Even"
XTC: "Skylarking"
Dave Brubeck Quartet: "Time Out"
Michael Hedges: "Live on the Double Planet"
Peter Gabriel: "Passion", "So," "Up"
Duncan Sheik: "Phantom Moon"
Dire Straits: "Love Over Gold"
Live: "Mental Jewelry"
Stan Ridgway: "Mosquitos"
Kenna: "New Sacred Cow"
Joe Jackson: "Night Music"
Pat Metheny: "Still Life (Talking)"
Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello: "Painted from Memory"
The Church: "Starfish"
Echolyn: "As The World..."
Carole King: "Tapestry"
Joanna Newsom: "The Milk-Eyed Minder"
The Art of Noise: "The Seduction of Claude Debussy"
Dave Matthews Band: "Under the Table and Dreaming"
Crowded House: "Together Alone"

There are many more, but it's past my bedtime.
posted by kindall at 1:12 AM on December 12, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

When I think of "Albums that I will listen to all the way through, every time" the first one that comes to mind for me is Matthew Good Band - Beautiful Midnight. Siamese Dream, already mentioned, is also one of my faves. Bryan Adams' Waking Up The Neighbours as well. The first Killers album as well, for me, though I know they are fairly disliked by many of the cool kids.

Of course, there are numerous greatest hits albums that fall into this vein as well, but I dunno if that's what you're looking for.
posted by antifuse at 2:23 AM on December 12, 2006

Everything I would have mentioned has been already, except for Shiina Ringo's Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana, which I plug whenever I get a chance to. So, there you go.
posted by squidlarkin at 3:55 AM on December 12, 2006

I find I very rarely listen to albums these days (thanks, Apple) but the only two that I can think of that I listen to right through and never skip tracks are:
Rival Schools - United By Fate (this is a lost classic, in my opinion)
The Charlatans (UK) - Up To Our Hips (and actually, you can probably throw Us & Us Only in there too, when I'm in the right mood)
posted by corvine at 4:15 AM on December 12, 2006

Seems impossible to add anything at this point, but, well... into the fray:
Hem: Rabbit Songs
Sleeping At Last: Keep No Score
Snow Patrol: Eyes Open

Gotta reinforce Elvis Costello: This Year's Model
Oh, and if 90's Seattle angst doesn't rub you wrong, it's tough to beat the Singles Soundtrack.
posted by rubberfish at 5:20 AM on December 12, 2006

"Nebraska"

I should have said "Born in the USA". Was thinking about how much I like "Nebraska." I'd recommend the latter, but it's extremely difficult to listen to in a car; it's so often so quiet.
posted by msbrauer at 5:48 AM on December 12, 2006

Fleetwood Mac -- Rumours
Paul Simon -- Negotiations and Love Songs (greatest hits)
Zero7 -- Simple Things
posted by initapplette at 6:58 AM on December 12, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think Abbey Road is the only Beatles album that doesn't have any fillers on it. (Sgt. Pepper's comes close, but then there's "Within You Without You".)

Ones from my collection that haven't been mentioned:
Ani DiFranco - Dilate
Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory
Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
Coldplay - Parachutes
posted by bent back tulips at 7:05 AM on December 12, 2006

(Some of the following have already been mentioned in this thread)

The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Brian Wilson, Smile
Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals. (Animals isn't as well known as some of their other albums, but it's just as good, IMO. It doesn't get radio play because all of the tracks are either too long or too short to make good radio singles.)
Paul Simon, Graceland
Simon and Garfunkel, Bookends and Bridge over Troubled Water
Green Day, American Idiot
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:59 AM on December 12, 2006

Yay to rubberfish for the Hem-love!

Seconding Rabbit Songs, and I'd also nominate Eveningland as another zero-filler album.

Others:

Ella Fitzgerald - Best of the Song Books
Blue Man Group - Audio
The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
Indigo Girls - Swamp Ophelia
They Might Be Giants - Apollo 18
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
The Delgados - Hate
Ollabelle - Riverside Battle Songs
Chris Isaak - Baja Sessions
Indigo Girls - 1200 Curfews
Ani DiFranco - Living in Clip
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds - Live at Luther College

Also nth-ing Flood, OK Computer, Rockin' the Suburbs, Parachutes, Automatic for the People, and Ten.
posted by somanyamys at 8:01 AM on December 12, 2006

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
posted by pyjammy at 8:23 AM on December 12, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

69 Love Songs?!

And Simon and Garfunkel - Concert in Central Park++
posted by ludwig_van at 8:57 AM on December 12, 2006

The only album that I can think of that hasn't been listed yet is Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy, which is, I would argue, their strongest and most consistently awesome album.
posted by saladin at 9:13 AM on December 12, 2006

Adding votes for Exile in Guyville, The Queen Is Dead, Teenage Kicks, Rumours and Purple Rain.

Others:
The Smiths, Louder than Bombs
Def Leppard, Pyromania and Hysteria
Michael Jackson, Thriller
Boston, Boston
Blondie, The Best of Blondie
REM, Eponymous
posted by SisterHavana at 9:31 AM on December 12, 2006

Where is the love for Van Morrison?
posted by HeyAllie at 7:10 PM on December 12, 2006

Stevie Wonder - Talking Book
posted by Pollomacho at 9:47 PM on December 12, 2006

Because I have nothing better to do with my time, I have compiled all of the above submissions in alphabetical order by artist (to the best of my ability). We can call it the "Top Almost 500 AskMe 'All Thriller, No Filler' Albums"

10,000 Maniacs - "In My Tribe"
10,000 Maniacs - "Our Time in Eden"
A Tribe Called Quest - "Midnight Marauders"
AC/DC - "Back in Black"
Adrian Belew - "Inner Revolution"
Ahmad Jamal - "Crystal"
Aimee Mann - Solo Albums
Al Green - "Call Me"
Alan Parsons Project - "Tales of Mystery and Imagination"
Alice In Chains - "Greatest Hits"
Angie Aparo - "The American"
Ani DiFranco - "Dilate"
Ani DiFranco - "Living in Clip"
Annie Lennox - "Diva"
Annie Lennox - "Medusa"
Arcade Fire - "Funeral"
Art of Noise, The - "The Seduction of Claude Debussy"
Avey Tare and Panda Bear - "Spirit they're gone, spirit they've vanished"
Bangles, The - "All Over the Place"
BB King - "Best of BB King"
Beach Boys, The - "Pet Sounds"
Beastie Boys - "Check Your Head"
Beastie Boys - "Ill Communication"
Beastie Boys - "Paul's Boutique"
Beatles, The - "Abbey Road"
Beatles, The - "Revolver" and Rubber Soul by The Beatles
Beatles, The - "Rubber Soul"
Beatles, The - "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
Beatles, The - "White Album"
Beck - "Mutations"
Beck - "Odelay"
Belle and Sebastian - "If You're Feeling Sinister"
Ben Folds - "Rockin' the Suburbs"
Ben Folds Five - All
Beth Orton - "Daybreaker"
Bic Runga - "Birds"
Big Star - "Third/Sister Lovers"
Bill Bragg - "Back to Basics"
Bill Bragg - "Workers' Playtime"
Billy Bragg & Wilco - "Mermaid Avenue"
Bim Skala Bim - "Live at the Paradise"
Black Star - "Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star"
Blondie - "Parallel Lines"
Blondie - "The Best of Blondie"
Blue Man Group - "Audio"
Blue Oyster Cult - "Imaginos"
Boards of Canada - "The Campfire Headphase"
Bob Dylan - "Highway 61 Revisited"
Bon Jovi - "Cross Road"
Boston - "Boston"
Brian Eno - "Another Green World"
Brian Eno - "Here Come the Warm Jets" and Another Green World
Brian Eno - "Music For Airports"
Brian Eno - "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)"
Brian Eno/Cale - "Wrong Way Up"
Brian Wilson - "Smile"
Bright Eyes - "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn"
Bruce Springsteen - "Born in the USA"
Bruce Springsteen - "Born to Run"
Bruce Springsteen - "Essentials"
Bruce Springsteen - "Nebraska"
Bryan Adams - "Waking Up The Neighbours"
Buck - "Buck in Black EP"
Buck - "Buck"
Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello - "Painted from Memory"
Calexico & Iron and Wine - "In The Reins"
Captain Beefheart - "Safe as Milk"
Carbon Leaf - "Indian Summer"
Cardigans, The - "Gran Turismo"
Carla Bruni - "Quelqu'un M'a Dit"
Carole King - "Tapestry"
Charlatans (UK), The - "Up To Our Hips"
Cheap Trick - "In Color"
Chicago - "Greatest Hits Vol 1"
Chris Isaak - "Baja Sessions"
Chris Whitley - "Dirt Floor"
Chris Whitley - "Living With The Law"
Christine Kane - Right Outta Nowhere
Chroma Key - "Dead Air for Radios"
Church, The - "Starfish"
Citizen Cope - "The Clarence Greenwood Recordings"
Clash, The - "London Calling"
Clash, The - "The Clash"
Clinic - "Internal Wrangler"
Clipse - "Lord Willing"
Coldplay - "A Rush of Blood to the Head"
Coldplay - "Parachutes"
Collective Soul - "Disciplined Breakdown"
Common - "Be"
Concrete Blonde - "Blood Letting"
Connells, The - "Ring"
Cornershop - "Handcream for a Generation"
Counting Crows - "August and Everything After"
Cowboy Junkies - "Trinity Sessions"
Crowded House - "Together Alone"
Crowded House - "Woodface"
Cub - "Box of Hair"
Cure, The - "Disintegration"
Curtis Mayfield - "Roots"
Dada - "Dada"
Dance hall Crashers - "Live"
Daniel Johnston - "Yip/Jump Music"
Dave Brubeck Quartet - "Time Out"
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds - "Live at Luther College"
Dave Matthews Band - "Under the Table and Dreaming"
David Bowie - "Diamond Dogs"
David Bowie - "Hunky Dory"
David Bowie - "Low"
David Bowie - "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust"
David Bowie - "The Spiders from Mars"
David Bowie - "Ziggy Stardust"
D'Cückoo - "D'Cückoo"
Death Cab For Cutie - "The Photo Album"
Deerhoof - "The Runners Four"
Def Leppard - "Hysteria"
Def Leppard - "Pyromania"
Del Amitri - "Change Everything"
Delerium - "Chimera"
Delgados, The - "Hate"
Depeche Mode - "Violator"
Devendra Banhart' - "Cripple Crow"
Dire Straits - "Love Over Gold"
Dire Straits - "Making Movies"
Dismemberment Plan - "Emergency & I"
DJ Shadow - "Endtroducing…"
Dntel - "Life Is Full of Possibilities"
Don Byron - "Bug Music"
Don Henley - "Actual Miles"
Doors, The - first album
Dream Theater - "Images and Words"
Drivin' N' Cryin - "Fly Me Courageous"
Duncan Sheik - "Phantom Moon"
Dusty Springfield - "Dusty in Memphis"
Dwight Yoakam - "Blame the Vain"
Echolyn - "As The World..."
Ella Fitzgerald - "Best of the Songbooks - The Collection"
Elliott Smith - "either/or"
Elliott Smith - "From a Basement on the Hill"
Elliott Smith - "XO"
Elvis Costello - "King Of America"
Elvis Costello - "This Year's Model"
Elvis Costello and the Attractions - "Imperial Bedroom"
Emmylou Harris - "Live at the Ryman"
Eva Cassidy - "Songbird"
Explosions in the Sky - "The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place"
Fela Kuti - "Expensive Shit"
Fiona Apple - "When The Pawn…"
Flamin' Groovies - "Shake Some Action"
Flamin' Groovies - "Teenage Head"
Flaming Lips, The - "The Soft Bulletin"
Flaming Lips, The - "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"
Fleetwood Mac - "Rumours"
Foo Fighters - "The Colour and the Shape"
Foreign Exchange, The
Fountains of Wayne - "Fountains of Wayne"
Frank Sinatra - "My Way - The Best of Frank"
Franz Ferdinand - "Franz Ferdinand"
Franz Ferdinand - "You Could Have It So Much Better"
Fugees, The - "The Score"
Funkadelic - "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow"
Funkadelic - "Maggot Brain"
Galaxie 500 - "On Fire"
Genesis - "Selling England by the Pound"
George Harrison - "The Best of George Harrison"
Gil-Scott Heron - "Pieces of a Man"
Go-Betweens, The - "Before Hollywood"
Go-Betweens, The - "Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express"
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "Yanqui U.X.O."
Goldfrapp - "Felt Mountain"
Goldfrapp - "Supernature"
Graham Parker - "Squeezing Out Sparks"
Grandaddy - "The Sophtware Slump"
Green Day - "American Idiot"
Handsome Family, The - "Twilight"
Happy Mondays - "Pills n Thrills n Bellyaches"
Hayden - "Skyscraper National Park"
Hem - "Eveningland"
Hem - "Rabbit Songs"
Herbert - "Scale"
Herbie Hancock - "Head Hunters"
Hold Steady, The - "Boys and Girls in America"
Ian Anderson - "Divinities"
Iggy and the Stooges - "Funhouse"
Iggy Pop - "The Idiot"
In The Nursery - "Duality"
Indigo Girls - "1200 Curfews"
Indigo Girls - "Swamp Ophelia"
Iron & Wine - "Creek Drank The Cradle"
Iron & Wine - "Our Endless Numbered Days"
Isaac Hayes - "Hot Buttered Soul"
Isolée - "Wearemonster"
James Brown - "20 All-Time Greatest Hits!"
Jamiroquai - "Traveling without Moving"
Jay-Z - "The Blueprint"
Jean Michel Jarre -"Revolutions"
Jeff Beck - "Truth"
Jeff Buckley - "Grace"
Jerry Goodman - "It's Alive"
Jesus and Marychain - "Psychocandy"
Jethro Tull - "Aqualung"
Jill Sobule - "Jill Sobule"
Jimi Hendix - "Are You Experienced"
Joanna Newsom - "The Milk-Eyed Minder"
Joe Jackson - "Night Music"
Joe Strummer - "Global a Go Go"
John Coltrane - "A Love Supreme"
John Hiatt - "Crossing Muddy Waters"
John legend - "Get Lifted"
John Mayer - "Continuum"
Johnny Cash - "At Folsom Prison"
Joni Mitchell - "Blue"
Joss Stone - "Right To Be Wrong"
Journey - "Greatest Hits"
Joy Division - "Closer"
Kanye West - "The College Dropout"
Kate Bush - "Hounds of Love"
Kelley Stoltz - "Below The Branches"
Kenna - "New Sacred Cow"
Kent - "Hagnesta Hill"
Killers, The - "The Killers"
King Tubby & The Soul Syndicate - "Freedom Sounds In Dub"
King's X - "Gretchen Goes to Nebraska"
Kinks, The - "Muswell Hillbillies"
Kirsty MacColl - "Kite"
Kitchens of Distinction - "Strange Free World"
Kraftwerk - "Computer World"
Lacuna Coil - "Comalies"
Lauryn Hill - "The Miseducation of…"
Led Zeppelin - "Houses of the Holy"
Led Zeppelin - "I"
Led Zeppelin - "II"
Led Zeppelin - "IV"
Leftover Salmon - "Euphoria"
Leonard Cohen - "I'm Your Man"
Leonard Cohen - "Songs of Love and Hate"
Lil Wayne - "The Carter"
Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Emmy Lou Harris - "Trio"
Little Brother - "The Listening"
Live - "Mental Jewelry"
Liz Phair - "Exile in Guyville"
Loretta Lynn - "Van Lear Rose"
Louis Armstrong - "Black and Blue"
Love - "Forever Changes"
Lucinda Williams - "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road"
Luka Bloom - "The Acoustic Motorbike"
Lupe Fiasco - "Food and Liquor"
Lyle Lovett - "The Road to Ensenada"
M. Ward - "Post-War"
Madonna - "The Immaculate Collection"
Madvillain - "Madvillainy"
Magnetic Fields - "69 Love Songs"
Maria Muldaur - "Maria Muldaur"
Marillion - All
Mark Knopfler - "Golden Heart"
Mark of Cain, The - "Ill at Ease"
Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On"
Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now
Massive Attack - "Mezzanine"
Masta Ace - "A Long Hot Summer"
Matthew Good Band - "Beautiful Midnight"
Matthew Sweet - "100% Fun"
Meat Loaf - "Bat out of Hell II"
MIA - "Arular"
Michael Hedges - "Live on the Double Planet"
Michael Jackson - "Off The Wall"
Michael Jackson - "Thriller"
Michael Mayer - "Fabric 13"
Miles Davis - "In A Silent Way"
Miles Davis - "Kind of Blue"
Mink Lungs - "I'll Take It"
Minuit - "The Guards Themselves"
Missy Higgins - "The Sound of White"
Modest Mouse - "The Lonesome Crowded West"
Morrissey - "Your Arsenal"
Mos Def - "Black on Both Sides"
Motörhead - "No Remorse"
Mr G - "Hard Texas Funk"
Murs - "Murray's Revenge"
My Bloody Valentine - "Loveless"
NAS - "It Was Written"
NAS - "Lost Tapes"
National, The - "Alligator"
Neil Young - "Harvest"
Neil Young - "On the Beach"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"
New Order - "Low Life"
New Order - "The Best of New Order"
New Pornographers - All
New Radicals - "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too"
Nick Cave - "The Boatman's Call"
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "The Boatman's Call"
Nick Lowe - "Pure Pop For Now People (aka Jesus of Cool)"
NIN - "Pretty Hate Machine"
Nirvana - "Nevermind"
Nirvana - "Unplugged in NY"
No Doubt - "Tragic Kingdom"
NOFX - "Punk in Drublic"
Norah Jones - "Come Away With Me"
Notorious B.I.G. - "Ready to Die"
Oasis - "(What's the Story) Morning Glory"
Ollabelle - "Riverside Battle Songs"
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - "Kill Bill, Vol 1"
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - "Singles"
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - "Sliver"
Otis Redding - "Greatest Hits"
Outkast - "Aquemini"
Parliament - "Mothership Connection"
Pat Metheny - "Still Life (Talking)"
Patti Smith - "Horses"
Paul Simon - "Graceland"
Paul Simon - "Negotiations and Love Songs"
Paul Weller - "Wildwood"
Pavement - "Brighten the Corners"
Pavement - "Crooked Rain"
Pearl Jam - "Ten"
Peter Gabriel - "Passion"
Peter Gabriel - "So"
Peter Gabriel - "Up"
Peter Gabriel - "US"
Philly Sound, The
Phish - "Billy Breathes"
Pink Floyd - "Animals"
Pink Floyd - "Dark Side Of The Moon"
Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here"
Pixies - "Doolittle"
Poe - "Hello"
Pogues - "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash"
Pogues, The - "If I Should Fall From Grace With God"
Police, The - "Synchronicity"
Porcupine Tree - "Signify"
Portishead - "Dummy"
Primal Scream - "Screamadelica"
Prince - "Purple Rain"
Public Enemy - "It Takes a Nation of Millions…"
Pulp - "Different Class"
Queens of the Stone Age - "s/t"
Queensryche - "Operation - Mindcrime"
Quickspace - "Death of Quickspace"
R.E.M. - "Automatic for the People"
R.E.M. - "Eponymous"
R.E.M. - "Lifes Rich Pageant"
R.E.M. - "Murmur"
Rachel - "Selenography"
Radiohead - "Hail to the Thief"
Radiohead - "OK Computer"
Raekwon - "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx"
Ramones - "Ramones"
Rancid - "And Out Come the Wolves"
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Blook Sugar Sex Magik"
Rheostatics - "Whale Music"
Richard and Linda Thompson - "Shoot Out the Lights"
Rilo Kiley - "The Execution of All Things"
Rival Schools - "United By Fate"
Robbie Fulks - "Country Love Songs"
Robert Fripp - "Exposure"
Roots, The - "Things Fall Apart"
Sam Phillips - "The Indescribable Wow"
Scott Walker - "Scott 2"
Seal - "Seal"
Shadowfax - "The Odd Get Even"
Shakira - "Laundry Service"
Shiina Ringo - "Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana"
Shinedown - "Leave a Whisper"
Shins, The - "Oh, Inverted World"
Sigur Ros - "Agaetis Byrjun"
Silver Jews - "American Water"
Simon and Garfunkel - "Bookends"
Simon and Garfunkel - "Bridge over Troubled Water"
Simon and Garfunkel - "Greatest Hits""
Simon and Garfunkel - "Live in Central Park"
Sleater-Kinney - "The Woods"
Sleeping At Last - "Keep No Score"
Sloan - "Navy Blues"
Sloan - "Twice Removed"
Slowdive - "Souvlaki"
Smashing Pumpkins - "Siamese Dream"
Smiths, The - "Louder than Bombs"
Smiths, The - "Meat is Murder"
Smiths, The - "The Queen is Dead"
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - "Greatest Hits"
Snow Patrol - "Eyes Open"
Songs: Ohia - "Magnolia Electric Co."
Sonic Youth - "Daydream Nation"
Sophie B. Hawkins - "Whaler"
Soul Coughing - "El Oso"
Soul Coughing - "Ruby Vroom"
Specials, The - "The Specials"
Spoon - "Kill The Moonlight"
Stan Ridgway - "Mosquitos"
Stars - "Set Youself on Fire"
Stereolab - "Margarine Eclipse"
Stevie Wonder - "Songs in the Key of Life"
Stevie Wonder - "Talking Book"
Stone Roses, The - "The Stone Roses"
Streetlight Manifesto - "Everything Goes Numb"
Sufjan Stevens - "Illinois"
Sugar - "Copper Blue"
System of a Down - "Toxicity"
T. Rex - "Electric Warrior"
Talk Talk - "Laughing Stock"
Talking Heads - "Fear of Music"
Talking Heads - "More Songs About Buildings and Food"
Talking Heads - "Remain In Light"
Talking Heads - "Stop Making Sense"
Tangerine Dream - "Exit"
Tangerine Dream - "Poland"
Tangerine Dream - "Tangram"
T-Bone Burnett - "The Criminal Under My Own Hat"
Teenage Kicks - "UK Pop 1976-1978"
Television - "Marquee Moon"
They Might Be Giants - "Apollo 18"
They Might Be Giants - "Flood"
They Might Be Giants - "John Henry"
Thomas Dolby - "Aliens Ate My Buick"
Thomas Dolby - "Astronauts and Heretics"
Thomas Dolby - "The Golden Age Of Wireless"
Tito Puente - "Dance Mania"
Todd Rundgren - "A Cappella"
Todd Rundgren - "Liars"
Todd Rundgren - "Nearly Human"
Todd Rundgren - "No World Order"
Tony MacAlpine - "Maximum Security"
Tool - "Lateralus"
Tori Amos - "Little Earthquakes"
Tortoise - "TNT"
Toy Matinee - "Toy Matinee"
T'Pau - "T'Pau".
Tropicalia - "A Braqzilian Revolution in Sound"
TV on the Radio - "Return to Cookie Mountain"
U2 - "October"
U2 - "The Joshua Tree"
U2 - "War"
Various Artists - "Nu Yorica Roots"
Various Artists - "The Best Northern Soul All Nighter"
VAST - "Visual Audio Sensory Theater"
Velvet Crush - "Teenage Symphonies to God"
Velvet Underground - "1969"
Velvet Underground, The - "The Velvet Underground and Nico (banana album)"
Waterboys, The - "Fisherman's Blues"
Waterboys, The - "Room to Roam"
Weakerthans, The - "Reconstruction Site"
Weary Boys, The - "Jumpin Jolie"
Weezer - "Blue Album"
Weezer - "Pinkerton"
White Stripes, The - "Elephant"
White Stripes, The - "White Blood Cells"
Who, The - "Who's Next"
Wilco - "Summerteeth"
Wilco - "A Ghost Is Born"
Wilco - "Summerteeth"
Wilco - "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"
Wire - "Pink Flag"
Wolf Parade - "Apologies to the Queen Mary"
Wrens, The - "Meadowlands"
Wu Tang Clan - "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)"
XTC - "Skylarking"
Yes - "Drama"
Zero7 - "Simple Things"
posted by bwilms at 8:41 AM on December 13, 2006 [9 favorites has favorites]

Nice work! One minor correction:

David Bowie - "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust"
David Bowie - "The Spiders from Mars"

This is one album, titled "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars."
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:13 AM on December 13, 2006

The Beach Boys - "Love You".
posted by btocher at 9:31 AM on December 13, 2006

69 Love Songs must be a joke. And Joanna Newsom's debut is called the Milk-Eyed Mender. I think it's basically unlistenable, and if you want to listen to Joanna, I think her latest, Ys, is much better, and might actually fulfill the thread's criteria to boot, but there you go.
posted by smorange at 2:05 PM on December 13, 2006

I can’t believe I’m going to commit this relic of my early adulthood to an infinitely replicable and searchable electronic medium, but Green Thoughts and Especially for You by the Smithereens.

And Blondie. Fuck me I’m old.

That’s pretty much her. Of the albums listed here that I’ve heard, I have reservations about all of them, including Tool, who are erratic enough that one must assemble a compilation to avoid things like recordings of answering-machine messages.

I handle this on iTunes by using two stars as the lowest rating, one star as an indicator to delete a song later, and zero to mean unheard. I promise you there is no album whose every song has two or more stars.
posted by joeclark at 9:54 PM on December 13, 2006

Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Bowie - Deram Anthology (has a few repeats, but, IMHO, there aren't any bad songs. YMMV)
Cake - anything, but especially Fashion Nugget and Pressure Chief
Beatles - Abbey Road
Beatles - Let It Be

I don't agree that David Bowie's Hunky Dory is a filler-free album. Eight Line Poem definitely strikes me as filler.
posted by ramenopres at 8:37 PM on November 4, 2007