Perfect Albums?

Fixxer315

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There are good albums, there are great albums, but what about perfect albums? By perfect, I mean an album in which there is not one single song that isn't awesome in one way or another--an album in which you would not change a single thing. Here are some that I consider to be perfect.

Metallica--Master of Puppets: It starts and ends with perfect thrash fury in Battery and Damage Inc, but in the middle there is quite an amazing range, from melodic (Welcome Home/Sanitarium, title track bridge) to epic furiosity (Disposable Heroes), to grinding stomping (The Thing that Should Not Be & Orion). There is nothing about this album that is not excellent in one way or another.

WASP--Crimson Idol: In a just world, this would have been the album that broke WASP through to the mainstream, as it's one of the best concept albums of all time. Blackie Lawelss really poured his heart into this album and it showed. Murders in the New Morgue is one of the most aggressive songs in the band's catalog, while The Idol is a true epic.

Iced Earth--Dark Saga: This album marked an interesting change for the band, as they became more focused on shorter songs, and it worked. Matt Barlow settles in as the singer, letting his emotions dominate the music, while the riffs from Schafer are as good as ever. Although every song is awesome, highlights include the emotional A Question of Heaven and the furious Violate.

Rush--Power Windows: I had considered Moving Pictures, but IMO, Vital Signs doesn't match up to the rest of the album. On the other hand, Power Windows is excellent on every level. Some may not have liked the heavy synths of this album (and indeed throughout much of the 80's for this band), but I really enjoyed the sound, from the up-tempo opener in Big Money, to the atmospheric closer in Mystic Rhythms.

Dream Theater--Images and Words: This was a close one, as I'm not much of a fan of Another Day. However, it works for what it is trying to do, so I'll let it slide, since the rest of the album is so awesome, particularly Pull Me Under, Metropolis and Learning to Live.

Pink Floyd--The Wall: No explanation is truly needed here, but suffice it to say, this is a truly emotional roller-coaster of an album that is unforgettable. Gilmour is particularly great here, with memorable riffs (Young Lust, Another Brick in the Wall), and solos (Mother, Comfortably Numb).

So, what would you consider to be a perfect album?
 
This is a good one and will be interested in seeing what others feel as perfect albums. Good topic here.

The Great Escape - Seventh Wonder
The Divine Wings of Tragedy - Symphony X
Love and War - Lillian Axe
Mechanical Resonance - Tesla
Master of Puppets - Metallica
Monumentum - Eclipse
Lost in the Wild - Melidian
Screw It - Danger Danger
Transcendence - Crimson Glory

Brand
 
Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory
Tesla - Mechanical Resonance
Ratt - Out Of The Cellar
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
King Diamond - Abagail
Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil
 
Judas Priest - Stained Class, Screaming for Vengeance, Turbo, Painkiller
Symphony X - Iconoclast (Two disc version)
Therion - Gothic Kabbalah
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave
Amorphis - Silent Waters
Metallica - Ride the Lightning, (Black album)
Hatebreed - The Concrete Confessional
Manowar - Fighting the World, Kings of Metal
Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising, Jomsviking
Megadeth - Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?
Slayer - South of Heaven, Seasons in the Abyss
Wrathchild America - Climbin' the Walls
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin, No More Tears
Dio - Holy Diver, The Last in Line, Sacred Heart, Dream Evil
Savatage - Power of the Night
Rush - Fly by Night, 2112, Roll the Bones
AC/DC - Let There Be Rock, Highway to Hell
Rainbow - Rising
Pantera - Cowboys from Hell, Vulgar Display of Power
Dream Evil - The Book of Heavy Metal
Coverdale/Page - (Self - Titled)
Led Zeppelin - II
Shadows Fall - The War Within
Slipknot - All Hope is Gone
Van Halen - (Self - Titled), II, 5150, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Whitesnake - Slide it in, 1987, Slip of the Tongue
Bad Company - Dangerous Age
KISS - Creatures of the Night, Animalize, Revenge
Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies
TNT - Knights of the New Thunder, Tell No Tales
Blue Oyster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin, Club Ninja, Heaven Forbid
Primal Fear - Nuclear Fire, Black Sun
Axel Rudi Pell - Oceans of Time, The Masquerade Ball
Pink Floyd - The Wall, Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell
Luca Turilli - The King of Nordic Twilight
Saxon - Power and the Glory, Crusader, Sacrifice, Battering Ram
 
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there are only 2 perfect albums on my book:
Slayer-Reign in Blood
Metallica-Master of Puppets

there are many albums close, but these are the only 2 perfect from beginning to end.
 
Scar Symmetry - The Singularity Phase 1

Elvenking - The Pagan Manifesto

I'd have to do some thinking to come up with any other "completely perfect wouldn't change the tiniest detail" albums.
 
Screw It - Danger Danger

Mad props for including Lillian Axe on your list! L&W is a GREAT album ("Letters in the Rain" is a KILLER track!), but this D2 inclusion shocks me to no end...... There's some good stuff on this disc, but there's some crazy crap on here too......
 
Equilibrium - Sagas
Nightwish - Oceanborn
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Edguy - The Savage Poetry
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
In Flames - The Jester Race
Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt
Saigon Kick - Water
Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle Earth
Naglfar - Sheol
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance
 
Therion - Gothic Kabbalah
Amorphis - Silent Waters
Dream Evil - The Book of Heavy Metal

I don't know if I'd consider these "perfect" albums, but they're definitely up there among my personal favorites.

As far as "perfect" albums, I'd go with:

Opeth - "Blackwater Park"
Tool - "Lateralus"
Metallica - "Master Of Puppets"
Agalloch - "The Mantle"

On the border would be: Isis - "Oceanic"
 
Well, off the top of my head:

Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory
Frank Zappa - Apostrophe
Spock's Beard - Snow
Gentle Giant - The Power and the Glory
Mind's Eye - A Gentleman's Hurricane
Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls
Spastic Ink - Ink Compatible
Ayreon - The Human Equation

I'm pretty sure there are more, but I am old and forgetful and these are the ones burned into my memory.
 
Hey there Sir Exar Kun,

No doubt about Letters In The Rain - I love that song but my fav from the album is Ghost of Winter. That song just does it for me and Ron's vocals on this entire album are awesome.
D2 - This one just does it for me. The first one was so polished and safe - good songs for sure - but just just felt like the record company made them go out with it. Screw It came out and it was raunchy and fun - this felt like the real D2 and I love every second of it. Ted Poley is a great singer and still sounds good today.
 
After doing a little thinking.....not as many as i would have thought, especially metal....at least that come to mind right now.

Queen: A night at the Opera.....especially when taking in consideration their whole catalog. This album is just about everything Queen was in under 43 minutes....without all the fill.

Pink Floyd: Dark side of the Moon is definitely a perfect album...but really thought Wish You Were Here was....well....more perfect, if such a condition can really exist. The instrumental soundscape was groundbreaking and is what today, is still emulated by so many.

Black Sabbath: Masters of Reality....really felt their writing, on all levels peaked here. There is a seamlessness within and between that I have never found on any other Sabbath related disc.

------

Live Albums - not a big fan of them, yet two i find to be perfect:

Rod Stewart & Faces: Coast to Coast: Overture & Beginners....9 songs total, 6 covers.....by far some of the best versions of the covers i have ever heard. This album absolutely captured the performance and Stewart 's personality. A hard to find album.

J Geils: Blow Your Face Out...absolutely captured what a live J Geils experience was....most live albums miss the mark, not here.

------

You would think I'd have something current....oh well, the one and only that comes to mind, and still a few years old:
Kingcrow: Phlegethon......so much within is so familiar, yet...is not so by any means....perfection.
 
Blind Guardian-Nightfall in Middle Earth
Helloween-Keeper 1 and 2
Iron Maiden-Seventh Son and Somewhere in Time
Overkill-Horrorscope
 
Accept - Blood of the Nations
Black Sabbath - Sabotage
Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side
Buddy Guy - Stone Crazy
Dokken - Under Lock and Key
Ensiferum - Iron
Iced Earth - The Dark Saga
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Judas Priest - Stained Class
Kamelot - The Black Halo
Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance
Nightwish - Wishmaster
Rush - A Farewell to Kings
Savatage - Live Devastation
Scorpions - Tokyo Tapes
Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous

I'm sure I'll think of something else later..
 
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That Savatage "Live Devastation" is also real good & its one of my favorites. Its not easy to find, but if you can find a copy get it. The production isn't polished, but that is part of the appeal. Its definitely Savatage in all their 80s glory.
 
That Savatage "Live Devastation" is also real good & its one of my favorites. Its not easy to find, but if you can find a copy get it. The production isn't polished, but that is part of the appeal. Its definitely Savatage in all their 80s glory.

It's not produced at all—it's a collection of bootleg recordings. And yes, there are a shocking number of copies out there for an album that was never officially released. (*wink*)
 
I'll go with....

Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
Kontrust - The Butterfly Effect
Gojira - Magma

and my wildcard and one of my faves

Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death