What are the most ambitious albums you've ever heard?

[russwest0]

Whether they were WAY before their time, completely different from the popular music at that time, going against what every fan and music critic expected from them, or just creating a new genre, lets see them. Also, please try not to include more than one album from each artist you include.

My list:

The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
Full Album

To quote Brian Eno: "while the first Velvet Underground album may have sold only 30,000 copies in its early years, everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band."

Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979)
Full Album


Nirvana - In Utero (1993)
Full Album


My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1993)
Full Album


Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
Full Album


Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
Full Album


The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)
Full Album


MGMT - Congratulations (2010)
Full Album

[DwnShft2Xcelr8]

It didn't have any "I'm a real gangsta! Bang bang! Throw ya hood up!" tracks. Breath of fresh air in the hip hop scene at the time.

[~primetime~]

Nevermind was much more groundbreaking than In Utero was...Nevermind was seen as the album that killed heavy metal/hair metal

[rufuspaul]

[Nick Young]

Kid A is just like all electro that's been made since the 80s-never got the hype. Has the world never heard of Kraftwerk yo?

[~primetime~]

It didn't have any [COLOR="Red"]"I'm a real gangsta! Bang bang! Throw ya hood up!"[/COLOR] tracks. Breath of fresh air in the hip hop scene at the time.

and IMO the most groundbreaking album of that type was The Chronic

yeah there was NWA and some others that were "gangsta rap" before the The Chronic...but The Chronic was the one that pushed gangsta rap into the mainstream and create a plethora of artists to follow in it's footsteps.

[~primetime~]

Appetite for Destruction is up there too, that album was a game changer

Axl Rose is one of the most unique vocalists ever...you've probably never heard anyone do a Guns and Roses song at a karaoke bar because the only person that can sound like Axl Rose is Axl Rose.

[ZeN]

My List


The Antler - Hospice (2009)
Full Album





TELEVISION - Marquee Moon (1977)
Full Album





The Dead Weather - Horehound (2009)
Full Album: Live @ Prive - Epic Performance

[nathanjizzle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19wThYrco60

[russwest0]

Nevermind was much more groundbreaking than In Utero was...Nevermind was seen as the album that killed heavy metal/hair metal

yeah Nevermind had a bigger impact but I think the music of In Utero was more ambitious.

Nirvana was the biggest band in the world and had an insurmountable amount of pressure to make Nevermind Part Two, but instead they said "fukk you, we'll do whatever the fukk we want" and then they made another timeless classic

[joe]

How do you mean ambitious, OP? What makes the albums you listed ambitious?

[CeltsGarlic]

Nevermind was much more groundbreaking than In Utero was...Nevermind was seen as the album that killed heavy metal/hair metal

this

[CeltsGarlic]

Kid Cudi - Satellite Flight

[COLOR="White"]lol jk[/COLOR]

[ZeN]

Nevermind was much more groundbreaking than In Utero was...Nevermind was seen as the album that killed heavy metal/hair metal

OP didn't state groundbreaking he said ambitious. In Utero has an overall consistency in melody and overall sound that it felt almost like a concept album. Plus, it aimed to be unlike the previous album without deviating from the bands strengths.

People may recall Nevermind more because it was the star making album. Yet it held a lot pandering with radio specific tunes like Smells Like Teen Spirit and anthem songs like Lithium.

Even Kurt thought so, which is why he and the band decided to not give a shit on In Utero and do whatever they wanted.

Inside the makind of Nevermind

[QUOTE] Mixing the record, the band and producer hit another snag. "Kurt kept trying to bury his voice," says Vig. "I kept arguing, 'You can't do that. Your vocal performance is as intense as the drums and the bass and the guitar.'"

Vig eventually won the argument, but his mixes didn't make it onto the album. [B]The band decided to hire an outside engineer. Andy Wallace, who'd worked with Slayer, gave Nevermind its incredible sonic sheen

[rufuspaul]

U2 took a big risk in the early 90s and produced their best album imo. From Pitchfork:

"Achtung Baby is rightly known as one of rock's greatest reinventions because it was so complete. Sure, U2 changed their sound from chiming melodics to lurching, distorted rhythm. But they also changed their attitude, their demeanor, their look, their ideas on how to deal with celebrity."