Rank The Albums!

I think I'm well versed enough in the A Thousand Leaves and after SY albums to do a ranking now. I feel like I listen to them more presently than I ever have thanks to spending the last couple years familiarizing myself with their later work. As you can see ATL/MS/SN especially made an imprint on me...

Sonic Youth

1. Daydream Nation
2. Goo
3. Sister
4. Murray Street
5. A Thousand Leaves
6. Dirty
7. Sonic Nurse
8. Experimental Jet Set, Trash And No Star
9. Washing Machine
10. EVOL
11. Rather Ripped
12. Bad Moon Rising
13. The Eternal
14. NYC Ghosts & Flowers
15. Confusion Is Sex
16. Sonic Youth
 
CrazyDiamond84 said:
I think I'm well versed enough in the A Thousand Leaves and after SY albums to do a ranking now. I feel like I listen to them more presently than I ever have thanks to spending the last couple years familiarizing myself with their later work. As you can see ATL/MS/SN especially made an imprint on me...

Sonic Youth

1. Daydream Nation
2. Goo
3. Sister
4. Murray Street
5. A Thousand Leaves
6. Dirty
7. Sonic Nurse
8. Experimental Jet Set, Trash And No Star
9. Washing Machine
10. EVOL
11. Rather Ripped
12. Bad Moon Rising
13. The Eternal
14. NYC Ghosts & Flowers
15. Confusion Is Sex
16. Sonic Youth
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I would personally drop A Thousand Leaves a bit and Experimental Jet Set below Bad Moon Rising and I personally prefer Goo to Daydream Nation (though I acknowledge that Daydream is their magnum opus) other than that I might flip flop a few but I think we’re in the same ballpark.

Have you had a chance to explore any of the SYR albums or any of their solo albums?
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
I would personally drop A Thousand Leaves a bit and Experimental Jet Set below Bad Moon Rising and I personally prefer Goo to Daydream Nation (though I acknowledge that Daydream is their magnum opus) other than that I might flip flop a few but I think we’re in the same ballpark.

Have you had a chance to explore any of the SYR albums or any of their solo albums?
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Yeah it's tough as really there's not a huge gap between a lot of my rankings. Jet Set is somewhat special as its the first full album I've ever listened to from them. I bought the cd on a whim back in high school because I had heard of them, and thought the cover was pretty cool.

And no to the last question. I've been meaning to check out Kim's solo stuff cause she kicked ass when I saw her set at Pitchfork Fest a couple years ago. I've listened to some Thurston Moore stuff, but never a full album. You'll have to let me know what to check out with SYR as I'm not familiar.
 
CrazyDiamond84 said:
I think I'm well versed enough in the A Thousand Leaves and after SY albums to do a ranking now. I feel like I listen to them more presently than I ever have thanks to spending the last couple years familiarizing myself with their later work. As you can see ATL/MS/SN especially made an imprint on me...

Sonic Youth

1. Daydream Nation
2. Goo
3. Sister
4. Murray Street
5. A Thousand Leaves
6. Dirty
7. Sonic Nurse
8. Experimental Jet Set, Trash And No Star
9. Washing Machine
10. EVOL
11. Rather Ripped
12. Bad Moon Rising
13. The Eternal
14. NYC Ghosts & Flowers
15. Confusion Is Sex
16. Sonic Youth
Click to expand...
I’d have Jet Set, EVOL, and Rather Ripped higher in my list. Sister is good but I’ve always thought it’s a little too long of an album.
 
wokeupnew said:
I’d have Jet Set, EVOL, and Rather Ripped higher in my list. Sister is good but I’ve always thought it’s a little too long of an album.
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Yeah I know EVOL is a highly beloved one. The Sister-Washing Machine album run was just always the sweet spot for me for years. At least until my recent later album listening. I feel EVOl and Bad Moon Rising both kind of were left out for me though I do still love them. I never liked their first 2 albums though.
 
CrazyDiamond84 said:
I think I'm well versed enough in the A Thousand Leaves and after SY albums to do a ranking now. I feel like I listen to them more presently than I ever have thanks to spending the last couple years familiarizing myself with their later work. As you can see ATL/MS/SN especially made an imprint on me...

Sonic Youth

1. Daydream Nation
2. Goo
3. Sister
4. Murray Street
5. A Thousand Leaves
6. Dirty
7. Sonic Nurse
8. Experimental Jet Set, Trash And No Star
9. Washing Machine
10. EVOL
11. Rather Ripped
12. Bad Moon Rising
13. The Eternal
14. NYC Ghosts & Flowers
15. Confusion Is Sex
16. Sonic Youth
Click to expand...
It has to be personal preference, but I argue that Washing Machine, Bad Moon Rising, and Confusion Is Sex are way, way too low. I love the dreaminess of WM, the evolution of their melodicism on BMR, and the outright use of dissonance as chord progressions on CIS.

For solo records, I love Lee's Between The Times And The Tides and Kim's No Home Record.
 
MadLucas said:
It has to be personal preference, but I argue that Washing Machine, Bad Moon Rising, and Confusion Is Sex are way, way too low. I love the dreaminess of WM, the evolution of their melodicism on BMR, and the outright use of dissonance as chord progressions on CIS.

For solo records, I love Lee's Between The Times And The Tides and Kim's No Home Record.
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WM's ranking is deceiving as it could really be placed anywhere from like 6-9 as I love it. Pre-sister SY should be my next stuff to revisit. BMR I forget about sometimes maybe because it's one of the few I don't have on vinyl. Never liked CIS, but will definitely revisit as its been a very long time since I've heard that or their debut ep
 
CrazyDiamond84 said:
Yeah it's tough as really there's not a huge gap between a lot of my rankings. Jet Set is somewhat special as its the first full album I've ever listened to from them. I bought the cd on a whim back in high school because I had heard of them, and thought the cover was pretty cool.

And no to the last question. I've been meaning to check out Kim's solo stuff cause she kicked ass when I saw her set at Pitchfork Fest a couple years ago. I've listened to some Thurston Moore stuff, but never a full album. You'll have to let me know what to check out with SYR as I'm not familiar.
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I have 4 Thurston Moore albums and there are probably two to three others I wouldn’t mind adding. His solo stuff fluctuates between more straightforward Sonic Youth style rock to more avant-garde projects. I tend to prefer the former. Psychic Hearts (which you can find OG copies of at a very reasonable price) came out the same year as Washing Machine and is worth seeking out. Lee Ranaldo has some interesting solo albums too. I love Kim’s Sonic Youth stuff I didn’t care much for her solo album as it felt like too much of a departure. I really should give it another listen as I think there was a bit of a shock to my system the first time I listened to it as it was so different to what I was expecting.

Did you pick up last year’s In/Out/In? The SYR stuff is pretty similar to that. Mostly improvised jam sessions. I have the first 3 on vinyl but wouldn’t be opposed to add more if I stumbled upon them.
 
CrazyDiamond84 said:
I forget Jim Orourke was there for a bit. Love his Drag City albums.
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Yeah, Jim O’Rourke is one of my faves. His solo stuff, his run with Wilco (and Loose Fur), his run with Sonic Youth the guy has been in the middle of it all. You should check out his final Gastr Del Sol album, Camoufleur if ya haven’t done so already. It’s quite good too.
 
CrazyDiamond84 said:
it does have a few really good songs on it.
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Yeah you could probably say that about the run of Jet Set > Thousand Leaves > NYC Ghosts, they had some fantastic songs in that run but the albums were more mediocre (within the context of their discography). I think EVOL and Bad Moon Rising were better albums overall but nothing in the way of standout singles.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
I have 4 Thurston Moore albums and there are probably two to three others I wouldn’t mind adding. His solo stuff fluctuates between more straightforward Sonic Youth style rock to more avant-garde projects. I tend to prefer the former. Psychic Hearts (which you can find OG copies of at a very reasonable price) came out the same year as Washing Machine and is worth seeking out. Lee Ranaldo has some interesting solo albums too. I love Kim’s Sonic Youth stuff I didn’t care much for her solo album as it felt like too much of a departure. I really should give it another listen as I think there was a bit of a shock to my system the first time I listened to it as it was so different to what I was expecting.

Did you pick up last year’s In/Out/In? The SYR stuff is pretty similar to that. Mostly improvised jam sessions. I have the first 3 on vinyl but wouldn’t be opposed to add more if I stumbled upon them.
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Perfect timing. I'll be away from my turntable for at least a couple weeks after today, so I can work on checking this all out!
 
CrazyDiamond84 said:
I think I'm well versed enough in the A Thousand Leaves and after SY albums to do a ranking now. I feel like I listen to them more presently than I ever have thanks to spending the last couple years familiarizing myself with their later work. As you can see ATL/MS/SN especially made an imprint on me...

Sonic Youth

1. Daydream Nation
2. Goo
3. Sister
4. Murray Street
5. A Thousand Leaves
6. Dirty
7. Sonic Nurse
8. Experimental Jet Set, Trash And No Star
9. Washing Machine
10. EVOL
11. Rather Ripped
12. Bad Moon Rising
13. The Eternal
14. NYC Ghosts & Flowers
15. Confusion Is Sex
16. Sonic Youth
Click to expand...
As universally loved Goo is, I always preferred Dirty, and I also prefer Sonic Nurse over Murray Street. I know I’m an anomaly. I like your placement of A Thousand Leaves, but I’d probably tweek your 9-12 a little. I definitely need to revisit NYCG&F
 
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CrazyDiamond84 said:
I think I'm well versed enough in the A Thousand Leaves and after SY albums to do a ranking now. I feel like I listen to them more presently than I ever have thanks to spending the last couple years familiarizing myself with their later work. As you can see ATL/MS/SN especially made an imprint on me...

Sonic Youth

1. Daydream Nation
2. Goo
3. Sister
4. Murray Street
5. A Thousand Leaves
6. Dirty
7. Sonic Nurse
8. Experimental Jet Set, Trash And No Star
9. Washing Machine
10. EVOL
11. Rather Ripped
12. Bad Moon Rising
13. The Eternal
14. NYC Ghosts & Flowers
15. Confusion Is Sex
16. Sonic Youth
Click to expand...
I did my ranking within the last few months, i’m going to rank again without looking at my previous list and see how close they are.

1. Daydream Nation
2. Dirty
3. Sister
4. Sonic Nurse
5. Goo
6. Murray Street
7. A Thousand Leaves
8. Rather Ripped
9. EJSTNS
10. Washing Machine
11. EVOL
12. Bad Moon Rising
13. The Eternal
14. Confusion Is Sex
15. Sonic Youth
16. NYC Ghosts & Flowers
 
Here’s my Sonic Youth rank again, I doubt it’s the same as my last time through.

01. Daydream Nation*
02. Goo*
03. Sister*
04. Murray Street*
05. Dirty*
06. Washing Machine*
07. Sonic Nurse*
08. EVOL*
09. Rather Ripped*
10. Bad Moon Rising*
11. Experimental Jet Set*
12. A Thousand Leaves
13. The Eternal*
14. NYC Ghosts and Flowers
15. Confusion Is Sex
16. Sonic Youth
17. Whitey Album

*own on vinyl.
 
Sonic Youth is definitely a tough one!

1. Goo
2. Sister
3. Washing Machine
4. Daydream Nation
5. Sonic Nurse
6. Evol
7. Murray Street
8. Dirty
9. Rather Ripped
10. Experimental Jet Set
11. Bad Moon Rising

I'd put Thurston Moore's Psychic Hearts somewhere between Washing Machine and Sonic Nurse, depending on the day.
TBH I haven't listened to the rest. I should at least spend some more time with A Thousand Leaves...
 
wokeupnew said:
I’d have Jet Set, EVOL, and Rather Ripped higher in my list. Sister is good but I’ve always thought it’s a little too long of an album.
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EDIT. I was confusing Sister and Dirty. Sister is GOOD. Dirty definitely has some good songs but is overall too long. I haven’t listened to SY in a while so was going off memory.
 
Tennis

There really isn't a Tennis album that I like the most by a significant margin. Cape Dory edges the others out slightly. You could make an argument for either of the top 4 as the best and I'd agree with it. Pollen needs a little bit more time but I'm liking it so far. Ritual in Repeat is the only album that I don't really care for of theirs.
  1. Cape Dory
  2. Young & Old
  3. Yours Conditionally
  4. Swimmer
  5. Pollen
  6. Ritual in Repeat
 
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