What's your favorite band's best album?

Master of Puppets
- I was stunned. Even critics who hated metal were all about that album. To my mind, it was the first metal album where people said, "You have to admit it's damned good, even if you don't like the genre."
  Does that make sense? People may not have enjoyed the album, but respected it none the less.
  Another amazing thing about that Master of Puppets, it rocketed to popularity in a time where being on Mtv was a must and Metallica said they wouldn't play that game. We were shocked when they released the video for One, had no idea it was coming. Wondered in at midnight and turned on the Headbangers Ball and, "NOW! The world premiere video of Metallica's One!"
  
  I still, to this day, get chills when I hear that middle section in Orion. If Cliff hadn't have died, the world of metal would be incredibly different. ALL of the good material on Justice is written by Cliff at least in some part. The two untouchable members of Metallica, to me, are Cliff Burton, and James Hetfield, the finest rhythm guitar player that has ever lived.
  Cliff's songwriting and Hetfield's rhythm playing would have produced hundreds more classics. He was like the McCartney of metal. Sucks that Bob Rock had such an indelible mark on Metallica.
  ShouldaBeenLars

Time by the Electric Light Orchestra. that period in the late 70s and early 80s where synthesizer music was getting popular but hadn't fully codified norms yet is chock full of incredible music, and Time was one of those albums while also being the culmination of a lot of the rock and pop that came before it. add an engaging and heartbreaking story and you have a winner
- Have you heard the remastered version with additional tracks? Julie Don’t Live Here is especially poignant.
  Also, the album Eldorado.
  
  yeah, the 2001 CD remaster was actually the one i grew up with! Julie is also my favorite bonus track. i don't understand how it's possible to make something that upbeat and melancholy at the same time but it just works
- I was definitely not expecting to see ELO as the very, very first result here but I'm pleasantly surprised.
  Much like the other commenter, I'd also add that Eldorado is definitely a strong contender for their best album - arguably for the fact that I've never ever listened to an album that came anywhere close to it.
  Finally, I'd throw in Discovery + ELO's side of Xanadu, just for the mere fact that it's their work featuring not a single weak track, all of them being single worthy and massive hits around the world.

Mezzanine
- Risingson makes me feel like im inside a private bdsm dungeon party session in underground germany with my buddy mike

It’s a tie for me
Pearl Jam. (1991). Ten [Album]. Epic Records.
A Tribe Called Quest. (1991). The Low End Theory [Album]. Jive Records.
- My fuck, Low End Theory is one of the best albums in history.
  You on point, Tip?
- Here's my thing about 'Ten'.
  I love the first half of this album. It's some of the best music I know in the genre. High energy, catchy, passionate. But somehow, the second half feels to me like the band ran out of ideas and gas. After 'Jeremy' it's all pretty average, low-energy stuff, with the exception of 'Garden'.
  
  Porch is a banger for me.

Either The Wall by Pink Floyd or In Rainbows by Radiohead
Or The Money Store by Death Grips
Or ænemia by Tool
Or Dirt by Alice in Chains
Or-
- Or Currents by Tame Impala
  
  OR WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? by Bille Eilish

NIИ - The Downward Spiral is the common choice, but The Fragile is a much more complete album. However, my personal favorite is Year Zero.
- I would say Pretty Hate Machine is probably the best known. My favorite is Broken. You are probably correct about Downward Spiral being the consensus among the fan base as a whole. What I really like about NIN is that I enjoy all of their albums. Many other bands I like have some that I avoid. Probably my least favorite NIN album is Fixed and it's still pretty listenable.

- A lot of people say White Pony, but Around The Fur is where it's at.
  
  White Pony is accessible and everyone knows it. Around the Fur has the best snare I've ever heard recorded.

Ween - Quebec
Favorite band is very tough. It’s probably Ween, and Quebec slightly over The Mollusk for me
- Mmm, my order of favorite Ween albums would be Chocolate and Cheese, Quebec, White Pepper.
  But Mollusk has some bangers on it too (Buckingham Green).
  Why yes, yes I am down with the brown.
  
  Did you listen to the Deluxe C&C yet? The “new” songs are really great

It's a 3 way tie between Back in Black, Led Zeppelin II and Wish You Were Here.
- LZ II is a perfect album. But then LZ IV is too... And also Physical Graffiti... It's hard to pick just one.

My Arms, Your Hearse by Opeth.
Edit: tied with BURN, PIANO ISLAND BURN by The Blood Brothers.

Paul's Boutique
- Such a wild record. Great pick!

Enslaved is my favourite band and for me its a bit of a toss up between the albums 'In Times' and 'Ruun'.
Before Enslaved took the top spot, it was Dissection's 'Storm Of The Light's Bane'. Honorable mention for Opeth's 'Blackwater Park'.
- Blackwater Park would have been my choice.
- Storm of the Light's Bane is a top 5 album all time for me, but Dissection is not my favorite band, if that makes sense.

I have several favorite bands, so I refuse to choose between them. In no particular order:
Dream Theater - Images and Words, but Awake is only lagging behind by a nanometer.
Metallica - I have a hard time choosing between Puppets and Black
Destiny Potato - Lun
Dimmu Borgir - Puritanical
Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
- Nice, I don't think I've ever met another person who even knows who Destiny Potato are. They released another album as Sordid Pink, in case you weren't aware. Not as good as Lun though, imo.
  
  I first stumbled across them in early 2015 via spotify recommending Indifferent. That caused me to check out the entire album, and I instantly loved it.

Beatles answer: Revolver
Non-Beatles answer: Sunny Day Real Estate - the pink album

Somewhere Far Beyond.
They just re-recorded it and it's great.
- "Now you all know...

Kid A
- It's tough to pick between Kid A and In Rainbows, but I think In Rainbows sneaks by for me.
  
  It's Kid A for me because not only was that my intro to the band, but also because it was so unexpected when it was released, was hated by a lot of their long-term fans that wanted another guitar centered rock act, and it set the band (and to an extent the genre) in a completely new direction.
  One of my favorite things was Thom Yorke, when asked about how he felt about bands that were copying OK Computer said: Good luck with Kid A.

Best is subjective. But my favorite album of my favorite band is Rankarumpu by Korpiklaani. I was bummed to see their previous violin player go on hiatus, but the new violinist brought a new energy to this album. Title track

Born to Run. Wait...Darkness on the Edge of Town. Wait...Nebraska...

Jimi Hendrix Experience's Electric Ladyland.
It's the quintessential experimental album: with songs spacing through many different genres, two 10+ minutes long jams, recurring themes and the best cover ever to be performed which is All Along the Watchtower (originally from Bob Dylan)

Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Such a refined masterpiece that few can touch. Mob rules and Dehumanizer are close seconds, but miss the sheer presence that Heaven and Hell beholds.
To me at least, Heaven and Hell is immersive and profound to an extent, that their other albums cannot compare. It holds a very special place in my heart.
Dio - The last in line.
Not quite head and shoulders above his other albums, but lands the most hits for me. I love every track on this album, and none are a "miss". I love (almost) every other Dio album, but each has at least one song that doesn't resonate with me.
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms
Cliche choice, but extremely enjoyable to listen and relax to. If you listen more closely, it becomes very immersive as each song has a clear story and a moral. Though some tracks are slower paced and longer, I don't find a single one boring, which I sometimes do on other Dire Straits albums.

Dream Theater "Awake" (1994). Extraordinary from the first to the last note. 75 minutes of phenomenal prog metal. They've made good and great albums before and after, but they never excelled the pure class and artistry displayed on this album.
Bruce Dickinson "The Chemical Wedding". I never liked Iron Maiden much, but Dickinson's solo stuff is a different class. Fresh, creative, varied, energetic. Most of his solo albums are well worth the listen, but "Chemical Wedding" stands out for its high variety and creativity.

prolly not a popular opinion but; violent femmes why do birds sing
- you're telling me you think this is better than the eponymous album
  
  yes!
  i dunno.. theres something more... hmmm... personal about it. i like epo, but i love wdbs

American Idiot is better than Dookie in my opinion but apples and oranges on that.
- Insomniac for me.
  
  Probably my favorite mixing on any GD album. The bass is nice and meaty without overpowering anything else in the soundstage, truly excellent.

Blackbird by Alter Bridge

Either <°_°> or †; have fun pronouncing them

Syro - Aphex Twin
So many synth timbers, not repetitive, and still holds a connection with dance floor nostalgia

Avalon by Roxy Music.

For Queen, take a listen to their second album, Queen 2. It's quite underrated, as only Seven Seas of Rhye is on the greatest hits.
However it's a phenomenal record, full of their musical experimentation that would find critical fruition in night at the opera, but a bit more raw and moody.

Nonagon Infinity - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Though their other 25 albums are awesome too.
I am also partial to their album PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: an Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation. Probably my favorite metal album, and they aren't even a pure metal band.
- I think my personal favorite is Omnium Gatherum, but it has some ups and downs. Nonagon Infinity is pretty much flawless from top to bottom (and back to top)

Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World
- Clarity is peak for me, but Bleed American is an amazing accomplishment

My favourite band changes all the time, mostly depends on who released an album last lol.
My current favourite band is Seven Spires, they just released A Fortress Called Home recently, which I think is awesome. But I think my favourite album of theirs has got to be Gods of Debauchery.
A close second right now is Eternal Blue by Spiritbox. I've listened through that entire album so many times already, but I still love it.
- I came here to mention Seven Spires! After listening it through about 40 times, it is by far my favourite album ever, topping Solveig (for which I'm in a minority I think).
  I like and liked a lot of bands, but only Seven Spires made me completely obsessed for 2+ years
  
  After listening through the entire album a few more times, I might have to revise my answer to A Fortress Called Home :D. Damn is this one good album, I fuckin love it.
  Almosttown is definitely one of my favourites so far, and also this "live" performance is so damn good:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYFsEVGy6R8

The Beatles by The Beatles.

Nightfall in Middle Earth

Fantastic Planet by Failure

"August and everything after" Counting crows

Stadium arcadium by the chili peppers.
Probably one of the greatest single compilations of music ever put together by humanity.
- Even most of the songs that didn't come out as singles are absolute bangers: Wet Sand (my personal favourite), Charlie, Hard to Concentrate and Slow Cheetah could easily overshadow many other singles from the following albums
- I was really glad to see this. Stadium Arcadium was my first thought and it is just packed with such greatness. I can listen to it start to finish and never be bored or want to skip any of it.

Dimension Hattross by Voivod.
- Years ago I played on a MUD and met a dude who went by the name Hatross. He quit playing, and after a player wipe I started using the name in memory of my friend's character. I had no idea where the name originated for years. I had since forgotten about the album until now.
  
  Updoot for MUD
  
  Korgull is also often name/nick around, as a reference to the same band. Albums have strong story and atmosphere because of that.
- Voivod kicks ass!

Black sands - bonobo

The Afterman: Descension
- A great album. I'd probably put IKSSE3 barely above it since it was my entry point to Coheed (you never forget your first).
  
  Yeah, I almost put that one in, but Gravity's Union slaps so unreasonably hard, and the rest of the album is no slouch, either.

Finch - Say Hello to Sunshine
Paledusk - Palehell
Faith no more - King for a day, fool for a lifetime
Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Philipp Glass - Glassworks
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki - Symphony of sorrowful Songs
Fear Factory - Obsolete
At The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command
Boy sets fire - After The Eulogy
Refused - The Shape of Punk to come (not a fan after their sell-out-reunion, but the album is still great)
- 44?
  
  Indeed. :-)
  I still insist that the music of our generation growing up was the best time for listening to alternative/metal etc.
  So much innovation, new genres were created, and so much creativity.
  Today most of the music sounds like 'more of the same' and very formulaic to me. I am happy for any recommendation of current music in alternative/metal which is innovativ.

NOFX - Punk in Drublic

Gotta give the obvious answer for The Cure: Disintegration.

Touch by Eurythmics
and
Music For The Masses by Depeche Mode

Visions by Haken. Pariah's Child by Sonata Arctica.

Fluisteraars first, dromers, is absolutely amazing

April by Sun Kil Moon
- I will need to check that out. I’ve only listened to a few so far; love Benji & tiny cities is great.

This is subgenre dependant, decade also.
A favorite these days:
Crass - Penis Envy

The Gold Album - Autechre

All my favorites frequently shift and change over time but I'm utterly obsessed with Music From the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle, by the Olivia Tremor Control. Some of the best fucking psychedelic pop I've ever heard.

Neko Case, Middle Cyclone. The voice of God with red hair.

People's Temple Choir - He's Able
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVdAgfLxCus&list=PLF47145DB14320567

Band Maid's World Domination, the limited edition version, specially.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nbcWJCfkdCVeUvGZMlo_gVDsLhFRPUm4o&si=c84nIM6a1JPv5xjY
Gravity and Grace by Respire

ShouldaBeenLars