Best Ever Albums

Re: How many listens is enough?

matthewirwin28693 — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:13:27 GMT

Author: matthewirwin28693

Posted: 12/12/2011 17:13

i like getting into an album in one sitting listening to it maybe 3 or 4 times in a day. then giving it a few days to kick in, listening to it a few time in the next week. but i also like to see what the songs sound like outside the context of the album by just listening to them one at a time in different playlist. so i think you would need at lease 15 listens but to know it and understand it fully it may take a year or 2

Re: How many listens is enough?

monosyllables — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:23:35 GMT

Author: monosyllables

Posted: 12/12/2011 16:23

It's funny, because In the Aeroplane over the Sea is my favorite album of all time, the more I listen to it, the more I find to love, but when I first heard it, I was totally underwhelmed. In fact, if it hadn't been for my friends who always wanted to play/sing the songs with me, it might never have had the opportunity to grow on me.
I think I am a person who needs a LOT of listens to be sure about an album, because honestly most of my favorite albums are the ones I've listened to the most. I find if I just glut myself on an album for an extended period of time, to the point where I know pretty much every part of every song, and if I haven't come to hate it by then, then it's probably an abiding favorite of mine. Examples include Aeroplane, Alien Lanes, Pinkerton, etc.
Sometimes, though, you can tell before getting to that point that you've got an album that will sustain endless listens, even if you haven't got the time for it right away. One of these days I'm just gonna listen myself into oblivion with all the albums I like, but for now I keep discovering too much new stuff to slow down!

Re: How many listens is enough?

paladisiac — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:57:10 GMT

Author: paladisiac

Posted: 12/12/2011 15:57

For reviewing an album, i first listen to see if i even like it. If it passes, then a second listen to make sure. Then a third to really "ingest" the album. ...

Re: How many listens is enough?

YoursBadDay — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:11:28 GMT

Author: YoursBadDay

Posted: 12/12/2011 15:11

A week to like it. (or 2 seconds,depends what album you listen to)
A year to know it.
Maybe 5 years to explore it fully if it's really good,some need decades.

Re: How many listens is enough?

WillWill1989 — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:33:02 GMT

Author: WillWill1989

Posted: 12/12/2011 01:33

i can listen to my favorite albums forever i will never get sick of them

Re: How many listens is enough?

M Hurley — Thu, 8 Dec 2011 17:09:38 GMT

Author: M Hurley

Posted: 12/08/2011 22:09

I'll give an album ample time to grow on me. I find if you're hasty about it you're only cheating yourself. Over 10 to give a number.

Re: How many listens is enough?

Xavygravy — Thu, 8 Dec 2011 16:25:24 GMT

Author: Xavygravy

Posted: 12/08/2011 21:25

It used to be just one for me, but now I'm listening to albums around 3+ times before making a decision (unless I really don't like it after the first time).

Re: How many listens is enough?

pearljammer13 — Thu, 8 Dec 2011 07:21:10 GMT

Author: pearljammer13

Posted: 12/08/2011 12:21

kamiL55 wrote:

In my opinion, you should listen the whole album from the 1st track to the last at least 3 times. It's desirable to listen to them without excess noise and you are not be distracted by visiting pages, reading other Internet resources, and generally you do not need to open your browser. The most we can do is, for example, a couple of solitaire-games and cigarette or ease cleaning of the house. As for me, the music is better in good headphones. I love my Apple headphones (this is not advertising!) And always listen to it with them. Of course, good quality speakers with a subwoofer is also a good option.

Yeah I agree with avoiding distractions. The first time I listen to a new album I always do it from my cd player, not even on a computer. I've had a specific chair ever since I was a kid where I listen to music. My parents even let me take it to my house when I moved out. Sounds a little weird but that chair is extremely special to me, as its where I discovered all my favorite music. Anyways though I definitely agree that you should never listen to an album for the first time while your multi-tasking.

Re: How many listens is enough?

RoundTheBend — Thu, 8 Dec 2011 01:24:38 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 12/08/2011 06:24

Great Music almost never "arrives." I would say that you would have to give an album at least a year, but then maybe even 5 years to see what it really means. I think there are plenty of albums/groups that we go through a phase with, and love it for a couple years and then 5-10 years later we either think, man what was I thinking, or man have I changed, or man this is still amazing. I think the latter are truly the greats.

Re: How many listens is enough?

kamiL55 — Thu, 8 Dec 2011 00:49:03 GMT

Author: kamiL55

Posted: 12/08/2011 05:49

In my opinion, you should listen the whole album from the 1st track to the last at least 3 times. It's desirable to listen to them without excess noise and you are not be distracted by visiting pages, reading other Internet resources, and generally you do not need to open your browser. The most we can do is, for example, a couple of solitaire-games and cigarette or ease cleaning of the house. As for me, the music is better in good headphones. I love my Apple headphones (this is not advertising!) And always listen to it with them. Of course, good quality speakers with a subwoofer is also a good option.

Re: How many listens is enough?

Jackwc — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:01:16 GMT

Author: Jackwc

Posted: 11/23/2011 02:01

SquishypuffDave wrote:

I actually don't entirely disagree with an_outlaw's comment. Sometimes bad is just bad. I think if an album is a grower, it will draw you back for more listens even if you didn't get it at all the first time. That's how it has usually worked for me.

Couldn't have said it better myself, so I won't try.

Re: How many listens is enough?

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:30:44 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/23/2011 00:30

I even brought an album a second time because I donated the first copy to a charity shop a few years prior 😄 haha

Re: How many listens is enough?

SquishypuffDave — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:21:51 GMT

Author: SquishypuffDave

Posted: 11/23/2011 00:21

I actually don't entirely disagree with an_outlaw's comment. Sometimes bad is just bad. I think if an album is a grower, it will draw you back for more listens even if you didn't get it at all the first time. That's how it has usually worked for me.

Re: How many listens is enough?

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:41:09 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/22/2011 23:41

1

Throw em in the bin if they are not good 😮

Re: How many listens is enough?

albummaster — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:56:16 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 11/22/2011 20:56

I think the 'slow growers' tend to out-last the albums you think you love on a first listen.

Re: How many listens is enough?

RFNAPLES — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:30:10 GMT

Author: RFNAPLES

Posted: 11/22/2011 20:30

You will know when you get there

Re: How many listens is enough?

Necharsian — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:50:04 GMT

Author: Necharsian

Posted: 11/22/2011 19:50

Typically I'll say 3-5 listens. Most albums can atleast be understood as either a like or dislike at this stage.

However, I can usually sense that an album is has potential to be a personal favorite, even if I don't love it after 5. An example would be Daydream Nation. After 5 listens, I was still not convinced that it was great, but it kept me listening to it for 3 more times. After 8 full listens, it was one of my favorite albums. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and Surfer Rosa were other albums that took me past the 5 threshold, but ended up becoming favorites.

On the flip side, some albums show that glimpse of promise after that 3-5 range, only to tail off. Neon Bible would be an example of this. It kept me going past 5, but it still hasn't proven to me that it's amazing. (Not saying it's bad, because it's not).

And then there is just those albums that never show any signs of greatness. Those I will usually stop listening to after 3.

Re: How many listens is enough?

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:44:54 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/22/2011 19:44

I think how complex and how familiar you are with the genre an album both come into play in how many listens you need: Its generally harder to wrap one's head around an album that features i dunno, crazy complex chord changes, or does away with linear elements of music (who needs these melody things???, or normal time signatures??), and at the same time if you've never listened to a genre (say a hardcore punk only fan listening to jazz) it will be harder because different genres seem to use different elements to express emotion. I think listening to a completely unfamiliar genre can be like trying to decipher a foreign language.

Looking at aeroplane over the sea, I don't find it a particularly difficult album to decipher: the music is pretty simple, the arrangements are occasionally odd but considering other things I've listened to, not that odd, and I'm used to singers that don't have fully trained voices...So I don't think that album would need that many listens before putting on one's chart if they like it...But for someone else the arrangements or voice might be more foreign, so it would take longer for them, and of course understanding whats going on in an album doesn't mean you will like it.

Re: How many listens is enough?

pearljammer13 — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:11:28 GMT

Author: pearljammer13

Posted: 11/22/2011 19:11

Charicature wrote:

I find that time can be more important than the number of listens - an album can "settle" in your mind over a while and if you liked it at first you might find it somewhat bland later and if you thought you just didn't like it at first maybe you come back to it 6 months or 6 years later and decide it's phenomenal.

That said, after several listens of In the Aeroplane... spread over a period of about a year, I still can't find anything redeeming in the album and continue to be astounded at the high opinion so many people have of it.

It definitely seems to be one of those albums that people either can't stand or love to death. Usually with albums like that it would take me a while to really get what people see in it, but with In The Aeroplane I fell in love on the first listen. Something about the dynamics of simple acoustic ballads mixed with massive horns, fuzzed out electric guitars, bagpipes...it just all fleshes out into this beautiful array of sounds. And his voice might not be "great", but he writes the perfect music for it. I know I've never heard another album that sounds even remotely like it, which is one of the first things that makes an album great to me, as long as that sound is a good one.

But I agree with a lot of you that it all depends on the album. And I agree that the ones you immediately like usually drop off after a while. But as far as In The Aeroplane goes I'm not sure I see my opinion of it dropping much at all. Guess I'll see.

Re: How many listens is enough?

Charicature — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:51:41 GMT

Author: Charicature

Posted: 11/22/2011 15:51

I find that time can be more important than the number of listens - an album can "settle" in your mind over a while and if you liked it at first you might find it somewhat bland later and if you thought you just didn't like it at first maybe you come back to it 6 months or 6 years later and decide it's phenomenal.

That said, after several listens of In the Aeroplane... spread over a period of about a year, I still can't find anything redeeming in the album and continue to be astounded at the high opinion so many people have of it.