Favorite "Singles-Only" Bands - Music - Forums : Best Ever Albums

baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash

Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

There are a lot of artists who have singles I love, but not one full album about which I can say the same. I was curious to hear what artists you all would put in this category?

Here are some of mine from the '60s (chosen because it's a decade I'm fairly familiar with as a whole):

-The Association
-Ben E. King
-The Crystals
-The Drifters
-The Four Tops
-Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
-Herman's Hermits
-Lesley Gore
-The Marvelettes
-Mary Wells
-The Monkees
-The Rascals
-The Shirelles
-The Turtles
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RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland

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Outside of "The Stranger", that's exactly what Billy Joel is to me. And The Stranger only works because it's loaded with good singles.

I feel similarly about Cheap Trick.
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RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland

Moderator

Also, your list consists mostly of artists from the early 60s who either never really released a full "album" or were mainly focused on singles, as was the way of the time with pop music.
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dihansse

Gender: Male
Age: 60

There was a period around 1979-1980 where the one hit bands really flourished with examples like Echo Beach from Martha & The Muffins, My Sharona by the Knack and What I Like About You of the Romantics.

baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash

Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

RockyRaccoon wrote:

Also, your list consists mostly of artists from the early 60s who either never really released a full "album" or were mainly focused on singles, as was the way of the time with pop music.

All of those artists I listed released full albums.

Otherwise, very good point. I agree about pop at the time and about those groups' general focus (although several did go on to release fairly ambitious albums later in the '60s that do nothing for me).
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RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland

Moderator

baystateoftheart wrote:

All of those artists I listed released full albums.

Otherwise, very good point. I agree about pop at the time and about those groups' general focus (although several did go on to release fairly ambitious albums later in the '60s that do nothing for me).

True. I guess my point was just that the thought of the time was singles-focused rather than album-oriented.
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RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

I kinda feel the pop genre in general is singles based and not album based, meaning they have a collection of songs they release, with a couple big hits and the rest is basically crap nobody, even the fans, really listen to.

That's my overgeneralized opinion for the day.

I am meaning to put together my list from the 1950s and 1960s that I recently listened to for those one-hit wonder types or groups that I really only appreciate their hits from. It's in the works so we can export song ratings WITH the year so I know what era it really is from.

I think Roy Orbison and Donovan are some of the artists I can remember off the top of my head. I REALLY dig their hits... albums... not really at all.

This is probably cliche for me to say, but I feel it wasn't until sometime in the mid-60s that non-jazz/non-classical ALBUMS were considered something special. The focus for any genre outside of jazz and classical was more or less all about the hits.

RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad

Location: Ground Control

baystateoftheart wrote:

There are a lot of artists who have singles I love, but not one full album about which I can say the same. I was curious to hear what artists you all would put in this category?

Here are some of mine from the '60s (chosen because it's a decade I'm fairly familiar with as a whole):

-The Association
-Ben E. King
-The Crystals
-The Drifters
-The Four Tops
-Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
-Herman's Hermits
-Lesley Gore
-The Marvelettes
-Mary Wells
-The Monkees
-The Rascals
-The Shirelles
-The Turtles

That'd be kind of fun to build a list together... I guess we could find a Spotify best of the 60s or best of the 50s that most likely would have 80% of the good stuff.

That's a goal of mine; to eventually get the "greatest hits" collection from each era, but much more refined than most greatest hits collections and after searching/rating it on this site.

I almost feel like my generation is forgetting the music before like the 70s, and a greatest hits collection could help re-kindle a love for Motown or something... idk.

RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?

Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland

Moderator

sethmadsen wrote:

I almost feel like my generation is forgetting the music before like the 70s, and a greatest hits collection could help re-kindle a love for Motown or something... idk.

Really? There's literally a musical touring the east coast (at least) right now called Motown. Jersey Boys was one of the biggest musicals on Broadway. One of the most popular up and coming artists in pop music right now (Leon Bridges) is basically a carbon copy of Motown singers. I don't think anyone's forgetting 60s souls at all, let alone 60s music in general (see: The Beatles)
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davidhuret

Gender: Male
Location: Lille,France

Slade!
Cum on feel the noize.