Best (most proud of) & Worst(most embarrasing) Album in your collection damn it!

[Brainwrong]

Someone posted this idea in another thread so, being one for plagiarism wherever possible, here are my two..

Most embarrasing...  Mark 'Oh - 'Never Stop That Feeling'
(god awful german techno - must have been very down/insane at the time of purchase).

Most proud... dEUS 'The Ideal Crash' (very impressive album by Belgium 'arty' band - this being a random purchase I stand erect and proud).

Fanks

[smoker]

best: the wall, in a box set complete with a huge book that goes into loads of detail about set design, inspirations, interviews with the band and crew etc

worst: mark b and blade - the unknown - 12 odd tracks of two dickheads whinging about how they never get a break and how everyone above them in the music hierarchy is a wanker. fuck OFF

[9]

mine is one and the same record; a really old vinyl Live album of Metallica from during the period when they looked like real wankers. It was bought for me by my mother on a whim, even though I hate them. I love it because the picture on the front is hilarious, and its the shittest recording i've ever heard. i know that doesn't make a lot of sense but its just the sort of thing that could never get released these days. It makes me smile though ;-)

[MrsJojo]

Trust me when I say I have credible taste.....

worst -Celine dion album (not gonna say the title -bought too recently)
fondest - blur Leisure

don't have a best, changes regularly. most recent was an old ben folds 5 cd.

[Crazy Penis]

Best : Lab 4 - Live In Australia

Worst : Jason Donovan - Greatest Hits.

What's funnier that me owning that Jason Donovan album is that it's called greatest hits, but as it is all of his singles it is actually a singles collection.
But I do have soooo many shit albums on tape boxed away from my time as a Brittannia Music Club member. So if I went through them I could probably name about 50 worst albums. Roxette, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, Dannii Minogue, Amy Grant. I've got the lot. No Bros though only one single.

[Lt Plonker]

Best: Probably The Definitive Monkees or That Same Old Feeling, in terms of completeness, although there are some missing tracks from The Monkees CD. Shameful. But the bonus CD is fab.

Worst: Mmm. Difficult. Possibly one of my generic 60's compilation my nan got me. They're all re-recordings. Yuk.

[Hornet]

Best - Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout

Worst - Anthen - Toyah

I still have the latter on vinyl but haven't got the heart to throw it out.  It still have the order form for tangerine hair dye in it!

Every song on that album is shit (unlike the mighty Sprout)

[phes]

Most proud... dEUS 'The Ideal Crash' (very impressive album by Belgium 'arty' band - this being a random purchase I stand erect and proud).

dEUS were a fantastic live act in their time. Really, really good!
If the abovenamed album is all you own then I strongly reccommend that you hunt down what I think was their first release. Its name eludes me, but It contained the gems 'Via', 'Violins and happy endings' and 'suds and soda'. I'm sure 'The ideal crash' is good, I'm willing to hedge a bet that this beats the shit out of it though!

Check it out.

[chand]

The first dEUS album was called 'Worst Case Scenario', and a lovely thing it is too.

[Spiteface]

Most embarassed:

3-way between...

Spice Girls - Spice
PJ & Duncan - Psyche (cassette)
2 Unlimited - Real Things (cassette)

I need not go any further.

Proudest of:

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING before or since sounds like it.

[elderford]

Best
My Joy DIvision collection, which includes almost every track either performed or recorded by them.

They are all kept in matching cases with matching covers I designed according to release/performance date order and look very handsome, about 30-40 discs arranged like a trainspotters horde.

Worst
Gary Numan, an extensive collection I'm afraid, I fell under his spell as an 11 year old an stil have a soft spot for him even though it's futile.

[Almost Yearly]

Another big big thumbs up for dEUS here. (There were EPs called Zea and Via.) I think The Ideal Crash is the most accessible album and, yes, it is bloody excellent. I keep meaning to find out how come a Belgian has written some of the best english lyrics ever. Anyway ...


Most embarrassing: Sade, Diamond Life.

Most proud: Steve Vai, Flex-able. Well, Cardiacs Sing to God I & II really, but I thought I'd ring the changes..

[Schlippy]

Yay for dEUS, as mentioned if you like Crash then you'd love WCS, I've always thought the songs are more rounded on their debut, though that's probably just because I've had it for longer.

If you like the 'artsy' side of them then their second album 'In a Bar, Under the Sea' is well worth getting, not as immediate as the other two major releases but it's my favourite of the bunch.

Has WCS been re-released with 'Violins & Happy Endings' on it? I thought that was an early version of 'Suds 'n' Soda'. Got a couple of CDs worth of b-sides and early material, there's a few gems ('My Wife Jan', f'rinstance) but most of it is sub-Beefheart guff.

My bestestest record has to be my coloured vinyl copy of Mercury Rev's debut 'Yerself is Steam', fully signed by the band and with the bonus 'legomyego' disc (which has a beautiful acoustic version of 'Frittering' on it).

Worstestest would be a toss-up between A Gothic Industrial Tribute to the Smashing Pumpkins, which I bought as a joke but still managed to astound me with its badness, and Weather Report's Heavy Weather, the album that convinced me never to listen to other people's opinions ever again. It's jazz, Jim, but not as we know it - one song sounds like a cheesetastic take on the theme from 'You've Been Framed'.

[phes]

Has WCS been re-released with 'Violins & Happy Endings' on it? I thought that was an early version of 'Suds 'n' Soda'.

Think (From memory) that 'Violins and happy endings' was a different song and was possibly the 'b' side to 'Via'. Yeah, i can hear it and it's definitly a different song.

[JJJJH]

Bestest
Pink Floyd - Animals
Nothing special about my copy (my versions scratched to buggery actually), I just love that album.

Worstest
Greg Alexander/New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
Put it on once when I was 14 or whenever and was instantly revulsed. Could be a good album after all, I'm just too scared to re-listen to it from that first impression.

[Presque Tous Les Ans]

Yay for dEUS, as mentioned if you like Crash then you'd love WCS, I've always thought the songs are more rounded on their debut, though that's probably just because I've had it for longer.

If you like the 'artsy' side of them then their second album 'In a Bar, Under the Sea' is well worth getting, not as immediate as the other two major releases but it's my favourite of the bunch.

*Bump*

Just got Worst Case Scenario. You were talking poo-poo matey: it's more like In A Bar Under The Sea. Still like it lots mind, but for others' reference The Ideal Crash is definitely the least artsy most accessible entry point. Best lyrics too I weckon.

Shame this was a tangent and the thread's not called dEUS and the chances of any interested party reading this are nil. Ah well.

[Lumiere]

Bestest
Pink Floyd - Animals
Nothing special about my copy , I just love that album.

Same here.

Worst:

HIM - Love Metal. What in shit was I thinking.

[BetaKarraTene]

I've got loads of albums that others would deem embarrasing but I like.  I've bought a handful of albums that I've regretted the joint worst are:

Cast - Mother Nature Calls. Not bad per se, but just exceedingly average.
The Verve - Urban Hymns.  Three great singles plus 70 more minutes of complete shite

The best of the top of my head is Ben Kweller - Sha Sha, which I saw in a bargain bin for a fiver and heard good things about, so I decided to take a chance on and is probably the best pop album I've ever heard.

[Brainwrong]

Yay for dEUS, as mentioned if you like Crash then you'd love WCS, I've always thought the songs are more rounded on their debut, though that's probably just because I've had it for longer.

If you like the 'artsy' side of them then their second album 'In a Bar, Under the Sea' is well worth getting, not as immediate as the other two major releases but it's my favourite of the bunch.

*Bump*

Just got Worst Case Scenario. You were talking poo-poo matey: it's more like In A Bar Under The Sea. Still like it lots mind, but for others' reference The Ideal Crash is definitely the least artsy most accessible entry point. Best lyrics too I weckon.

Shame this was a tangent and the thread's not called dEUS and the chances of any interested party reading this are nil. Ah well.

You are right - The debut is frankly a mess. 'The ideal crash' is very accessible and ultimately their finest album to date.
Right better clean the flat.

[dan dirty ape]

Proudest: the original 60s vinyl of  'Otis Redding's Complete Dictionary Of Soul', with dictionary style sleevenotes on the back that tell you just what words like 'ooooh-wee!' and 'fa fa fa' mean.

Most embarrased of: Another vote for 'Urban Hymns' by The Verve. 'My lawwwwd!' Bloody hippy.

[chand]

Best: I'm really happy with the Latyrx album, which a couple of years ago was a pain in the hole to get a copy of. I ordered it from some online site (Sister Ray, I think), who don't keep you informed of when or if they're going to send you the CD. Two months later, I finally found a copy which had inexplicably appeared in my University record store and bought it, only for the other copy to arrive 2 weeks later. Anyway, it's a fucking great album. I think it's been re-issued here now.

Worst: I dunno, something like Ocean Colour Scene. My last big mistake was Arlo's 'Stab The Unstoppable Hero', which I bought on the strength of the mighty single 'Runaround', which was the Matt le Tissier of the album, surrounded by forgettable dross. Oh, and of course, Linkin Park's 'Hybrid Theory', which I bought thinking 'Okay, 'One Step Closer' will be the big crossover hit, and the rest of the album will be filled with sublime Deftones/Helmet-beating hard metal' (I read good things in a review), and it turned out to be essentially Savage Fucking Garden for people with hoodies. Dreadful record.

[Dr David V]

Best - the only one I can think right now of is my limited edition My Wrongs esque book packaged copy of Squarepusher's Ultravisitor.

Worst - Probably Chocolate Starfish and the Hot-Dog Flavoured Water by Limp Bizkit. It was 'cool' at the time. Christ.

[monkhouse terror]

Hur hur LIMP BIZKIT! thumbs up on the Squarepusher though, my brother has the limited edition one and it's lovely.

Best - Chiastic Slide by Autechre, again nothing special about it I just really really bloody like it.

Worst - Either 'Give out but Don't Give up' by Primal Scream or 'Magic and Medicine' by the Coral.

[NaN]

worst - semisonic "feeling strangely fine".... odd though as seemingly everyone i know also has a copy
runners up being menswe@r "nusance", suede "head music", verve "urban hymns"

best - godspeed you black emperor "f# a# infinity".... without question

[Lumiere]

That Black Emperor album is insane, but I prefer lift your skinny fists, personally.

Also, honourable mention for worst album that I missed out:

Metal Machine Music. Oh lordy, people had the gall to recommend this to me. I guess there will always be niche markets for crap, but still....

[Goldentony]

best - rollins band hard volume/insert band here, boss stuff, intense as fuck

worst - limp bizkit - chocolate starfishand the dog shit sounding album, dont fucking ask

[Dr David V]

worst - limp bizkit - chocolate starfishand the dog shit sounding album, dont fucking ask

Hooray! We can split the pity evenly, if you like.

[Ambient Sheep]

best: the wall, in a box set complete with a huge book that goes into loads of detail about set design, inspirations, interviews with the band and crew etc

Is that the "Is There Anybody Out There?" live set (the one with the four masks on the front), or something else that I haven't heard of?

I won't even go near discussing Elderford's JD collection as I fear I may start to whimper.

As for my own best & worst, I need notice of that question.

[RHX]

Best: Jedi Mind Tricks - Violent By Deisgn (Special Edition)

Worst: Probably The Smurfs Go Pop, if I even still own that.

[Lumiere]

best: the wall, in a box set complete with a huge book that goes into loads of detail about set design, inspirations, interviews with the band and crew etc

Is that the "Is There Anybody Out There?" live set (the one with the four masks on the front),.

Yes, it's the collector's edition (I think that's what he's talking about). Kinda long box, with a massive book and both discs.