Underrated Rock Albums Everyone should hear

[Kilmer17]

Hanoi Rocks- Two Steps from the Move.

[MassSkinsFan]

Yeah, as far as Rush, I believe their first album is underrated. It's essentially a blues album by Canadians (let the stereotyping begin) but it's actually a really tight jam session.

I'll go with the album "Songs for the Deaf" by Queens of the Stone Age.

I like both of these. Working Man is one of my favorite Rush songs.

[thebluefood]

Chicago Transit Authority (self-named debut album). A very ambitious double album from a, then, young, up and coming band. This isn't the Top-40 machine Chicago from the 80's and 90's. This is aggressive, artistic, soulful Chicago from the Terry Kath days.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

It's entirely possible that we need to start setting up re-education camps for Rush fans.

And the answer is Celebrity Skin by Hole. It's better than anything that either Nirvana or Pearl Jam ever released. Granted, it's probably because Billy Corgan secretly wrote every song and played every instrument, but whatever.

I want Courtney Love to start dating John Legend.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

By the way, I recently played Nervous Night by the Hooters all the way through for the first time in - oh - 25 years. If you can ignore the overly 80s production style, it's surprisingly good album.

[Mickalino]

Alter Bridge: Blackbird and One Day Remains

Outstanding Hard Rock albums. This band has been dismissed by many who were Creed haters, but their sound is largely completely different from Creed. Alter Bridge teeters on metal at times.

It's amazing, the difference one band member can make on the entire sound of the band, isn't it ?

[Bang]

Talking Heads- Remain in Light.

A fantastic album, Adrian Belieu's guitar work is amazing.

Johnny Marr and the Healers - Boomslang

I like Johnny Marr's jangly guitars.. this is nothing like his work in the Smiths or Modest Mouse. Very melodic but edgy. Much harder edge than anything he did with the Smiths.

Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers.

Jonathan Richman can be a mixed bag, but when the band is on, they can be excellent.

Arctic Monkeys - Who the **** are the Arctic Monkeys

Punk grows up.

~Bang

[ABQCOWBOY]

Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963. It's R&B, not Rock but it's great, just the same. If I had to pick a Rock Album, I guess I'd pick Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath. Not certain if they were still called Earth when they released this album but, it's overshadowed by Paranoid (2nd Album 7 time Platinum and Master of Reality (3rd Album 2 time Platinum). Sabbath, Sabbath is the 1st album and the start of what is now Heavy Metal Rock IMO. Very good, very important Album that is not widely recognized as such.

[China]

Get the Knack by The Knack.

Everyone knows My Sharona, but that is probably the worst song on the album. Some good music hidden there.

[TheLongshot]

Rush - Presto

Helloween - Chameleon

Def Leppard - Slang

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Get the Knack by The Knack.

Everyone knows My Sharona, but that is probably the worst song on the album. Some good music hidden there.

The Knack are the great lost American rock band. I have a bootleg from 1980 or so of The Knack and Bruce Springsteen doing a version of "Mona" that's about 30 minutes long.

While they certainly had a longer career and bigger impact, The J. Geils Band will likewise always be known for two "80s" songs and a Adam Sandler cover. Even though they were really really awesome. There are some live albums from them in the 70s that are extraordinary.

While I'm on a Springsteen kick (he and Peter Wolf are old pals), Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul released an album that was better than Born in the USA called "Men Without Women." If anyone ever thought, "I wonder what the Clash would sound like if they did an album inspired by Motown," this album is the answer.

Solomon Burke's comeback album from 2002 "Don't Give Up On Me" is awesome.

I adore "The Late Great Golden State" by Dwight Yoakum. It's the best country album of the last decade, I think.

As far as obscure groups, I always liked The Nields' "Play."

The best Lemonheads album in my view is the one that no one bought "Car Button Cloth." I still play it - long after I put away "It's A Shame About Ray."

Strangely, the best Soul Asylum record was one made before they got famous - "Hang Time." (For the record, it would have been unbelievably awesome to be a music fan in Minneapolis in the mid 80s).

Do people still not know about the greatness of "Let it Be" by the Replacements? They have to, right?

I've always had a soft spot for "Good as I Been To You" by Bob Dylan. I feel like that and "World Gone Wrong" cleared his head, refocussed him, and allowed him to make his great late 90s comeback.

If you feel morbid, Joey Ramone and Warren Zevon did really great albums about how inoperable cancer does not mean that you should stop rocking.

(I have a soft spot for late period forgotten classics by former superstars).

[Predicto]

Talking Heads- Remain in Light.

A fantastic album, Adrian Belieu's guitar work is amazing.

How is that album underrated? It's great, but hasn't everyone heard of it?

(kind of like claiming Rush is underrated, I guess...)

Anyhow, you should check out Mr. Music Head. Adrian Belew plays all the intruments, gently lays open his middle aged heart - and no one was listening.

[BigMike21]

Here's one: Beck "Sea Change" (never rec'd any air play and it might be the best CD he's ever done). And it's nothing like you'd expect from him btw.

Been listening to this album to help me fall asleep since I was in college. Just great mood music, my absolute favorite album from Beck.

[BigMike21]

Alter Bridge: Blackbird and One Day Remains

Pantera: The great southern Trendkill.

This is I think the forgotten masterpiece from Pantera. This album was VERY hardcore at a time, when nobody else was putting out that kind of metal, at that level. Releasing an album like this, that if I remember correctly debuted at #4 on the Billboard chart in 1996, was the ultimate " **** you" to the trends going on in music, and that god AWFUL post grunge radio rock crapola that radio was spewing out. In the era of Hip/Hop and crappy college one-hit wonder stoner bands, this album was refreshing for the old school metal head.

I will NEVER forget that day at Kemp Mill in Springfield Mall when I went to the listening station and threw this on when it just came out not knowing the headphones were on full volume. Anselmo straight up destroyed me and my ears in the very first second of the album. Needless to say I bought it immediately.