Best Albums to Listen to End to End, per Reddit

These are albums that Redditors think are worth listening to from end to end that they describe as “true masterpieces”. See one example thread here.

There have been a few similar threads in the past, and I consulted them and added the top ones. I may have missed a few of course, but this list is long enough.

The bands below generally had more than 1000 upvotes, but while the order is from most popular to least, that may change as people add votes.

They may not always be the best albums by a particular band, but they’re at least iconic.

I personally know a number of these albums and think they’re pretty good. So it’s my goal to listen to more of them.

Links are to Spotify.

The List — Best Albums According to Redditors

This list isn’t in a definitive order as Reddit orders comments according to your display settings, and votes do tend to go up and down. But loosely, these are the suggestions ranked from most to least popular.

Stevie Wonder – Innervisions. This is Stevie Wonder’s 16th (!) studio album, released in 1973. He has made lots of great albums, but people like this one as a complete album because every song is a “banger” from start to finish. A runner up album from Stevie Wonder is Songs in the Key of Life.
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue. This is a jazz album that Miles Davis recorded in 1959. A runner up suggestion for Miles Davis is his 1960 album Sketches of Spain.
The Cure – Disintegration. This showed up on lots of lists. This was the eighth album by English rock band the Cure, released in 1989.
Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense. This is a live album from Talking Heads, recorded in 1984, the soundtrack to the concert film of the same name. It starts with Psycho Killer and stays playing great tracks.
Vivaldi – Four Seasons (link is to Nigel Kennedy recording, English Chamber Orchestra) and also the Max Richter recomposition. I saw this in a number of other threads, too.
David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. I had never listened to much Bowie before so look forward to this. This is his fifth album, released in 1972. It’s a concept album/rock opera about Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie’s alter ego), an androgynous and bisexual rock star sent to save earth.
King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King. This is a 1969 album from an English rock band I never even knew about. It was also their debut album, and apparently very influential in progressive rock.
Rush – Moving Pictures.
Paul Simon – Graceland. A 1986 album by Paul Simon. His seventh. Really diverse album. It also got a lot of controversy because he recorded parts of it in South Africa, which was under apartheid at the time. This is also Paul Simon’s most successful studio album.
Soundgarden – Superunknown. This is Soundgarden’s 4th album, released in 1994. The album had a ton of singles you might have heard, like Black Hole Sun, The Day I tried to Live, and Spoonman.
Enya – Watermark. This comment got a surprising number of upvotes so it’s worth a look.
Massive Attack – Mezzanine. A 1998 electronic music album with tons of atmosphere.
Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses.
Portishead – Dummy.
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here.
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours. A 1977 album that has so many iconic songs on it it sounds like a “best of” album, which as one commenter pointed out, it may as well be. I love this album, and am happy to see it here.
Nirvana – Nevermind. I knew this 1991 Seattle grunge rock album from when I was a kid, so it’s cool to see it here. This is the album with Smells Like Teen Spirit, those iconic chords lighting it up from the beginning.
Beach Boys – Pet Sounds. Frequently cited across Reddit as a great album. The track “God Only Knows” is Paul McCartney’s favourite song.
Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral. Such an incredible rock album. 1994, by Trent Reznor, an extremely well-respected musician. Many songs on here give me chills.
Tool – Lateralus.
The Clash – London Calling.
Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf. A 2002 stoner rock album by a band fans know as QOTSA. You might best know the single “No One Knows”, but the whole thing flows. Well, other than the lead track, which is er… hard to hear. You can’t even hear it!
The Cars – The Cars. A 1978 debut album Boston-based album The Cars. This was a pop rock album that started to use a lot of electronic equipment.
Boston – Boston. An old favourite of mine that my cousin recommended to me.
Alice in Chains – Jar of Flies.
Gorillaz – Demon Days.
Carole King – Tapestry.
NAS – Illmatic. I always thought this album was special. 1994 album by East Coast rapper Nas, it taught me a lot of words and made feel a lot cooler than I am. “N.Y State of Mind” is iconic and wonderfully different from Billy Joel’s song of the same name..
Daft Punk – Discovery. A 2001 album with well-known singles like One More Time, Aerodynamic, and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
Ms. Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. 1998.
Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine. One of my favourite albums of all time. Every song is a bombtrack, from start (Bombtrack) to finish (Freedom).
Rainbows – OK Computer. I always liked their earlier, rockier work The Bends, but Redditors really like OK Computer as an entire album.
Pearl Jam – Ten. One of the iconic grunge rock albums of the early nineties, released by Seattle band Pearl Jam in 1991. I grew up on this. Not one of the most popular suggestions, but it’s in there!
Frank Ocean – Blonde.
System of a Down – Toxicity. SoaD’s second album, released n 2001, an alternative / new metal album. It gets melodic at times and has a lot of interesting instruments.
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
Led Zeppelin – IV. This is the most widely recognised of Led Zeppelin’s four albums. There’s a lot of controversy around Led Zep both in terms of personal lives and their author style, but it’s a great album.