What is your favourite PJ album or album's?

jodiem

Thought I would do a search on this and am still interested on peoples thoughts on this..

Mine are:

1) Ten - so many of the songs on this still take my breath away

These are all tied.. so many good ones that I can't pick and they are on continual rotation:

Yield, Binaural and No Code

No Coder

PASSION76 wrote:

Eraserhead wrote:

No Code
Riot Act
Yield

I've noticed quite a few people have picked NO CODE as their fav or a least in their top 4 or 5.
What is it about NO CODE that you love so much?
Don't get me wrong i love this album but for me it is probably my least favourite. I not exactly sure why, i think it might have something to do with what i was doing and where i was (e.g i was really depressed) when it was released. So maybe it brings back memories of that time. Ten & Vitalogy are my favs so i think NO CODE was a big change in direction for PJ so it took me awhile to warm up to it.
The lyrics and drumming in NO CODE are brilliant.
I'm just curious to know why it's your fav and anyone else who has it as their fav. Your feedback would be appreciated and it may open my eyes and ears to things i may have missed.

Cheers
TJJ

I don't know if I'll be able to explain my love for No Code above all the other brilliant albums. For me, it's just the vibe of the whole album. I remember hearing "Who are you" when the single dropped and wasn't overwhelmed,but when heard in context with the whole album, it all made sense. It obviously was a shift in direction, but that made it even better. There is nothing on this album I don't love and soemtimes is my fav opener. I just find myself always reaching for this album when I need music to lift me

austin.macrae

Another vote for No Code. I can hardly pick a favorite PJ song, but I will always immediately vote No Code as my number 1 album. It's for all the reasons already mentioned: the time it came out in my life, the transcendental lyrics, the hopeful ebb and flow of tempo, the fact that i can listen to it and get pumped up for a big event or turn it on after a wild night out and be lulled to sleep. It's my go-to to share with other PJ fans on the brink. Perfect, for me at least. Glad so many others agree!

hockeygrrl

Vs and No Code

Staggering Genius

Ten and No Code

I love the anger in Ten, and I just think it is a brilliant album.

No Code is beautiful. The sounds, the lyrics, the changes. It is stunning.

Ten is music that I love to listen to, and No Code is me.

cyndarious1

I'd have to go for Yield. I really like No Code but I think PJ was looking for an identity when they recorded it. Still a phenomenal album.
However, I think Yield is the most mature album in the PJ catalogue, and of course, the best and my favorite.
For me Yield has this spirituallity to it that none of the other albums have. Songs like In Hiding, Faithful, or Low Light are simply gorgeous in a very complex way in terms of music and lyrics.
Besides, Yield has one of the most beautiful songs ever composed, that's Given To Fly, a song that perfectly combines epic mysterious lyrics and out-of-the-planet music.

hostis

I have to say, from a 'listen at home' perspective, Ten. But for seeing songs off of any album being played live its Vitalogy. Nothingman, Betterman, Corduroy, Immortality. All songs that I think are better live than on the album.

Every time I listen to Betterman off of the CD its boring! I expect to hear 20K people singing along in the background!!!!

Bappe

After countless of hours of listening I would say that my favourite album is Vitalogy! It just has the most amazing songs and the opener, Last Exit is just so solid with its 5/4 verse beat ^^

Kamp98

Ten; can't think of one bad song.

Kat

You need to steer this topic onto the lyrics or it's one that should be on Porch.

tremors

I was just thinking about this actually - about which Pearl Jam album has the strongest or most powerful lyrics for me. I think the lyrics on almost all of the albums are very very strong, and the lyrics often complement each other, with a particular mood or approach which sets the tone for the whole album.

I think Ten has some very strong songwriting, with stories and emotions from the darker side of real life, and a very distinctive mood - I always think Ten is an album about relationships in some form or another - and it is often the breakdown or tension in the relationships described which gives the album its impact. Overall I would say the lyrics on Ten are definitely amongst my favourite for any studio album.

Vs the lyrics shift more to abuse and injustice, raging against it, and inspiring us to 'rise above' it. The bite of the lyrics and singing on Vs is one of its distinctive things - and another of my favourite albums for lyrics.

No Code is also distinctive lyrically - with a shift away to more 'meditative' songs - reflecting inwards and on deeper personal matters - Who You Are, In My Tree, Sometimes, Present Tense - all seem based on introspection about one's place in the universe,

So I think that every album has its own distinctive and unique lyrical style, and this is one of the things that has kept Pearl Jam still relevant over all these years - the developments in the songwriting across all the albums, and their distinctive 'flavour'. For me though, my favourite lyrics are probably Ten, Vs and No Code

Force.Of.Nature

1. Vitalogy
2. Backspacer
3. Vs
4. Pearl Jam
5. Ten
6. Yield
7. No Code
8. Riot Act
9. Binaural

St. John's Jeremy

Ten, Vs, Vitology
The more I think about 'em, the more of a Trilogy they seem.