Gigaton is the best Pearl Jam album since...

regalturbo

saw a thread like this after LB came out

regalturbo

Binaural

I am just blown away by the lyrics, grooves, and overall artistry of this album. Not going to take away from any of the others. What does everyone else think?

Glorified KC

Avocado/Pearl Jam

I think Avocado is underrated.  Gigaton has more teeth and substance than BS and LB.

ForceofNature101

Avocado/Pearl Jam

I would say since Avacado - their s/t is quite a solid overall work!  I think that Gigaton is like Backspacer and Lightning Bolt's more mature older brother that takes the "power chord riffing" from those albums and adds a bit more rock and a bit more experimentation

CarryTheZero

Avocado/Pearl Jam

Avocado, because that album is really tops for me (except for the first three).

Backspacer is great though, really enjoy it. Lightning Bolt is the only album I rarely spin. It’s good, but just doesn’t grab me.

on2legs

Avocado/Pearl Jam

I love that this album has songs that grabbed me right away and that it has songs that I like but I’m still getting to the bottom of them. I don’t want an album that is simple and feels like you have it figured out after one or two listens.  Gigaton is dense and layered and will have me enjoying it for a long time. 

mcgruff10

Yield

To me this is light years ahead of binaural and riot act.  Such an easy record to listen to so my answer is best album since Yield.  I don't think PJ will ever make an album that is better than the first five.  

JPPJ84

This poll is kinda flawed because it expects people to rank albums in chronological order, doesn't it? I like Binaural better than Yield, there, I said it Doesn't mean I don't love Yield, I just really prefer those songs live over the album version. Love Gigaton, but I find it difficult to rank the albums. Too much depends on moods etc.

BSully

Avocado/Pearl Jam

This is my answer after a few days of listening.
I will give it another few days and then let it rest for a few before I pick it up again to see where it lands.

Spiritual_Chaos

JPPJ84 said:

This poll is kinda flawed because it expects people to rank albums in chronological order, doesn't it? I like Binaural better than Yield, there, I said it Doesn't mean I don't love Yield, I just really prefer those songs live over the album version. Love Gigaton, but I find it difficult to rank the albums. Too much depends on moods etc.

But you don't have to rank them... 

Just pick how far back something better than Gigaton was released  

Vedd Hedd

It's really hard to say which of the older albums are "better"...I was about to post "Since Yield", but I dont know in the long run if Gigaton will be better than Binaural or Riot Act. Or Avocado for that matter.  I DO know that I like more Gigaton songs on release than I did Backspacer or Lightning Bolt, but to be honest, those two albums still are growing on me.  

Vedd Hedd

Also, I liked No Code on release, but I really didnt spin it a ton until after Yield. Then I went nuts for No Code. I was not one of those people that freaked out when it was released. I didnt understand the backlash.  I enjoyed it.  But i found myself listening to it more once Yield came around. 

tino_11

Riot Act

My rankings (tiers in no particular order)

Top tier: Ten, Vs, Vitalogy No Code, Yield
Middle Tier: Binaural, Riot Act, Gigaton
Bottom Tier (I still really like these albums) Avacodo, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt 

I'm so happy with Gigaton. Consistently strong and the first PJ album to really see a step up in quality compared to what has come before it. I also think it still has potential to grow on me further. 

cp3iverson

Yield

Definitely the best since Yield to me.  

mfc2006

Avocado/Pearl Jam

cdthomas1981 said:

I think Avocado is underrated.  Gigaton has more teeth and substance than BS and LB.

Agreed

Tim Simmons

Avocado/Pearl Jam

best since s/t, but I'm enjoying it way more than Riot Act, possibly as much as Binaural. 

JimmyV

Avocado/Pearl Jam

Gigaton is the best since Avocado/Pearl Jam, and Avocado/Pearl Jam was the best since Yield.

cp3iverson

Yield

I think we even rank albums with different methods.  So these threads are always a little crazy.

To me a great album is one I can listen all the way through.  No annoying tracks.  None that I skip (Ten, Vs, No Code, Yield).  Sometimes having unbelievable songs can override having a bunch of skippable ones, which is why Vitalogy is in my top 5 or 6.  Some albums have stronger good tracks than others, but the listenability is important either way.  

Gigaton is 11 out of 12.  That's really good and unbelievable for being 30 years in.  Backspacer is an incredible 9 out of 11 for me which might make people gasp.  Binaural/Riot Act/Lightning Bolt/Self-titled are all less on that scale.  None of them are bad albums at all, but they have tracks that I tend to skip here and there. Even from the week they were released.

So in summary, Gigaton is awesome.  

RoleModelsinBlood31

Avocado/Pearl Jam

JimmyV said:

Gigaton is the best since Avocado/Pearl Jam, and Avocado/Pearl Jam was the best since Yield.

Yessir, we have concurration

SVRDhand13

Yield

mcgruff10 said:

To me this is light years ahead of binaural and riot act.  Such an easy record to listen to so my answer is best album since Yield.  I don't think PJ will ever make an album that is better than the first five.  

That’s where I’m at too right now. Let’s see what we think after a period of time and after some shows. 

Spiritual_Chaos

SVRDhand13 said:

mcgruff10 said:

To me this is light years ahead of binaural and riot act.  Such an easy record to listen to so my answer is best album since Yield.  I don't think PJ will ever make an album that is better than the first five.  

That’s where I’m at too right now. 

jonsey30

Binaural

If I could mash together the songs I like from Binaural and Riot Act that would be an excellent album.  As it is, those are two albums with some of my all-time favorite songs, but there are more songs that I skip on both.  I did say Binaural here because I don’t know how Gigaton will hold up over time.  

All albums since Yield have been that way for me. Some incredible songs, but more skip songs.  I can listed to Gigaton from start to finish and not want to skip any songs, after about 20 listens all the way through.

Anyone else waiting for Worldwide Suicide to kick in at the beginning of Never Destination?  Great song, but too similar of an opening.

PJammin'

mcgruff10 said:

To me this is light years ahead of binaural..

I see what you did there. 

rummy

PJammin' said:

mcgruff10 said:

To me this is light years ahead of binaural..

I see what you did there. 

It definitely rival's Binaural in terms of diversity of tracks.

PJammin'

rummy said:

PJammin' said:

mcgruff10 said:

To me this is light years ahead of binaural..

I see what you did there. 

It definitely rival's Binaural in terms of diversity of tracks.

JT167846

Christ almost every album review I've seen about every PJ album since Yield is "this is their best album since Yield" LOL. Instead of picking one I'll say that to me it's a bit like No Code in that it seems like a mature slow burner. Probably the difference between this and No Code to me is the length of time it took for me to realise it. Might be because I've been slow burning myself for 24 years since then

KN219077

Avocado/Pearl Jam

Since Avocado. Not better than Avocado. That album is super underrated here. 

1ThoughtKnown

Avocado/Pearl Jam

^^^^ Agree

goldenegg

Avocado/Pearl Jam

I'll answer Avocado, since I felt Brendan O'Brien's production really held back both Backspacer and Lightning Bolt.  I'm glad the band went in a different direction with Gigaton.  It's still way too early for me to rank it with the other albums, but I think it'll end up in my top 5.

robbie

Its seems like they have come back to some of the experimentation they tapped in to on Self Titled.

vito

Yield

Yield