After Some Time to Take In and Digest Gigaton, Where Does it Rank For You?

Abe Froman

mshnayder said:

I can't wrap my head around people who have Ten outside their top 3 let alone those who have it in their bottom 3. I know music is subjective but that's just objectively wrong and feels like a hipster take. 

Why?  It’s not my favorite record. Pretty simple.  Does it hold a special place because it was what started it all for me?  Absolutely!  But I like 5 albums more than Ten. Personally they got better musically and became more creative. I loved VS, Vitalogy, No Code and Yield more than Ten pretty much right away. And over time it happened with Binaural for me too. 

LastStopOnTheWestCoastLine

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

I would like to apologize to Binaural and Riot Act though.

KN219077

I have a hard time believing so many people are ranking this above Riot Act. 

BennyLaRue

Still just below Wunderbar for me

pjsyco

THEBIBLEISTEN said:

This is a great album and keeps getting better. I put it ahead of LB and Backspacer and it’s still climbing. This thing is easily an A . Very impressed with this. 

I agree. I can’t quit listening to this album. Ed is going to have one hell of a time remembering the lyrics on this one. Great fucking album. 

Gibson

95 all time.

PureandEasy

My copy of Gigaton wouldn't play, so I have yet to experience it other than You Tube, can't really make a decision until I get another copy of the CD.  

iOnlyownMymind

KN219077 said:

I have a hard time believing so many people are ranking this above Riot Act. 

I'm in the same boat.  I really don't get it either!

KN219077

iOnlyownMymind said:

KN219077 said:

I have a hard time believing so many people are ranking this above Riot Act. 

I'm in the same boat.  I really don't get it either!

I think the album is very good, don’t get me wrong. Probably my favorite album I’ve heard by any band in the lst five years. I just don’t think it really rivals riot act or binaural 

Red Mosqito

Man, this is such a fun question to ask but one of the most difficult to always answer. It becomes even more difficult when you have a new release that's solid from beginning to end like Gigaton is. So for those who really love the new album, I'm sure you struggle just like I do on where to rank this album simply because it's so new. Ranking it too high on your list just seems disrespectful to the other classic albums in their catalog, but ranking it near or at the bottom of the list doesn't feel right either given how amazing this album is. 

For my rankings, I like to factor in how well each album has held up over time, second, how often am I inclined to listen to the album in it's entirety and finally the overall number of quality songs on the album. With that said, here are my rankings:

1. Yield - For me, I fell in love with this album on the first listen. Maybe it was due to the stuff going on in my life during that time, but this album just speaks to me on so many levels. 
2. No Code - I'll admit, I didn't get this album for quite some time beyond the rockers. I had to grow up and experience some life before this eventually resonated with me. 
3. Vitalogy - The only album from the "early years" that has a timeless feel to it imo. To this day, I can still listen to that album from beginning to end without skipping a single track. 
4. Gigaton - Outside of Yield, no other album of theirs has captured me from the very first listen like this one has. Maybe as was the case with Yield, it was the timing and events taking place in our world that made me instantly love it. 
5. Binaural - I know I'll get shit for ranking Gigaton ahead of Binaural but it is what it is. A great album from beginning to end that was another slow burner for me.
6. Vs. -  Loved it when it first came out and there are still plenty of good tunes to spin from this one, but I rarely find myself going back and listening to it now. Sound wise it feels a little dated, but maybe that's just because I'm getting old.  
7.  Pearl Jam (Avocado) - This album was music to my ears after Riot Act as I felt the band got back to that vibe they had during the Yield years. Marker in the Sand, I feel, is one of the most underrated songs in their catalog. 
8. Lightning Bolt - Depending on the day Avocado & LB could probably switch spots here. This album holds a special place with me as its the first one my oldest daughter really got into and she loves the title track. 
9. Ten - What, the holy grail behind Avocado & LB??? Don't get me wrong, I love the album, it's what got me into them in the first place. But if Vs. feels dated to me then you know I feel the same about this one. When I go back to listen now, it gives me more of a nostalgic feel than anything else. 
10. Backspacer - This album gets such a bad rap, and I'm perpetuating it by ranking it 10th myself, but I think it's better than most people give it credit. 
11. Riot Act - Give me some Green Disease, Get Right or I Am Mine any day of the week, but overall this album just feels like the band was tired and uninspired when they recorded it when you compare it to their other efforts. 

That was actually harder than I thought but I feel this is very accurate ranking (for me anyway). 

   

Attaway77

KN219077 said:

I have a hard time believing so many people are ranking this above Riot Act. 

Riot Act and Binaural are phenomenal albums, still crank them up to this day. This new album is amazing, it takes me back to those two albums, just the fullness of the listening experience you get when it's over. I personally don't associate it with these "times" we live in just like I never did with RA or Binaural, it was just music that came out from a band I love like this album has now... RA, Binaural and Gigaton will probably be what I listen to the most for the next few years,  just a musical masterpiece IMO.....

cp3iverson

KN219077 said:

I have a hard time believing so many people are ranking this above Riot Act. 

I like the tour better than the album.  Its still my #8/11 so its not my least favorite.  It just doesnt hit me like GIGATONNNN 

myoung321

It's #1 right now, because I'm listening to it ....

As time passes it will find its place.

Then as more time passes and life happens, it will move around the list, like all the others still do. 

Red Mosqito

cp3iverson said:

KN219077 said:

I have a hard time believing so many people are ranking this above Riot Act. 

I like the tour better than the album.  Its still my #8/11 so its not my least favorite.  It just doesnt hit me like GIGATONNNN 

I loved the Riot Act tour and have some fond memories from the shows I attended that year.

Although I've been a fan from the start, I didn't join the fan club until 2002 after some kind folks I met at the 2001 BSB shows let me in on the secret that you got access to better seats as a member, so the 2003 tour was my first ever experience with fan club tickets. And in Las Vegas that year I stayed at the MGM where they were playing and remember telling my wife that morning (probably around 6 or 7am) that I was going to go down and check out the line situation and I'd be right back. Well to my surprise there were only a few people waiting in line to get their tickets at that point (something completely unheard of today) so I hung around and struck up conversation with the others in line. Next thing you know it's 1pm and my wife shows up and she's not up for hanging out in line obviously, I mean we are in Vegas. Luckily I was able to sell her on the idea of doing some shopping to kill a few hours while I wait for the ticket window to open up giving us the rest of the afternoon to explore before the show that night. 

Now this was the year where tickets were being distributed in blocks going by your membership number with tickets for the first and ninth rows being evenly distributed across all membership blocks. After getting to know my fellow line mates a bit, I was able to learn I was the only person in line at that point in my particular membership block (pretty much the last/worst block at that point) and I thought to myself how cool it would be if I scored seats in the ninth row. Imagine my surprise once the ticket windows opened up and I got my tickets only to see I scored front row on Mike's side that night!! I even decided to commemorate the evening by picking up my first ever show poster as we walked into the arena just a few minutes before Pearl Jam took the stage, both of which you could never think of being able to do now. The band was tight that night and the setlist was solid and just when I thought it couldn't get any better, it did, when Eddie tossed me a tambourine during the encore of RITFW. Man, what a night that was!   

Red Mosqito

mshnayder said:

I can't wrap my head around people who have Ten outside their top 3 let alone those who have it in their bottom 3. I know music is subjective but that's just objectively wrong and feels like a hipster take. 

Well I ranked Ten in the bottom three and if you could see me, you'd agree I'm definitely no hipster. Call me weird but for some reason its one of the only albums I rarely play anymore. I'll listen to a song or two at best, but I can't remember the last time I listened to it in its entirety. 

Red Mosqito

JBob87 said:

Bottom bucket with LB and Backspacer.

Hate to say it but Ed’s structure and writing is the weak link. Way too much rambling, convoluted writing, and filling musical spaces that don’t need to be filled.

LOL, show me some lyrics and song structures you've written that are better than Ed's...go ahead, I'm waiting. With that said, I can't wait to go to a show and watch all the people try and sing along to Seven O'Clock. That's going to be pure gold entertainment right there! 

Peasant Tents

mshnayder said:

I can't wrap my head around people who have Ten outside their top 3 let alone those who have it in their bottom 3. I know music is subjective but that's just objectively wrong and feels like a hipster take. 

I get what you're saying - and I kind of agree with you (coming from someone who ranked 10 at 4!).
 I really struggled to do this. My rankings changed between Sunday and Tuesday! Ten swapped with No Code.
 Sometimes I prefer the depth and variation of NC and the overall sound more than Ten.  Then I think, wait, all the songs bar Why Go and Deep (my personal least favourites) are incredible..... 

Niko80

Red Mosqito said:

JBob87 said:

Bottom bucket with LB and Backspacer.

Hate to say it but Ed’s structure and writing is the weak link. Way too much rambling, convoluted writing, and filling musical spaces that don’t need to be filled.

LOL, show me some lyrics and song structures you've written that are better than Ed's...go ahead, I'm waiting.  

Lol. So if you cant do better yourself you better not have an opinion about something?

cp3iverson

Red Mosqito said:

cp3iverson said:

KN219077 said:

I have a hard time believing so many people are ranking this above Riot Act. 

I like the tour better than the album.  Its still my #8/11 so its not my least favorite.  It just doesnt hit me like GIGATONNNN 

I loved the Riot Act tour and have some fond memories from the shows I attended that year.

Although I've been a fan from the start, I didn't join the fan club until 2002 after some kind folks I met at the 2001 BSB shows let me in on the secret that you got access to better seats as a member, so the 2003 tour was my first ever experience with fan club tickets. And in Las Vegas that year I stayed at the MGM where they were playing and remember telling my wife that morning (probably around 6 or 7am) that I was going to go down and check out the line situation and I'd be right back. Well to my surprise there were only a few people waiting in line to get their tickets at that point (something completely unheard of today) so I hung around and struck up conversation with the others in line. Next thing you know it's 1pm and my wife shows up and she's not up for hanging out in line obviously, I mean we are in Vegas. Luckily I was able to sell her on the idea of doing some shopping to kill a few hours while I wait for the ticket window to open up giving us the rest of the afternoon to explore before the show that night. 

Now this was the year where tickets were being distributed in blocks going by your membership number with tickets for the first and ninth rows being evenly distributed across all membership blocks. After getting to know my fellow line mates a bit, I was able to learn I was the only person in line at that point in my particular membership block (pretty much the last/worst block at that point) and I thought to myself how cool it would be if I scored seats in the ninth row. Imagine my surprise once the ticket windows opened up and I got my tickets only to see I scored front row on Mike's side that night!! I even decided to commemorate the evening by picking up my first ever show poster as we walked into the arena just a few minutes before Pearl Jam took the stage, both of which you could never think of being able to do now. The band was tight that night and the setlist was solid and just when I thought it couldn't get any better, it did, when Eddie tossed me a tambourine during the encore of RITFW. Man, what a night that was!   

Thats an awesome first 10c show

THEBIBLEISTEN

Red Mosqito said:

JBob87 said:

Bottom bucket with LB and Backspacer.

Hate to say it but Ed’s structure and writing is the weak link. Way too much rambling, convoluted writing, and filling musical spaces that don’t need to be filled.

LOL, show me some lyrics and song structures you've written that are better than Ed's...go ahead, I'm waiting. With that said, I can't wait to go to a show and watch all the people try and sing along to Seven O'Clock. That's going to be pure gold entertainment right there! 

+million