Rank The Albums!

dirty hands said:
Been listening to a lot of Primus lately so

Pork Soda
Sailing the Seas of Cheese
Suck on This
Frizzle Fry
Tales From the Punchbowl

I never listened to anything after Punchbowl and I’m probably not going to 😂
Click to expand...

I enjoy the post-punchbowl stuff, but yes, the drop-off is steep.

miscellaneous debris
frizzle fry
tales from the punchbowl
sailing on the seas of cheese
pork soda
suck on this
rhinoplasty
antipop
animals should not try to act like people
brown album
green naugahyde
chocolate factory / desaturating seven
 
No one will give a fuck but I'm gonna do it!

RHCP:

1) Blood Sugar Sex Magik
2) Stadium Arcadium
3) Californication
4) By The Way
5) Uplift Mofo Party Plan
6) One Hot Minute
7) Freaky Styley
8) Mother's Milk
9) Red Hot Chili Peppers (S/T)
10) Unlimited Love
11) Return of the Dream Canteen
12) I'm With You
13) The Getaway
 
Sometime after Welshpool Frillies came out, I realized that I really hadn't paid attention to Guided by Voices much at all. Robert Pollard really doesn't slow down with music he releases and I was only a cursory fan of the classics. So, earlier this year I challenged myself to give all their albums a listen from start to finish and assign a score. They even released an album last week (!) while I was going through this project thinking I was almost done.

Below is my top 10 along with the entire list I used to rank. Anything below the top 10 I'd be randomly selecting based on the score, and ideally I'd need more listens to really judge. Which entirely defeats the point of the first-time judging.

Scoring: Each album started at 6/10. As I was listening I added each a half a point (0.5) if I liked something along the way, and deducted half a pont if I didn't. If I had heard the album before it's marked with an asterisk (*).

Some thoughts:

  • Their first few albums I judged harshly but I might come around to them with additional listens.
  • Their classic period is classic for a reason.
  • When they started writing longer songs with more structure they released some really good albums. Earthquake Glue and Half Smiles of the Decomposed are quite good.
  • Back in 2012 I remember being extremely excited for their return, along with everyone, and really liking Let's Go Eat the Factory and Class Clown Spots a UFO. I didn't like them at all this time around. I feel like they were trying to replicate their classic period with shorter songs and little ideas but it's mostly bad. When Bob started to write more structured songs in subsequent albums they got better.
  • Everything since their reunion has been mostly fine. Earth Man Blues is pretty bad but not terrible. Nothing has really wowed me, but is enjoyable. It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! is a truly amazingly hilarious and awesome album name that I gave it an extra half point just because.


Top 10 list:
  1. Alien Lanes
  2. Bee Thousand
  3. Under the Bushes Under the Stars
  4. Vampire on Titus
  5. Isolation Drills
  6. Mah Earwig!
  7. Do the Collapse
  8. Half Smiles of the Decomposed
  9. Propeller
  10. Earthquake Glue

Full Discography list:

(previously listened albums are marked with an asterisk (*)
  • Devil Between My Toes (1987) - 5/10
  • Sandbox (1987) - 6.5/10
  • Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (1989) - 7.5/10
  • Same Place the Fly Got Smashed (1990) - 5.5/10
  • *Propeller (1992) - 8/10
  • *Vampire on Titus (1993) - 8.5/10
  • *Bee Thousand (1994) - 10/10
  • *Alien Lanes (1995) - 10/10
  • *Under the Bushes Under the Stars (1996) - 9/10
  • *Tonics & Twisted Chasers (1996) - 6.5/10
  • *Mag Earwhig! (1997) 8.5/10
  • *Do the Collapse (1999) - 8/10
  • *Isolation Drills (2001) - 8.5/10
  • Universal Truths and Cycles (2002) - 7.5/10
  • Earthquake Glue (2003) 8/10
  • Half Smiles of the Decomposed (2004) 8/10
  • *Let's Go Eat the Factory (2012) 5/10
  • *Class Clown Spots a UFO (2012) - 7/10
  • The Bears for Lunch (2012) - 7.5/10
  • English Little League (2013) 6.5/10
  • Motivational Jumpsuit (2014) 6.5/10
  • Cool Planet (2014) - 6/10
  • Please Be Honest (2016) - 6.5/10
  • August by Cake (2017) 7/10
  • How Do You Spell Heaven (2017) - 7/10
  • Space Gun (2018) - 6.5/10
  • Zeppelin Over China (2019) - 6/10
  • Warp and Woof (2019) - 7/10
  • Sweating the Plague (2019) - 8/10
  • Surrender Your Poppy Field (2020) - 8/10
  • Mirrored Aztec (2020) - 6/10
  • Styles We Paid For (2020) - 6/10
  • *Earth Man Blues (2021) - 5.5/10
  • It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! (2021) - 7.5/10
  • Crystal Nuns Cathedral (2022) - 7/10
  • Tremblers and Goggles by Rank (2022) - 6.5/10
  • La La Land (2023) - 6.5/10
  • *Welshpool Frillies (2023) - 7/10
  • Nowhere to Go But Up (2023) - 6.5/10
 
wokeupnew said:
Sometime after Welshpool Frillies came out, I realized that I really hadn't paid attention to Guided by Voices much at all. Robert Pollard really doesn't slow down with music he releases and I was only a cursory fan of the classics. So, earlier this year I challenged myself to give all their albums a listen from start to finish and assign a score. They even released an album last week (!) while I was going through this project thinking I was almost done.

Below is my top 10 along with the entire list I used to rank. Anything below the top 10 I'd be randomly selecting based on the score, and ideally I'd need more listens to really judge. Which entirely defeats the point of the first-time judging.

Scoring: Each album started at 6/10. As I was listening I added each a half a point (0.5) if I liked something along the way, and deducted half a pont if I didn't. If I had heard the album before it's marked with an asterisk (*).

Some thoughts:

  • Their first few albums I judged harshly but I might come around to them with additional listens.
  • Their classic period is classic for a reason.
  • When they started writing longer songs with more structure they released some really good albums. Earthquake Glue and Half Smiles of the Decomposed are quite good.
  • Back in 2012 I remember being extremely excited for their return, along with everyone, and really liking Let's Go Eat the Factory and Class Clown Spots a UFO. I didn't like them at all this time around. I feel like they were trying to replicate their classic period with shorter songs and little ideas but it's mostly bad. When Bob started to write more structured songs in subsequent albums they got better.
  • Everything since their reunion has been mostly fine. Earth Man Blues is pretty bad but not terrible. Nothing has really wowed me, but is enjoyable. It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! is a truly amazingly hilarious and awesome album name that I gave it an extra half point just because.


Top 10 list:
  1. Alien Lanes
  2. Bee Thousand
  3. Under the Bushes Under the Stars
  4. Vampire on Titus
  5. Isolation Drills
  6. Mah Earwig!
  7. Do the Collapse
  8. Half Smiles of the Decomposed
  9. Propeller
  10. Earthquake Glue

Full Discography list:

(previously listened albums are marked with an asterisk (*)
  • Devil Between My Toes (1987) - 5/10
  • Sandbox (1987) - 6.5/10
  • Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (1989) - 7.5/10
  • Same Place the Fly Got Smashed (1990) - 5.5/10
  • *Propeller (1992) - 8/10
  • *Vampire on Titus (1993) - 8.5/10
  • *Bee Thousand (1994) - 10/10
  • *Alien Lanes (1995) - 10/10
  • *Under the Bushes Under the Stars (1996) - 9/10
  • *Tonics & Twisted Chasers (1996) - 6.5/10
  • *Mag Earwhig! (1997) 8.5/10
  • *Do the Collapse (1999) - 8/10
  • *Isolation Drills (2001) - 8.5/10
  • Universal Truths and Cycles (2002) - 7.5/10
  • Earthquake Glue (2003) 8/10
  • Half Smiles of the Decomposed (2004) 8/10
  • *Let's Go Eat the Factory (2012) 5/10
  • *Class Clown Spots a UFO (2012) - 7/10
  • The Bears for Lunch (2012) - 7.5/10
  • English Little League (2013) 6.5/10
  • Motivational Jumpsuit (2014) 6.5/10
  • Cool Planet (2014) - 6/10
  • Please Be Honest (2016) - 6.5/10
  • August by Cake (2017) 7/10
  • How Do You Spell Heaven (2017) - 7/10
  • Space Gun (2018) - 6.5/10
  • Zeppelin Over China (2019) - 6/10
  • Warp and Woof (2019) - 7/10
  • Sweating the Plague (2019) - 8/10
  • Surrender Your Poppy Field (2020) - 8/10
  • Mirrored Aztec (2020) - 6/10
  • Styles We Paid For (2020) - 6/10
  • *Earth Man Blues (2021) - 5.5/10
  • It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! (2021) - 7.5/10
  • Crystal Nuns Cathedral (2022) - 7/10
  • Tremblers and Goggles by Rank (2022) - 6.5/10
  • La La Land (2023) - 6.5/10
  • *Welshpool Frillies (2023) - 7/10
  • Nowhere to Go But Up (2023) - 6.5/10
Click to expand...
This is quite a project and respect your tenacity.

The divide when the band first reunited in 2010 is when Bob got back with the “classic line-up” a backing band that was the same as their lineup from 93-96. I think a lot of folks (me included) agree with you that the period is a bit underwhelming.

One of the secret weapons the GBVs over the years has been Doug Gillard the guitarist played with the band from 97-2004 and really revitalized the band. Following the reunited classic lineup reunion ending in 2014 with the release of Cool Planet GBV took another brief hiatus but in 2016 when Bob started making GBV records again in 2016 he put together the current iteration of the group that again features Gillard and also brought in Bobby Bare Jr. (check out his Criminal Starvation League if you haven’t already) those two have really IMO revitalized the band. I don’t think any of these albums are amazing but they are all solid to really good.

Are you gonna tackle some of Bob Pollard’s solo and side projects? There is a lot of fantastic stuff tucked away in there worth checking out if you are look to add more to your plate.
 
Last edited:
TenderLovingKiller® said:
This is quite a project and respect your tenacity.

The divide when the band first reunited in 2010 is when Bob got back with the “classic line-up” a backing band that was the same as their lineup from 93-96. I think a lot of folks (me included) agree with you that the period is a bit underwhelming.

One of the secret weapons the GBVs over the years has been Doug Gillard the guitarist played with the band from 97-2004 and really revitalized the band. Following the reunited classic lineup reunion ending in 2014 with the release of Cool Planet GBV took another brief hiatus but in 2016 when Bob started making GBV records again in 2016 he put together the current iteration of the group that again features Gillard and also brought in Bobby Bare Jr. (check out his Criminal Starvation League if you haven’t already) those two have really IMO revitalized the band. I don’t think any of these albums are amazing but they are all solid to really good.

Are you gonna tackle some of Bob Pollard’s solo and side projects? There is a lot of fantastic stuff tucked away in there worth checking out if you are look to add more to your plate.
Click to expand...
That makes sense because the albums 2016 and onwards are definitely better than the 2012-2014 period.

I don't think I plan on tackling his solo projects just yet. I need to revist a few GBV albums a second or third time first. If I keep liking them more and more I'll probably venture over that other way, OR by the time I do that Bob will have released another new GBV to listen to o_O
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
This is quite a project and respect your tenacity.

The divide when the band first reunited in 2010 is when Bob got back with the “classic line-up” a backing band that was the same as their lineup from 93-96. I think a lot of folks (me included) agree with you that the period is a bit underwhelming.

One of the secret weapons the GBVs over the years has been Doug Gillard the guitarist played with the band from 97-2004 and really revitalized the band. Following the reunited classic lineup reunion ending in 2014 with the release of Cool Planet GBV took another brief hiatus but in 2016 when Bob started making GBV records again in 2016 he put together the current iteration of the group that again features Gillard and also brought in Bobby Bare Jr. (check out his Criminal Starvation League if you haven’t already) those two have really IMO revitalized the band. I don’t think any of these albums are amazing but they are all solid to really good.

Are you gonna tackle some of Bob Pollard’s solo and side projects? There is a lot of fantastic stuff tucked away in there worth checking out if you are look to add more to your plate.
Click to expand...

Whenever I think of Bobby Bare Jr, I always remember him coming in to the record store where I worked late one night. He went to the “B’s” section and yelled over to us, “you need to get more Bobby Bare Jr in this place!” as if we didn’t know who he was.
 
Wes C. Attle said:
Whenever I think of Bobby Bare Jr, I always remember him coming in to the record store where I worked late one night. He went to the “B’s” section and yelled over to us, “you need to get more Bobby Bare Jr in this place!” as if we didn’t know who he was.
Click to expand...
That’s funny!

I harassed Bloodshot Records on Twitter several years ago to reissues that first Criminal Starvation League album put out on vinyl and they replied say they had a whole bunch of albums they wanted to reissue but I think the label was on the verge of imploding at the times so they unfortunately still no vinyl.
 
wokeupnew said:
Sometime after Welshpool Frillies came out, I realized that I really hadn't paid attention to Guided by Voices much at all. Robert Pollard really doesn't slow down with music he releases and I was only a cursory fan of the classics. So, earlier this year I challenged myself to give all their albums a listen from start to finish and assign a score. They even released an album last week (!) while I was going through this project thinking I was almost done.

Below is my top 10 along with the entire list I used to rank. Anything below the top 10 I'd be randomly selecting based on the score, and ideally I'd need more listens to really judge. Which entirely defeats the point of the first-time judging.

Scoring: Each album started at 6/10. As I was listening I added each a half a point (0.5) if I liked something along the way, and deducted half a pont if I didn't. If I had heard the album before it's marked with an asterisk (*).

Some thoughts:

  • Their first few albums I judged harshly but I might come around to them with additional listens.
  • Their classic period is classic for a reason.
  • When they started writing longer songs with more structure they released some really good albums. Earthquake Glue and Half Smiles of the Decomposed are quite good.
  • Back in 2012 I remember being extremely excited for their return, along with everyone, and really liking Let's Go Eat the Factory and Class Clown Spots a UFO. I didn't like them at all this time around. I feel like they were trying to replicate their classic period with shorter songs and little ideas but it's mostly bad. When Bob started to write more structured songs in subsequent albums they got better.
  • Everything since their reunion has been mostly fine. Earth Man Blues is pretty bad but not terrible. Nothing has really wowed me, but is enjoyable. It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! is a truly amazingly hilarious and awesome album name that I gave it an extra half point just because.


Top 10 list:
  1. Alien Lanes
  2. Bee Thousand
  3. Under the Bushes Under the Stars
  4. Vampire on Titus
  5. Isolation Drills
  6. Mah Earwig!
  7. Do the Collapse
  8. Half Smiles of the Decomposed
  9. Propeller
  10. Earthquake Glue

Full Discography list:

(previously listened albums are marked with an asterisk (*)
  • Devil Between My Toes (1987) - 5/10
  • Sandbox (1987) - 6.5/10
  • Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (1989) - 7.5/10
  • Same Place the Fly Got Smashed (1990) - 5.5/10
  • *Propeller (1992) - 8/10
  • *Vampire on Titus (1993) - 8.5/10
  • *Bee Thousand (1994) - 10/10
  • *Alien Lanes (1995) - 10/10
  • *Under the Bushes Under the Stars (1996) - 9/10
  • *Tonics & Twisted Chasers (1996) - 6.5/10
  • *Mag Earwhig! (1997) 8.5/10
  • *Do the Collapse (1999) - 8/10
  • *Isolation Drills (2001) - 8.5/10
  • Universal Truths and Cycles (2002) - 7.5/10
  • Earthquake Glue (2003) 8/10
  • Half Smiles of the Decomposed (2004) 8/10
  • *Let's Go Eat the Factory (2012) 5/10
  • *Class Clown Spots a UFO (2012) - 7/10
  • The Bears for Lunch (2012) - 7.5/10
  • English Little League (2013) 6.5/10
  • Motivational Jumpsuit (2014) 6.5/10
  • Cool Planet (2014) - 6/10
  • Please Be Honest (2016) - 6.5/10
  • August by Cake (2017) 7/10
  • How Do You Spell Heaven (2017) - 7/10
  • Space Gun (2018) - 6.5/10
  • Zeppelin Over China (2019) - 6/10
  • Warp and Woof (2019) - 7/10
  • Sweating the Plague (2019) - 8/10
  • Surrender Your Poppy Field (2020) - 8/10
  • Mirrored Aztec (2020) - 6/10
  • Styles We Paid For (2020) - 6/10
  • *Earth Man Blues (2021) - 5.5/10
  • It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! (2021) - 7.5/10
  • Crystal Nuns Cathedral (2022) - 7/10
  • Tremblers and Goggles by Rank (2022) - 6.5/10
  • La La Land (2023) - 6.5/10
  • *Welshpool Frillies (2023) - 7/10
  • Nowhere to Go But Up (2023) - 6.5/10
Click to expand...
Thoughts and prayers
 
scotthilk said:
No one will give a fuck but I'm gonna do it!

RHCP:

1) Blood Sugar Sex Magik
2) Stadium Arcadium
3) Californication
4) By The Way
5) Uplift Mofo Party Plan
6) One Hot Minute
7) Freaky Styley
8) Mother's Milk
9) Red Hot Chili Peppers (S/T)
10) Unlimited Love
11) Return of the Dream Canteen
12) I'm With You
13) The Getaway
Click to expand...

Mother’s Milk is waaaaaay tooooo low
 
scotthilk said:
No one will give a fuck but I'm gonna do it!

RHCP:

1) Blood Sugar Sex Magik
2) Stadium Arcadium
3) Californication
4) By The Way
5) Uplift Mofo Party Plan
6) One Hot Minute
7) Freaky Styley
8) Mother's Milk
9) Red Hot Chili Peppers (S/T)
10) Unlimited Love
11) Return of the Dream Canteen
12) I'm With You
13) The Getaway
Click to expand...
1. Blood Sugar Sex Magic
2. Californication
3. By the Way
4. Stadium Arcadium
5. Mother's Milk
6. One Hot Minute

7. Uplift Mofo Party Plan
8.Freaky Styley
9. Return of the Dream Canteen
10. I'm With You
11. Red Hot Chili Peppers
12. Unlimited Love
13. The Getaway
 
wokeupnew said:
Sometime after Welshpool Frillies came out, I realized that I really hadn't paid attention to Guided by Voices much at all. Robert Pollard really doesn't slow down with music he releases and I was only a cursory fan of the classics. So, earlier this year I challenged myself to give all their albums a listen from start to finish and assign a score. They even released an album last week (!) while I was going through this project thinking I was almost done.

Below is my top 10 along with the entire list I used to rank. Anything below the top 10 I'd be randomly selecting based on the score, and ideally I'd need more listens to really judge. Which entirely defeats the point of the first-time judging.

Scoring: Each album started at 6/10. As I was listening I added each a half a point (0.5) if I liked something along the way, and deducted half a pont if I didn't. If I had heard the album before it's marked with an asterisk (*).

Some thoughts:

  • Their first few albums I judged harshly but I might come around to them with additional listens.
  • Their classic period is classic for a reason.
  • When they started writing longer songs with more structure they released some really good albums. Earthquake Glue and Half Smiles of the Decomposed are quite good.
  • Back in 2012 I remember being extremely excited for their return, along with everyone, and really liking Let's Go Eat the Factory and Class Clown Spots a UFO. I didn't like them at all this time around. I feel like they were trying to replicate their classic period with shorter songs and little ideas but it's mostly bad. When Bob started to write more structured songs in subsequent albums they got better.
  • Everything since their reunion has been mostly fine. Earth Man Blues is pretty bad but not terrible. Nothing has really wowed me, but is enjoyable. It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! is a truly amazingly hilarious and awesome album name that I gave it an extra half point just because.


Top 10 list:
  1. Alien Lanes
  2. Bee Thousand
  3. Under the Bushes Under the Stars
  4. Vampire on Titus
  5. Isolation Drills
  6. Mah Earwig!
  7. Do the Collapse
  8. Half Smiles of the Decomposed
  9. Propeller
  10. Earthquake Glue

Full Discography list:

(previously listened albums are marked with an asterisk (*)
  • Devil Between My Toes (1987) - 5/10
  • Sandbox (1987) - 6.5/10
  • Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (1989) - 7.5/10
  • Same Place the Fly Got Smashed (1990) - 5.5/10
  • *Propeller (1992) - 8/10
  • *Vampire on Titus (1993) - 8.5/10
  • *Bee Thousand (1994) - 10/10
  • *Alien Lanes (1995) - 10/10
  • *Under the Bushes Under the Stars (1996) - 9/10
  • *Tonics & Twisted Chasers (1996) - 6.5/10
  • *Mag Earwhig! (1997) 8.5/10
  • *Do the Collapse (1999) - 8/10
  • *Isolation Drills (2001) - 8.5/10
  • Universal Truths and Cycles (2002) - 7.5/10
  • Earthquake Glue (2003) 8/10
  • Half Smiles of the Decomposed (2004) 8/10
  • *Let's Go Eat the Factory (2012) 5/10
  • *Class Clown Spots a UFO (2012) - 7/10
  • The Bears for Lunch (2012) - 7.5/10
  • English Little League (2013) 6.5/10
  • Motivational Jumpsuit (2014) 6.5/10
  • Cool Planet (2014) - 6/10
  • Please Be Honest (2016) - 6.5/10
  • August by Cake (2017) 7/10
  • How Do You Spell Heaven (2017) - 7/10
  • Space Gun (2018) - 6.5/10
  • Zeppelin Over China (2019) - 6/10
  • Warp and Woof (2019) - 7/10
  • Sweating the Plague (2019) - 8/10
  • Surrender Your Poppy Field (2020) - 8/10
  • Mirrored Aztec (2020) - 6/10
  • Styles We Paid For (2020) - 6/10
  • *Earth Man Blues (2021) - 5.5/10
  • It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! (2021) - 7.5/10
  • Crystal Nuns Cathedral (2022) - 7/10
  • Tremblers and Goggles by Rank (2022) - 6.5/10
  • La La Land (2023) - 6.5/10
  • *Welshpool Frillies (2023) - 7/10
  • Nowhere to Go But Up (2023) - 6.5/10
Click to expand...
I like this because the only 3 I know, own, and love are your top 3. I'm too overwhelmed to go down the GBV rabbit hole beyond those.
 
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