25 debut albums that I like

I didn't put much thought or time into this, but these are almost all the first albums that came to my mind (in a couple of cases I thought of others first, but then changed my mind). So choose any album that you like even if you don't know much on the list -- it's not a contest. It's pretty representative of my tastes, so there will be those that won't have or be into any of this stuff.

Either I love them or I don't know them... tough! I went for Can but many others incl. Area deserve my vote as well.

Arbeit Macht Frei for me...

Great albums in this list. My vote goes to Tangerine Dream.

Thanks everyone for the replies. :)

Cristi wrote: ^^ real masterpieces? I only listen to fake masterpieces it seems.  TD, Can and Magma are the only ones I care for, don't know which to pick.

I know that you weren't responding to me, but it's an open forum, and I don't know how serious you were being, but I quite enjoy writing and using people's notions as a springboard for my own thoughts.

Hopefully not to get too bogged down in semantics, but there are masterpieces, and then there are masterpieces (as the saying sort-of goes).

A "real" masterpiece to me is what I think of as a transcendent work. It's not just a great album by its band, but a significant album of its time and genre, and rises beyond mere genre and perhaps temporal expectations. It's inimitable (okay, probably can be imitated) and superlative, and is considered to a real classic by those who are familiar with such music or it has a significant cult following. To me, Beethoven's 9th is a real masterpiece, and of course it has stood the test of time. Unlike ones in this list, I think relatively few would dispute its historical and artistic importance (some might say, oh Beethoven he's no Bach, or he was past his prime, but generally-speaking).

I love all of these albums, but some of these albums I wouldn't consider to be real masterpieces or even masterpieces. Arbeit Macht Frei, for instance, I could give that status to, but I wouldn't say that of Robert Wyatt's The End of an Ear. Of his Rock Bottom, sure, I think that's a really special album that he never surpassed and has uniqueness without parallel, and it is highly regarded by many that travel such musical paths. I would consider Comus to be a true modern (50s up) acid-folk masterpiece (it transcends genre expectations and evokes a strong reaction and has a uniqueness about it). It's a very divisive album and there is a school of thought that says that great works often are passionately loved by some and passionately hated by others (art that evokes strong emotions, be it exultation or revulsion).

Obviously, this does not mean that you don't listen to "true" masterpieces of different styles and not everyone will agree on what is a masterpiece (one person's' masterpiece is another person's manurepiece, to be crude). There are albums that I don't even like that I truly still consider to be masterpieces.

I might come up with another 25 (still only with ones I care about). In that there will probably be more symphonic prog oriented works, so you might prefer that. I would be interested to see your own list -- I decided to do this one because I suggested to someone who didn't like the choices in another poll that he/she should come up with his/her own, and I commonly believe that one should be willing to do oneself what one would ask of others. :) I bet some people will think that there are real masterpieces on your favourites list, some may not, to each his or own own tastes and sense of masterpiece.

That's quite a short response by my standards. ;)

Brevity is the soul of wit. Mine was a fairly short response by my rambling standards. No apologies necessary, I appreciate the opportunity. Like I said, I use posts as a springboard for my thoughts, and I enjoy the act of writing (except when it's work). I had already thought about posting something along some of the same lines when I saw Raff's response. That got me thinking, "I wonder which of these I would consider to be true masterpieces, and how I would approach that?" Transcendence is the word that sprung to my mind, and a stream of mental diarrhoea sprung forth from that.

Yeah, I can't choose. There is just too much good here.

Some decent albums up there but Hatfield is one of my favorites.

The Art Zoyd, the Hatfield, Picchio dal Pozzo or the Univers Zero would have been worthy choices.  I actually, probably should have voted for the Henry Cow, but I voted for the Wyatt because I predict that it won't get much love in this distinguished company.  In fact, I'd wager that a lot of people think that Robert's 1st solo album was Rock Bottom.  I do love The End of an Ear, nearly as much as Leg End, and I do listen to it regularly (although not as often as Rock Bottom, admittedly).  I remember playing it non-stop on the car stereo on a drive from NJ to Florida with a couple of friends.  It drove them crazy.