The Best Electric Light Orchestra Album

I enjoy the first 4 (the more, typically ‘Progressive’ albums) but love Time as well. There’s something special with the album Time for me. Getting nostalgic - Time and Dark Side Of The Moon used to be cassette deck staples when I went on family camps during the late-70’s early ‘80’s. Great times, awesome tunes.

Edited by Tom Ozric - March 01 2018 at 23:16

My wife loves 'Out of the Blue' and saw them on the spaceship tour in Birmingham, where she was at college in the early 80s remains one of her great musical moments. I have to say that the 'Best of' albums generally do it for me - but really pleased I took her to Birmingham a year ago for a birthday treat to see Jeff Lynne and the guys on the comeback tour. They were very enjoyable and didn't realise how much they were in my musical DNA until I was singing 'please turn be o-ver!' at full volume at the end of Mr Blue Sky!

I loved 'World Record' at the time, but I was 12. I got bored with their stuff after that album. I have no idea what I,d think of it now. There seemed to be a consensus among critics at the time that 'Face the Music' was the better album. I only remember the single.

I recall that John Lennon said ELO were what The Beatles would have sounded like if they'd stayed together. I assumed it was a compliment.

I've always liked On the Third Day best, despite the dumb album cover. It was before they started overusing that silly falsetto backing vocal style. It's a bit rough around the edges too. I think by the time they got to Out of the Blue they were too slick for their own good.

"Best" is awfully subjective. "Most prog." might go to On the Third Day. Personal favorites have changed over the years. Maybe Eldorado currently.

1. Out of the Blue: I consider "Concerto for a Rainy Day" to be a legitimate side-long prog composition.

progistoomainstream wrote: What is the best Electric Light Orchestra Album? I have heard a few of thier songs but and I want to purchase one of their albums but I do not know which one to get.

best ELO album. sh*t...  could be any number of 4 or 5 albums... they were were a great group that had a decades worth of great albums.


in terms of the site... I'd go with On the Third Day. Strong from start to beginning and with prog enough for anyone who doesn't have a prog elitist streak in them.

Though ELO 2 will always be a top 10 alltime fav prog album, but that is likely more for sentimental reasons as it was likely my first exposure to 'prog', even though it is a frickin great album in its own right.

On The Third Day is their best prog effort.

El Dorado probably. A New World Record and Face the Music are great but couldn't get into them as much as into El Dorado that is a masterpiece.

the lighthouse keepe wrote: POTA wrote: Time is a near-perfect album, and one of the best of any band, let alone ELO. While not a groundbreaking peace of art like Sgt. Pepper's or Highway 61 Revisited, you'll find few albums that have as much emotion, talent, and complexity poured into them as Time. The story is strong --with it being more about love and longing than just a guy being transported into the future. I'll probably never get tired of listening to it from start to finish. Time is a very eighties album,and actually stands up well against any ELO release,but it still doesn't come near to Face The Music and Eldorado.Classics.

POTA and I thinks you are wrong.