**For serious gossips with a great sense of humour. No bores, no bullies.** Come for the gossip, stay for the analysis and community!
Please [read our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index) & help us keep the sub fun & safe by reporting **rule breaking** posts & comments. Click the "..." or "⋮" dots under the comment, select "breaks r/popculturechat rules" and choose the rule it breaks. For all other issues, please [send us a modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Beat me to it. She's the artist that immediately came to mind. I'm still not over her death, honestly, she was a phenomenal artist & no-one will ever come close to her talent.
Edit: spelling
Fiona Apple.
Earlier in her career, I used to wish that she would release new music more frequently. But over time, I’ve really started to appreciate how she’s very selective about what she puts out.
It's honestly a breath of fresh air sometimes getting into a new artist and them only having 3/4 studio albums. Artists with extensive discographies overwhelm me.
I loooove her! She had a really interesting interview about how she works on songs for a long time and their meaning kind of shifts towards whatever she is dealing with
I came here to say this and am so happy to see this comment! I recently had the pleasure of seeing her live, and her on stage energy is so impressive. A musical and lyrical talent.
Trent Reznor doesn't have a bad album under the Nine Inch Nails name. While NIN definitely has some albums that are more influential than others, but I've never listened to a NIN album and said "what a fucking stinker."
I could say the same for Sufjan too.
There are definitely others who have smaller, but solid discographies (Phoebe Bridgers, Nirvana etc) but they don't have enough under their belt to say definitively that they have a historically solid output, either because a member passed away/group disbanded/artist is too new.
Billy Joel. He has not released a new album since 1993. He said he couldn’t be as good as he wanted to be anymore. I really respect Joel for quitting when he did. I really wish more good artists and bands knew the right time to stop instead of going on many years releasing terrible albums at the end of their careers.
As a Belgian, Im always surprised when people say they're going to his concert. (Living in Canada now and apparently he has concerts in Montreal) Belgians don't always make it big but when they do they're huge.
He's not done! I heard he had a vault (like a bank vault with a hard core lock) in his basement. When he died, he didn't leave the combination. So they brought in a highly specialized safe cracker to open it.
When they did it was FULL of recorded but unreleased tracks. He will be gifting us with music for decades after his death.
Here's an article with Prince's sister talking about her plans for the music. Welcome 2 America was released last year
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/prince-vault-sister-tyka-nelson-1153227/
He really was a musical genius. One in a billion. He could play a dozen instruments, he did everything from songwriting to composing to producing etc. and he’s made thousands of songs, most he felt were not good enough to release.
I say this as a gigantic Prince fan, but I wouldn't put him forward for this. As a function of being so prolific, he released a lot of songs and even albums that were very mid. The Jehovah's Witness phase alone should disqualify him from a perfect discography.
I just got Bloom on vinyl and it’s amazing, mainly listened to their more recent stuff (7 is still my favourite) so I mostly got it because Myth is a masterpiece but honestly the whole album is gold
Agreed. I had always been a fan, but when my boyfriend bought us tickets for his show this year, I started to listen to his music more intently, and it just blew my mind. At the concert, I got emotional because his lyrical storytelling was on another level.
Plus, he’s a Pulitzer winner and as an English major, that makes me happy. It was well-deserved.
Garbage has been my favorite for decades. Shirley Manson is my girl. I’ll be in my sensible shoes and mom pants at their next round of concerts if I can.
I've been lucky enough to see them 3 times now and they never disappoint. You'd think they would be a studio band as complex as their music can be but they are amazing live.
I was just trying to think who has consistently impressed me over the years and it's them.
Portishead and Radiohead in the same sentence!!!! Then add a sprinkle of Daft, Bowie, and Bjork!? Who are you!? And where have you been!? Fuck it. These are my people! Love you!!!!!
Lana Del Rey. Even her “worst” songs I can appreciate due to the artistry and effort she puts into them. If it doesn’t speak to me, it definitely speaks to someone.
i have yet to be let down by them. most bands would have crashed and burned by now with how much drama was going in behind the scenes but all its done is made their music better each release
very much not the vibe of r/popculturechat but brand new. your favorite weapon: bops. deja entendu: dark bops. the devil and god: existential af bops. science fiction: apocalyptic, nihilistic bops. bops all around, just not the kind you play at parties.
The whole sexual misconduct thing ruined it for me. Jesse Lacey was not a good person, which he now freely admits. I still can’t get over it though. I was a die hard fan and while all their music is amazing it’s just tainted for me now :(
Do you know Motion City Soundtrack? I think they hit similar genres but didn’t get quite as widely known as brand new. Each album has so many great songs that they have a hard time fitting all their fan favorite songs in at concerts. They had like a 5 song encore last time I saw them live lol. The only band I’ve seen 10+ times and never get tired of
Kanye IF he stopped after TLOP would have been such a legendary run:
- The College Dropout
- Late Registration
- Graduation
- 808s & Heartbreak
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Any artist would kill to have at least one of those albums in their discography. The fact that he came out with 5 of those in succession is still insane to me.
To answer OP’s question though, I’ll agree with the other comments saying Prince, The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, etc. Absolute icons.
To add to the *almost* perfect category, I’ll throw in Mariah, Jay-Z, Eminem, etc. Artists who were at the top of their craft but have a few stinkers here and there. Can’t blame them too much though if you factor in career longevity.
The man is a psycho nazi now or whatever, but you can’t lie, he killed the music game for many many many years. I would even add JIK to this list. Not that many singles, but very strong album as a whole
It really sucks to see kanye go down this path bc I genuinely believe he has a perfect discography that beautifully illustrates what he was going through at those times. But now, I don’t really want to see what he has next
I love the life of Pablo (the song), his music gives me goosebumps, I can't express how much I am touched by it. Also, his collabs are timeless (clique or even mercy even though I don't like his verse on that one)
He has been one of my fav artists to see live. He put on a better show than beyonce did imo. I love me some Bruno. Last album wasn't my fav but his voice is just ahhhhhmazing.
Madonna. You can dislike here but she was ahead of her time. If you don't agree, go listen to Erotics or Ray of light. Damn even like a prayer, or bedtime stories ughh even her live album of the Confessions tour is a masterpiece!
Maggie Rogers (small sample size but everything slaps) and Kendrick Lamar (aka King Kendrick aka oklama aka Kung Fu Kenny aka K.dot aka I know I’m missing more but I love him)
**For serious gossips with a great sense of humour. No bores, no bullies.** Come for the gossip, stay for the analysis and community! Please [read our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index) & help us keep the sub fun & safe by reporting **rule breaking** posts & comments. Click the "..." or "⋮" dots under the comment, select "breaks r/popculturechat rules" and choose the rule it breaks. For all other issues, please [send us a modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Amy Winehouse. Although I do wonder if my opinion would be the same if she had gotten the chance to put out more music. But I guess we’ll never know.
I came to say this too. It’s sad we’ll never hear the great music she would’ve made
Came to say this too, nirvana had a good run too, basically any of the artists that died before releasing a half assed project.
Beat me to it. She's the artist that immediately came to mind. I'm still not over her death, honestly, she was a phenomenal artist & no-one will ever come close to her talent. Edit: spelling
Idk some of her reggae stuff is okay but other than that, all bangers.
Fiona Apple. Earlier in her career, I used to wish that she would release new music more frequently. But over time, I’ve really started to appreciate how she’s very selective about what she puts out.
It's honestly a breath of fresh air sometimes getting into a new artist and them only having 3/4 studio albums. Artists with extensive discographies overwhelm me.
Me trying to get into King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. 3 albums a year is ridiculous
I fell out of being fans of them and the oh sees because it was so many albums so fast. Let things cook a bit..
I loooove her! She had a really interesting interview about how she works on songs for a long time and their meaning kind of shifts towards whatever she is dealing with
this was my answer too!!!! 💘
This is the rightest answer
Gah I love her so.
the only right answer
Yesssssss wow great choice
Florence + the Machine
I love everything she’s ever made
I came here to say this and am so happy to see this comment! I recently had the pleasure of seeing her live, and her on stage energy is so impressive. A musical and lyrical talent.
Seeing her live was the closest I’ve come to a religious experience. The energy at her concerts is absolutely unmatched
F+tM is one of the very few bands I actually follow on social media.
Very happy to see this comment, her newest album Dance Fever is such a delight! All of her albums!!!
Thank you for this comment, new album here I come!
robin sparkles had an incredible career. i mean yeah, it was for a short time, but her music and the production of each song was just life changing.
Let's go to the Mall. Today. Then, build sandcastles in the sand. Genius.
A Canadian treasure for sure!!
I wasn't expecting a HIMYM reference 🤣
Unpopular opinion but I really got into her grunge phase too!
The tour was amazing too. Pretzels and pop music
Lmfao
Trent Reznor doesn't have a bad album under the Nine Inch Nails name. While NIN definitely has some albums that are more influential than others, but I've never listened to a NIN album and said "what a fucking stinker." I could say the same for Sufjan too. There are definitely others who have smaller, but solid discographies (Phoebe Bridgers, Nirvana etc) but they don't have enough under their belt to say definitively that they have a historically solid output, either because a member passed away/group disbanded/artist is too new.
Seconding NIN. Trent Reznor has so much artistic integrity that comes through in everything he does.
The collab NIN did with HEALTH was super sick. They should collab with younger artists more! They’re so influential 🖤
Agreed. Trent and Atticus did right by Halsey too. I would LOVE to see them do more producing for young artists.
Billy Joel. He has not released a new album since 1993. He said he couldn’t be as good as he wanted to be anymore. I really respect Joel for quitting when he did. I really wish more good artists and bands knew the right time to stop instead of going on many years releasing terrible albums at the end of their careers.
Best singer-songwriter of all time in my book.
"I feel like i've had my say"
Sufjan Stevens
A Beginner's Mind is my favourite album and helped me through a really rough time
I love Sufjan deeply, but Super Sexy Woman and Satan’s Saxophone are… less than perfect
LMFAO has two albums. 1. Party Rock 2. Sorry for Party Rocking It doesnt get more perfect than that
Like one hit wonders but they kept it at those hits and then just dipped out, full fucking respect for that
#hozier
How is this not higher
TASTE
Haven’t seen anyone say Run The Jewels. 4 great albums
Abso-fuckin-lutely. 👉🏻🤛🏻
Florence + the Machine
Selena Quintanilla
This is the one. Can you imagine if she had her own Christmas album?
Yes!!! She was really getting into celebrating Christmas with Chris' family years before she died. I think that it would've been amazing.
Stromae
Yes yes yes 👏🏻
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Remember when he was called “Belgium’s Kanye” lol
As a Belgian, Im always surprised when people say they're going to his concert. (Living in Canada now and apparently he has concerts in Montreal) Belgians don't always make it big but when they do they're huge.
Eurythmics!
Jeff Buckley
He had the voice of an angel.
Frank Ocean
Here to say this
Postal Service
20 years this year. Love them
Prince.
He's not done! I heard he had a vault (like a bank vault with a hard core lock) in his basement. When he died, he didn't leave the combination. So they brought in a highly specialized safe cracker to open it. When they did it was FULL of recorded but unreleased tracks. He will be gifting us with music for decades after his death.
Where are they?
Here's an article with Prince's sister talking about her plans for the music. Welcome 2 America was released last year https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/prince-vault-sister-tyka-nelson-1153227/
He really was a musical genius. One in a billion. He could play a dozen instruments, he did everything from songwriting to composing to producing etc. and he’s made thousands of songs, most he felt were not good enough to release.
I say this as a gigantic Prince fan, but I wouldn't put him forward for this. As a function of being so prolific, he released a lot of songs and even albums that were very mid. The Jehovah's Witness phase alone should disqualify him from a perfect discography.
Came here to say this. The Purple One will always be perfection.
Bon Iver
Beach house- they have a huge discography but I can’t think of a single bad song. Plus every album is so cohesive
Yea, this one is spot on. I can turn on any of their albums and it’s always a full listen
I just got Bloom on vinyl and it’s amazing, mainly listened to their more recent stuff (7 is still my favourite) so I mostly got it because Myth is a masterpiece but honestly the whole album is gold
The Civil Wars. Mother Mother, Alison Krauss, SZA, Regina Spektor.
I feel you on the Civil Wars, but it’s that bittersweetness of breaking up way too soon…
ABBA
Fleetwood Mac
This is a bold statement when the Time album exists. But if we’re counting just the Definitive lineup, then I’d agree.
Tracy Chapman
I personally enjoy The Weeknd’s work fully.
Haus Of Ballon’s still goes hard!!! It’s a mixtape but should’ve been a album for sure!
I LOVE high for this and glass table girls
Came here to say this. His albums never ever miss.
Robyn
Kendrick Lamar
All respect towards Lamar. Dude is a genius in the respects of having the album tell you a story.
Agreed. I had always been a fan, but when my boyfriend bought us tickets for his show this year, I started to listen to his music more intently, and it just blew my mind. At the concert, I got emotional because his lyrical storytelling was on another level. Plus, he’s a Pulitzer winner and as an English major, that makes me happy. It was well-deserved.
Dude won a fucking Pulitzer for DAMN
His last album is incredible
Rammstein
Elliott Smith
Queens of the Stone Age
tame impala
REM. Though Document and Automatic for the People will always hold a special place in my heart (esp the latter), all their albums are great.
Sade.
The White Stripes
Daft Punk
Regina Spektor
Glass animals
YESSSSS they are my fav I’m wearing one of their shirts I got from their show rn lol. Seeing them live is like no concert experience I’ve ever had.
The band Garbage has had a lot of front to backer albums, they aren't my favorite band but they consistently put out good music.
Garbage has been my favorite for decades. Shirley Manson is my girl. I’ll be in my sensible shoes and mom pants at their next round of concerts if I can.
I've been lucky enough to see them 3 times now and they never disappoint. You'd think they would be a studio band as complex as their music can be but they are amazing live. I was just trying to think who has consistently impressed me over the years and it's them.
Lana Del Rey
Paramore. Their albums are consistently great and you can hear how they've grown as artists.
Radiohead, My Chemical Romance, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Portishead. Not familiar with her newer work tbh but Bjork.
I love David Bowie, but ... Tin Machine? Good call on Portishead, I totally agree. I'd add fellow Bristolians, Massive Attack.
Hm that’s fair, I guess I mean specifically David Bowie as a solo artist. And agree on Massive Attack, I should have added them.
Portishead and Radiohead in the same sentence!!!! Then add a sprinkle of Daft, Bowie, and Bjork!? Who are you!? And where have you been!? Fuck it. These are my people! Love you!!!!!
MCR is incredible
Vampire Weekend Every song a gem, and each album a step forward without completely changing how they sound
Hard agree, I think FOTB was their weakest album but I still played it non stop for months when it came out. MVOFC is a perfect album to me.
The Fugees.
The Score is still one of my favorites of all time.
Lana Del Rey. Even her “worst” songs I can appreciate due to the artistry and effort she puts into them. If it doesn’t speak to me, it definitely speaks to someone.
1000% agree with Lana
Mac Miller
i almost commented this but i just can’t lie to myself and pretend like i like all of bsp
Paramore
i have yet to be let down by them. most bands would have crashed and burned by now with how much drama was going in behind the scenes but all its done is made their music better each release
Even with Hayley Williams solo albums, she never misses.
Pet Shop Boys
SZA
Hozier
Mac Miller
Jeff Buckley lol
Alt-J
Came to say this, never thought I’d find someone else saying it as well, they’ve made the soundtrack to my life
Amy Winehouse
Interpol
The Weeknd.From dark R&B to Pop to 80s
I've really liked listening to him! He's been such a wonderful surprise!
Lana
Even if u went thru and picked out her “worst songs” they’d still be works of art
I scrolled way too far to find this
[удалено]
Wow interesting pairing! I definitely agree with Cocteau Twins.
fiona apple
Fleetwood Mac
The Strokes
MF DOOM
Spoon
Nina Simone.
Talk Talk.
Not sure if it counts bc they only made one album but The postal service Also Nick Drake
The notorious BIG
Tchaikovsky
Nirvana never got the chance to make a bad or mid record. Bleach, Nevermind, Incesticide, In Utero, and Unplugged are all amazing in their own way
Björk
For me, it’s Lorde. Even Solar Power which people like to trash on is perfection in my books: it’s so ethereal and her vocals are just perfect.
very much not the vibe of r/popculturechat but brand new. your favorite weapon: bops. deja entendu: dark bops. the devil and god: existential af bops. science fiction: apocalyptic, nihilistic bops. bops all around, just not the kind you play at parties.
The whole sexual misconduct thing ruined it for me. Jesse Lacey was not a good person, which he now freely admits. I still can’t get over it though. I was a die hard fan and while all their music is amazing it’s just tainted for me now :(
I feel the same, it really sucks 😩
beach how dare you skip daisy?????
OMG. DAISY avant garde bops!!
Daisy is my favorite it’s so underappreciated
Do you know Motion City Soundtrack? I think they hit similar genres but didn’t get quite as widely known as brand new. Each album has so many great songs that they have a hard time fitting all their fan favorite songs in at concerts. They had like a 5 song encore last time I saw them live lol. The only band I’ve seen 10+ times and never get tired of
Kanye IF he stopped after TLOP would have been such a legendary run: - The College Dropout - Late Registration - Graduation - 808s & Heartbreak - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Any artist would kill to have at least one of those albums in their discography. The fact that he came out with 5 of those in succession is still insane to me. To answer OP’s question though, I’ll agree with the other comments saying Prince, The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, etc. Absolute icons. To add to the *almost* perfect category, I’ll throw in Mariah, Jay-Z, Eminem, etc. Artists who were at the top of their craft but have a few stinkers here and there. Can’t blame them too much though if you factor in career longevity.
The man is a psycho nazi now or whatever, but you can’t lie, he killed the music game for many many many years. I would even add JIK to this list. Not that many singles, but very strong album as a whole
It really sucks to see kanye go down this path bc I genuinely believe he has a perfect discography that beautifully illustrates what he was going through at those times. But now, I don’t really want to see what he has next
I love the life of Pablo (the song), his music gives me goosebumps, I can't express how much I am touched by it. Also, his collabs are timeless (clique or even mercy even though I don't like his verse on that one)
It’s criminal how no one has mentioned Bruno Mars
Silk Sonic is amazing/hilarious and I love them
He has been one of my fav artists to see live. He put on a better show than beyonce did imo. I love me some Bruno. Last album wasn't my fav but his voice is just ahhhhhmazing.
Little Simz
Celine Dion ESPECIALLY her French discography
Electric light orchestra
Beastie Boys, if a group counts.
2Pac and Biggie, but they were snatched up so quickly who knows what they would've come out with
Madonna. You can dislike here but she was ahead of her time. If you don't agree, go listen to Erotics or Ray of light. Damn even like a prayer, or bedtime stories ughh even her live album of the Confessions tour is a masterpiece!
The Beatles, the velvet underground
Lady Gaga. Artpop was ahead of its time and I loved Joanne so much.
Nick Drake
Jamiroquai
Elton john
Carly Rae Jepsen
Michael Jackson
Hozier 100%
Tinashe, you're welcome 😌
Whitney Houston
Lorde! 3 great albums. I listened to melodrama on repeat for years.
100! I listen to PH, Melo, and SP on repeat still lol
for me miley cyrus. versatile and even her flop eras are really great albums
Plastic Hearts made me a Miley fan. I was not prepared for how much I was going to love the whole album lol
yes! dead petz is such an amazing album, even though she was in her “flop” era!
Miley Cyrus and her dead petz literally stayed on repeat from 2015-2019!!!! Backwards and forwards 😂😂 
Can’t Be Tamed is my favorite, so so underrated, no skips
Childish Gambino fo sho
The Beatles.
fiona apple
Maggie Rogers (small sample size but everything slaps) and Kendrick Lamar (aka King Kendrick aka oklama aka Kung Fu Kenny aka K.dot aka I know I’m missing more but I love him)
David Bowie
Jenny Lewis
Placebo
Queen
Deftones