Best Debut Albums

[allegro]

Erykah Badu - Baduizm

One of my favorites, as well. She never topped this, IMO. A masterpiece.

[neorev]

No single album artists here. Some artists here released albums I liked after their debut, but their debut is still my fave.

Gravity Kills - Gravity Kills
UNKLE - Psyence Fiction
Woven - 8 Bit Monk
Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYo
Sonoio - Blue
Nosaj Thing - Drift
Gorillaz - Gorillaz
Methods Of Mayhem - Methods Of Mayhem (guilty pleasure)
Lunatic Calm - Metropol
Junkie XL - Saturday Teenage Kick
Lazer Sword - Lazer Sword
Hansel - Respond_Violence
Justice - Cross
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Gesaffelstein - Aleph
Does It Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Into
The Crystal Method - Vegas
Orgy - Candyass
Portishead - Dummy
Purity Ring - Shrines
Slow Magic - ▲

I left off bands whose first albums that I absolutely love, but they came out with even greater albums afterwards that I love more (The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Nine Inch Nails, Leftfield, Orbital, Fluke, Meat Beat Manifesto, Deftones, Nirvana, System Of A Down, Beastie Boys, Hum, Run The Jewels, etc.)

[brotha52]

Fiona Apple - Tidal
Sublime - 40oz to Freedom
Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
Nas - Illmatic
Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle
DMX - It's Dark and Hell Is Hot
Lauryn Hill - Miseducation
Manu Chao - Clandestino

[eversonpoe]

Nothing is as bad as “Mother.” But, I totally absolutely 100% concur with your opinion, here.

wooooooof yeah that song is...bad

i'm really surprised to see several people including Candyass by Orgy. while it's really good and has amazing singles, the album doesn't feel as cohesive or as realized to me as Vapor Transmission does.

[allegro]

the time • what time is it

I second this one, too.

And I’ll add The Cars’ debut album.

[botley]

If we go back before the '60s there are too many, because a lot of 'debut albums' up to that point were just an anthologized bunch of really big hit singles by established artists (think of Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Little Richard, and Ray Charles' debut albums, all released in 1957, all of which mop the fucking floor with everything posted so far).

[GulDukat]

Going to do this thread by the rules.

KISS-KISS. Most people would go with Alive or Destroyer, but the debut wins out for me.
Van Halen- Van Halen- First six albums are all classics with not a single bad song, but the debut is just so electric, it wins out. 5150 is the first and best from the Hagar-era.
Montrose- Montrose
Pearl Jam- Ten- The have a lot of good albums, but Ten is just a perfect album. I prefer the 2009 O'Brien mix.
The Doors- The Doors. Toss-up between this and L.A. Woman, but I'll go with the debut.
Tori Amos- Little Earthquakes. It's really hard to pick a favorite and the first three albums are all contenders.
John Lennon- Plastic Ono Band
RATT- Out of the Cellar- This was a band of diminishing returns. Their later output was by-the-numbers, weak 80's shit, but those first few albums were really good.
The Curve- Doppelganger
Motley Crue- Too Fast For Love- Before they were super huge, they were raw and had a real edge.

Most people would pick Appetite For Destruction for GN'R, and I might too, as it rocks front-to-back, but the UYI albums and Chinese Democracy have so many highlights, I can't add it to this list.

[Archive_Reports]

wooooooof yeah that song is...bad

i'm really surprised to see several people including Candyass by Orgy. while it's really good and has amazing singles, the album doesn't feel as cohesive or as realized to me as Vapor Transmission does.

To me it has a bit of a darker edge and feels a little less polished.

[versusreality]

The Orb- Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld

[MrLobster]

*scrolls through his iTunes library*

Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette (I'm consider her rebranding from Alanis to Alanis Morisette to be a new debut)
Educated Woman - Amy Nelson
Gordon - Barenaked Ladies
August And Everything After - Counting Crows
Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? - The Cranberries
The Ghosts That Haunt Me - Crash Test Dummies
Vegas - The Crystal Method
Endtroducing... - DJ Shadow
MCMXC A.D. - Engima
Gorillaz - Gorillaz
Chill Out - The KLF (again, I consider them rebranding to The KLF to be sufficient for a new debut)
Midwest Farmer's Daughter - Margo Price
Salva Nos - Mediæval Bæbes
Bargainville - Moxy Früvous
nipiy - Nêhiyawak
Smash - The Offspring (a bit flexible on this as it's the first major label release of theirs...)
The Orb's Adventure Beyond The Ultraworld - The Orb
Mer de Noms - A Perfect Circle
Dummy - Portishead
Love Junk - The Pursuit Of Happiness
Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham - Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet
Becoming X - Sneaker Pimps
Splendor Solis - The Tea Party
Fahrenheit Fair Enough - Telefon Tel Aviv
Marquee Moon - Television
Greetings From Timbuk 3 - Timbuk 3
Undertow - Tool
At Attraction To All Things Uncertain - tweaker

yeah, that should do it for now...

**late additions**

Decksandrumsandrockandroll - Propellerheads
The Audience's Listening - Cut Chemist

Honourable mentions

Appetite For Destruction - Guns N Roses
Kill 'Em All - Metallica
My Life In A Hole In The Ground - African Head Charge
Pretty Hate Machine - Nine Inch Nails
Portrait Of An American Family - Marilyn Manson (first major label, so like The Offspring, I'm counting it)
Arular - M.I.A. (first major label)
Signing Off - UB40
Blank Generation - Richard Hell & The Voidoids
Blind Melon - Blind Melon
Silver - Moist

[Lerxto]

This is the best debut album ever.

[halo eighteen]

wooooooof yeah that song is...bad

i'm really surprised to see several people including Candyass by Orgy. while it's really good and has amazing singles, the album doesn't feel as cohesive or as realized to me as Vapor Transmission does.

Eva and The Spectrum (? bonus track at the end) are probably the best things that band has ever done, but I do think the debut album is better overall.

My picks are definitely

Abandoned Pools - Humanistic
Autolux - Future Perfect
the B-52's - S/T*
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
the Cranberries - Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
Editors - The Back Room
Florence + the Machine - Lungs
IAMX - Kiss + Swallow
Interpol - Turn On the Bright Lights
the Killers - Hot Fuss
Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?**
Our Lady Peace - Naveed
Placebo - S/T
the Presets - Beams
She Wants Revenge - S/T
the Spores - Imagine the Future***
Switchblade Symphony - Serpentine Gallery
U2 - Boy
the xx - xx

*Cosmic Thing comes damn close.
**I know that Grow Up and Blow Away is technically their first but it was shelved for years before being released, so...
***Admittedly not knowing if that's their first album. I only know of Doom Pop otherwise, but it seems like there's perhaps other bands with the same name as well.

[imail724]

[PhoenixML]

Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

[GulDukat]

There are a few artists where their debut album doesn't really count.

Alanis Morissette-already mentioned.
Pantera-The first four albums have been erased.
Michael Jackson- Off the Wall is his fifth album, but his Epic debut
Beck- Mellow Gold is his third album.

[eversonpoe]

KISS-KISS. Most people would go with Alive or Destroyer, but the debut wins out for me.

i should probably put this in the "controversial" thread but hands down, my favorite KISS album is Dynasty, and Songs From The Elder is in second place. same with my wife. and we unabashedly love watching their ridiculous 80s videos. we're weird KISS fans.

*scrolls through his iTunes library*

i definitely have no idea what some of those are without the artists listed hahaha

This is the best debut album ever.

yes it is

Abandoned Pools - Humanistic

oooh that's a close one for me. i love Armed To The Teeth just as much...i don't know if i could choose between them. did you get into them because they did the Clone High theme song? because that's how i got into them haha. also had NO idea they put out two more albums at the beginning of the decade.

[GulDukat]

i should probably put this in the "controversial" thread but hands down, my favorite KISS album is Dynasty, and Songs From The Elder is in second place. same with my wife. and we unabashedly love watching their ridiculous 80s videos. we're weird KISS fans.

I love this. It's such a goofy, dated video.

[MrLobster]

i definitely have no idea what some of those are without the artists listed hahaha

well, if a title is intriguing I can help with an artist and perhaps suggest a track or two to get an idea...

[halo eighteen]

oooh that's a close one for me. i love Armed To The Teeth just as much...i don't know if i could choose between them. did you get into them because they did the Clone High theme song? because that's how i got into them haha. also had NO idea they put out two more albums at the beginning of the decade.

ooh! I forgot all about that show lmao. I was following Garbage around on tour in like 2001/2002? And AP opened up those shows. They blew me away every night, they even did songs that never showed up until yeeears later like 9 Billion, Tighter Noose and Red Flag.. and their fucking Army of Me cover ♥♥ Pretty sure I saw them open up for APC once at some point too, but nothing can top those shows with Garbage for me.

The "band" is really just Tommy Walter who (stupid trivia) was originally the bassist for the Eels for the beautiful freak album (that might even be a contender for this thread lol).

[botley]

Gordon

*stares in Maroon*

[MrLobster]

*stares in Maroon*

I only really like the first two albums...

[piggy]

Garbage, Garbage
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Anna Calvi, Anna Calvi
Jeff Buckley, Grace
Patti Smith, Horses
Autolux, Future Perfect

[cahernandez]

So many people here have listed Autolux’s Future Perfect and I’ve only listened to (and purchased) Transit Transit and Pussy’s Dead, gotta listen to the debut now!

[Necrodoommonkey]

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats self-titled debut. Fucking flawless.

[Fadeout54321]

I'm sure I have more but Korn's self titled debut album was unstoppable. I'm surprised I haven't seen that posted yet.

[eversonpoe]

i've been thinking about it a lot and i want to add steven wilson's first album, insurgentes. it is so good from beginning to end with not a single dull moment.
while he's put out a lot of amazing music since then, there's always been at least one song on each subsequent album i haven't enjoyed quite as much, which interrupts the flow a bit.

[piggy]

I swapped out my pick of Pearl Jam's debut for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's debut. For me personally, No Code is right there with Ten, and it never got much better than that self-titled BRMC album.

[katara]

I'm sure I have more but Korn's self titled debut album was unstoppable. I'm surprised I haven't seen that posted yet.

Apparently, I'm invisible.

[kaydraven]

Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

Oh damn! That's one I forgot! This is a debut that hasn't topped anything they've done since for me.

[wight rabbit]

i'm really surprised to see several people including Candyass by Orgy. while it's really good and has amazing singles, the album doesn't feel as cohesive or as realized to me as Vapor Transmission does.

Really? I feel they're pretty cohesive. For me, Candyass sounds like the band performing in some dark, grimey club, whereas Vapor Transmission sees them performing in some super flashy, futuristic club. I've always preferred Candyass because of that imagery. It makes it more intriguing to me.

Also, here's my list:

Audioslave - Audioslave
CKY - Vol. 1 [This album is just solid all the way through.]
Chris Cornell - Euphoria Mourning [This is more of a stylistic preference.]
The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium [Don't get me wrong, the albums that followed are great... I just don't think anything has topped the vibe of the debut.]
Orgy - Candyass
A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms [Thirteenth Step was great, but I find myself skipping tracks on that one. I always listen to Mer de Noms all the way through.]
Son of Sam - Songs from the Earth [To be fair, I never gave the second album a chance because Davey wasn't involved.]
30 Seconds to Mars - 30 Seconds to Mars [No fucking contest. I can't stand the commercial direction the band went on the subsequent follow-ups. They had something special with that first album.]
Tricky - Maxinquaye [Nothing after this album ever fully grabbed me.]

That's all I've got, I think.