Name a better album than Fleetwood Mac's Rumours

[True Dough]

I've been listening again lately and I can't get over how great Rumours is from top to bottom:

"I Don't Want to Know"
"Dreams"
"Never Going Back Again"
"Don't Stop"
"Go Your Own Way"
"Songbird"
"The Chain"
"You Make Loving Fun"
"Second Hand News"
"Oh Daddy"
"Gold Dust Woman"

Not only that but "Silver Springs" was recorded for Rumours but wound up as a B-side to "Go Your Own Way."

"Silver Springs" does appear on the 35th anniversary edition of Rumours, however.

Just a fantastic album that also, of course, spawned this iconic cover:

[lisa58]

1. There is no better Fleetwood Mac album

[True Dough]

4. I didn't specify by Fleetwood Mac

I'm talking about any album at all, by anybody.

[lisa58]

12. I understood that - there are albums I like better

But that’s just my personal preferences in music. I wouldn’t say my favorite James Taylor album is better than my favorite Simon & Garfunkel album, etc

[Keth]

59. Well

for me, I prefer Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon, Landslide, Over My Head, Say You Love Me, World Turning, Crystal, etc. But, Rumours is one of the best Pop/Rock albums ever - I understand it's appeal and longevity. Wasn't it back in the top ten just recently?

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. It's a great album, but I can come up with dozens and dozens that are better

all depends upon taste and genre.

[True Dough]

3. I'm curious

Not in dozens, but even a couple. Not for argument's sake but maybe there's some I'd like to give a listen.

[NRaleighLiberal]

15. Sure!

Radiohead - OK Computer, In Rainbows
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Steve Roach - Structures from Silence
Tomasz Stanko - Soul of Things, Lontano
Pat Metheny - Secret Story
Gustav Mahler - various recordings of Symphony #6, Simon Rattle version of Symphony #10
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - The Undivided Five
Miles David - Kind of Blue
King Crimson - Court of the Crimson King, Red
Shostakovich Symphony #4, Simon Rattle
Gorecki - Symphony #3, Zinman
Steely Dan - Aja (and just about any others except Gaucho and the more recent releases)
Michael Brook and Pieter Nooten - Sleeps with Fishes
Springsteen - Born to Run
Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark, Hejira, Hissing of Summer Lawns
Beatles - Abbey Road
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

probably many others - in my nearly 65 years, I listen to loads and loads of music - My tastes are all over the place - alternative, ambient, classical, jazz. My only "avoid" genres are rap/hip hop, opera for the most part, country/western and I don't listen to the blues very often. And pretty much any of today's pop music. I tend to like my music pretty challenging - which leaves things like Tull, Fleetwood Mac, lots of other music of the 70s and 80s off of my list.

[Alpeduez21]

19. Steely Dan-AJA.

Whoo!

[True Dough]

24. Yes, that is a broad range!

I'm not into classical music or heavy metal (or whatever category King Crimson falls into), but there are a few in your list that I will check out.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[dhill926]

25. ah...very similar tastes in music...

I would have more jazz and ALL the Mahler symphonies...but hey, eclecticism is a good thing....

[NRaleighLiberal]

26. indeed!

at one time I had at least 20 versions of each Mahler symphony on CD.

And most of the ECM jazz releases on vinyl and CD.

Downsized significantly, so use my Echo with Amazon unlimited music

[dhill926]

27. haha....same here....LOVED the ECM jazz...

moved to California from the midwest and dumped a lot of vinyl, altho I still have CD's. I ended up with Spotify...not real strong on classical, but love the ease of use...

[NRaleighLiberal]

31. on ECM, love most of Stanko, Wheeler, Garbarek, Towner, Weber

got into it in grad school

Mahler and Shostakovich...wow. I've gotten to see Mahler 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 (twice), 9 live. want to see 8 and 10 before I leave the earth

[dhill926]

37. I've been lucky....grew up near Chicago during the Solti years...

and now have Dudamel and LA Phil. Saw a Das Lied a couple years ago that simply stunned me. Have seen a lot of Mahler and other great stuff in my lifetime, very fortunate. And just a couple weeks ago, had a Ralph Towner and Oregon fest. Hadn't listened in years...man, what great music...

[NRaleighLiberal]

39. we should both count ourselves very fortunate

The Solti Mahler cycle is mostly superb. and Dudamel!!!

check out Carla Bley with Swallow and Sheppherd, Life Goes On.

[dhill926]

45. will do this weekend...

Steve Swallow one of my favs...thx for the rec...

[NNadir]

52. And of course, John Abercrombie...

[NRaleighLiberal]

53. yup. and Steve Tibbetts

[NNadir]

54. ...and Keith Jarrett...

[NNadir]

51. I would certainly agree with almost every item on that list and could add many more.

[VMA131Marine]

5. Every Rush album from 2112 onwards

2112
Farewell to Kings
Hemispheres
Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Signals
Grace Under Pressure
Power Windows
Hold Your Fire
Presto
Roll the Bones
Counterparts
Test for Echo
Vapor Trails
Snakes and Arrows
Clockwork Angels

[exboyfil]

8. I actually like Rush most up to Signals

Not that I don't also like their second half catalog. I just like the raw energy of the first album, and I even like the criticized third album A Caress of Steel.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

35. Same for me.

They lost much of their edgy sound after Signals, and even that album was part of their transition with synthesizers and such. It just hadn't gone "too far" for my tastes, and I indeed loved that album too.

[miyazaki]

57. I love Caress of Steel

To me though, Hemispheres is their masterpiece.

[sfstaxprep]

6. Born To Run.....The Joshua Tree

Look at the track listings for those.

That's not even including several Beatles albums that could be argued, like Sgt Peppers or Abbey Road.

[True Dough]

14. I am a big fan of The Joshua Tree

Born to Run is pretty amazing as well.

The Beatles, while incredibly talented, I find their music so eclectic that I don't love any one album from start to finish. It's more of matter of enjoying a collection of their songs from various albums.

[exboyfil]

7. Tough to argue for a single album

Silver Springs should have been on it. Not sure what I would have pulled, but it probably the 2nd or 3rd best song if it is included on that album.

Of course I am a Stevie Nicks virtual groupie (fairly recently actually which is weird since I am 57).

Other contenders for me.

The Who
Who's Next

Rush
A Farewell to Kings

Pink Floyd
Dark Side

Yes
The Yes Album

Pearl Jam
Ten (which I think is the best first album)

The Eagles
Hotel California

Jackson Brown
Running on Empty

Neil Yourng
Harvest

Double Albums

Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

The Who
Quadrophenia

[exboyfil]

9. Let's put it this way

It is the album I play the most when my wife and I retire at night.

That and Dire Straits - Dire Straits.

Just saying.

[JT45242]

10. Just a few off the top of my head

Beatles : Sergeant Pepper and The White Album
Styx: Paradise Theatre
Billy Joel: Nylon Curtain
Meatloaf: Bat out of Hell
Floyd: The Final Cut
Springsteen: Born to Run

Rumours may have sold like hotcakes, but there were a lot of albums (remember when there were albums and concept albums) that were better.

I would also put up some awesome soundtracks like Pretty in Pink as better than rumours

[Mike 03]

11. It's a great, great album, but not even in my top 50.

But I love FM on a song by song basis. If you had said "Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits" I would have to admit it would be near the very top, because each album has a masterpiece.

Random:

Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins
Everything by Nirvana
Everything by Elvis Costello
Everything by the Jesus and Mary Chain
Hole - Ask for It
Hole - Celebrity Skin
Some albums by Bob Dylan
Belly's first and second albums
The Breeders - Last Splash
Sonic Youth - Dirty
Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
the last 4 albums by pre-breakup Pink Floyd
The late albums by The Beatles
At least three or four albums by Elton John
Cyndi Lauper's first and second albums
The Pretenders first two albums

But yes RUMOURS is a stupendous album. Some Fleetwood Mac purests have come to believe Tusk is their masterpiece. (I don't have an opinion on that).

[msongs]

28. I prefer Tusk because it has so many quirky songs and such a wide variety....

sorta like the fleetwood mac "white album"

[exboyfil]

38. You do have to admire their experimentation after Rumours

with Tusk. I remember getting it as kid after Rumours and being a bit disappointed. I enjoy it now a lot more. The White Album is a good analogy even though I started listening to the Beatles albums (obviously hearing most of singles long before) later in life. It was a different world back then when you could only afford 5-10 albums a year. Unless you had a radio station that played complete albums (like mine did in college) you only got to hear what your or your friends had.

Now you have a music service that gives you a huge selection for less than the cost of an album every month. It is truly a different world.

[Binkie The Clown]

13. Fleetwood Mac is great, but they're no BeeGees. :) nt

[True Dough]

16. And the BeeGees

are no Pointer Sisters!

[Binkie The Clown]

17. And the Pointer Sister

are no Frank Sinatra.

[exboyfil]

40. Just started listening the Sinatra

Now that I am in my late 50s and have access to a music service. I was a late adopter of streamed music.

[Binkie The Clown]

41. In my mid 70s and I grew up with Sinatra, plus classical, plus Elvis.

“Oh, to be alive in such an age, when miracles are everywhere, and every inch of common air throbs a tremendous prophecy, of greater marvels yet to be.” —Walt Whitman

[exboyfil]

43. I really like Elvis' Las Vegas era songs

Not so much his early stuff.

[Binkie The Clown]

44. By that time I had moved on to the Beatles. hehe. nt

[Alpeduez21]

18. OK, I'll bite. In no particular order

Led Zeppelin Four, or Three since 'Mac is a folksy sound
Taj Mahal Mo' Roots
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Flight of the Cosmic Hippo
Talking Heads '77
Bob Marley and the Wailers Exodus
Beyonce Lemonade
David Bowie Changes
Osborne Brothers Country Bluegrass
Dire Straits Alchemy
Drivin N Cryin Mystery Road
Kanye West College Dropout
Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction
Simon and Garfunkle Greatest Hits
Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde
Jimi Hendrix Are you Experienced
Donovan Sunshine Superman
Lou Reed Rock and Roll Animal
Grand Funk Railroad Good Singing Good Playing
The Mamas and the Papas If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
Grateful Dead Filmore East
The Original Soundtrack of Woodstock and more (3 album set)
Queen A Night at the Opera

[LiberalLoner]

20. It's a great album but my personal favorite is

“The Dreaming” by Kate Bush. I know, I know, I’m weird.

[VWolf]

21. Dark Side of the Moon, Boston's first, Zeppelin's 4th, for starters :)

[quickesst]

22. in my opinion....

.... There are many better albums as the entire premise of this thread can only be based upon one's personal preference.

The album that sticks out to me as one of, if not the greatest ever recorded is ..........

Uriah Heep's 'DEMONS AND WIZARDS' which has, in my opinion, the most epic ending verse ever recorded. It is a journey.

[Major Nikon]

23. ...

[msongs]

29. wow an album devoted to trump worship nt

[True Dough]

48. Ha ha!

Those guys don't look like MAGAts, but I did think the same thing!

[bobalew]

30. King Crimson

Court of the Crimson King
21St century Schizoid Man...

[Binkie The Clown]

42. Most people don't realize this group set the stage for Kiss, The Cure, and Siouxsie and the Banshees

[lark]

32. Great album, but Back in Black by AC/DC is the bomb!

Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore is also off the charts in my book.

[PufPuf23]

33. One show that was missed because of CV19 in 2020

was the Phil Lesh and Friends headlining the 80th Lesh Birthday festival in Virginia.

One day the 2nd billed band was to be the "Chain Gang".

Chain Gang being he Allman-Betts Band plus Cody and Luther Dickenson and Samantha Fish. The plan was for their show to be a performance of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.

[if..fish..had..wings]

34. Ummm...

Sketches of Spain: Miles Davis
Bitches Brew: Miles Davis
Freak Out!: Mothers of Invention
A Love Supreme: John Coltrane
Mingus Plays Piano: Charles Mingus
Urban Spaceman: Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Temptation: Holly Cole
The Beatles: The Beatles
Innovations in Modern Music: Stan Kenton

[Buckeye_Democrat]

36. I have it, and it's still one of my favorites.

I haven't given much thought to picking an all-time favorite album, though.

It would probably change over time anyway.

[GumboYaYa]

46. Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life.

[Bayard]

47. Rumors was quite good....

My top list:

U2.....How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and Achtung Baby

Dave Matthews....... Crash

Indigo Girls..... Swamp Ophelia

Paula Cole..... This Fire

The Eagles......Hotel Calif.

Don Henley.....The End of the Innocence and Inside Job

And soooooooo many more!

[True Dough]

49. When it comes to U2

All That You Can't Leave Behind is one of my all-time favs, but the others are very good as well.

[gratuitous]

50. Bruce Cockburn's Humans

Top to bottom, Cockburn's best album. Every song works wonderfully. He has better songs on other albums, but this is the one I like best.

[jalan48]

55. David Crosby's "If Only I Could Remember My Name".

[Tikki]

56. Maybe a better album is one someone will play over and over thru the years....

From 1977
MY AIM IS TRUE...Elvis Costello (studio album)

Tikki

[malthaussen]

58. Points of personal preference.

I can think of four I prefer immediately, just in the pop/rock/etc genre:

Beatles, Sergeant Pepper's (or just about any of their LPs, but I am a Beatlemaniac)
Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
Carole King, Tapestry
Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark

I'm sure I could think of more if you held a gun to my head. Surrealistic Pillow, maybe.

It's an album that came out in a period in which there was a great embarrassment of riches. Better than 99% of what has come out since, but there are a lot of albums that can make that statement.

-- Mal

[Mr.Bill]

60. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street

Chicago Transit Authority - First Album

Pink Floyd - Meddle

Beatles - White Album

[Keth]

65. Yep.

Love, I mean love Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. I swear when I play that record it takes me in a different direction each time.

I'm also a fan of Charles Mingus, especially The Black Saint and Sinner Lady and Mingus Ah Um.

Oh, and I have to comment on the Beatles. Revolver or Rubber Soul? I have to go with Revolver although Rubber Soul has my favorite Beatles song, Norwegian Wood. About The White Album - remove Revolution 9 from the record and you have a perfect album. But, my favorite Beatles record is Abbey Road - side 2 is Paul McCartney's masterpiece.

[pressbox69]

61. Layla

My Aim Is True, Hejira, Squeezing Out Sparks, Rubber Soul and Nighthawks At The Diner.

[orangecrush]

62. Easy

"Kiln House", Fleetwood Mac.

[Keth]

64. Yep.

Love Station Man. I have a bootleg from a 1975 or 1976 show where Lindsey and Stevie had just joined the band and they played this song. btw, the cover for Kiln House was drawn by Christine McVie. Love the little elves sneaking around.

One thing about Fleetwood Mac, they always had some interesting album covers = Heroes Are Hard to Find, Mystery to Me and Tusk.

[orangecrush]

66. Christine

Has serious artistic talent!


This is great, thanks for the information!

[Mad_Dem_X]

63. Abbey Road. n/t