I was just listening to Steely Dan's first album, Can't Buy A Thrill, and think about how much I like it. It never seems to get mentioned when their best albums are discussed, but I think it really holds up. There aren't many albums that contain a couple of drop-dead A-1 hits like Do It Again and Reeling in the Years (the latter featuring some of the best guitar work I've ever heard anywhere), and Midnight Cruiser should have been a hit, too. The rest isn't quite at that level, but it's all pretty solid, and it sounded like nothing else out there in 1972.

What albums do you consider to be criminally underrated? Here's a few of my favorites that spring to mind:

Stephen Stills -- Manassas
Stephen Stills -- (first abum)
Terence Boylan (finally on CD!)
Joni Mitchell -- Song to a Seagull
The Bangles -- Doll Revolution
Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions -- Bavarian Fruit Bread
America -- Hat Trick
Richie Havens -- 1983
Marshall Crenshaw -- Field Day
Carole King -- Music
Van Morrison -- Veedon Fleece
Rosanne Cash -- Black Cadillac
Chicago -- V

The Beach Boys really took a beating after they left Capitol in 1969, so here goes:

Sunflower
Surf's Up
Holland
Carl and the Passions - So Tough
15 Big Ones
Love You
LA (Light Album)
MIU Album
Keepin' the Summer Alive
The Beach Boys
Still Cruisin'

Of these, at least "Sunflower" and "Surf's Up" are five star masterpieces, and the rest are four star (okay, I'm biased). The last album, "Summer in Paradise", deserves the beating it took, though, only one really good production (the title song).

The Knack - Get The Knack
Ministry - With Sympathy
90s era Prince
Grateful Dead - pretty much across the board
Neil Young - Sleeps With Angels

Here's 10 under-rated masterpieces

The Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks - Victoria
Mothers of Invention - Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Mothers of Invention - Absolutely Free
Daddy Cool - Daddy Cool
Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Next
John Lennon - Sometime In New York City
Canned Heat - Future Blues
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis Bold As Love
Nicky Hopkins - Tinman Was A Dreamer

A few favs, all over the place stylistically:

Black and Blue--Rolling Stones
Jonathan Sings!--Jonathan Richman
Pampered Menial--Pavlov's Dog
Streets of This Town--Steve Forbert
War Child--Jethro Tull

Frank Zappa-- Them or Us
Kiss-- Revenge
Elton John-- Jump Up!
Yes-- Open Your Eyes
Stan Ridgeway-- The Big Heat
Hank III-- Lovesick, Broke and Driftin'
Moody Blues-- Strange Times
Paul McCartney-- Off The Ground
Ringo Starr-- Vertical Man
George Harrison-- Brainwashed

Rich

I have to agree (and admire!) almost all of the titles already named --- especially the Nicky Hopkins . . .

I sure that some of what I'm about to list are more overlooked than under rated but here goes:

Got No Shadow -- Mary Lou Lord
Painful -- Yo La Tengo
Wheatstraw Suite -- The Dillards
Genuine -- The Derailers
Full Western Dress -- The Derailers (again0
Men From Earth -- Ozark Mountain Daredevils
IX -- Bendik Hofseth
Little Fugitive -- Amy Rigby
All Shook Down -- Replacements

Allman Brothers - Enlightened Rogues
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Pendulum
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door
Rolling Stones - Rock and Roll Circus

I always put in a good word for Ronnie Wood's Gimme Some Neck. BTW Jimbo, I emphatically agree with you concerning Black and Blue. I also must mention Neil Young's Comes A Time as well as Nils Lofgren's Crooked Line.

the most underrated album of all time IMHO is:

boomtown - david and david

first class writing, production and playing from top to bottom.

remarkable lyrics.

should have made baerwald and ricketts big stars.

renny

p.s. rumors persist that baerwald and ricketts are in L.A. writing and recording............................

greg,

and my second choice for most underrated album of all-time is the self/titled terence boylan album.

i can't believe you know of him, as not many do.

i'm so glad wounded bird finally released this, now i have been pestering them to release his only other album, "suzy", which is almost as good.

renny

p.s. "appletree theater" and "alias boona" are now available on CD also. and there is a "best of" with three new songs available as well.

Renny,

I bought Terence Boylan at a Pamida discount store many years ago for a buck, I think. I miss cheap cut-outs; it was so easy to take a chance on an album you knew nothing about. It's an excellent album. I've always liked the laid-back, somber mood.

I have the comp CD, but I've never heard all of the Suzy album, or either of the other two. I know I've seen Alias Boona as an expensive Japanese import, but I've never heard of the other one.

Did you know he went to Bard College (New York) at the same time as Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan)? I think they were in some kind of band together. That explains Fagen's appearance on this album. I think that's what got me to take a chance on it.

I, too, have the Wounded Bird Terence Boylan CD. Got turned on to Terence when I worked at a record store in Montana when his first record came out. Never knew anything about him but some of his songs were covered by Iain Matthews. And wasn't John Boylan a producer of some note? Quarterflash? They're brothers I'm guessing?

"appletree theater" is terence and his brother john. lennon proclaimed it a favorite of his a long time ago, it very quirky to say the least.

"alias boona" is really boylan's first solo album, again full of becker and fagan. not as "full" as the S/T album, meaning less inturments and singers. the S/T is an unheralded gem IMHO.

"suzy" was terence's second solo album, some of which is on the best of
CD, but a lot is missing.

chevy chase, yes that chevy chase, plays on "suzy", i think he was in the bard college group also.

renny

p.s. for those of you that never heard terence boylan, take a shot. the S/T album is available through wounded bird or through amazon, maybe linda can feature it for us.

Agree with you on Revenge, disagree on Open Your Eyes.

The Clash - Sandanista
Wings -- Venus & Mars
XTC - Oranges & Lemons

The three albums above had the bad luck of following albums that were all-time critics favorites, and unfairly suffered in comparison.

Malcom McClaren - Duck Rock

Duck Rock explored African pop before Paul Simon's Graceland, scratching before Herbie Hancock's Rockit, and anticipated the whole world beat genre to boot. Most of the reviews were more about McClaren the man rather than the actual music. I'd love to see a deluxe special edition of this.

Brian Eno & David Byrne -- My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

Although this one was praised in some circles, Rolling Stone still managed to thumb their nose at this album when it was recently re-released.

Willie Nelson - Countryman

This is so true... Sweet new david & david

"Shoot Out the Lights"-Richard & Linda Thompson
"Ram"
"Straight Up"-Badfinger
"Farther Along" & "Byrdmaniax"-The Byrds
"Agharta"-Miles Davis

Interesting choices, everyone: I don't think anyone mentioned this one: Thomas Dolby-- The Flat Earth. For me, it's the 80s album that utilized that thin, synthy production style effectively: the title track and "Screen Kiss" are two of my favorite songs. It's really a beautiful, moving record, quite unlike his hits. Highly recommended.

Absolutely agreed. I think every Thomas Dolby fan hates the fact that he is best known for novelty-type songs like "She Blinded Me With Science" when the man has produced much deeper material. Every Dolby release has at least one or two breathtaking tracks but The Flat Earth has an especially high ratio of great material.

I agree about Dolby's The Flat Earth. One of the best albums of that era.