Most overrated and underrated albums?

[Starman!]

I've been thinking lately of albums that I think are underrated and deserve more attention, as well as albums that get too much attention. So I was wondering what you guys would say are some of the most overrated and underrated albums of all time.

My pick for most overrated album is Appetite For Destruction by Guns 'N Roses. Now granted, I can't stand GNR, but I can recognize that they have added something to rock 'n roll. But Appetite For Destruction is not that great, IMO. It's an overplayed, stupid album that gets far too much time in the spotlight while other fantastic albums may not get as much attention.

My pick for most underrated album of all time is Pop by U2. I know what you're thinking, "wow, big shocker, the U2 fanboy picked a U2 album." But this album gets hated on by critics, casual listeners and even fans. It is different and a little too over the top at times, but it is a brilliant album, and I don't use the word brilliant often. The album has a fun, bubblegum look to it, but its lyrics and stories are darker than you might think. U2's Zooropa is also massively underrated.

*Disclaimer: I know that, with sales and the fact that it's a U2 record, Pop is nowhere near being the most underrated album ever, compared to an indie artist who never got his fair share. But I feel that this is an album that people really should give a fair chance.

[Space version 2.0]

Neil Young's Harvest. The sequel was better.

[Mrs. Dick Courier]

It all depends on your taste.  I love GNR and Appetite is one of my favorite albums.

On that note in the underrated....I also love their punk album The Spaghetti Incident but you don't hear much about it.  Their covers of Hair of the Dog and Buick Makane kicked ass.  And the classic Since I Don't Have You as a rock song?  It worked!

[Starman!]

I did like their cover of Since I Don't Have You

[anais.butterfly]

This is a nice topic.

I am not sure what albums I think are overrated. But the underrated ones:

Our Lady Peace: Happiness and the Fish

On their greatest hits, only two songs from this album appear, which makes it the least represented, but I think this album is utterly brilliant.

I liked Guns n Roses a lot more when I was younger, but Appetite is their best album.

Ok, so number 6 on Wiki's top album list is London Calling which I never liked. I haven't listened to it enough to say how "good" it is, but I don't like it so that should count

[Nunyerbiz]

London Calling is the perfect example of the double album that shouldn't have been so damn long. Hop in the time machine, trim the fat and issue this on a single slab of vinyl and it would actually be the 6th best album of all time or whatever... But as it turned out, about half of it is more or less crap. 

I would agree that Appetite for Destruction is probably a tad overrated in hindsight... But taking in the historical context, and I think it largely deserves the praise. A bunch of blues infused dirtball looking bastards gave a square kick in the balls to the hairspray and mascara dominated glam era... An era of rock which rarely raised above such heights as openly wondering if the groupie they just fucked was actually of legal age. Axl Rose is clearly an unstable, paranoid twat... but what he and the band did in '87 was a game changer... scuffing up the overproduced sheen of that decade.

My pick for overrated: The Wall. Been forever since I've listened to it, and was never a huge Floyd fan... so I'll put that out there right now... But as I recall, it's like two hours long and has maybe three really good songs that are surrounded by about 90 minutes of the worst kind of pretentious overproduced sound scapes of dull crap.

Underrated is a bit harder to gauge... as it can just as easily be "under appreciated" in most respects... An album that recieved all kinds of critical praise but didn't sell for shit... is that underrated? I dunno... I'll go with one of my early 90s favorites... Welcome to My Dream - MC 900ft Jesus... One of those albums that I used just sit back and chill with... it's hard to explain... jazz-based irreverent white boy hip hop? Dude would have been huge in the nerdcore genre had he come around 15 or 20 years later. I only ever owned his albums on cassette and the only way I can get my nostalgia fix nowadays is via Youtube.

[TheUnabeefer]

My pick for overrated: The Wall. Been forever since I've listened to it, and was never a huge Floyd fan... so I'll put that out there right now... But as I recall, it's like two hours long and has maybe three really good songs that are surrounded by about 90 minutes of the worst kind of pretentious overproduced sound scapes of dull crap.

I am a hardcore Pink Floyd fanatic... and I agree wholeheartedly with your opinion of The Wall. It's an hour and a half of mostly Roger Waters whining about his childhood and trying to combine his life with Syd Barrett's.  Actually, if you want to hear some great songs a couple of the OTHER band members wrote (for the album) but were rejected by Roger as not being his own, check out Gilmour's first album and Rick Wright's "Wet Dream"....

Sadly though, the DEMOS for The Wall (especially the FIRST phase of demos, before Roger even brought in anyone else from the band on the project) were even worse. It's proof that Waters should never ever ever ever be allowed to write an album entirely on his own.

The Wall was severely lacking from the freshly-kicked-out-of-the-band-by-Waters keyboard player, Rick... and Gilmour was just simply fed up... Hell, even The Final Cut (which Mason walked out on and Gilmour removed his producer credit from) had Michael Kamen to give it substance.

Yeah, The Wall is highly highly highly overrated. But Obscured By Clouds is the most UNDERrated album by Floyd.

[Starman!]

I always liked The Wall but I get how it may be overrated

[TheUnabeefer]

I always liked The Wall but I get how it may be overrated

Oh I like it... It's just by far not the album they really should be known for. It's not their best. Not their worst either though. That honor goes to Ummagumma.

[Starman!]

Part of me felt that Dark Side of the Moon was a little overrated, but after having listened to it again recently (while watching The Wizard of Oz), I think it's amazing. The Great Gig in the Sky is kind of annoying though.

[losingmydignity]

Neil Young's Harvest. The sequel was better.

Yeah, I also prefer Neil's A Mid-winter's Chow.

Going to have to think about my choices. Will be back with less snark.

[TheUnabeefer]

Part of me felt that Dark Side of the Moon was a little overrated, but after having listened to it again recently (while watching The Wizard of Oz), I think it's amazing. The Great Gig in the Sky is kind of annoying though.

Yeah, I actually prefer Alan Parson's original mix of that album better. It's a LOT closer to how they had performed it live for the few years prior... and "The Mortality Sequence" (aka Great Gig) didn't have the shrieking.  Still a fantastic album either way... but Animals is inordinately better.

[losingmydignity]

Everything since Ummagumma is overrated.

[TheUnabeefer]

Everything since Ummagumma is overrated.

I fixed it for you.

[losingmydignity]

Everything since Ummagumma is overrated.

I fixed it for you.

Okay, but there are some really amazing moments where it matches up perfectly with Terror of Tiny Town.