Music: What are your Favorite Double Albums?

[Say Hey Kid]

In random order:

The White Album
Songs in the Key of Life
Exile on Main St
London Calling
Purple Rain
Electric Ladyland
Sign o the Times
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Blonde on Blonde
Bitches Brew
Tusk
The River
The Wall
Mellon Collie
Physical Graffiti

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[WetcoastOrca]

In random order:

The White Album
Songs in the Key of Life
Electric Ladyland
Sign o the Times
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Blonde on Blonde
Bitches Brew
Exile on Main St
Tusk
The River
The Wall
Mellon Collie
Physical Graffiti
London Calling
Purple Rain

Great list!
I always considered All Things Must Pass a double album and just ignore the jam album.
It’s my top double album.
Then I’d add:
ELO: Out of the Blue
Chicago Transit Authority

 

[Mescaleroman]

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Genesis
Chords of Fame - Phil Ochs
Quadrophenia - the Who

 

[PANARIN BREAD FAN]

the who-tommy
hendrix band of gypsys-live at the fillmore-a 1999 release
ufo-strangers in the night
iron maiden-live after death
ozzy-speak of the devil
wings over america
the who-the kids are alright

 

[Roo Returns]

Physical Graffiti to me is like THE double album.

Live at The Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band

A lot were mentioned above but to throw some lesser ones:

Our Pathetic Age (2019) by DJ Shadow: it's a fun listen and better than it gets credit for.

Here Lies Love (2010) by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim: The guest singers keep on coming and making it a fun listen and anticipate what style they're going to try next

Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006): So this is a somewhat polarizing one. RHCP transitioned into their "modern" version fulltime on this album, and there are some real arrangement/production issues that could've used some TLC, but it has enough interesting tracks and was the last album where they had that sonically explosive element in many of the songs.

Double Nickels on The Dime by The Minutemen and Zen Arcade by Husker Du (1984) - both albums pushed the traditional punk rock format into expanded territories.

 

[Babe Ruth]

The Doors: Absolutely Live

Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie..

Rollins Band: Turned On

The Doors & Rollins Band double albums I have on vinyl. Smashing Pumpkins I got on (what seems comically outdated now) double cassette.

 

[kihei]

London Calling
Sandinista
Blonde on Blond
Wings over America
Frampton Comes Alive
The Wall
The White Album
Exile on Main Street
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Travels--Pat Metheny

 

[93gilmour93]

I guess you can consider this a double album because both were released on the same day but sold separately.

Guns n Roses - Use Your Illusion 1 & 2

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

If live albums count, then gotta go with the 1st S&M

 

[Teemu]

Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Woody Guthrie - Dust Bowl Ballads
The Who - Quadrophenia
Wilco - Being There
Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The Clash - London Calling

 

[Babe Ruth]

I guess you can consider this a double album because both were released on the same day but sold separately.

Guns n Roses Use Your Illusion 1 & 2

Yeah, that was a good one.. and because of its release era, another one I have as two cassettes. If I remember right they had identical covert art, but in different colors..

 

[Hammettf2b]

The Art of War - Bone Thugs n Harmony

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

Bruce Springsteen - The River
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

Like seemingly every double album you kind of wish they just picked the 10-12 best songs. But still great.

 

[Neutrinos]

The White Album

 

[frisco]

I can't think of a whole lot of double albums that aren't live or compilations. But "The River" by Bruce Springsteen stands out as the best for me as far as studio albums. Possibly, "Tusk" Fleetwood Mac which is my favorite FM album.

The new Rick Springfield album "Automatic" is a double album (20 songs). It is truly a tour de force in all aspects.

My Best-Carey

 

[frisco]

Bee Gees-Odessa

My Best-Carey

 

[The Macho King]

I can't think of a single double album that wouldn't have been better as a single with the chaff removed.

I know pointless hot take but honestly I'm just struggling to think of one I want to bring up here.

 

[Bahama Mama]

I can't think of a single double album that wouldn't have been better as a single with the chaff removed.

I know pointless hot take but honestly I'm just struggling to think of one I want to bring up here.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

The question also depends on if we're talking about double CD's or double vinyls. (For example, "London Calling" fits onto one CD, but it's two vinyl records).

There aren't many double albums I enjoy from start to finish. Most of them feel padded and/or inconsistent. My favourites (studio albums):

• The Who - "Quadrophenia"
• Iron Maiden - "Senjutsu"
• Miles Davis - "Bitches Brew"
• Yes - "Tales from Topographic Oceans"

 

[PANARIN BREAD FAN]

View attachment 788647

thanks for posting this. i learned something new today. i never knew this was a 2LP set. 3 sides have 2 songs each while the and the other 3.

makes me wonder now if the cassette version was released as a single or double. i'll assume single.

 

[Hippasus]

The question also depends on if we're talking about double CD's or double vinyls. (For example, "London Calling" fits onto one CD, but it's two vinyl records).

There aren't many double albums I enjoy from start to finish. Most of them feel padded and/or inconsistent. My favourites (studio albums):

• The Who - "Quadrophenia"
• Iron Maiden - "Senjutsu"
• Miles Davis - "Bitches Brew"
• Yes - "Tales from Topographic Oceans"

I think if it's two LPs (or cassettes) long it's considered a double album.

 

[WhoozYerrDaddy]

Good to see Quadrophenia and Tommy get some love.

Live Bullet by Bob Seger

Hot August Night by Neil Diamond

 

[Bahama Mama]

thanks for posting this. i learned something new today. i never knew this was a 2LP set. 3 sides have 2 songs each while the and the other 3.

makes me wonder now if the cassette version was released as a single or double. i'll assume single.

Think it was a single. Blank cassettes could contain 120 minutes and CD's were already becoming popular. The only double cassette I remember was Decades from Neil Young,it was 3 vinyls.

 

[Ozz]

Ozzy - Live & Loud
Slayer - Decade of Aggression

No studio double albums are at that level for me.

 

[Fantomas]

Purple Rain

Not a double album. A perfectly constructed single LP for vinyl though: both sides just under 22 minutes in length.

Loved the times when albums had such structure. Every artist needed an editor and the results were better. Warnes Bros. pushed Prince to add an extra track to the album, because they wanted another single and Computer Blue was a touch too long for a pop album (the long edit was over 7 minutes). So he added Take Me With U and chopped Computer Blue in half. And the results were fire.

Then vinyl went the way of the dodo and Prince began releasing long meandering albums that became unlistenable.