Concluding my list of best debut albums (with quite a few caveats)…
Sinéad O’Connor – The Lion and the Cobra (1987)
I almost didn’t include today’s album because I thought 1990’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got was likely my favorite Sinéad O’Connor album. Or if not that one, probably 2000’s Faith and Courage.
Those are both great albums. But when I re-listened to The Lion and the Cobra, O’Connor’s bracing debut, I decided that yeah, this is definitely the one.
Continuing my list of best debut albums (with quite a few caveats)…
Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)
Last week I wrote that Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the most successful debut album that ended up being its artist’s only studio release. Jeff Buckley’s 1994 Grace is the runner-up.
Recorded by the singer-songwriter in his mid-20s, this critically acclaimed album showcased Buckley as a true triple threat — equally adept at writing songs, playing guitar, and singing. He had the chops to be a creative force for decades to come, but sadly died by drowning at just 30 years old.
Continuing my list of best debut albums (with quite a few caveats)…
Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman (1988)
I was 15 when Tracy Chapman’s self-titled debut came out, and I first heard it when my next-door neighbor, a friend from school, lent me his cassette. I thought he had purchased the single, ‘Fast Car,’ which was getting a lot of MTV airplay, but it turned out the be the whole record.
I took to it immediately, because how could anyone not? It’s beautiful and melodic, but with bursts of real acoustic muscle, and it’s aching and romantic, while clear-eyed and hard-nosed about injustice in America. It’s a true marvel.
Continuing my list of best debut albums (with quite a few caveats)…
Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine (1989)
You know an album is great when you love it despite it being in a genre you otherwise don’t like. That was true of Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill as well as the debuts by Sade and Violent Femmes. And it’s definitely true of Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine.
This is an industrial rock album featuring aggressive electronic beats and discordant soundscapes. Trent Reznor (the one-man band behind NIN) snarls out his angry, lovesick lyrics like a man possessed and pissed off about it.
Continuing my list of best debut albums (with quite a few caveats)…
Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville (1993)
The album I most enjoyed revisiting for these posts was Liz Phair’s classic indie rock debut. I’ve long loved this record but giving it a spin for the first time in a long time reminded me of just how special it is.
The seeds of Exile in Guyville started on a trio of cassette tapes Phair recorded in her childhood bedroom using the name Girly-Sound. Eleven of Guyville‘s 18 tracks appeared on those lo-fi recordings, which were passed around in her native Chicago and led to her first contract.
Meet Me In Montauk 