Rush

Top 5 Rush Albums/Next Band

  • Total voters
    76
Mosh

Mosh

PM me your Opeth album rankings!
Staff member
Welcome to Rush week. In the poll there is all the Rush albums, as per Foro's request. Lets vote on our top 5. After the divider is the list of bands, please vote for one.
 
For my top 5 (in chronological order)
Hemispheres
Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Grace Under Pressure
Clockwork Angels

All these albums could be serious contenders for best album.
 
As has been discussed elsewhere in this forum, side one of the Moving Pictures LP might be the greatest album side EVER. And side two is no slouch either.

(For those of you born after 1980 -- prior to the advent of compact discs/mp3's, we old farts actually listened to vinyl records, one side at a time. Barbaric, I know, but we made do as best we could. ;))

Hemispheres and 2112 had their moments, but the best albums start-to-finish were, in order:

1. Moving Pictures -- by a mile -- a genuine classic, part of the essential rock canon, everyone should own this
2. Permanent Waves
3. A Farewell to Kings
 
I like to listen to vinyl, but haven't gotten a MP yet. But I agree, it's my favorite album side. Not only are the songs great, but they really go together well. It's hard for me to listen to one song without hearing the rest.
 
Ah, one of these where I'm familiar enough with the band. I'm just starting out in music really (heard some Iron Maiden) right around a year ago and the rest is history. But I do have six Rush albums, with getting more Rush being a high priority. Since I only have six, I'll just rank what I have:

Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Hemispheres
A Farewell to Kings
2112
Fly By Night

Moving Pictures is a flawless album, but I like Permanent Waves just a bit better because of the opening trio of The Spirit of Radio -> Freewill -> Jacob's Ladder.

There's really nothing new to say about the first, or even really the second, but I do want to say about Jacob's Ladder that I think it generally doesn't get much credit as one of Rush's great songs. A great atmospheric track that I enjoy all the way through, and while the fact that there are few lyrics is, in this case, a good thing, the few vocal parts are really excellent moments in the song. Particularly the latter two; when Geddy's voice comes in it really seems to be another instrument adding to the overall atmosphere, especially "light streams down in bright unbroken beams." The lyrics don't seem to be designed to tell a story or anything of that sort, they just basically say "This is the phenomenon that we are trying to depict in music here. This is what scene you should be imagining. Enjoy." Such a simple concept, but a great, complex, atmospheric song. Natural Science is a great epic that is at least on par with Camera Eye. As far as the rest of Permanent Waves goes, Different Strings is a good Rush ballad, and Entre Nous is an oft-neglected track that is weaker than the two tracks of similar style and length but is still a good song.

Anyway, I'm definitely making a priority out of getting more Rush. I'm planning on getting Caress of Steel (I have a fascination with albums that are widely regarded as poor by the band's standards but have a few people that love them, like Iron Maiden's The X Factor) and Clockwork Angels soon, and then I'll probably go back to the beginning and get the rest in chronological order.
 
Moving Pictures is the best Rush album and perhaps the best album (album, not just side) of all time.
Counterparts, Grace Under Pressure, Permanent Waves and Clockwork Angels round out the top five, with the order constantly changing. (Clicked without voting Mosh, if you want to add to the poll.)
Signals, 2112, Farewell to Kings are also four-star, essential, albums.
I rank Hemispheres lower than most do because I don't like particularly the title track, and Vapor Trails higher, partly because of the lyrics (among Peart's best).
The synth years rank lower because of their lack of heaviness, but the songs and the playing are still amazing.
Caress of Steel and the debut are their worst, but every Rush album has its moments and is worth exploring.
 
Thanks for not forgetting that poll Mosh. I need to give it some thought, hope you don't mind if it would be later than 9 December (not sure if I'll make it; a busy upcoming week).
 
1. Moving Pictures : A true masterpiece. Level of song quality is enough to battle with every single album around, especially with the first side. Other three songs are also really good and the album flows perfectly.
2. Hemispheres : This one contains my favorite Rush song (Strangiato), also one that will make my Top 10 with ease (Hemispheres). The Trees is also a wonderful song. A pure progressive rock classic.
3. A Farewell to Kings : I may not like Book I as Book II but I do like it and I list the title track as one of my favorite Rush songs. And of course there's Xanadu which doesn't really need words to explain its quality.
4. Permanent Waves : Best overall flow of any of those, probably. Just fun to listen to in its entirety.
5. Grace Under Pressure : I just love the new-wave feel to it. An amazing blend, features a Top 5 song (Red Sector A) and you can't also pass up on Distant Early Warning, The Enemy Within and Between the Wheels.

6. 2112
7. Signals
8. Counterparts
9. Clockwork Angels
10. Vapor Trails
11. Snakes & Arrows
12. Power Windows
13. Roll the Bones
14. Fly by Night
15. Test for Echo
16. Presto
17. Hold Your Fire
18. Caress of Steel
19. Rush
 
Hemispheres
Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Grace Under Pressure
Power Windows

Those five are my favorite (not in order). Circumstances is the only clearly weaker song of Hemispheres, but even it is ok. Permanent Waves is a very solid album from start to finish. Moving Pictures is a perfect album. Grace Under Pressure is an another very solid album. Power Windows has some of Rush's most overlooked songs.
 
Forostar said:
Thanks for not forgetting that poll Mosh. I need to give it some thought, hope you don't mind if it would be later than 9 December (not sure if I'll make it; a busy upcoming week).
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That's cool, just because the week is over doesn't mean we can't continue to discuss :)

mckindog said:
Caress of Steel and the debut are their worst, but every Rush album has its moments and is worth exploring.
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I think I'd rank Test For Echo lower than both of those. Hold Your Fire has better moments, but it I'd also put it with those lower albums.

The Flash said:
2. Hemispheres : This one contains my favorite Rush song (Strangiato), also one that will make my Top 10 with ease (Hemispheres). The Trees is also a wonderful song. A pure progressive rock classic.
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Strangiato is also my favorite Rush song. I guess the only reason Hemispheres isn't my #1 is the length. It feels shorter than the rest of Rush's catalog.
4. Permanent Waves : Best overall flow of any of those, probably. Just fun to listen to in its entirety.
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Agreed
 
Permanent Waves is about three quarter of a minute shorter (and thus the shortest album). Perhaps it feels longer than Hemispheres because it has more songs.
 
Probably. Hemispheres' long songs go by quickly for me, while Jacob's Ladder and Natural Science both feel quite long, probably because they have a lot of different parts.
 
And it looks like a tie between Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. Not surprised with these results at all.
 
I am probably going to break that tie. I am pretty sure Permanent Waves won't be in it, but on the other hand I am not sure which albums will be in it (I know four of them, but have not decided on the no. 5).

EDIT: I see mckindog hasn't voted yet either.
 
Seeing that so many Maiden fans loved Rush, I checked it out, buying Clockwork Angels. That's a really fantastic album : the title track and headlong flight are incredible. The vocals and basslines are awesome. I regret now to have paid them so little attention in the past : for me, Rush was just commercial hard-rock band, and I realize how stupid I was. Looking at your personal charts, I see it is not that high, so I'm looking forward to hearing those you consider the best ones.
 
Clockwork Angels is fantastic — in my top five.
And they really do share a lot of what makes Maiden awesome.
But they have been a lot more varied over the years.
 
Clockwork Angles isn't in my top five but it's close. I've got one pretty controversial choice in my top 5 - Power Windows - because right now I happen to like it a lot. Other times it might be A Farewell To Kings, sometimes even Signals. Clockwork Angels is such a great album it might be a top 5 album for me sometime. As for my favorite album, it's Moving Pictures.

I've found myself really liking the songs Jacob's Ladder and The Body Electric lately. I think we killed Jacob's Ladder too soon in the survivor.
 
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