I’ve been on something of a Radiohead kick lately, and over the course of the last week or so, I’ve been asking myself which album I would consider my favorite. As it turns out, it’s a tie between two of them - which doesn’t really answer the question, so I imposed harsher criteria upon myself and came up with this:

By some horrific act of forced deprivation (the hypothetical desert island, if you will), you are forced to choose one album as the only one that you can ever listen to. Of the five albums in the AM top 3000, which would you choose, and why?

A) The Bends
B) OK Computer
C) Kid A
D) Amnesiac
E) Hail To The Thief

I’m interested to see what everyone’s choices are. Don't be shy... we're all friends here, right? RIGHT?!?!

Can I pick 'not a single one'? :P

On a more serious note, to me there's only one Radiohead album that partially deserves all the credit it gets, which is OK Computer. Even that album is incredibly overrated though. I just don't get why Radiohead is so acclaimed, I can appreciate their originality and all, but is the music really that great? I personally don't think so.

Anyway, B.

I agree completely with pomtidom. OK Computer does have its merits but it totally over-hyped imo, the rest isnt to impressive to me. I used to own The Bends but sold it because I found it quite boring. Somebody needs to give the singer a good slap and tell him to brighten up a bit. Negative bastard.

Yes I've been listening to Radiohead a hell of a lot lately too - well The Bends was one of my favourites for ages but when I got OK Computer I realized the Bends was just a warmup for that album. It was a shock to me and currently probably my 3rd favourite album behind The Queen Is Dead and Pet Sounds. It's just an astonishing album,the more I listen to it,the better it gets cos there's so many complexities and textures to the songs. I'd probably have Kid A as 2nd favourite,then Hail to the thief,then Amnesiac

OK Computer and Kid A are my favourite. The Bends is a distant third.

Midaso and jonmarck - I agree with both of you.

OK Computer was my favorite up until a few years ago, and then Kid A crept up and dethroned it; it's been my favorite ever since. Both are really great albums, but each for different reasons. I think Kid A is, sonically, a more cohesive record, but it's probably the ambient sounds and textures that helps create that feeling. Plus, you really have to admire a band that achieves such critical and commercial acclaim, as Radiohead did with OK Computer, and basically says "f**k you, we're not going to do the same thing again." I'm assuming you guys have seen the "Meeting People Is Easy" documentary? And if you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the wikipedia article on Kid A - it's excellent.

As far as the Bends goes, you're right Midaso - it does sound like a warmup to OK Computer. There are some great songs on that album, but it just doesn't blow your mind like it's successor. There's some great songs to be found on Amnesiac as well, but they're all within the first half of the album. Honestly, I couldn't be bothered with the last five songs (except for maybe Like Spinning Plates.)

And then there's Hail To The Thief. A bit too long-winded in my opinion; it probably would've been better served by having only 10 or 11 songs. Plus, it sounds like a mixture of The Bends, OK Computer and Kid A - as if the band was trying to please everyone. Again, a few standout tracks, but it's mostly mediocre.

Any thoughts/predictions on their 7th album?

its hard to say. i cant pick a radiohead album thats good. creep is their best song by a country mile, yet that album isnt their best. and yes OK Computer is extremely overrated, despite Paranoid Android being really good. Karma police is ok.

"creep is best by A country mile" what a load of rubbish. You obviously are not a keen radiohead fan. Creep is a great song but they have gone leaps and bounds since then. Kid A is a amazing album and their best work, no quesion. How to disappear completely is their best song by a country mile, its truly an amazing song, my fav song of our generation.

So because you're a fan, and he's not, your opinion is worth more than his?

I'm not a fan either, but purely looking at the rankings 'OK Computer' is better than 'Kid A' and 'Creep' is indeed their best song, while 'How To Disappear Completely' isn't even listed.

I personally think Creep is one of their better songs too, the only real contender being Paranoid Android in my opinion.

Hail to the Thief.

I essentially listened to their albums chronologically since I was like 14, and finally hit their 2003 masterpiece... which I thought was pretty boring at first, but the album grows on you more than any other in existence (so far). So after about 30 spins, I became convinced that not only was H to the T their best album, but possibly the greatest of all time.

Afterwards, I went back to "OK Computer" (the one that got me started) and somehow didn't find it very compelling after hearing Thief.. sorry but thats the truth.

"So because you're a fan, and he's not, your opinion is worth more than his?

I'm not a fan either, but purely looking at the rankings 'OK Computer' is better than 'Kid A' and 'Creep' is indeed their best song, while 'How To Disappear Completely' isn't even listed.

I personally think Creep is one of their better songs too, the only real contender being Paranoid Android in my opinion."
Lol do you use these rankings to determin which you prefer, how about you LISTEN to the songs then judge for yourself! How can you say just because a song is not listed its no good, listen to it (more than once as it takes some time to digest) then tell me that creep is better. Face facts this site rewards songs that are released as singles, creep, paranoid android ect, but listen to ok comp and let down is the best track on it (not on the AM list!)

It is not an opinion that you think creep is better if you have heard nothing else. I know ok comp is high on the list, because it is a masterpiece, but I am of the opinion that one day Kid A will be remembered as one of the most important albums of our generation. You just wait!

Well many songs are acclaimed because they are important,but not neccessarily the best of that artist. There's some songs that are quite important and acclaimed that hardly anyone thinks is good - at the time,maybe people were flipping out for it but many years later,people might think it's crap
But this is nothing to do with Radiohead by the way...

I use the rankings to prove a point, apparently he's not the only one who thinks 'Creep' is their best song. After that, I go on stating my personal preference, and I don't think 'How To Completely Disappear' is one of their best songs.

OK Computer (yeah, I'm taking the obvious one), but mostly for personal reasons. I like-but-don't-love Radiohead, but I saw them tour in support of this album, and they were AMAZING live.

I remain convinced that they're slightly overrated--their musical range is stunning, but ol' Thom is a bit of a one-trick pony emotionally (yes, this is the "too mopey" argument). Their AM #19 ranking is probably a little high, though top 30 or 40 works for me.

Excellent call on the musical range. It’s one thing for a band to have such a range, but it’s entirely another thing to be given the opportunity to document, package, and sell it. I’d be hard-pressed to think of another modern-day rock band that’s been given as much creative free rein, from not only fans but their music label, while remaining hugely successful in the process. (Tool perhaps?) I think Radiohead fans expect the group to be experimental, but that can be as much a blessing as a curse.

To completely switch gears for a second, I went to a little concert last night here in Edmonton - some dude named Timberlake (maybe you guys have heard of him.) Anyways, I’ve branded myself something of a dance-pop hater on this forum, and even though I still pretty much feel the same, I have a new-found appreciation for JT after last night’s show. Not a huge fan mind you, but at least now I’m able to appreciate what he does. (I know this tidbit isn’t exactly relevant to this thread; just thought I’d mention it.)

Kid A.

Also: "How To Disappear Completely" is quite possibly the most beautiful song of the decade.

Absolutely twister.

This past January, I took a course at university – Intro. to Popular Music. The instructor played the song one morning at the beginning of class. I believe he used the word “transcendental” at one point.

So whereabouts would this new album,In Rainbows rank on your list of Radiohead albums?

In an effort to avoid seeming carried away in a few months' time, I would say 'In Rainbows' belongs in third place behind OK Computer (1st) and Kid A (2nd), and The Bends fourth, Hail To The Thief fifth and Amnesiac sixth. But inevitably, right now I am still enjoying listening to In Rainbows more than any of the others, 'cause it's so new. They are, for the record, my number one artist of all time.

I would have to pick hail to the thief... i think every single one of them has been my favorite radiohead album at some point, so i'd like to think that i understand them all. out of all of them, though, HTTT and the bends are the only ones that i don't have to be in the mood for so they take up the no#1 and 2 spots. HTTT has the edge though.

Not to say it's my favorite, but if I were listening to a Radiohead album until the day I died, I could probably only die happy with In Rainbows. But of that list, and by any other criteria, Ok Computer.

OK Computer.

The Bends made me a Radiohead fan, for sure, but their music did not seem 'revolutionary' up until then. Until OK Computer was released. The album felt somewhat unusual at first, it seemed hard work to listen to it all the way through. Luckily, this turned out to be a good sign, making the album grow and grow towards one of my all-time favorite albums. Kid A felt unusual too at first, but did not make it as far in the evolution process as OK. The other Radiohead albums are great as well, but not comparable to OK.

I saw them live in Vredenburg, Utrecht, The Netherlands, shortly after the release of OK Computer. I hold very good memories to this concert, and this is not only for the fact, that Dieuwertje Blok (a former female Dutch TV personality) was also in the audience.

In Rainbows has not completely sunk into me, but for now, this would be my order for their AM top 3000 albums (assuming In Rainbows will soon join the list):

OK Computer
The Bends
In Rainbows
Kid A
Hail To The Thief
Amnesiac

Tough choice. I listen to Kid A a lot more these days but I don't think I could say it's better than OK Computer. I think I'd rank all the Radiohead in order from OK Computer to In Rainbows. The Bends and Pablo Honey aren't that great. The Bends and Pablo Honey fall way behind all of those albums.

OK Computer.

Ever since then they've been good, but a bit too self indulgent.

1) OK Computer
2) Kid A
3) The Bends
4) Amnesiac
5) Hail To The Thief
6) Pablo Honey

In Rainbows is too new to say. Maybe between 2 and 3?

I would take The Bends, mostly because of Street Spirit, High and Dry and Fake Plastic Trees which would all be in my top 200 acclaimed songs.
Most of the other songs of this album are great too, but maybe a little less than the songs of OK Computer.
I have neven really been into the 2 following album, the only songs I really appreciate is Idiotic.