Your favorite GENESIS studio albums (pick three)

  • I gotta say I'm surprised that more people don't like Silver Rainbow on here. I'm personally not a huge fan of it myself, but in other past forums (that have long since closed down sadly), I would hear fans gush over how great of a song it is-and I was the one thinking it was overrated LOL!


    At the end of the day, it's all personal preference I suppose. For example-It's Gonna Get Better (though seemingly forgotten by many fans) is actually one of my favorite Genesis songs!

  • I gotta say I'm surprised that more people don't like Silver Rainbow on here. I'm personally not a huge fan of it myself, but in other past forums (that have long since closed down sadly), I would hear fans gush over how great of a song it is-and I was the one thinking it was overrated LOL!


    At the end of the day, it's all personal preference I suppose. For example-It's Gonna Get Better (though seemingly forgotten by many fans) is actually one of my favorite Genesis songs!

    For me, the brief instrumental passages in ‘It’s Gonna Get Better’ are interesting, but the song itself I find very dull. Like you said, it’s all personal preference.

  • For me, the brief instrumental passages in ‘It’s Gonna Get Better’ are interesting, but the song itself I find very dull. Like you said, it’s all personal preference.

    I agree, there are a couple of interesting bits on It's gonna get better but ultimately pretty much lightweight, pleasant enough but doesn't really leave a mark IMO. You are always going to find fans of the odd song, and Why not? I remember somebody raving about Like it or not, of all songs but when the dust has settled, they are definitely not the songs these albums are remembered by.

  • I gotta say I'm surprised that more people don't like Silver Rainbow on here. I'm personally not a huge fan of it myself, but in other past forums (that have long since closed down sadly), I would hear fans gush over how great of a song it is-and I was the one thinking it was overrated LOL!


    At the end of the day, it's all personal preference I suppose. For example-It's Gonna Get Better (though seemingly forgotten by many fans) is actually one of my favorite Genesis songs!

    I really like both Silver Rainbow & It's Gonna Get Better.

  • I really like both Silver Rainbow & It's Gonna Get Better.

    …as do I - they make up a great ending to one of my favorite albums of theirs as a trio.


    I’m always a bit surprised that side 2 of the 1983 eponymous album always gets it in the neck when it’s only the first two songs on that side that haven’t really held up well over time. The last two songs and “Just A Job To Do”, IMHO, are quite good! (JAJTD even got picked up as a theme song to a TV show in the mid-80s here in the States. That caught me by surprise when I first heard it on TV!) Side 1 is obviously the more cohesive and better side, but side 2 is far from being a disaster. To each their own. 🤷‍♂️

    Stepping out the back way, hoping nobody sees...

  • …as do I - they make up a great ending to one of my favorite albums of theirs as a trio.


    I’m always a bit surprised that side 2 of the 1983 eponymous album always gets it in the neck when it’s only the first two songs on that side that haven’t really held up well over time. The last two songs and “Just A Job To Do”, IMHO, are quite good! (JAJTD even got picked up as a theme song to a TV show in the mid-80s here in the States. That caught me by surprise when I first heard it on TV!) Side 1 is obviously the more cohesive and better side, but side 2 is far from being a disaster. To each their own. 🤷‍♂️


    I remember hearing Just a Job to Do all the time on the classic rock radio station when I was a kid in the 90s, out in the Chicago area. I grew to love it! It has a very "Genesis in the 80's" sound if you know what I mean.

  • I voted Nursey, Foxtrot and Selling England, but I am really uncertain....

    I really love all the albums from trespass to duke, and even after in each album they have put some masterpiece..

    I am uncertain all the time when it comes to this question ;)

    I recently rediscovered Abacab, so it has replaced NC in my Top3. Then Wind and Duke.

  • I am uncertain all the time when it comes to this question ;)

    I recently rediscovered Abacab, so it has replaced NC in my Top3. Then Wind and Duke.

    same here. Just changed from Lamb to Selling ....

    ... make tomorrow today!

  • There seems to be a consensus that one side of the album is flawless (although there were still be some who say they don't like That's All) while side two is a somewhat lesser collection of tunes, and no-one can agree on which tunes on side two are good and bad!

    I like Shapes album's side 2 a lot :) (side 1 likewise).


    I think side 2 is quite undervalued. 8)

  • I like Shapes album's side 2 a lot :) (side 1 likewise).


    I think side 2 is quite undervalued. 8)


    I agree. It's Gonna Get Better is one of my favorite Genesis songs. Taking it All Too Hard is also IMO a very often-forgotten and underrated song, that stands up to the likes of their more popular ballads!


    I've always thought that they should've arranged the tracklist differently on that album-which might have caused some to give certain forgotten songs more of a chance, perhaps like this:


    Mama

    Illegal Alien

    Taking it All Too Hard

    Silver Rainbow

    Just a Job to Do


    That's All

    Home by the Sea

    Second Home By the Sea

    It's Gonna Get Better


    IMO that listing still keeps the mood of the opening and closing of the album. Each side starts strong, and side 1 ends strong, making the listener want to turn it over. And the favorites are spread out across the album, helping to avoid causing fans to simply ignore a whole side.


    Then again, there's no way they could've known before the release which ones would be most effective and liked-they can just do their best guess really. I'm sure in retrospect, the tracklists all of their albums (xcept perhaps the Lamb of course) could be re-evaluated in this way...

  • I like your thinking, but that would give a side 1 that's way longer than side 2. I'd be OK with it, though, as long as IGGB was the unedited version (which would balance things out a little).

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • I like your thinking, but that would give a side 1 that's way longer than side 2. I'd be OK with it, though, as long as IGGB was the unedited version (which would balance things out a little).


    The reason I had side 1 longer, is cos those are generally shorter songs-where as HBTS and 2nd HBTS take up much more space (part of why the way it's currrently set up, side 1 only has four songs). I don't know the math of the exact track counts, but I do agree having the full version of IGGB would be great.

  • (1) The Lamb

    (2) Selling England

    (3) Foxtrot


    I like a lot of Phil Collins-era Genesis, but for me, the Gabriel era is the best.


    Some criticize Gabriel for the sometimes opaque, dense plot of the Lamb, but name a rock concept album that doesn't have a confusing plot or theme. (I love Quadrophenia, but I don't know what the hell is going on half the time.) The Lamb can be simplified as a character on a journey of self-discovery in NYC. Even PG said that the Lamb at its core isn't that complicated. "The Carpet Crawlers" is still an amazing track, as are many others here. "Anyway" would get my nod as an underrated number.


    It's a coin flip for me between Selling England and Foxtrot. I'm not a huge fan of "The Battle of Epping Forest," but the rest of the album is perfect. Supper's Ready, IMO, is still the best piece of music Genesis has ever produced. The plot of "Get 'Em Out By Friday" is hilarious.


    I started to really love music as a kid in the prehistoric year of 1981. That's probably why Abacab was always my favorite from the Phil era. I soon fell in love with PG's solo and Genesis work, but more so the solo stuff.


    I also liked "Genesis" a lot when it was first released. Great memories from that era of pop music, including the late '70s.

  • opposite here ...

    my favorite is probably "W&W", it has this warm and mysterious atmosphere I always liked. Then the "Shapes" album and for personal reasons, also "We Can't Dance" (first "new" album I bought, some tracks are important for me etc).


    "Selling" is sometimes in my Top 3 as well, but all in all I like the band more after they have progressed a few years.

  • A mix in my case:


    Selling is my favorite when I look at all the albums and what they stand for.

    Wind & Wuthering is the album I probably like the most (personal touch)

    Duke is my favorite trio phase record.


    I also like Abacab and We Can't Dance

  • same thoughts here, although I have WCD in my Top 3 instead of SEBTP