Board 8 > Rank the Albums Volume 3: Results

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1tj2zJ2Wvg

5. Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction (1987)
Win-Loss-Tie: 16-4-4 (Score: 18)
Average Rank: 10.5/25
Top Three Tracks: Welcome to the Jungle, Sweet Child O' Mine, Rocket Queen

Individual Rankings:
BlueCrystalTear: 1
Seanchan: 2
neonreaper: 3
Snake5555555555: 6
FoolFantastic: 12
HBJDubs: 12
Johnbobb: 12/23
Raetsel_Lapin: 13
VeryInsane: 18
MetalmindStats: 25

BlueCrystalTear: One of my favorite albums ever. Period. End of story. Every track is a banger and it's so fun every time.

Snake5555555555: God damn how is this shit so good?

Johnbobb: I'm really not a fan of hair metal in general, with only a few exceptions. Guns N Roses is absolutely one of those exceptions, and I'm really sad I didn't get in a track ranking for this.

Seanchan: Tremendous from start to finish. Theres the 3 big singles but even beyond that, theres not really a bad song here.

MetalmindStats: I guess Im just the outlier, because theres precious little I like here and lots I dont at all. Honestly, Appetite for Destruction repels me, and Ill leave it at that.

Weve got Metallica, Japanese Breakfast, Faith No More, and Linkin Park left.

Jubilee just kind of sneaking up there

its a great album

was surprised how much I liked FNM given its definitely been a while

My remarks on those 4 left are Awesome, Okay!!, Alright, and Bleh. Not necessarily in that order.

Aw, I was hoping the ranks today would stop at sixth so we could have a day to predict the top five, and admittedly also because updating our compatibility scores has proven pretty time-consuming. Speaking of which, I'll predict that the remaining albums rank as follows: Master of Puppets > Angel Dust > Jubilee > Hybrid Theory.

Also, this latest discussion is telling me that I'd either really like or really not like Bat Out of Hell, with zero in-between. Though I've realized I ought to walk back the tone of my Appetite for Destruction write-up, because I definitely didn't hate that album - I even kind of enjoyed Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child O' Mine - so sorry for my harshness there.

---

Outlier Scores as of Rank 5 (ranked according to average scores per ranking)
Johnbobb: 151.56 (from 20 rankings)
BlueCrystalTear: 159 (from 21 rankings)
Raetsel_Lapin: 158 (from 21 rankings)
MetalmindStats: 142 (from 21 rankings)
VeryInsane: 126 (from 21 rankings)
Seanchan: 121 (from 21 rankings)
HBJDubs: 119 (from 21 rankings)
Snake5555555555: 118 (from 21 rankings)
FoolFantastic: 117 (from 21 rankings)
neonreaper: 98 (from 21 rankings)

Clearly, some of us enjoyed the populist metal grouping (...well, Hybrid Theory is still in this) more than others.

You definitely need to give Bat out of Hell a listen! Its stupid and fun and ridiculous.

LiquidOshawott posted...

Theyre like a heavy metal version of Meat Loaf

I can see why it ranked high but it just felt too cheesy for me

Ohh, that would explain why I liked it during this ranking period... I was going through a metal phase when it was time to rank these & I have an unbelievable amount of nostalgia for Meat Loaf, so that sounds like a perfect recipe for an incredibly high score.

If the #1 album ends up being one of the two albums I didn't listen to I'm gonna be upset

Johnbobb posted...

If the #1 album ends up being one of the two albums I didn't listen to I'm gonna be upset

honestly Angel Dust may really be up your alley

although I asked for the extension for a reason! Should have pinged you about it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZfcZEIo6Bw

4. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee (2021)
Win-Loss-Tie: 19-4-1 (Score: 19.5)
Average Rank: 9.67/25
Top Three Tracks: Be Sweet, Paprika, Posing in Bondage

Individual Rankings:
VeryInsane: 2
FoolFantastic: 5
BlueCrystalTear: 6
Johnbobb: 9/23
Raetsel_Lapin: 10
Seanchan: 10
HBJDubs: 11
MetalmindStats: 11
Snake5555555555: 13
neonreaper: 19

BlueCrystalTear: This one was the surprise. Love some quality bubbly pop!

Snake5555555555: Be Sweet will never leave my head for as long as I live. Oh yeah, and the rest of the album is amazing too.

Johnbobb: Maybe this will go down over time but I am still currently so head over heels for the first two tracks

Seanchan: Another pleasant surprise of this cycle. I had no idea what to expect going in, and what I got was an eminently listenable piece of pop. I am to understand that the upbeat tone belies some of the more somber messages of the lyrics but Im practically lyric blind sometimes so I didnt quite catch that.

MetalmindStats: Jubilee has sumptuous soundscapes paired with sonorous singing enriched by strong songwriting, but it doesnt entirely stick with me. I find opener Paprika characteristic in that it would pretty much be the perfect Disney princess song if only it were catchier. Then again, I firmly believe pop should be under no obligation to foster hooks, and yet that feels more than a little like the missing piece here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4

3. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (2000)
Win-Loss-Tie: 19-2-3 (Score: 20.5)
Average Rank: 9.75/25
Top Three Tracks: In the End, Papercut, Points of Authority

Individual Rankings:
Snake5555555555: 2
HBJDubs: 4
Raetsel_Lapin: 5
neonreaper: 6
Johnbobb: 7
MetalmindStats: 7
VeryInsane: 13
Seanchan: 15
FoolFantastic: 17
BlueCrystalTear: 21

Snake5555555555: Im not sure I can point to a single other album that shaped my musical taste as much as this one. I can probably sing and mime the instruments of this album front to back without even listening to it. Its a part of me. And it still sounds SO good.

Johnbobb: Would've absolutely been a contender for #1 when I was in high school.

Seanchan: One of the albums I loved as a late teen that I was hesitant about going back to, because its such a product of its time period. Theres a lot of angst and emotion here that doesnt really hit the way that it used to (and why would it to a 30+ year old), but at the same time, I cant pretend that theres not some good stuff here. Or maybe its just hitting those nostalgia centers and making me think its better than it is.

MetalmindStats: Rather like Rumours for a new generation, Hybrid Theory makes the best out of its melding-of-the-popular-genres conceit via continually on-point production, catchy hooks juxtaposed against impressive instrumentals, and the intricately balanced interplay of its vocalists. Indeed, even the way Bennington and Shinoda distill the formers interpersonal troubles and turmoil comes off to me as a Hybrid Theory of its own, with often relatable results which all the repetition really works to reinforce. Again akin to Rumours, I find it flows just a bit better when not intently focused on, but these songs always seem to slip under my skin anyways.

LiquidOshawott posted...

honestly Angel Dust may really be up your alley

although I asked for the extension for a reason! Should have pinged you about it

Yeah unfortunately I still probably wouldn't have had time, at least not without missing the album for the current weeks

Wow I really like that Rumours comparison!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8b88US-6ts

2. Faith No More - Angel Dust (1992)
Win-Loss-Tie: 21-3-0 (Score: 21)
Average Rank: 9.33/25
Top Three Tracks: Midlife Crisis, Everything's Ruined, Land of Sunshine

Individual Rankings:
neonreaper: 1
VeryInsane: 1
HBJDubs: 5
FoolFantastic: 7
Raetsel_Lapin: 7
Snake5555555555: 8
BlueCrystalTear: 9
MetalmindStats: 22
Seanchan: 24

BlueCrystalTear: Would have been top 5 if not for a pair of tracks I really, really didn't like. But everything else was awesome.

Snake5555555555: ITS PERFECT, YES, ITS TRUE.

Seanchan: I just did not enjoy this album. Its hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that rubbed me the wrong way, I just know this was a chore to get through. I guess I kind of liked the cover of Easy, but its so tonally different from the rest of the album it hardly even counts, in my mind.

MetalmindStats: An eclectic album with a genuinely transgressive beating heart derived from its routinely subversive songwriting. Its an admirable approach, one which feels like it stands alone among the many metal(-adjacent) albums of this cycle, with all due respect to genre-defining Master of Puppets. Still, theres something melodically missing from a record I respect but am still not sure if I like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0ozmU9cJDg

1. Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
Win-Loss-Tie: 24-0-0 (Score: 24)
Average Rank: 7.04/25
Top Three Tracks: Master of Puppets, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Disposable Heroes

Individual Rankings:
Seanchan: 1
Snake5555555555: 1
FoolFantastic: 2
HBJDubs: 2
neonreaper: 4
Johnbobb: 5/23
MetalmindStats: 10
VeryInsane: 10
BlueCrystalTear: 11
Raetsel_Lapin: 24

BlueCrystalTear: Instrumentation alone. The kickass riffs. I still remember the majesty of "Orion" alone. A couple parts of screaminess, but I don't remember minding it as much after a few listens. There's a reason Metallica are leaders in their genre.

Snake5555555555: Ive said my piece on it. Its probably my favorite album of all time.

Johnbobb: This is the only album of this contest that I have on a t-shirt so I guess I'm kinda obligated to rank it in at least the top 10 huh

Seanchan: Quite possibly the definitive Metallica album. Certainly the one Ive gone back to the most over the years. But then again, after re-listening to this, I dove back into Ride the Lightning and And Justice for All andyeahthose are pretty damn good too! (Maybe even better???). Overall, just a juggernaut of an album.

MetalmindStats: The first two-thirds at times feels like the dictionary definition of the word awesome, chock full of crunchy riffs and catchy hooks alike in songs that usually succeed at being about something more than themselves. But Leper Messiah buries a bunch of that energy, never to be truly retrieved again, and so I like rather than love Master of Puppets as a whole.

Oh fuck yessssssssssss

very good and acceptable #1

That average rank gap is insane. I wonder what if any albums would beat Master of Puppets in this set-up - it feels like the perfect bridge between metal and non-metal fans.

FoolFantastic posted...

That average rank gap is insane. I wonder what if any albums would beat Master of Puppets in this set-up - it feels like the perfect bridge between metal and non-metal fans.

looking at the previous results, Fleetwood Mac's Rumous just barely beat it with an average rank of 7.0

Its a good choice, though honestly I prefer Ride the Lightning

I've always been a Kill 'Em All guy but that might be nostalgia talking

Master > Justice > Black > Ride > Garage > Kill > Hardwired > Load > DeathMag > ReLoad > Anger

Master, Justice & Black are all perfect to me. Ride is almost perfect but it has Escape so ehh, not a bad song but it's not exactly a classic either. Garage is actually my most listened to Metallica album funnily enough though with so many tracks on it they can't all be memorable. Kill's highs are fantastic but it suffers from filler, I'd say the same with Hardwired & Load. Death & Reload are very hit or miss and St. Anger, is well, St. Anger. I don't outright hate any Metallica album though.

Wow, Metallica didn't just win, they dominated!

Snake5555555555 posted...

Wow I really like that Rumours comparison!

Thank you! I truly surprised myself by taking that tack, and I was worried I would take some flak for it. Perhaps Hybrid Theory will even undergo a Rumours-like critical reevaluation to match its popular stature someday, though I think that would depend on the tastemakers ever warming to its genre mix and general songwriting approach.

In other news, I outright expected Master of Puppets to win from the start, and I doubt I was the only one. It's just too bad Raetsel loses out yet again as a result. Such a convincing victory is certainly impressive, but I'm even more impressed Rumours had a superior average ranking from two more rankers amidst a more contentious slate.

---

Final Outlier Scores (ranked according to average scores per ranking)
BlueCrystalTear: 196 (from 25 rankings)
Raetsel_Lapin: 194 (from 25 rankings)
MetalmindStats: 182 (from 25 rankings)
Johnbobb: 157.7 (from 23 rankings)
Seanchan: 162 (from 25 rankings)
VeryInsane: 147 (from 25 rankings)
FoolFantastic: 138 (from 25 rankings)
Snake5555555555: 134 (from 25 rankings)
HBJDubs: 131 (from 25 rankings)
neonreaper: 120 (from 25 rankings)

I recalculated Johnbobb's total using exact numbers to reset any possible accumulation of rounding error. ...Turns out it was way more than enough to put the rest of my math in question. Thus, I've recalculated everyone else's totals, too, and I even made a few more errors for good measure, ugh.

I'll try to update our compatibility scores later tonight and/or tomorrow, but for now, have some random top/bottom 5-related factoids:

• Albums with zero bottom 5 rankings: Damnation, Rubber Soul, Images and Words, and (fittingly) Jubilee. By comparison, Singularity topped that list with five such rankings.
• Albums with zero top 5 rankings: none! (It's Immaterial and No Need to Argue each just barely averted that fate.) Master of Puppets inevitably won the flipside, with a whopping six top 5 berths.
• Individual rankers' counts of top 5 albums in our overall top 5 ranged from three (HBJ and neon) on down to zero (myself).
• Individual rankers' bottom 5 berths for albums in our overall top 5 went to: Appetite for Destruction (myself), Hybrid Theory (BCT), Angel Dust (myself and Sean), and Master of Puppets (Raetsel).

For kicks, here's the list of albums ranked by raw median rank:

1. Master of Puppets (4.5)
2. Angel Dust (7)
3. Hybrid Theory (7)
4. Avenged Sevenfold (7)
5. Images and Words (9.5)
6. Jubilee (10)
7. So (10.5)
8. Third (11)
9. folklore (11)
10. Appetite for Destruction (12)
11. Rubber Soul (12)
12. Damnation (12)
13. Toxicity (12.5)
14. Hotel California (13.5)
15. Face Value (14.5)
16. Hawaii: Part II (15)
17. Forever Changes (15)
18. No Need to Argue (15)
19. Black on Both Sides (16)
20. Fear of the Dawn (16)
21. Elephant (16.5)
22. Enema of the State (17.5)
23. It's Immaterial (19)
24. Visual Audio Sensory Theater (19.5)
25. Singularity (19.5)

Snake5555555555 posted...

I don't outright hate any Metallica album though

Lulu

Johnbobb posted...

Lulu

Oh yeah, I guess I blocked that album from my memory!

Need to get this added to the wiki

I finally finished our compatibility scores: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rwCnoOWgY4Kb-D6h83qxvuSktyN4aav0yKup37QUbq8/edit?usp=sharing

Sorry this took me so long; I guess I get why others typically wait until rankings end before calculating these now, but I still should have done better.

At any rate, thank you to all of you who participated in Rank the Albums Volume 3, and especially to Fool for putting forth so much effort to compile, calculate, and post our cumulative rankings. I enjoyed participating and following along, and I hope as many of you as possible also did.

I've been working on this for the last few days, so I figured I'd share.

Volume 1: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-j_i512WgFHJz5tRCzppC-xP53SE-ckwZijkZ69R-V0/edit?usp=sharing
Volume 2: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14RdacTY25DlLSypOR4yqywgW-B6lFMzCFJ2cmh_b0pM/edit?usp=sharing
Volume 3: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iJCSVX0EGSL5PynjSosX2V2KCZ0WT2dpW_yfgMRi2WI/edit?usp=sharing

I was inspired by MetalmindStats, and wanted an easy way to figure out the ranking and compatibility, without needing to do a bunch of manual calculations. It should work for up to like 25 users and 100 albums without modification. Plus, it should work even when a user doesn't rank all the albums.

All I have to do is fill in the RawData sheet and the other sheets get computed automatically.

• The ComputedData sheet has the rankings using a simple average. The W-L-T thing might be a little bit too much for Sheets and my brain to handle, so I didn't attempt to figure that out.
• The Compatibility_1v1 sheet has dropdowns that let you pick 2 users and see their rankings, the differences (color coded so red=more, green=less), the total difference, and the average.
• The Compatibility_All sheet is kind of the same thing but showing all the users in one table. There's a dropdown to pick a user, and then you'll see their differences, total difference, and average difference versus every other user. Again, with color coding since I'm a visual person.

Hopefully this is of some interest to someone other than myself. I'm sure there's simpler/better ways to do some of this stuff but, well, I'm no Sheets expert!

If you notice any errors or have any comments (like, "oh god my eyes, the colors!") let me know.