Best Side One, Track One

I'll second that and add Magnificent Seven by the Clash.

I'd go with Temptation by the Tea Party.

Funny. That was my thought as I clicked on this thread.

But to be different, I'll go with "Only Shallow".

Maggot Brain

<img src="http://www.lyrics.com/f/funkadelic/maggot.brain.jpg" alt="" />

{spoken}
Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time
For y'all have knocked her up.
I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe
I was not offended
For I knew I had to rise above it all
Or drown in my own shit.

Excellent choice. Vive Eddie Hazel!

"Thunder Road," Born to Run

I must second "Thunder Road", followed closely by:

"Right in Time," Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
"Tangled Up In Blue," Blood on the Tracks
"Wouldn't It Be Nice," Pet Sounds
and "So What," Kind of Blue

- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, or Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles
- Yvanka by Imperial Teen
- Supervixen by Garbage

And I'll second Only Shallow by My Bloody Valentine.

Land of Sunshine

Come Together's not too shabby either.

And Them Bones from Alice In Chains' Dust is a fair raucous opener. Not classic by any means. But I like it.

Dammit, took my choice...

"Up The Beach" - Jane's Addiction
"Innuendo" - Queen
"Mouth For War" - Pantera
"Giving Up" - Donnie Hathaway
"Mysterons" - Portishead
"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Black Sabbath
"Out of the Silent Planet" - King's X
"Sleep on the Left Side" - Cornershop
"Birds of Fire" - Mahavishnu Orchestra
"Life in a Nutshell" - The Bears
"Indian love Song" - Dirty Three
"Inhale" - Big Wreck
"The Chad Who Loved Me" - Mansun
"Mojo Pin" - Jeff Buckley
"My Philosophy" - Boogie Down Productions

Wish I could get some more hip-hop on here, but track one on 90 percent of the great hip-hop records out there is a stupid intro...

I wouldn't say it's the absolute best, but I always think of 2nd Hand News off Fleetwood Mac's Rumors when this question is brought up.

True, but how about "Peter Piper?" I love the way it just starts with high-speed tongue-twister rapping right out of the gate.

"Sunday Bloody Sunday"- U2, War (This is my number one, this wasn't just a song, but an anouncement that U2 was here)

Some other great ones:
"Wouldn't it Be Nice"- Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
"Come Together"- Beatles, Abbey Road

If you have a great side one, track one, doesn't that set up the rest of the album to be a disappointment? wink

My favorites:

"See No Evil" - Television
"Only Shallow" - My Bloody Valentine (Good choice Mr. Beaks)
"A Life of Possibilities" - Dismemberment Plan
"Seneca" - Tortoise
"My Name Is Jonas" - Weezer
"Angel" - Massive Attack
"Summer Babe" - Pavement
"I Wanna Be Adored" - The Stone Roses

"My Name is Jonas" -- Weezer
"Devil's Haircut" -- Beck
"Sunday Morning" -- Velvet Underground
"Blitzkrieg Bop" -- The Ramones

Great calls on "Land of Sunshine" and "Mouth For War". I just thought of some others.....

"Mass Romantic" - The New Pornographers
"Follow the Leader" - Eric B. & Rakim
"It Won't Be Long" - The Beatles
"Accidents Will Happen" - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
"Party & Bullshit" - The Notorious B.I.G.

And let's not forget what really is probably the best side one, track one: "Let's Go Crazy", by Prince.

My Name is Jonas
Sgt. Pepper
Tired of Sex

Teenage Riot
The Wagon
Feel Good Hit Of The Summer
Regular John
Rusty Cage
Silence Kit
Summer Babe (Winter Version)
Randy Described Eternity

And for the metalhead in all of us...

Welcome To The Jungle
Communication Breakdown
Back In The Saddle
Livewire

Well, now we can't because you did. Bastard.

I was gonna, but I couldn't remember what the last one was.

Fucking YES.

...but "Debaser" still wins.

Now that's only because my copy of The Clash is the U.S. version with "Clash City Rockers" first. A good opening, but "Janie Jones" is way better.

Great, great, great calls on "Up the Beach," "Mass Romantic," and many others.

Elvis Costello - "No Action"
Patti Smith - "Gloria"

I was gonna mention Janie Jones but I didn't want it to seem like I was ripping off High Fidelity.

"How 'bout...fucking Beethoven?! Track one side one of the fifth symphony!"

"Head Like a Hole"- NIN, Pretty Hate Machine
"Alison"-Slowdive, Souvlaki
"The Grudge"-Tool, Lateralus
"Love In Vein"-Skinny Puppy, Last Rights

And now for a choice that could very well get me flamed-
"Great Big White World"-Marilyn Manson, Mechanical Animals

'Knowledge' - Operation Ivy Energy
'Suite Pea' - System Of A Down self titled
'Original Me' - All Breaking Things
'Kill The Poor' - Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

"A Hard Day's Night" The Beatles A Hard Day's Night
"Run's House" RUN DMC Tougher Than Leather
"Return of the Grievous Angel" Gram Parsons Grievous Angel
"Statesboro Blues" Allman Brothers Fillmore East
"It's Funky Enough" The D.O.C. No One Can do It Better
"So What Cha Sayin'" EPMD Unfinished Business
"Search and Destroy" The Stooges Raw Power
"Mother" John Lennon Plastic Ono Band
"Rusty Cage" Soundgarden Badmotorfinger
"Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" Waylon Jennings Dreaming My Dreams
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" Dylan Bringing It All Back Home
"Paint It Black" The Rolling Stones Aftermath
"Detroit Rock City" Kiss Destroyer

'Tom Sawyer' - Rush, from 'Moving Pictures'
'On the Loose' - Saga, from 'Worlds Apart'
'Brighton Rock' - Queen, from 'Sheer Heart Attack'
'Surfing with the Alien' - Joe Satriani, from 'Surfing with the Alien'

WORST:
'Mustapha' - Queen, from 'Jazz'. It's an interesting song, but a terrible way to start off a rock album. 'Let Me Entertain You' SHOULD have been track 1, side 1.

God, this is so weird. I was actually thinking about this thread last week.

I've decided that my all-time favorite is "Detroit Rock City." The way the guitar part at the beginning builds, like it's rushing toward you from the distance, then explodes when it gets up to you. Great way to start an album.

"Army of Me" - Bjork, Post
"Sweetness & Light" - Lush, Gala
"Cherub Rock" - Smashing Pumpkins, Siamese Dream

"I Ain't No Joke" Eric B. & Rakim Paid In Full
'Dance To The Music" Sly & The Family Stone Dance To The Music
'Psychedelic Shack" The Temptations Psychedelic Shack
"Red Hot Mama" Funkadelic Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On
"Down On The Corner" Creedence Clearwater Revival Willie and the Poor Boys
"Whiskey River" Willie Nelson Willie & The Family Live
"How Ya Like Me Now" Kool Moe Dee How Ya Like Me Now

Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones
Sail On Sailor - Beach Boys
Band On The Run - Wings

♥

"Everything in its Right Place" - Radiohead, Kid A
It's something about the time signature, I think, that gives off this calming effect and says, "This is gonna be weird, but you're in good hands, gentle listener." I wish I knew more about music so I could explain it better.

"23" - Blonde Redhead, 23
Makes the rest of the album look bad, which is unfortunate because there's some interesting stuff in there, especially near the end. But yeah, nowhere near the quality of the title track.

"It Was Supposed to be So Easy" - The Streets, A Grand Don't Come for Free
Okay, I'm sure some of you hate this song, and this album, but that's only because you're wrong. Yeah, the style is weird and (possibly) intentionally annoying at times. Yeah, it's a silly concept album about a shoebox full of money. It's also great, layered, and continues to reveal new details and connections well into the 100th listen.

The lyrics of this particular song remind of Shaun of the Dead's first act. Guy tries to accomplish some quotidian tasks and fails miserably through every fault of his own. But it's funny, and it makes you love the guy. Skinner's writing squeezes out some amusing rhymes, latches onto cute details, and by the end of the track, sets up the album's central conflict. You hear "It Was Supposed to be So Easy" and you know our protagonist is in for a long day, for which he's not prepared.

6'1'' (from Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville)
Hanging on the Telephone (from Blondie's Parallel Lines)
Middle of the Road (from The Pretenders' Learning to Crawl)
Let's Go Crazy (from Prince's Purple Rain)
Radio Free Europe (from R.E.M.'s Murmur)
Mr. Self Destruct (from NIN's The Downward Spiral)
Rocks Off (from The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St.)
Changes (from David Bowie's Hunky Dory)
Seven Nation Army (from The White Stripes' Elephant)
Highway Star (from Deep Purple's Machine Head)

"Welcome to the Working Week" - Elvis Costello (My Aim Is True)
"We Are Sober" - A Wonderful (Uncorked Understandings)
"Little Child Running Wild" - Curtis Mayfield (Superfly)
"Needle In the Hay" - Elliot Smith (Elliot Smith)
"Untitled" - Interpol (Turn On the Bright Lights)
Atrocity Exhibition - Joy Division (Closer)
Suzanne - Leonard Cohen (Songs of Leonard Cohen)
Avalanche - Leonard Cohen (Songs of Love and Hate)
Noche Del Guajolote - The Mountain Goats (Bitter Melon Farm)

I've always liked "Beyond Belief" on Imperial Bedroom.

Since Only Shallow, Teen Age Riot and Debaser were mentioned... ooh, six years ago - I'll add:

Just Like Honey - Jesus & Mary Chain, Psychocandy (see also: "Reverence" on Honey's Dead)
The Classical - The Fall, The Hex Enducation Hour
Schizophrenia - Sonic Youth, Sister

and for a change of pace:

Bring Da Ruckus - Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the 36 Chambers
You're Gonna Get Yours - Public Enemy, Yo! Bum Rush The Show

So ya
Thought ya
Might like to
Go to the show...

In the Flesh? - Pink Floyd The Wall.

"Stuck Between Stations," The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America

Top 10, with a few rules to help me get it down: no various artists compilations, no live albums or greatest hits collections (obviously, an exception if its a live album of new songs like Kick Out the Jams), no EP's, no local bands that nobody's heard of, and conversely no really, really, really obvious picks like "Sympathy for the Devil" or "Black Dog".

KISS - Detroit Rock City (see above)

REM - Feeling Gravity's Pull (three notes appear out of nowhere, and gradually resolve themselves into a song. It's such a unique tune, I've never heard anything quite like it. Plus, it's a song about falling asleep (at least that's how I read it), so you can imagine that everything after it on the album is part of a dream.)

The Cramps - TV Set (They always have a B-Movie theme running through their songs, so the jungle voodoo drums at the beginning seem like an appropriate way to start things off.)

Alice Cooper - School's Out (For a kick-down-the-door, hard rock, we're-fucking-HERE-motherfucker! opening, you can't really get much better than this.)

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (sometimes it's better to start out slow)

Black Sabbath - War Pigs (This is gonna sound very adolescent metal head, but the opening is so cinematic. From almost the first time I heard it, I've always imagined a camera doing a slow pan across a battlefield littered with burning corpses.)

Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning (The way that little music box tune blossoms into this full ballad, and just the strangeness of the decision to make THIS the song they were gonna introduce themselves to the world with. And the fact that on repeat listens, it turns out to be as dark and paranoid as anything else on the record ("Watch out, the world's behind you").)

Beastie Boys - Sure Shot (Tough decision between this and "Rhymin' and Stealin'", but "Sure Shot" always gets my blood pumpin'.)

Butthole Surfers - Sweatloaf (pretty self-explanatory)

Metallica - Fight Fire With Fire (fuck yeah!)

Ramones - Do You Remember Rock n Roll Radio? (wait, is that 11?)

A few others:

'Hell's Bells' - AC/DC, from 'Back in Black' (pretty obvious, actually)
'Aces High' - Iron Maiden, from 'Powerslave'
'Black Blade' - Blue Oyster Cult, from 'Cultasaurus Erectus'
'Egyptian Danza' - Al Di Meola, from 'Casino'
'The Leper Affinity' - Opeth, from 'Blackwater Park'

One of my all-time fave openers that I didn't mention: Halfway Home from Tv on the Radio's Dear Science

It's like a bulldozer hitting all of your senses in one full swoop, having little time to react.

"Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" - Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here
"Next To You" - The Police, Outlandos d'Amour