Tough question...

EVOL
Bad Moon Rising
Sister
Confusion
NYC Ghosts and Flowers.

I'm probably gonna get shot for saying this but I never really got the mad Daydream Nation love. I like that album, but no way is it one of my favourites....

1. Daydream Nation
2. EVOL
3. Sister
4. Bad Moon Rising
5. Confusion Is Sex EP

Daydream Nation
Sister
Bad Moon Rising
EVOL
Confusion is Sex

*gestures agreement*

1. sister
2. daydream nation
3. murray street
4. a thousand leaves
5. washing machine

h.m: bad moon rising

i am really not trying to be rude but i can not listen to any of them all the way through anymore maybe it's my old age

HOW dare you disrespect my fav band like that. SO RUDE.

well FUCk YOU.

1. Sister
2. EVOL
3. a Thousand Leaves
4. Washing Machine
5. Murray Street

Chronologically, it's...

Bad Moon Rising
Sister
Daydream Nation
A Thousand Leaves
Murray Street

As far as personal favorites go, it changes constantly, but I suppose at the moment its...

1. Sister
2. Daydream Nation
3. Bad Moon Rising (usually #1)
4. A Thousand Leaves
5. Murray Street.

cant pick a top 5, sorry.

Murray Street
NYC Ghosts and Flowers
Washing Machine
A Thousand Leaves
Bad Moon Rising

Yes...so I think I've managed to compile my top 5 list.


it is as follows...


1 EVOL
2 A Thousand Leaves
3 Sonic Nurse
3 Daydream Nation
3 Murray Street



Murray Street is constantly swtiched with washing Machin...e

Sister
Murray Street
Dirty
Evol
Bad Moon Rising

but I'm always changing my mind...

bad moon rising
sister
DDN
goo
evol

those are probably my most listened to, but besides the first two im not sure about favorites. i havent listened to WM and ATL in a while for example.

EVOL (all time #1)
Washing Machine (all time #2)

the others thend to change. Now it's:

Murray Street
Bad Moon Rising
A Thousand Leaves

1. EVOL
2. Daydream Nation
3. Confusion is sex + kill yr idols
4. Sister
5. Bad Moon Rising + flower etc

I've decided

1. EVOL
2. Daydream Nation
3. Bad Moon Rising
4. Confusion is Sex
5. Sister

if it matters (it doesn't) my next two would be Sonic Nurse and Murray Street

Sister
Sonic Nurse
Bad Moon Rising
Goo
Washing Machine

Sister
Confusion
Badmoon
Washing machine
EVOL

EVOL
Sister
Daydream Nation
Goo
Dirty

I ordered these in the order of release on purpose for a few reasons: Sister is my personal favorite but it is not their best. Whether it's your favorite, not your favorite, or didn't even make your top five, Daydream IS their best album. Dirty is not as good of an album as the four that preceded it but it is still fucking amazing. My two favorite Sonic Youth songs ever are Theressa's Sound-World and Wish Fulfillment.

Sister
Sonic Nurse
Washing Machine
Rather Ripped
Daydream Nation

That's the most concrete list I seem to have.

~Jeremy~

Though I agree that Daydream is definitive, I think that Murray Street is equally brilliant. It is every bit as seamless and perfect. As good an album for the band SY became in their later era as DN was for the SY of the '80s.

Neither album is my personal favorite, but they are two sides of the same coin.

I really wanted to include Murray Street and Sonic Nurse as part of my top five because I love those albums to death, but I just couldn't. I really feel that between '86 and '92... they reached a level of greatness that cannot be matched ever again. And the majority of the reason for that is just the time period. Just with music in general I have a hard time listening to anything past '93. I make exceptions of course but not many.

When I was waiting in line to see Lee at Other Music on the 20th of March, I was talking about why I loved those five Sonic Youth albums and my friend said to me "You gotta include BMR." And I just always say no because I feel that Thurston and Kim's songwriting on that album (and Confusion) pales in comparison to EVOL, Sister, and Daydream. I do love BMR and Confusion though.

I just mean that Murray Street was as beautiful and perfect a representation of their music in 2002 as Daydream was in '88. Neither is my favorite, but I can't deny that those two albums are the true peaks of the band's career.

Some will say Washing Machine was one as well-- that on it the band (finally) put together an accurate representation of what they wanted to be in the '90s. And while I think that's true, I see WM as a lead-up to A Thousand Leaves.

Nurse, though great, will never make a list of mine, because I believe "Dude Ranch Nurse" should have been a b-side. It would have been a fun track on Destroyed Room, but on Nurse it just serves to interrupt and confound. Funnily enough it was my favorite track when I first heard the album. Now I skip it every time.

I think Sonic greatness has never fallen, it has just become mature in the 2000-decade when they´ve got older. And if they will split, I am of course sad because my favourite band will split, but glad about that they´ve never made any lousy record.

I never said that their greatness fell, they've always been great and always will be. It is just that their absolute strongest period, I feel, was between 1986 and 1992. It doesn't really have anything to do with them, they did nothing wrong. It is just the time period. Music in general just went downhill in 1994. Though I do love Experimental Jet Set, it was a big step down from Dirty.

My list...

1. Daydream Nation
2. Sister
3. Dirty
4. EVOL
5. Washing Machine

Honorable Mention: Murray Street

I was also very disappointed to Experimental at first when I heard it after Dirty. But after that came Washing Machine and I immeadiately knew I got my old great band back. And same experience has been after ATL, Murray Street, Nurse, Rather Ripped and Eternal. About general music downhill going I think it happened already in the middle of seventies. But there have been some very great albums also in 2000-decade (like those SY-records).

Changes all the time but right now:

Confusion is Sex
Sister
Bad Moon Rising
Evol
Daydream Nation

1. experimental, jet set, trash and no star
2. a thousand leaves
3. Goo
4. sonic nurse
5. the eternal

1. Daydream Nation
2. The Eternal
3. Sister
4. EVOL
5. Murray Street

Daydream Nation
EVOL
Bad Moon Rising
Sister
The Eternal

Sonic Nurse.
Sister.
Dirty.
Evol.
Bad Moon Rising.

A Thousand Leaves --this album is just untouchable once you GET it
Sister -- just rocks!
Bad Moon Rising --i think this defined the SY sound more than any other record
Sonic Nurse --beautiful production and i love the 3 guitars + JIM :)
NYC Ghosts --yeah, i went there

Yeah. People who say NYC Ghosts + Flowers are pretty ballsy.


butt fuck it, more power to 'em.

a thousand leaves
confusion is sex/ kill yr idols
bad moon rising
sister
nyc ghost & flowers

Daydream Nation
Bad Moon Rising
Evol
Sister
Murray Street