I'm really curious about this. I read far more in here than I post, and I see alot of love for a couple of albums that I feel indifferent towards. My curiosity is aside from just plain opinion/taste........what are the reasons? I'm wondering if it is age.......and is that why maybe some of you discovered that particular album at that time?

If some of you would like to post your fave albums from PJ, and maybe post your age and explain if that was your first album you heard etc, it may make me understand it a bit better. Apreciated muchly Jammers.

Definitely think there are albums that are landmarks in your life that go with you, for me it was slint's 'spiderland' and pixies 'doolittle' when I was 14/15 but as you get older there are others. Vitalogy makes perfect sense to me somedays but on other days it'll be No Code.

With the result, personally I don't have an all time favourite record, and I have only a rough idea what, say my top 10 Pj tracks are..but you are correct, age does have a bearing on what your favourites are but also environmental exposure to music at different ages, but particularly when you are younger, also has a huge bearing, as in what bands your friends/brothers play for you.

Good topic.

I am 21 and first started listening to Pearl Jam in about 2001. First album was Ten which was an instant classic for me. I then consciously worked my way through the albums in order. Vs was reasonably straight forward, had trouble with Vitalogy and No Code at first, although now they are both in my top 3 or 4. Yield grew on me in a different way. I knew it was special the first time I heard it but it didn't back that up for me until a few more listens. Binaural and Riot Act also took work. I like them all in different ways for what they are. For that reason I find them hard to compare. Though overall my top 3 albums (may change from time to time) are probably Vitalogy, Vs. and S/T.

Same here, the top 3 is constantly in flux and is never solid, though I think that proves how brilliant Pjs music is..there's always something there for you in different days. Pearl jam are deadly

I turned 14 in 1999 and that is my favorite time period for Pearl Jam. Yield's my favorite album but Binaural could have been.

I was 18 when I first heard Ten in 1992 after being told I had to listen to it by an acquaintance that said it was the best band he had ever heard and kept pushing until I figured its number 2 on billboard so there must be something going on...I worked at a music/video rental store at the time so i bought the cassette at cost and listened to it on the way home...
I definitely liked it on first listen but it grew on me and after about a month I was looking for anything and everything Pearl Jam!
They helped me get through some pretty shitty times in my life mainly because of the deep emotional connection with Eddies lyrics and voice coupled with the amazing yet simple music...
My favorite albums fluctuate too but top 3 in no particular order
1-No Code
2-Vitalogy
3-Vs.
Ten will always have a special place in my heart since thats where my love for PJ began especially now with the awesome BOB remix but its not always in my top albums only because all of their albums are inexplicably amazing except S/T (still good but missing that inexplicable something the other albums have)
No other band has ever come close to affecting me the way PJ has and I doubt any ever will...

I Pearl Jam

I think we all digest our music in different ways, and listen for different reasons. I think there's too much personal shit going on with each individual at every age to comfortably say one age group listens for this reason, and another listens for that. On top of that, PJ are a band who have a broad range of material which satisifies on so many different levels - some people may like Riot Act for how it addresses a political situation, and another may like it because it features two Matt Cameron numbers. It's a really interesting question though, and I've thought about it a lot and still can't quite comprehend it all, it's tricky stuff.

As for how I got into PJ: I used to like Nirvana when I was about 14/15, and found PJ through seeing their name/pics in magazines. I got Ten and found it really easy to like at that age; big guitars, Eddie wailing his little heart out, and easier words to cling to than Nirvana. My second album was a few weeks later and it was Riot Act, the latest release at the time and it was just so different. I bought all the records inbetween, and eventually got tired of Ten/Vs and then the others grew on me. The more I invested into the band, the easier I found it to understand the music.

I never feel compelled to listen to the first couple of records anymore...I still like the songs, but their spark and energy is a little lost on me now - they got overplayed and lost their shine a little bit. From Vitalogy onwards the records seem to have a little more substance, and with age I feel like I'm more drawn to that. I'm definitely happy that the band evolved.

Age: 33
Started listening: 1992
Favorite album: Vitalogy
Least favorite: Riot Act
Zodiac sign: Aquarius
Spanked as a child: Yes

I'm 18(19 in a little over a month). got into the band around 11/12 years old, got my first album by them, Ten, Xmas 01, got Vs for my birthday the next July, got Cincinnati 00 Bootleg at Media Play sometime later that year, and got Riot Act for the next Xmas. Next album I picked up was Binaural, then I think it was Vitalogy, then No Code (although that order could be backwards), and then Yield (although I bought this one last, I had rented it from the library prior to getting either No Code or Vitalogy), over the course of the next two or so years (all the while listening to live material on the internet and buying a few official boots plus L@TG). First album I really experienced as it came out was the s/t. Anyway, my favorite albums by the band are Riot Act and Vitalogy. So make of that what you will.

i assume foxymophandlemama be yer favorite track, of course

lets get a poll...who was spanked as a child and their favorite album is Vitalogy...I bet we find a correlation

All great responses thus far, and I appreciate it. Great stuff.

Of course this one above is a winner.....to the point, AND still giving extra info all at the same time!

And yes....my favorite album is Vitalogy, and I too was spanked as a child. I try and have my wife help me relive those memories as much as possible, preferably while listening to "Satan's Bed".

Age: 23
Started listening: 1997 (before then it was only on the radio for me)
Favorite album: Yield
Least favorite album: s/t
Spanked as a child: with a wooden spoon

Age: 26
Started listening: 1993
Favourite album: Ten thru Yield, but Vs. if you hold a gun to my head.
Least favourite: S/T

Age: 18
Started listening: 1999
Favourite album: Binaural
Least favourite: S/T

Age: 31
Started listening:1991
Album rankings: Vitalogy*, Yield, Ten, No Code, S/T, VS, RA, Binaural


*not spanked as a child.

Age: 33
Started listening: 1992 (loved Ten but Vs was better for me)
Favourite album: No Code/Yield/Vitalogy..it's always changing
Least favourite: S/T by a million country miles.

Age: 33
Favorite album: Yield
Started listening: 1991
First Show: 1992

I recall hearing Ten for the first time and admittedly, the tune that hooked me was Evenflow. There are days where I wish I could hear that song for the first time again...I had never heard anything like it.

Ten always bugged me a little because of the production. It's so over the top and seemed very counter to the public face of this band and certainly to their live show which I have been VERY lucky enough to see almost all eras of their live show with the exception of the early days where the band was sill in flux.

When Vs. came out though that all went away. I was a freshman in college and I remember going to Record Swap and standing in line with my roommate. I had read everything I could find leading up to that and it didn't disappoint.

But no album hit me as hard as Yield. I feel like the band found this amazing place on that album. That more so that any of their other records they all collectively landed on the same plane. Really incredible to me.

I was in grad school when it came out...blew me away helped me make the decision to leave grad school in the rearview mirror. No pun intended...Best decision I ever made.

Yield, and I was spanked