Sophomore Slump? The best 2nd albums of all time


Some pretentious wanker once said that you have your whole life to write your first album, and six months to write the second. Certainly, there are many examples of brilliant first efforts that were followed by total duds. Fortunately, it sometimes works the other way. Some bands manage to put out second albums that make the first seem like a rough draft. The second album comes, well, closer to that to which the first aspired.

Joy Division: Closer
Released in July 1980, it is easily the best rock album of that lamentable decade. Closer improved upon Joy Division’s excellent first album; and, unfortunately, inspired countless incompetent imitations.

Ramones: Leave Home
This wasn’t the epochal event that their first album was, but I like the production better on this one. There’s not a bad track on here. This is everything that hard rock album should be.

Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure
I love this record. In fact, everybody can love this record. It doesn’t matter if you are a highly educated onetime punk rocker who spent his youth engaged in bloody fist fights against gangs of Nazi skinheads outside of Black Flag gigs, or if you are a pathetic baseball cap wearing whitebread prog rock loser who spent his youth holding up a lighter at concerts by such luminaries as Gentle Giant. Nope, it doesn’t matter.
tweakgeek
Glad to see this thread pop back up from 2004. Was not aware of it. Very much agree with those nominating "The Wild, The Innocent...". I'm listening to "The Bends" right now. Didn't realize it was a sophomore release. Just getting into Radiohead over the last few months. I'd like to add The Band's self-titled "brown" album to the list.
Tweekgeek,
You really blew my mind. Before I even finished reading your thread, I was thinking of Roxy Music's second, "For Your Pleasure". The first was a never to be forgotten masterpiece that I treasure and still listen to, but the follow up was all that and more.
Along the same lines I would have to mention the Cars. Loved the first album, but Candy O was even better.
lots of good picks above, but the ones that really register as showing the most evolutionary growth from the debut are nirvana/nevermind, meat puppets II and van morrison/astral weeks.
Neutral Milk Hotel, Oasis, Nirvana, Jane's Addiction, Ray Charles, Al Green, The Doors, The Pretenders, Jackson Browne, Steely Dan, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, REM, Daft Punk, AIR, The Faces