Best band never to release a truly great album?

Zaikesman, your point is taken! FWIW, I have seen the Stones live and ultimately I'd be hard pressed to think of any other group that DOES have 25 good songs over their careers - a record to be proud of. I have owned many Stones albums and CD's over the years but now I only have Goats Head Soup and (you guessed it) Hot Rocks.

For some reason, The Doors come to mind. I really DO like the band but i just don't think that any of their albums are real cohesive or flow quite as well as they should. To me, they are one of those bands that work better in small doses rather than album length. Know what i mean ?

Zaikesman, how can you NOT consider "Young, Loud & Snotty" by The Dead Boys a "messterpiece" ??? The production was as raw and energetic as the performance. I don't think that Stiv would have had it any other way. Their second album ( We Have Come For Your Children ) was WAY over-produced, losing the rough edge that we all know they had.

For the "record" though, i think that you've got great taste in what i like to call "gutter rock" : ) From one "gutter dweller" to another, be on the look-out for a disc entitled "I Only Wrote This Song For You" / A Tribute To Johnny Thunders. It's on a label out of England called ESS and the catalogue number is ESS CD 223. Believe me, you'll like it. The line-up includes, but is not limited to, David Johansen, Arthur "Killer" Kane, Sylvain Sylvain, Wayne Kramer, Michael Monroe, Walter Lure, The Ramones, Willy Deville and even Los Lobos !!! Wayne / Jayne County even makes a guest appearance on one tune. Well worth a listen if you like "dirt bag rock & roll" : ) Sean
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Broke down and spent a couple hundred to see them play the local arena on the "No Security" tour a few years ago. We sat in the nosebleed-seats, snickered at the satin tour jackets selling for the same amount as both our tickets, endured The Corrs as an opening act, and tried not to take Mick's schtick too seriously. The band seemed to play fine, but the sound was predictably atrocious by the time it reached our ears. The whole proceeding seemed very cold and businesslike. In the end my reaction to finally having seen one of my favorite bands ever, a touchstone for my own musical leanings as a player - and a group that I see as really the progenitors of a hell of a lot about the rock & roll era that has defined the style and substance of what I and my generation find motivating about the form itself - was one of having had my wallet very professionally lightened. Talk about no satisfaction... This was my first and last arena show since the mid-80's, and from now on it's strictly the clubs for me, where I've always gone to find succor. When I need Keith and Brian and Charlie and Bill, and yeah, even Mick, well, that's what my system and collection are for. (For Ronnie, better listen to Rod and The Faces, though...)

Oops.... I was talking good albums... Sorry

Although my previous lack of enthusiasm for the Doors as "The Greatest American Band" was met by disagreement, I would include them in this list. And I still think the Yardbirds are an equal contender. The UK "Yardbirds" lp aka "Roger The Engineer" is basically a compilation of stuff, not an example of a thought out album by the band. Most of the other nominees on this thread have had great albums in my opinion; Tull - Aqualung, Stones - Sticky Fingers or Exile, etc...

Roy Buchanan, Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, and many others have some great albums front to back, but I don't think they ever expected 100% public approval, or hit after hit. Hell, I love every thing Tom Waits has released, Beefheart, or King Crimson, but I don't think they are sitting around waiting for the awards to flow in. Still, I think the Yardbirds win this one. Tom