Best lead off track....

[OUAndy1807]

My new favorite podcast (Sounds Opinions, a weekly public radio rock show that all you music nerds should check out) had an interesting topic: Best lead off song for an album.

Not just a great first song, but a great song that set the tone for a great album. Here's their list:

Greg

Aretha Franklin, “Think,” Aretha Now (http://wc05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:hbfixxydldke)
John Lennon – “Mother (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85rPsIEHkyU),” John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
The Orb - “Little Fluffy Clouds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fluffy_Clouds),” The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
Patti Smith – “Gloria (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mIsN2JHPds),” Horses
Neil Young – “Cinnamon Girl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_Girl_%28Neil_Young_song%29),” Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Jim

Beach Boys – “Wouldn’t It Be Nice (http://wc05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:dpfyxxydldae),” Pet Sounds
King Crimson – “21st Century Schizoid Man (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpX71RZeev4),” In the Court of the Crimson King
The Ramones – “Blitzkrieg Bop (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595937/blitzkrieg_bop),” The Ramones
N.W.A. – “Straight Outta Compton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_Outta_Compton_%28song%29),” Straight Outta Compton
Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit (http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/masterpiece/2002/04/15/teen_spirit/index.html),” Nevermind

Some listeners also share these song choices:
Van Morrison – “Wild Night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Night),” Tupelo Honey
Bjork – “Army of Me (http://www.director-file.com/gondry/bjork2.html),” Post
David Bowie – “Five Years (http://wc05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:dbftxb90ld0e),” Ziggy Stardust
The Flaming Lips – “Fight Test (http://www.flaminglips.com/content/discography/a/11_lyrics.php),” Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Some that I would add:
Linoleum- NOFX- Punk in Drublic
Alone Again or- Love- Everything Changes
King of Carrot Flowers- Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane over the sea
Baba O'reilly- The Who- Who's Next
Sympathy for the Devil- The Rolling Stones- Beggars Banquet
Gimme Shelter- The Rolling Stones- Let it bleed
My Name is Jonas- Weezer- Blue Album
Shine on you crazy diamond- Pink Floyd
Cherub Rock- Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream

My Winner:
5 years- David Bowie- Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (best album ever, no debate)

[JohnnyMack]

Straight outta Compton, crazy mother****er named Ice Cube.

[phead903]

Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 - Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde has to rank up there as well.

[sanantoniosooner]

Candle on the Water.........from "Pete's Dragon"

[OUAndy1807]

and seriously, music nerds, check out the Sound Opinions podcast. It's great.

[SoonerDood]

My Name Is Jonas- Weezer- Weezer

[Ruuuuuufus]

Black Dog - Led Zeppelin IV

honorable mention to Immigrant Song of Led Zeppelin III

[KC//CRIMSON]

In no order...

The Cure - One Hundred Years - Pornography
Van Halen - Mean Street - Fair Warning
Ozzy Ozbourne - Over The Mounain - Diary Of A Madman
Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock - Siamese Dream
The Pixies - Bone Machine - Surfer Rosa
ACDC - Hells Bells - Back In Black
The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter - Let It Bleed

Way too many others.....

[King Crimson]

down on the street: stooges--funhouse

sets the tone for the whole asskicking noise-a-thon record. possibly the greatest rock LP ever recorded. at the end, free jazz meets punk, LA Blues. it's Lester Bangs vision: free jazz and punk, together. de-commodified beautiful noise and not industry product.

i can mos def get behind Gimme Shelter...

is King of Carrot Flowers the first cut on Aeroplane? i only have it on a mp3 file a former student gave me...maybe the cuts are out of order? that's a great tune.

[goingoneight]

Best I can think of for recent times is "Find the Real" by Alter Bridge.

[King Crimson]

see no evil: Television--Marquee Moon

running with the devil: VH VH

beatles:

drive my car: rubber soul
help!: help!
taxman: revolver
back in the USSR: White LP
come together: Abbey Road

[silverwheels]

Even though I dislike U2 as a whole, "Where The Streets Have No Name" is a great opener.

"So What" from Kind of Blue if jazz counts

More recent favorites:

"When the Lights Go Out" by the Black Keys
"The Birth and Death of the Day" by Explosions in the Sky
"Frederica" by Do Make Say Think
"Neverevereverdid" by Architecture in Helsinki
"The Infanta" by the Decemberists
"First Wave Intact" by Secret Machines

[King Crimson]

i ain't the one: Leonard Skinnerd: pronounced.

[Jeopardude]

5 off the top of my brillo pad head

Teenage Riot - Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
Blister In The Sun, Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes
Excursions, A Tribe Called Quest. The Low End Theory
A Salty Salute, Guided By Voices, Alien Lanes
Randy Described Eternity, Built To Spill, Perfect From Now On

[soonerinabilene]

13 posts and no Enter Sandman from the black album? wtf people??

[King Crimson]

brian jonestown massacre: vacuum boots (take it from the man!)

[colleyvillesooner]

Okay. Top five side one track ones.
Number one... "Janie Jones," the
Clash, from The Clash.

BARRY
Ehh.

ROB
"Thunder Road," Bruce Springsteen,
from Born to Run. "Smells Like Teen
Spirit," Nirvana, Nevermind.

BARRY
Oh no, Rob, that's not obvious enough.
Not at all. Dick, did you hear that?

ROB
Shut up. "Let's Get It On," Marvin
Gaye, from Let's Get It On. "Airbag,"
Radiohead, from OK Computer.

BARRY
(sarcastic)
Ooh! A kind of recent record! Rob's
sly declaration of new classic-status
slipped into a list of old classics!
Nice! "Let's Get It On?" Couldn't
you make it more obvious than that?

BARRY
Rob! What about the Beatles? What
about the ****ing Rolling Stones?
What about ****ing... ****ing...
Beethoven? Track one side one of
the Fifth Symphony? You shouldn't
be allowed to run a record shop.

[crawfish]

Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road, Born to Run
Moody Blues - In the Beginning, On the Threshold of a Dream

Kudos on "Baba O'Reilly". Between that and "Won't Get Fooled Again", best intro/exit from an album.

[1stTimeCaller]

Biloxi - Jack Ingram, Hey You

[Mixer!]

Feels Like The First Time - Foreigner - Foreigner

Accidents Will Happen - Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Armed Forces

Hotel California - Eagles - Hotel California

More later.

[sanantoniosooner]

01 Hombre Religioso (Religous Man) Nacho Libre Soundtrack

[StuIsTheMan]

Pound Cake...For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge...Van Hagar

[I_SMELL_FEAR]

EZ Come EZ Go - Tesla - mechanical resonance. Not even one of the top 5 songs on the album, but it really set the pace for what was to follow. The drum/bass start that leads to the guitar wailing was a pretty nice start

Welcome to the Jungle - GnR - Appetite for destruction. explanation not needed.

Women - Def Lepard - Hysteria. After many years between albums, you didnt really know what you were going to get with the new stuff. Women is a good feel for how the album was going to sound.

Anywhere but Here - Ragweed - "Purple" album.

Bombtrack - RATM - RATM