Weekly Poll: Favorite Anberlin Album • Page 2

This

 

It was a decent debut. Vital, Cities, Lowborn, and NTFP are all fantastic albums with very little that I don't love, and DITW and New Surrender both have some duds but also have songs that hit much higher for me than anything on Blueprints. It's just outclassed by everything that came after, even though it's not bad!

 

Vitals and cities are the clear top 2 but I think their discog belongs up there with the scene GOATs. Lowborn and Dark each kick ass too.

I think it’s underrated even as a debut but I think the rest off the albums each do something else well enough that it’s likely another record does what one might like about blueprints better. Glass to the Arson and Cadence are 2 of my favorites too though for what it’s worth.

 

Cities followed closely by Vital

 

I think Naive Orleans is the best song on that album...

 

Cities got me into the band and remained by favorite. Then I bought New Surrender which I still listened to but didn't enjoy as much. After that nothing ever clicked with me the same but I did still buy the albums.

 

Cities

 

NTFP
Cities
Dark
Vitals
Lowborn
New Surrender
Blueprint

 

Off the top of my head the top 5 for me are Cold War, Glass, love song, cadence, naive. All top tier anberlin songs, even love song haha

 

Cities is so great. Vital is underrated.

 

I listened to Devotion today and I wish I could have made the track list for Vital because this would make it my easy #1 over even Cities:

Self-Starter
Little Tyrants
Other Side
City Electric
Someone Anyone
Unstable
Desires
Type Three
Orpheum
Safe Here
Modern Age

Basically just cut the middle and replace it with the best bonus tracks

 

Was going to say I prefer Devotion to Vital cause I'm a sucker for extended/bonus tracks and albums.

 

Cities
Never Take Friendship Personal
Devotion
Dark Is The Way
Lowborn
New Surrender
Blueprints
I'll just throw Lost Songs down here

 

I specifically like how that one scatters the bonus tracks within the album as opposed to bunching them up at the end of the album

 

Same, they actually put some thought and effort into it.

 

Cities will, and should, dominate this poll. New Surrender is easily their worst album imo.

 

We need a poll asking what is your second favorite album after Cities

 

I was thinking the same thing. Haha

 

I don't think it's bad, I think it's great for 2003 because it is certainly a product of its time. You can hear the band they were going to become on that record, all of the elements are there. However, when you compare it to their later work, from Cities on there really is no comparison in quality and it's like @disambigujason said, they really cement themselves as GOAT's and I would say it's Cities on that does that.

 

Lowborn and Blueprints both occupy the same territory in that they’re essentially just a collection of songs (albeit some very good ones) — it’s actually kind of fitting that they serve as endcaps to the discography that way. Everything in between is way more cohesive (except for New Surrender). Cities will always get the crown because the album has not a single low point or lull, and is just so damn fully-realized, but there’s fierce competition for the runner-up slot. For me, NTFP only barely edges out Vital, with Dark is the Way hot on their heels.

 

I completely agree with this, I love how most of their albums always seem to feel like a progression in that way. As you listen through albums like Cities and Vital they really evolve, they're actually one of those bands I have trouble picking and choosing songs from to just listen to casually (besides the albums you listed, and New Surrender probably...) because albums like Cities really feel the best when all together. Their ability to write albums that feel like fleshed out, and to borrow your phrase because I like it, fully-realized works are one of the reasons they're my favorite bands but whose absence I deeply feel; an album doesn't have to be a story or feel glued together from beginning to end for me to like it, but Anberlin gets to stand out in my head when I think of my personal favorites because of the brilliance of their songwriting in that regard.

 

For now...

 

Gonna be that guy...poll says "Vitals" but the album is called "Vital"

Also Cities is their best album

 

I think I've messed up the title of one album in every single poll.

 

@Jason Tate heard that.