One hit wonders with good albums?

Submitted by StArsenkov t3_10pgj7l in Music

There was a thread the other day about Ace of Base, who were labeled as a one-hit-wonders with 3 hits, so that made me think, are there any one hit wonders who actually made good albums and deserve to be given a listen?

The first band which comes to mind is The Ting Tings, their Shut Up And Let Me Go was a huge hit, but that entire album was playing in my car for a good few months.

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DevinBelow t1_j6kau01 wrote

People call Blind Melon a one hit wonder, though they had few hits here in Canada. Regardless, they have two incredible studio albums and one awesome posthumous collection of rarities (RIP Shannon). I'd say their first self-titled album is an 8/10 and their second is a 9/10, though I'd happily call both a 10 certain days of the week.

A great example I recently learned of was Bobby Charles, who wrote the hit song "See You Later Alligator", which is where that expression comes from, in the 1950's, and it was made famous by Bill Haley. But Bobby has an amazing album from 1972 just called Bobby Charles that is produced by Rick Danko (The Band) and features Dr John on keyboards, and (I'm 90% sure) all of the Band on other instruments throughout, which they weren't allowed to publicize because of record label stuff. But you can clearly hear Robbie's guitar, and Garth's organ and accordian in a few of the songs.

Anyway, that self-titled Bobby Charles album is one of the best and most underrated albums of the 70's, or any decade, and no one even knows his name because his one hit wasn't even made famous by him.

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chimchooree t1_j6kejqr wrote

The Cardigans have a great discography.

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-Great-Scott- t1_j6kfubn wrote

Marcy Playground had a hit with Sex and Candy. That song is terrible but the rest of the album is fantastic.

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Peter_Easter t1_j6kppah wrote

Alien Ant Farm. They have way more good stuff than just that Michael Jackson cover. Faith No More is also a killer band that's mostly known for one hit song.

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IAmThePonch t1_j6kwhi7 wrote

Dead Sara. They realistically have had maybe two hits but their work is consistently excellent.

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FairUnion275 t1_j6kwjwg wrote

The New Radicals, “Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too

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Acceptable-Fold-3192 t1_j6l22l4 wrote

Semisonic are mainly known for “Closing Time” but I loved their first two albums (Great Divide and Feeling Strangely Fine) from start to finish.

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uSeeSizeThatChicken t1_j6l2ozm wrote

Replying to FairUnion275 (#1,637,846)

Amazing album. A must listen for anyone who likes alternative rock or pop. Their hit song EVERYONE has heard.

"Technicolor lover" and "I hope I didn't just give away the ending" (a crazy cocaine song) are every bit as good as "You Get what you Give."

They were well on their way to being huge. The lead singer/guy behind the band just quit. He hated performing but continued to make music all these years. And they reformed for Joe Biden's inauguration.

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uSeeSizeThatChicken t1_j6l4189 wrote

The Verve are a 90s English rock band who are best described as shoe gaze. Not the style of rock played on American radio stations. But they had an all time gigantic hit that is still played on radio all the time, "Bittersweet Symphony."

Anywhoo... That song is on the album "Urban Hymns" which is a fantastic (at least 9/10) album with more than a few huge bangers. If you like Blind Melon I think you'd like The Verve's Urban Hymns. Their other albums are more shoegazey.

10/10 songs on Urban Hymns: Bittersweet Symphony, Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work, Space and Time, Lucky Man, and Velvet Morning.

There are also a few 8/10 songs on the album I did not include.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lhb7TClYkdAzbj5fTO6SlFcYhHzBGsuns

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Sigurlion t1_j6lk8fy wrote

Spin Doctors. They technically had two hits, but I digress. Spin Doctors were a fucking jam.

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melpec t1_j6lkb3r wrote

Downvote all you want but I’ve always really liked Bigger, Better, Faster, More by 4 Non Blondes.

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Sigurlion t1_j6lmgyi wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,645,345)

Oh I'm aware I'm in my mid 40s. I was a big fan of FoW since the beginning. Also I thought "Sink To The Bottom" was just as big, if not bigger, than "Radiation Vibe".

Edit: I looked it up. You were right, radiation vibe went to number 32 and sink to the bottom went to number 42.

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1nternetP3rson t1_j6mnm3n wrote

people consider jimmy eat world a one hit wonder because of the middle, but as far as i know a few more of their songs were popular, but i’m counting them. Futures, Clarity, Bleed American, etc are all masterpieces

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NukeHand t1_j6n1l9t wrote

New Radicals - You Might Be Brainwashed Too

Everyone knew You Get What You Give but the rest of the album was really damn good. A shame he stopped making his own music and moved onto simply song writing.

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MikeHatSable t1_j6nopz4 wrote

Living Colour. Everybody remembers Cult of Personality, but their Vivid album is pretty solid. The cover of Talking Heads' "Memories Can't Wait" is a favorite of mine.

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Because_I_Cannot t1_j6nucf8 wrote

Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone? by Harvey Danger is still one of favorite albums. That's the one with Flagpole Sitta on it

And I feel really shitty calling them one-hit wonders, but Jimmy Eat World's only song to make the Billboard top 10 was The Middle, even though Bleed American is an awesome album, and they've made great music before and after

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Baldran t1_j6ody7d wrote

Wall of Voodoo. “Mexican Radio” is the one hit, but every single song on The Dark Continent and Call of the West absolutely slaps.

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Baldran t1_j6paj5b wrote

Replying to Baldran (#1,676,189)

Talk Talk is also a great example. “It’s My Life” is the song everyone knows, but the trilogy of The Colour of Spring, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock are a brilliant transition from New Wave into Post-Rock before it was really a thing. Those albums are amazing, Mark Hollis was a genius, listen to them now.

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