Best Album Released On 9/11

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Inspired by recent discussion on the Bruce Springsteen thread.

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Bob Dylan, Love And Theft 20
The Microphones, The Glow Part 2 17
Jay-Z, The Blueprint 12
The Moldy Peaches, s/t 10
Beulah, The Coast Is Never Clear 10
Mariah Carey, Glitter 7
They Might Be Giants, Mink Car 5
Nick Lowe, The Convincer 3
Techno Animal, The Brotherhood Of The Bomb 2
Nickelback, Silver Side Up 1
Roland Orzabal, Tomcats Screaming Outside 1
Leftöver Crack, Mediocre Generica 1
Yesterdays New Quintet, Angles Without Edges 1
Slayer, God Hates Us All 1
Toilet Böys, s/t 1
Dream Theater, Live: Scenes From New York 1
Ben Folds, Rockin' The Suburbs 1
Noir Désir, Des Visages Des Figures 1
P.O.D., Satellite 0
Michael W. Smith, Worship 0
Professor Griff, And The Word Became Flesh 0
Boz Scaggs, Dig 0
Soil, Scars 0
No Use For A Name, Live In A Dive 0
Babyface, Face 2 Face 0
Biohazard, Uncivilization 0
Fabolous, Ghetto Fabolous 0
Stone Gossard, Bayleaf 0
John Hartford, Hamilton Ironworks 0
John Hiatt, The Tiki Bar Is Open 0
Lennon, 5:30 Saturday Morning 0
Long Beach Dub Allstars, Wonders Of The World 0
Damian Marley, Halfway Tree 0
Akercocke, The Goat Of Mendes 0


Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Monday, 23 June 2025 15:45 (three months ago)

Beulah, Professor Griff and Slayer were winning the 'best ironic title' award until I spotted Dream Theater's

imago, Monday, 23 June 2025 15:51 (three months ago)

Slayer albums title appropriate

The "W" and Odie Trail (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 23 June 2025 15:51 (three months ago)

Jinx

The "W" and Odie Trail (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 23 June 2025 15:51 (three months ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzRSOBz1dzk

cryptosicko, Monday, 23 June 2025 15:53 (three months ago)

write-in for The Coup's "Party Music"

sleeve, Monday, 23 June 2025 15:54 (three months ago)

as a lifetime Slayer fan with two Slayer tatts, it is not Slayer at all.

voted for Jay-Z.

also fuck yes to Party Music. that and Steal This Album spent years in my cd changer

Neanderthal, Monday, 23 June 2025 15:59 (three months ago)

John Hiatt, The Tiki Bar Is Open

This already figured to be a miserable affair.

Ned Raggett, Monday, 23 June 2025 15:59 (three months ago)

for years I mistakenly thought SOAD - Toxicity came out on 9/11 but it did not (in the US at least)

Neanderthal, Monday, 23 June 2025 16:00 (three months ago)

Roland Orzabal, Tomcats Screaming Outside
Boz Scaggs, Dig

Wait, WHAAAT?!

cryptosicko, Monday, 23 June 2025 16:02 (three months ago)

for years I mistakenly thought SOAD - Toxicity came out on 9/11 but it did not (in the US at least)

One week before. And Slipknot's Iowa came out one week before that.

Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Monday, 23 June 2025 16:02 (three months ago)

Fun personal fact: My first book was also released on 9/11.

Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Monday, 23 June 2025 16:03 (three months ago)

"hey, how are sales looking?...Yes, I am aware. Yes...I own a tv. Yes, it's currently on the news.....Still waiting for an answer"

Neanderthal, Monday, 23 June 2025 16:07 (three months ago)

Voted Dylan but that Beulah album is pretty dang good. I got it as a freebie while doing some street team nonsense.

Cow_Art, Monday, 23 June 2025 16:21 (three months ago)

there really was no love in the heart of the city that day (voted for jay-z)

gestures broadly at...everything (voodoo chili), Monday, 23 June 2025 16:23 (three months ago)

Going with The Convincer. Was in a Tower Records in Chicago midday on 9/11 when the store announced that it was closing for the day. Picked up Love and Theft, but hearing The Convincer at a listening station (and not having heard songbook-style Nick Lowe before) immediately won me over.

the way out of (Eazy), Monday, 23 June 2025 16:23 (three months ago)

Beulah, Professor Griff and Slayer were winning the 'best ironic title' award until I spotted Dream Theater's

― imago, Monday, 23 June 2025 16:51 (forty-one minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Ben Folds, Soil and Techno Animal a little on the nose too.

Dan Worsley, Monday, 23 June 2025 16:36 (three months ago)

voted for YNQ since I doubt anyone else will, plus I've definitely listened to it more times than the Jay and Bob albums

rob, Monday, 23 June 2025 17:00 (three months ago)

beulah and the microphones are albums that I still play heavily to this day so one of them

I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Monday, 23 June 2025 18:08 (three months ago)

This jogged something in my mind, and I remember being surprised to learn that Sting actually recorded a live album on 11 September 2001, after the attacks had happened:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_This_Time_(Sting_album)

"The events leading up to the night of the performance were filmed, and during these events on the day of the performance, the September 11 attacks perpetrated against the United States occurred, and the assembled group of musicians was made aware of this. The group performed the concert as originally intended, although Sting indicated on the DVD documentary the tone of the evening was quite different from how it was originally intended. Additionally, the "Desert Rose" performance featuring vocalist Cheb Mami was canceled due to the same circumstances."

Which raises the question of how the audience felt during the concert. Nowadays they would have been glued to their smartphones, but this was 2001 and smartphones were incredibly rare. Instead people lived in the moment, happy and free, and there weren't any mass shootings or terrorist attacks. Why did I look up that album? I was curious to see if anything was released on 09 November that year. It was a Friday. Seemingly the answer is no.

Ashley Pomeroy, Monday, 23 June 2025 18:17 (three months ago)

Moldy Peaches s/t includes this, just incredible timing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUcoRjhynB0

can't complain, mustn't grumble, melancholy apple c (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 23 June 2025 18:35 (three months ago)

Love & Theft, an album so wrapped up in my headspace in the months after 9/11.

il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Monday, 23 June 2025 19:05 (three months ago)

thinking about a 9/11 tattoo with the twin towers labeled "love" and "theft" maybe with dylan's face floating in the middle. what sorry

five six seven, eight nine ten, begin (map), Monday, 23 June 2025 19:12 (three months ago)

Show some fucking respect ffs

the babality of evil (wins), Monday, 23 June 2025 19:23 (three months ago)

By doing that

the babality of evil (wins), Monday, 23 June 2025 19:23 (three months ago)

now cursed by looping "jet fuel can't melt steel beams" in dylan's voice in my head

rob, Monday, 23 June 2025 19:25 (three months ago)

My answer was Southern Rock Opera but apparently it was released one day later on Sept 12 — I remember pretty much everything being on Tuesday back then so not sure how they got the Wednesday slot.

Slim is an Alien, Monday, 23 June 2025 19:26 (three months ago)

jet fuel can't melt steel beams
said Tweedle-dee Dum to Tweedle-dee Dee

il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Monday, 23 June 2025 19:29 (three months ago)

I went to a market in Prague in 2003 and there was a stall selling a huge metal cigarette lighter, one of those ones that sit in the middle of a table, it was a foot high at least, and it was in the shape of the twin towers, one with a plane sticking into it, and a huge bust of Bin Laden in front. When you pressed the button, flames would come out of the top of both towers, plus two on either side of Bin Laden's head in the shape of devil horns. The stall was also selling knuckle-dusters and flick knives, it was like their theme was "things you really shouldn't have in your luggage if you fly to the USA"

can't complain, mustn't grumble, melancholy apple c (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 23 June 2025 19:30 (three months ago)

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was released on 9/18 (self-released by the band). That and L&T are the two albums I associate with that period of time.

o. nate, Monday, 23 June 2025 19:39 (three months ago)

Two other albums released on September 11, that are not listed here are Solex's Low Kick and Hard Bop and Bad Ronald's Bad Ronald.

MarkoP, Monday, 23 June 2025 19:40 (three months ago)

I remember buying L&T in the Virgin Union Square store, must have been less than a week after 9/11. I got a free t-shirt with the purchase.

o. nate, Monday, 23 June 2025 19:41 (three months ago)

Solex's Low Kick and Hard Bop

Oh woof what an omission. Would've voted for this

God only knows what I'd be without me (flamboyant goon tie included), Monday, 23 June 2025 20:21 (three months ago)

I actually bought the Bad Ronald CD, I had no idea it was released on 9/11, makes the opening line "I've been waiting all day for that Bad Ronald" hit a little differently

frogbs, Monday, 23 June 2025 20:23 (three months ago)

Voted Dylan, who i assume will rightfully walk this.

However, the two albums which are inseparable from my memory of that day are Stereolab’s “Sound-Dust” and Bjork’s “Vespertine”, both of which came out 2-3 weeks before. I bought them both on 9/10 and spent the next day listening to them over and over and over and over again in a daze.

Davey D, Monday, 23 June 2025 20:31 (three months ago)

I thought Is This It? came out on 9/11, but I probably just bought it that day.

the way out of (Eazy), Monday, 23 June 2025 20:34 (three months ago)

All is Dream by Mercury Rev came out on 9/11 on the US and is missing here. Though I probably wouldn’t vote for it, it’s the only CD I bought that week (I got it at my local Best Buy).

Judi Dench's Human Hand (methanietanner), Monday, 23 June 2025 20:40 (three months ago)

XP

Is This It? was already out in the UK and other territories, and was released on vinyl stateside on 9/11, but the CD was set to be released in America two weeks later on 9/25 before being delayed a further two weeks in order to replace "New York City Cops" with "When It Started".

Lithium Just Madison (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 23 June 2025 20:43 (three months ago)

I mean, it's still The Blueprint.

Jordan s/t (Jordan), Monday, 23 June 2025 20:45 (three months ago)

Solex's Low Kick and Hard Bop
Oh woof what an omission. Would've voted for this

Cosign

eatandoph (Neue Jesse Schule), Tuesday, 24 June 2025 07:37 (three months ago)

My own actual answer is a write-in too (Bis' excellent techno excursion Return To Central)

imago, Tuesday, 24 June 2025 08:15 (three months ago)

Techno Animal.

such a brilliant album.
had no idea re the release date.

mark e, Tuesday, 24 June 2025 10:09 (three months ago)

I spent a lot of that month listening to the Beulah album (which holds up) and All Is Dream (which I ditched after a couple weeks). Voting Blueprint.

There was a concert in Toronto I was super excited for that night which was cancelled but cant for the life of me remember what it was anymore. Thought it might have been Clinic touring Walking With Thee but apparently that didn't come out til early 2002

waste of compute (One Eye Open), Tuesday, 24 June 2025 14:06 (three months ago)

Des visages des figures, partly for those two minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl9OIja-EmM

Tracks like "Le Grand incendie" (The Great Blaze), "Des visages des figures" (Faces, silhouettes) and "À l'envers à l'endroit" (The right way up the wrong side up) also give a few echoes to what happened that day. On pourrait même envisager que tout nous explose à la gueule - (We could even consider the whole thing blowing up in our faces)

Naledi, Tuesday, 24 June 2025 14:38 (three months ago)

glow 2

gman59, Tuesday, 24 June 2025 15:05 (three months ago)

write-in for The Coup's "Party Music"

Same here. On an otherwise dark day and really a dark week, the one moment where me and friends busted out laughing was when ABC News solemnly presented the album cover during their 24 hour news coverage. They were making some point about things we can't do or say in the wake of 9/11, but it was so egregious, it temporarily busted through our grief.

birdistheword, Tuesday, 24 June 2025 19:53 (three months ago)

Some truly terrible artist/band names in this poll

Indexed, Wednesday, 25 June 2025 18:58 (three months ago)

Also I know it's not the same thing, but I believe William Basinski finished The Disintegration Loops on 9/11

Indexed, Wednesday, 25 June 2025 19:00 (three months ago)

I was at the Mink Car signing event at the NYC Tower Records the night before 9/11

gioia thoing (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, 25 June 2025 19:12 (three months ago)

Party Music didn’t come out until November though, which is why they had time to change the cover.

Iza Duffus Hardy (President Keyes), Wednesday, 25 June 2025 22:14 (three months ago)

well, it was supposed to come out in September, but it was postponed for that reason

frogbs, Wednesday, 25 June 2025 22:48 (three months ago)

Write-in for Mercury Rev 'All Is Dream,' released in USA on 9/11. First track 'The Dark Is Rising,' etc. Very fwiw: wrote this review for the LAWeekly that ran a few weeks later: Dark Tidings

jaywbabcock, Thursday, 26 June 2025 02:21 (three months ago)

i really want the stone gossard album to be some noodly post rock thing that comes in a brown kraft digipak with a preserved bay leaf in a tiny maroon envelope... but damn the actual cover looks hideous and it probably sucks (sorry pj fans)

brimstead, Thursday, 26 June 2025 02:27 (three months ago)

two months pass...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Wednesday, 10 September 2025 00:01 (one month ago)

Party Music by The Coup is the only answer

sarahell, Wednesday, 10 September 2025 00:30 (one month ago)

The Coup is so lucky the release of Party Music got delayed until after 9/11. Or maybe unlucky, idk.

the Beulah album is one of the best from the '00s.

Lee626, Wednesday, 10 September 2025 01:07 (one month ago)

I don’t know if there’s any claim of prescience about Slayer and John Hiatt’s albums, but if there are, then enough time has passed to make those album titles hilarious.

birdistheword, Wednesday, 10 September 2025 05:00 (one month ago)

Don't forget the original cover art for Party Music featured Boots and Pam blowing up the WTC!

octobeard, Wednesday, 10 September 2025 06:34 (one month ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Thursday, 11 September 2025 00:01 (one month ago)

https://i0.wp.com/sheerforceeng.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/jet-fuel-meme.jpg

she freaks, she speaks (map), Thursday, 11 September 2025 02:07 (one month ago)

Nickelback, Silver Side Up 1

(salute emoji)

austinato (Austin), Thursday, 11 September 2025 04:41 (one month ago)


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