I’m identifying the best three albums by my fifty favorite rock bands of all time. This blog is for #14- The Cure, post-punk, and new-wave legends.
Criteria for selecting the best three albums
First, Greatest Hits albums are allowed. I am including one on this list. Second – no live albums. I will note The Cure is excellent in concert. They’re on tour right now getting rave reviews across the board. Third, I will include an honorable mention for all the top 25 bands.
The Cure albums ranked by ChatGPT
Let’s see what artificial intelligence says about the list. According to ChatGPT here are the top three albums by The Cure.
- Disintegration (1989) – this album is considered The Cure’s masterpiece and has received widespread critical acclaim for its dark and atmospheric sound. It includes popular tracks like “Lovesong” and “Pictures of You.” It achieved commercial success and remains one of their most beloved and best-selling albums.
- Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987) – This album marked a significant breakthrough for The Cure, blending different musical styles and showcasing their versatility. It contains hits like “Just Like Heaven” and “Why Can’t I Be You?” and achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success.
- Seventeen Seconds (1980) – The Cure’s second studio album, known for its minimalist and atmospheric sound. While it may not have achieved massive commercial success at the time, it has since gained recognition as a seminal post-punk album and received positive reviews from critics.
It is an interesting list. Disintegration I would expect to see. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me makes sense. 17 Seconds, their second album, I’m a little surprised to see that make it in the top three.
Spotify popular releases for this band
Next, let’s take a quick peek at Spotify data. Here are the top five most popular albums for the Cure. I am really surprised to see their first album. It is a murky one. A live album also shows up which confirms that this band is excellent in concert.
The third-best album by this band is Their Greatest Hits
The third-best album by The Cure is Their Greatest Hits. There are a few different flavors when it comes to this band’s Greatest Hits. They released a version called Standing on the Beach in the mid-80s. All new-wave fans owned it. They updated it later and I think that is the version to own. It has the vintage Cure songs you’re looking for and more modern hits like “Friday I’m in Love”.
The second-best album by The Cure
The second-best album by The Cure is Disintegration. Now I’m probably going to get some grief for making this the second since many fans consider this to be their masterpiece. I agree it is an awesome album including wonderful songs like “Fascination Street”. The main reason I didn’t put it as number one is that I feel like it goes on a little bit long. There are a few songs that I would not have included.
Honorable mention albums for this band
Here is the honorable mention album for The Cure is Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. A fun fact is that this was one of the first CDs I ever bought. It is a great album that includes one of my favorite Cure songs of all time “Just Like Heaven”. Once again I feel like it just has a little bit too much throwaway included.
The best album by The Cure
The best Cure album is The Head on the Door. This is the album that made me take notice of this band because it is chock full of excellent music. It opens up with “In Between Days”. It includes “Close to Me” and it’s just an excellent album. If you haven’t listened to it in a while, then put it on and you’ll be surprised by how much great music it includes.
There you have it – the three best Cure albums. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
I am Doug Keating and this is my letter to my sons.