10 Classic Rock Bands Never Better Than Their First Album
2. The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground has garnered a reputation as the best band that everyone understood... eventually. Even though the band may have been called terrible in their heyday, the material that they put out set the benchmark for not only punk rock, but every other rock genre that likes to indulge in a bit of darkness.
Though the band had some great moments of experimental glory, their blend of sonic beauty and seedy reality was never in greater balance than on the Velvet Underground and Nico. Recorded under the eye of visionary Andy Warhol, this album shows the band taking some of the most disturbing scenes of New York and turning them into some of the most delectable songs of the '60s. In Nico, the band had a tremendous sonic force who would bring a sophisticated calm to offset songs like "Heroin" or "Venus in Furs."
Though the band's later output on White Light/White Heat featured even more sonic innovations, this debut is still the reason why the band remains such an influential force to this day. The Velvet Underground have some strong material after this as well, but in terms of their entire body of work, this is where any fan should start without question.