4. Why It's Better Than Meddle
Meddle: Some people claim that Meddle was the last album that stayed true to the 'classic Pink Floyd style'. See, before becoming the unstoppable prog rock juggernaut they later became, they were originally a psychedelic rock band who experimented constantly and had long instrumentals. No album demonstrated this better than Meddle, which began with a five minute instrumental (the amazing "One Of These Days"), then had four reasonable length songs, with the final half of the album being "Echoes", a staggering 23 minute song featuring rather sparse vocals.
Why Animals Is Better: Look at the track listing. It's bookended with Pigs On The Wing part 1 and 2, each an acoustic ballad under 2 minutes in length. But in between are three epic band-driven songs, ranging from 10 minutes to 17 minutes long. In summary, Animals stays true to their established style while also sounding like their later and more professional styles.