Does anyone else do this? Lots of times it's a complete bomb and a waste of money. But I have found a few gems this way:

"I am Shelby Lynne" - Shelby Lynne


I was drawn to the declaritive nature of the album and I thought to myself...who is Shelby Lynne? Little did I know it but I had in my hands the album that would win Shelby Lynne an award for "best new artist". Funny thing is, this was her 6th album out.

This album is like a full course meal. It opens with sweeping violins and a chorus.....

Your....lies...won't....leave...me....alone

Reminiscent of classic 60s soul, but it's mixed with ...Orchestration and the longing twang of a lonely country guitar. A truly unique and amazing song. And that voice....

The rest of the album consists of blues, honky tonk, contemporary country. A true diamond in the rough of what passes for albums these days.


"Someday my blues will cover the earth" - His Name is Alive


I bought this one based on the title. I figured the name of the group had something to do with Jesus but that title. I shuddered at the thought. Wow wow wow! Blues blues blues and more blues This album touched on my weak heart at the time. This woman's voice is just stellar. I did try buying another earlier album and it was not the same singer, totally different chemistry...just did not work. They did, however, hit a grand slam with this one

"Lil lost girls blues" - N'Dambi


I saw that cover and thought I have to find out what the hell is going on here

I had never heard of N'Dambi before and it turns out she does some background singing with Erykah Badu and really the girl can stand on her own. An amazing voice. Amazing!. Not your average R&B / Neo-soul excursion. Miles above the pack. She has a song called "Sunshine" that is basically an acoustic jem and what a heart tugger that song is. A song about finding your inner strength I have a series of mix discs I've titled "Redemptive Excursions" and this song was a no-brainer. Actually it is the centerpiece of a mix I've titled "Sunshine"....all about finding your inner strength and never giving up. 4 of N'Dambi's songs made it onto various mixes. This album is so worthy of checking out



"From the City to the Sea" - Mighty Truth


This has turned out to be one of my favorite albums ever. It's a solid Acid Jazz excursion. Kinda hard to find that these days. Some very well crafted songs, with singers to pull it together. A song off here made it to one of my "Redemptive Excursions" mix and one song made it to my winning disc in the org mix off contest I love this album to death.


Anyone else do this? If so, what have you found?

yes. i have.

CHIC0 said:

Details!

Imago777 said:

But did you know who the Cure was when you bought it???? I guess I'm asking about albums of unknown artists that you took a leap of faith on. I did not know any of these artists when I bought these albums.

.
[Edited 10/17/05 18:29pm]

hmm I bought two paticular albums without knowing who they were.. I didnt know anything about them.

Leaves (first album)

&

Damien Rice "o"


It really was a leap of faith, and to be honest, I don't even know what made me buy them but their both great albums...

I thought it looked weird enough to be interesting:

Copernicus - Victim of the Sky



Turned out to be an album split between very odd attempts at reggae and easy listening music and bizarre spoken word segments where Copernicus would scream about how Bruce Springsteen was descended from Bacteria and nothing truly exists.

It was kinda interesting in retrospect - I think I've spent money on dumber things over the years.



[Edited 10/17/05 18:59pm]

thats how i discovered my bloody valentine..i was at the record store..like 5 years ago..i happend to come across "loveless" album cover..and i was i just love the cover so i bought needless to say i didn't like the album at first..so i didnt play it..for like a month..then one day i dug out and play it..i slowly studied all the sound..and was amazed..i pick up my guitar and try to play along with it..my parents got mad..so..i stop..but kept on listening to the album non-stop..until..well..i lost it..but i rebought it on CD!...end of story.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

oh yeah...

well i was in a record store or two, came across some cool covers. sop i bought them. great stuff.

Honestly, I never have. Perhaps I should, but it seems to me that, in light of the sheer volume of crap in the record stores, the odds are not good that I will like the music.

weepingwall said:

I love that story...

I think loveless is just a fantastic, touched-by-genius, stunning record.
[Edited 10/17/05 20:01pm]

Stax said:

I've got to go along with you on that one.
Generally I know exactly what i'm going after before I make a purchase.
To the point where currently, i'm working off of a very specific list.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

I have judged a few books by their cover in my time. I have also bought a few movies, sight unseen. But I've never bought an album based solely on the cover.

Collector albums are what I have bought like The Talking Heads Robert RAUCHENBERG or something spelling off, Also Nile Rogers had a 3d with glasses. I have stuff in colored vinyl like Bela Lugouis' Dead and Split Enz with the MIRRORS. I like unique things like that. I was once trying HARD to get SOME BOYS by THE STONES instead I got COCKSUCKER BLUES cause Some BOYS you COULD NOT GET. That would be a COLLECTIABLE hearing MICK talk about WHAT SOME BOYS from different lands do.

oh man, i thought i was the only person whose ever done that. now i don't feel so bad. yes, i've done it before and it is very much a gamble. i bought mount sims because it looked interesting and luckily i ended up liking it. he's a bit like prince.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

POOK WONDER WHAT ON ALBUM COVER APPEAL TO SUPA

you guys really buy albums just because it has an interesting cover?

Only if the photography is beautiful & the image really speaks to my heart I find these particularly fetching:

CalhounSq said:

Only once in my entire life, and it turned out to be an album that completely changed the way I thought about and listened to music. You'd think that after an experience like that, I would have done it again. But no. I'm very paranoid and I work too damn hard to be that careless with my money. But I'm glad I did it in this instance.

POOK said:

the upside hanging down man of course Remove him from that cover and it changes it completely. Really has turned out to be a true favorite

JACKAL said:

Careless!? And you never spend your money on crap right??? What can I say, I'm a gambler and in some instances it has paid off. I'll pay 18.99 just to get one song, if it's a song I really really really feel is important to a mix I might be making.

I don't do this alot, but I'm not so afraid of it considering that I have found some real beauts

Oh, I've been recommended this album, have yet to check it out but I just put it back on my list of stuff to check out. Thanks for the reminder

I used to do that all the time.

minneapolisgenius said:

I'm not the only careless orger

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

That's pretty much how I got into all the punk bands I listened to (and still do) and also how I got into Zeppelin. My first album ever was Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti and I bought it because it had such a kickass cover, with all these die cut windows that you can interchange what you see in them. I was 11 and I thought it was so cool.
[Edited 10/18/05 11:31am]

minneapolisgenius said:

Not really, but I almost did with the Lords of Acid record with the women/devils all bent over & naked. I had no idea what kind of music it was, but the cover & band name was intriguing.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

minneapolisgenius said:

Don't you miss records? You need a magnifying glass for that stuff nowadays.

I picked this one up, just because I love Halloween so much! It had some cool covers, but it was worth picking up for their Halloween medley.