Just too many songs not enough heat for me. There's great moments for sure but not enough to rank it higher for me. The guitar tone knocks it down a peg or two for me personally as well
What’s so cool about Transistor is that even though they went super left field with it, they managed to produce one of their biggest songs in Beautiful Disaster 🤘🏼
311 is my absolute favorite band of all time. Like, I can't express into words what their music means to me. Some of their songs have hit pretty hard and got me through some down times. Glad to "meet" a fellow superfan! Have you ever been to a 311 Day? I was hoping to go this year I need to save up my $$ 😞
Thanks for watching and sharing your story! I've always wanted to go to a 311 day! If they have one closer to the east coast like Nashville or Memphis or something I'd look more into it. NOLA would be the dream location tho
311 is just that quintessential risk taking band, their musical versatility has got to go down as one of the greatest ever, guys took lots of risks and didn't give a single fuck, just expressed themselves, every album was a form of expression and art and not some cash grab, fucking love 311.
Nice to see someone doing a tier list on 311! They're one of my top 5 favorite bands. My opinion: S: Grassroots, Transistor, Soundsystem A: Music, 311, From Chaos, Evolver B: Don't Tread On Me, Stereolithic C: Mosaic, Voyager D: Uplifter, Universal Pulse Edit: I had to change some placements after listening to their whole discography again. The last two and Universal Pulse had to go down one tier and DTOM up one tier.
From Chaos was my first 311 album… I saw the video to “Amber” on MTV/MTV2. I’m glad you mentioned “Champagne” from that album… underrated song. I really enjoy Evolver but now that you mention it, the b-side of the album really does run out of gas. When I was a teenager discovering explicit music, I really enjoyed “Guns (Are for Pussies)” from self-titled. It has a nice progression and I love the key changes in it.
My fiance got me into 311 12 years ago and i never looked back. I've seen them more times than I can count at this point and amazingly im taking my 9 and 7 year old boys to their first 311 concert this Friday in omaha and im too stoked about it!
I've been a fan since the mid-90's, and they were the first band I ever went to see live in 2000...where Incubus opened for them at an ice skating rink. I was fully expecting my opinions to be way different than most others, but you pretty much said everything I was thinking! I grew up listening to The Blue Album, Grassroots, Music, and Transistor, and Soundsystem was the first album I completely obsessed over when it came out in 1999, so I hold those in higher regard. Once I graduated high school, I got more into pop-punk, hardcore, post-hardcore, some emo and discovering new bands, so 311 fell by the wayside. I had joined the Air Force right out of high school, and Evolver came out right as I graduated basic. Though it was one of the first purchases I made when I had a chance to after basic, it got lost in a ever-growing stack of CDs thanks to my then-disposable income. I do love Creatures and Other Side of Things though. I skipped their next few albums, listened to Uplifter, and I agree that India Ink and Hey You are bangers...I think those are the only two songs I listened to regularly though. I totally agree with you on Mosaic, aside from the fact I liked Too Much to Think a lot. I'm a huge fan of S.A.'s vocals, so Perfect Mistake is by far my favorite song on that album. I've never listened to Universal Pulse, so I'll definitely have to. I've found myself listening to the second half of Transistor a lot lately, so I'll have to take a break from that!
Wow thanks for sharing your story Chris!! I love hearing how people's lives go through changes but music (311 in this case) is always along for the ride. Hopefully, we'll get some more SA banger tracks on the next one!!
Same same same. I saw 311 for the first time around 96(?) when they played on the Warped Tour with Super8 and Bonefish and The Urge and others. Been a huge fan ever since. My best friend from back then passed away recently and “I’ll Be Here Awhile” was played during his funeral. For me though, #1 on the list is gonna be Soundsystem. I have a special place in my closet for my signed band shirt from this tour with not just the bands signatures but also alot of the crew who were in the very first ETSD video tape lol. That album came along in a pivotal time in my life and every time I hear a song on that album, I’m immediately transported back to that time in my life and all the fun I had. Number 2 for me is gonna Uplifter. I remember listening to Never Ending Summer and when Tim hit the first few notes of his solo, I was hooked. Oh man I wore that CD out. My son was born around this time so every time I hear “My Heart Sings”, so many memories hit me. I’ve seen them live many times and each time they deliver.
Stereolithic is S tier for me. Evolver is not their best but there are a couple songs at the end (don’t dwell, other side of things) that make it B list or at least C. Voyager is also A tier for me.
@@theleftyluke I felt they lost a step on Dont Thread on me and Uplifter, Universal Pulse was a bit better but not a long album....but for me Stereolithic os one of their best if not their best, although it is hard to compare since their style has changed a lot over the years. I saw an Interview with Nick talking about how he had to admit to himself that he had to go back to the drawing board and learn a few new things and improve some things to really do what he wanted to and that was before Uplifter and I can see that correlation. Voyager is also quite good i find and again very evolutionary and original/progressive in its songwriting. Most original band ever!
I love the video, and I love 311! I agree with the grades of each album for the most part, the only thing I would change, it’s putting Music in the “A” column. It was the album for me that really made me fall in love with the band. And Grassroots definitely cemented that love, that’s lasted for a good 21 years now. (I came a little late to the party around 2002, but I’ve never left that party, so better late than never.) Personally, I like sitting back, have a little smoke, or some mushroom tea while listening to Transistor. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but it’s definitely one of the first four albums. They each hold a special place in my heart for different reasons. They helped me come out of my shell (I was painfully shy as a youth), and they helped me through some really messed up times in my life. My favorite band for 21 years strong, and it will most likely stay that way for life. Much love!
I started to listen to 311 til recently. Their sond is exactly like latin rock, I don't care that they sing in english. I's like the sound of Mexico's Maldita Vecindad or Argentina's Los Fabulosos Cadilacs mixed with rock rap. Cool band.
Have you been watching any of their album concerts on their stream system? The played the entire “Soundsystem” album live on Friday night and streamed it. Next month is “From Chaos”
Its interesting to see how different fans view their music. Like Mosaic and Voyager are a couple of my favorites. I'd rank some of these different based on their lyrics and overall arrangement - the "feel" of the songs. Great video man. Do Incubus
Thanks for watching! I'm not a big lyrics person so I don't take that into consideration much but that's a good point. With a band like 311 I rlly should. I don't know enough Incubus to do a list currently, what's some recommendations to get started?
@@theleftyluke some people might tell you different but I'd say start with Make Yourself and then S.C.I.E.N.C.E., Light Grenades, Morning View, Crow Left of the Murder and Trust Fall B Sides. They're one of those bands that consistently makes great songs with different vibes in each album.
Dont thread on me is my fav of the later years. Even though it isnt super heavy it is still very sweet album...universal pulse is similar in vibe especially the pow wow vibe....love 311!!!!
Good stuff! my tier list would go S: Grassroots A:Music, Transistor B: 311, Dont Tread On Me, Sound System C: From Chaos, Evolver, Uplifter, Sterolithic, Mosaic D: Universal Pulse E: F: Voyager
S: Transistor, Soundsystem A: Blue album, From chaos B: Grassroots, Music, Evolver, DTOM C: Stereolithic, Uplifter D: Mosaic, Universal Pulse 311 is my favorite band, greetings from Colombia champion!
@@theleftyluke I guess it's because the first ones I met were Transistor & Soundsystem, which were the first ones I saw in my country, then with the arrival of the Internet I knew the rest of their discography, I think Grassroots should put it higher, but I wasn't convinced by its sound quality. Greetings bro!
I listened to this band a lot in junior high, but for some reason only had their albums from Blue onward So it was quite mindblowing to get back into them later and realize I had somehow been sleeping on their best album in Grassroots through all that also, that Cure/Smiths comment, ouch lol
I guess where I differ is I actually see Uplifter and Voyager as being more middle tier, Don't Tread On Me and Universal Pulse as being lower tier, and I'm not as high on Soundsystem as most people seem to be. On Uplifter, I'll admit the lyrics on Mix It Up, Daisy Cutter, and I Like The Way are a little cheesy but I find the songs themselves to be super catchy, and Golden Sunlight is an all time top 10 song for me. On Voyager, I don't get the hate a lot of people seem to have for Good Feeling, maybe it's some guilty pleasure on my part but the Spotify numbers suggest more people like it than hate it. Space and Time is really cool, What The?! is infectious and groovy, Rolling Through is a nice throwback, and I like Dodging Raindrops as a good chill track, even if others don't. On Don't Tread On Me, I've found myself listening through to Solar Flare and then I just don't really feel like going on from there very often. Universal Pulse to me is just so short it left me wanting more, and both Trouble and Rock On never really resonated with me.
If you’re in driving distance of NY, check out Blizza. They’re a 311 tribute band and probably the best one out there. They’re doing a 311 day show this year
My first and maybe my favorite was Grassroots, but Transistor was something else. It was their concept album, like 2112 was to Rush, or Planetary Duality for The Faceless. There's a musical and thematic throughline throughout the whole album. Even the Transistor sessions, available on archive, are incredible. It's just incredible, and compare it to say, the Bob Rock era. It's a musical journey on one single album. Writing this before watching the review, but want to see if our opinions link up!
Music as B? It's worth noting that during the Stryker interview, Nick pointed to Music/Evolver/Mosaic as his favorite early/mid/late 311 albums. Thoughts on this?
Some agrees Some disagrees Some hard disagrees But you explain your issues well so I will be ok To me Stereolithic is a musical masterpiece. The album suffers lyrically in my opinion tho and also has some odd production choices. That was my only MAJOR disagreement. 311 fans dont fight.
S: Grassroots, 311, Transistor A: From Chaos, Sound System B: Music, Mosaic, Evolver C: Stereolithic, Universal Pulse D: DTOM, Voyager E: Uplifter F: - My rankings are based on 25 years of listening. To me, those first six albums need no endorsement and will always be at the top of my 311 ranking/list. The bands seventh record, ‘Evolver was a more modern sounding rock album and a vague advance indication of what 311s sound would become. ‘Don’t Tread On Me, definitely has some good moments but eventually loses steam and never recovers and I ranked it as so. I was not a fan of the ‘Uplifter/Bob Rock experience. Bobs simplistic approach crushed and normalized the 311 brand and sound and that totally hurt this record. Their follow up with Rock, ‘Universal Pulse was a truer record and the lyrics were much improved. Unfortunately, it just didn’t have enough material (8 songs) to rank higher on my list. ‘Stereolithic has that old familiar 311 sound and feel which I love. The albums finishing sound quality and guitar mix really lowered the overall ranking on this one. I absolutely love the back half of this record. The ‘Mosaic album was a definite step forward and (outside of a few album fillers and a modern miss) their best effort since the early 2000s. And like most, I’m also on that cover somewhere! ‘Voyager has some solid stuff and some stuff I just couldnt get into. 311 also had some ghostwriter/copyright issues with the song ‘Crossfire which really dampened ‘Voyager for me. These are my rankings and opinions as a long time fan. ✌🏼
@@theleftyluke Man, i hear ya because a certain amount of the fan base seems to love them… but I feel like if you look at the high they were riding off from Chaos, and then look at the drastic sales momentum drop off, the numbers say it started right at Evolver. 311 is my favorite band as well… they have an insane amount of good songs… but to me, the two you just listed are 2 of the only 3 tracks I regularly skip on the Greatest hits album. Realistically an argument could be made that those two wouldn’t even crack the 311 top 100…
What you said at the end is 100% accurate . They are The Grateful Dead of the 90's. If I made this video it would be boring cause it would be all S tiers .. 😆
My least favorite album is Uplifter. The B-Sides are really the only good things to come off that album imo. "Get Down" and "Sun Come Through" are amongst my top songs as a whole. Favorites are Grassroots and Transistor. 311 is my favorite though and I'd always listen to any of their stuff. Peace. Love. Unity.
Fair point it was a bit more of a reach in some regards. I think there were a few songs that could've been re-hashed from Mosaic sessions to me personally
Started strong and quickly fell off. Knew trouble was coming when you couldn't remember what some Evolver songs sound like. Universal Pulse way too high, SL way too low. S 1. Grassroots 2. Soundsystem 3. Transistor 4. Stereolithic A 5. Music 6. Blue 7. From Chaos B 8. Evolver 9. Mosaic 10. Voyager F 11. Don't Tread On Me 12. Universal Pulse 13. Uplifter
Great band. Their albums have been mixed since universal pulse. There are good songs, but also some stinkers. Otherwise everything up to Uplifter is mostly all bangers.
I agree with your selections, except for Don't Tread on Me. I would put that on the D tier. I don't like one song on that album. Transistor is my favorite 311 album, followed closely by Grassroots.
I dig DTOM. IMO, it's a love song album. I'm with you on Transistor and Grassroots though. The first songs I heard from them back in '94 were Homebrew and Lucky. By the time Lucky finished I knew I was a life long fan.
I think Don't Tread on Me and Stereolithic are underrated. Transistor is the hardest one to rate. It just deserves its own honorable mention. Uplifter and Universal Pulse are probably my least fav.
I don't think I know enough of either's catalogue to do a full list. I'd love to see one of these New Found Glory shows where they're playing Sticks and Stones start to finish. That is an S tier album for sure!
While DTOM might be C-tier, it did produce one of their three #1 hits with eponymous song. And I really think Bob Rock could have just as terrible an effect on a band as good -- his effect is always polarizing. Didn't he cut out "count me in" from Uplifter, too? And "I like the way?"
Universal Pulse is easily their worst album and was only released to finish out their contract obligations. Sunset in July might even be their worst song. I'd probably put Mosaic and Voyager more in the A or B tiers myself but otherwise good list man and great video!
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment Cory! Universal Pulse has some post-high school nostalgia for me so that 100% weighs into it but I understand where you're coming from. Cheers!
I would flip Mosaic with From Chaos, flip Evolver with Universal Pulse, put Stereolithic and Voyager at C and drop DTOM to D. Overall my biggest disagreement is on Mosaic though. That is perhaps their best musical style adventure of any album, great lyrics, and a very polished rock sound. A total A album aside from Til the City's On Fire, but I won't let that song take away from over a dozen songs that I really like.
Thanks for watching and nice picks! I do quite enjoy the guitar tone on songs like Perfect Mistake. Crunchy but clear. May have to give Mosaic another chance
This was fun:) Thank you. It's awesome seeing and listening to another huge 311 fan. I agree with your tiers except for a few.. I think Transistor, Soundsystem (which came out in 99 btw lol) and Mosaic should be on S tier. Blue Album, From Chaos, and Stereolithic should be on A tier. Grassroots, Uplifter, and Voyager on B tier. This was fun and I'll follow your web page.
Going to get hate on Stereolythic, but I agree with you. There are at least 5 duds on there. Grassroots production is sooo bad even nick said he would love to redo that one. Soundsystem is top tier imo, 90% bangers. Otherwise spot on.
@@theleftyluke Mosaic: Wildfire (nasty P-Nut bass tone, disco hip hop, hawaii atmosphere in the middle and duel solo of Tim and Nick still blows my mind), Too Late, Perfect Mistakes Voyager: Stainless (bet you can't hold yourself banging to the riffs while SA begin to rap part), Don't You Worry, Born To Live Although I prefer Mosaic than Voyager but still two of em are better than Uplifter and Universal Pulse imo
@@daffanurfauzan1220 GREAT choices! Love that about 311, always something new to listen to even if the song has been out for 12 years. Cheers and thanks for watching!
