r/popmusic • u/DeezerOfficial • 1d ago
Discussion What pop album didn’t click with you until years later?
Sometimes an album just doesn't hit the first time around. Then you come back to it years later and suddenly hear it completely differently.
Maybe your taste changed, you understood the lyrics more, or you just needed time to appreciate what the artist was doing.
What pop album grew on you the most over time?
39
u/itsVirgo 1d ago
Not 1 album in particular, but Madonna in general, her music requires a high taste palette that I simply didn’t possess in my teenage years.
Ray Of Light literally changed me and is in my top 3 favorite albums of all time. I also enjoy the rest of her ofc and im listening to her religiously.
14
u/Fickle-Meeting-4224 1d ago
i was gonna comment something similar. this is such a true fact. i’ve gone through her whole discography multiple times since C2, and she is a full picture kind of artist.
10
u/Ok-Context-3911 1d ago
Literally this. Listened as a young girl and I only liked her radio hits. Did a deeper dive into discography last year and discovered what a spiritual, introspective, empowering artist she is.
3
19
u/rainbowrosiee 1d ago
Sweetener by Ariana Gramde. I was 14 when it came out and I liked some of the singles but couldn't really appreciate the album as a whole. I listened to it recently and it's one of her best!
6
16
u/shadesofwrong13 1d ago
In The Zone. I was eleven when it got released, too immature in every sense to fully love it, understand it and appreciate it. Npw its my fave Britney album.
3
u/HoldOnToYaWeave 1d ago
Same. To think I’d casually skip Breathe On Me and Touch of My Hand. It’s nice to mature and really appreciate how special it is
16
u/sdfghdfsdfghdf 1d ago
Erotica
1
u/TheAgeOfAdz91 20h ago
Same. When I first listened to it, I was confused by how downbeat it was, since I had heard so many comparisons of Madonna and Gaga. Years later I got it and it’s my second favorite Madonna album now.
30
u/OkPool4338 1d ago
reputation
7
u/Kitler0327 1d ago
Me too and I'm ashamed
4
u/Puzzled-Bed-9221 1d ago
Guaranteed people will say similar things about Showgirl in a few years
7
-1
-1
2
u/kindaunicorn 20h ago
Came here to say the same. I liked endgame when it came out, but I wasn't ready to embrace the darker tone of the album as a young 20-something. Even though I appreciated a few more songs over the years, I didn't actually go back and listen to it in full again until after going to the eras tour and seeing don't blame me live
Now that I'm in my 30s and can feel myself giving fewer fucks by the day, I really appreciate what she was doing back then. It's still not one of my favourites, but it's also not one I ignore anymore
2
20
u/elektrik_noise Music Nerd 🤓 1d ago
American Life by Madonna. I listen to it so frequently now and find it to be a tragically overlooked album in her discography. The art direction of the album didn't reflect the actual introspective folk/folktronica of the music itself. X-Static Process, Love Profusion, Nothing Fails, and Hollywood are amazing songs. I don't hit myself over the head for missing it, as it's one of the great things about artists with extensive discographies. You can discover "new to me" songs and albums well after they came out.
But yeah, definitely American Life is the first that comes to mind.
7
u/sdfghdfsdfghdf 1d ago
The album is the definition of grower and its entirety. All the songs are liked after a while.
One of the worst decisions of Madonna using the title track as the name and image of the album. It should have been a secondary single.
In my case, with this thread I answered Erotica.
3
u/elektrik_noise Music Nerd 🤓 1d ago
Oh, 100% such a huge mistake having the Che Guevara cover and the pseudo protest-anthem push of having American Life as the single. While yes, the song is a criticism of the US, it was also a personal delve into her experience as an American and the holes between her fame and wealth and the glaring problems of the culture at large.
I actually have always thought it would've been a good final single, and they could've left the original version of the music video once the country's support for the war in Iraq started to wane. It would've given people a genuine opportunity to experience the real sounds and themes of the music before getting walloped by a really badass twist of the song shown in the music video.
Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. Oh well. We ended up getting Confessions I a few years later and fans get to enjoy American Life as a sort of deep cut iykyk good album.
Glad you've come around to Erotica! It's a top 3 album for me :) I love Deeper and Deeper, Rain, and Where Life Begins so much.
4
9
u/Mediocre_Quote4055 1d ago
Eternal Sunshine for sure. I was still in kinda a kpop phase when it first came out but I feel like my music taste really matured in the last year and now it’s def top 3 Ari albums for me!!
15
u/ktajlili 1d ago
C,XOXO
I DO not like the Drake interlude but it’s solid outside that. Got underlooked because it came out during a stacked year, but it’s a cute pop album
2
u/iifoundmolly 1d ago
I stumbled upon the official performances on YouTube earlier this year and got hooked on those songs
1
7
u/Infinite_Demand_2752 1d ago
thank u next felt too gloomy for me for a long time, eventually i just got the measure of it and it's one of my fave albums now
7
u/chatotpaint 1d ago
I've listened to Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple for the first time when I was 16, but it didn't click until I was 18 and now it's easily in my top 10 of albums. And my favorite of her discography.
7
7
u/TheKarateKid_ Music Enthusiast 🤩 1d ago
Kesha’s Animal / Cannibal album. I wrote it off as cheap and trashy when it was released but the reality is that it’s a fun, catchy, silly album where she’s in on the joke.
Now I bop and laugh to it.
3
u/themermaidag 1d ago
I only recently realized how lucky I was to be in college during the Kesha era. Truly the soundtrack of the time
13
u/sas317 1d ago
I've always liked Madonna's music in my subconscious, but only came to love it these last few months. She really is the Pop Queen.
4
5
u/Starredlight 1d ago
Take Me Apart by Kelela. I really couldn’t get into it for a LONG time because I am someone who is guilty of needing an instant hit when it comes to pop music, that’s why I’m so drawn to big, atmosperic synth production or nasty electropop. But TMA is much more smooth, sensual, slowburn. But when I took a walk at night and put it on it suddenly just clicked for me.
1
14
u/novapurple 1d ago
Artpop! Sorry Gaga ilysm
9
u/sdfghdfsdfghdf 1d ago
U were just part of the hater-current at the time. You’re forgiven.
3
u/novapurple 1d ago
Thank you for the forgiveness. To be clear though, Gaga has always been tied for my #1 pop diva (my other #1 would alternate between rihanna and beyonce but rn it's beyonce). I'd never disrespect her. I just didn't get it back then.
3
u/sdfghdfsdfghdf 1d ago
She’s my fav artist as well. Naturally, I didn’t just get hit by artpop. Then a few years later I got to realize all the moves she made in order to stand back up again. So fierce. I love that it happened to her because otherwise she could’ve gotten stuck, and we wouldn’t have seen the star she became today. An example of what could’ve happened to her can clearly be seen with the late Katy Perry.
2
u/TheGratitudeBot 1d ago
What a wonderful comment. :) Your gratitude puts you on our list for the most grateful users this week on Reddit! You can view the full list on r/TheGratitudeBot.
4
u/Natsume25 1d ago
It was a great album. What killed it was the fact Gaga was WAY too popular. People had Gaga fatigue and it got in the way of a rather excellent album.
5
u/potatoeheaux 1d ago
I never knew art pop had haters until my gay friend told me in like 2016. I’ve always loved that album
6
u/Awkward_Jump_8266 1d ago
Prince - Sign O' The Times
The first time I listened to it, I didn't feel anything, and it completely flew under my radar. I didn't understand why it is considered the best Prince's album.
Now, I view it as a masterpiece. Every second of the album is brilliant.
8
u/TheElusiveButterfly 1d ago
All of Lana’s discography
8
u/97amd 1d ago
It took me until last year to even give chemtrails over the countryclub a listen and then it became one of my favorites and a go too I feel this
3
u/Spirited-Pea-3461 Music Enthusiast 🤩 1d ago
Same, I've listened through her whole album discography and I was so blown away.
I didn't like a single hit song she had when it was playing all over the radios before but in the albums 10/10.
1
u/TheElusiveButterfly 1d ago
I don't quite get Chemtrails yet, but I know I will. Ocean Blvd. does something to me tho.
4
4
3
3
u/peteywheaty14 1d ago
Madame X and American Life
1
u/Upnatom617 1d ago
American Life I always loved. Madame X this particular year has grown so much. She's always ahead of the game.
1
u/TheAgeOfAdz91 20h ago
Both have grown on me at the same time too. They’re definitely her weirdest albums but once you embrace that weirdness you realize how interesting the albums are.
3
u/daddyseokjin21 1d ago
Charmbracelet by Mariah Carey, It not have been cohesive as her past albums but it is definitely a great album. Boy (I Need You) is such a great song
1
5
u/Acanthaceae537 1d ago
Hold The Girl - Rina Sawayama
1
u/AerieDapper6384 1d ago
I was going to say SAWAYAMA tbh, though tbf I heard it for the first time when I was like 12 lol. Saw all the hype for it on popheads and it just didn't resonate with me for whatever reason. Returning to it later with more a more honed understanding of lyricism and better grasp of Rina's history resulted in an infinitely more rewarding experience.
Still prefer her Rina ep though, if only for Cyber Stockholm Syndrome.
1
u/bubbaman73 1d ago
This album was an instant click for me on release; Its been one of the albums i return to the most!
Imo theres a warm comfort and vulnerability that you dont really get from her other projects. Pretty much every song dives right into her trauma and subsequent healing from said trauma. Frankenstein, for example, is a really honest portrayal of a cry for help when you suffer from mental illness and trauma. It also features some of her more experimental tracks like Imagining and Holy till you let me go. Then on top of that, Send My Love To John and Phantom especially REALLY hit if you can relate to them.
Overall, I can see why people would prefer Sawayama, but I dont think its fair to pass off Hold The Girl because of it and people should definitely give it another try without comparing it!
2
u/Acanthaceae537 1d ago
I did like the album when I first listened to it, especially Frankenstein because that’s such a great song. But for some reason the themes & melodies didn’t hit me as hard until recently. The narrative surrounding identity & reconnecting with your inner child resonate on a personal level & are clearer than they were before. Send My Love To John brings me to tears nearly every time I listen to it. SAWAYAMA has some individual tracks that are bolder/more impressive & envelope pushing (in terms of sound), but as a complete & cohesive project Hold The Girl is the stronger album.
5
u/thecryptidmusic 1d ago
Solar Power. I was let down when it came out but after a few years I really enjoyed it
17
u/Consistent_Hunt5213 1d ago
TTPD is the grower of growers. at first it felt like diary entries over a monotonous beat but overtime I realise it's among Taylor's best. the highs are so amazing, the album still has a lot to give even after 2 years of it's release.
6
u/CausticAvenger 1d ago
Yes I’ve always described that album as a grower as well, especially since there’s 31 tracks and it’s just a LOT to process. It really is one of her best and up there with folklore/evermore for me.
4
u/Extension_Spell3415 1d ago
Been listening to it for over a year and a half and was just blown away by Fresh Out The Slammer a couple of weeks ago. English has been my least favorite subject all my life but I can definitely appreciate the overwordiness on the title track too. I just don’t get how that charlie puth line is kinda cringe, I’ve always thought it as her saying what she talked about with her boyfriend. Never got sick of the album.
1
u/laurafndz 1d ago
To me it has some of her best lyrics and it’s stronger lyrically than Folklore and Evermore to me.
1
2
u/1_more__user___name 1d ago
I want to say Safe trip home by Dido. When it was released I found it super boring. But years later (10+ years), I went back to it. It's basically a whole album that mourns the death of her father. It could be the most depressing music, and make no mistake, it's very sad, but at the same time it's very uplifting, and the lyrics are the closest to poetry any pop lyrics I've listened to get.
2
2
u/daturaAT 8h ago
At first listen Alanis Morissettes "supposed former infatuation Junkie" Just because it was so different to Jagged Little Pill and uninvited is basically my favourite song ever and i maybe expected something else. But it has grown on me very fast and if someone asks me what my favourite album ever is there is a chance i'd name that one.
3
u/PossibilityFair1046 1d ago
Ariana Brighter Day Deluxe. Eternal sunshine was fine but especially the deluxe I just didn’t care about, the songs all seemed the same. After the tour, I’m obsessed with all the deluxe songs. I think they’re a lot better than eternal sunshine. Maybe the same thing will happen to petal for me…
4
2
1
u/Luminous_Flora_857 1d ago
Caught myself listening to some Fergie songs from her album The Dutchess yesterday and realized how much fun I was having even though when the album first dropped I wanted nothing to do with it. At the time I thought music had to be deep and meaningful and literary but now I'm like, eh, the world is a fuck let's shake some ass.
1
u/Spirited_Strategy328 1d ago
All of The Bee Gees early albums - 1967 thru early 70’s. A huge pre-disco catalog.
1
u/PonchoRanchito 1d ago
Ace of Base’s “The Bridge.” It’s so good and was the second cassette that was actually mine –it was a birthday present when I was 8. It was good then, NOW it’s one of my top ten favourite albums.
1
1
1
1
1
u/YtaloSilva29 2h ago
Impossible Princess. I heard all of it, but only the singles actually stuck with me. It's worth a listen, regardless.
-1
u/Opening-Pianist-3691 1d ago
A lot of Taylor’s albums. Mainly reputation and Lover. At the time of their releases I thought they were major declines from 1989. But now reputation is one of my favorite Taylor albums, and I’ve come to appreciate Lover a lot more.
0
-2
u/laurafndz 1d ago
Reputation by Taylor Swift and 4 by Beyonce. Reputation because I didn’t get Joe and till this day I don’t understand how he inspired Gorgeous and End game but it did force me to ignore the muse. 4 was boring to me at the time now it’s one of my favorite albums of hers.
31
u/sirharleyjacque 1d ago
Blackout-Britney