Seconded.

This may or may not already been addressed, but one quality of a classic album is going to be if it holds up after its time. For instance, I know refused was gaining brand new fans off of The Shape... On this last go around. Not many of my favorite albums, even though I consider them classics to me, have that same appeal.

That being said, albums like postal services-give up, and sublime- s/t have been bringing new fans to bands that don't exist or at least not in their original "real" form anymore. Hell, crossing genres even Johnny cash is still convincing people to listen to classic country.

A classic is when a great album is released at the right time. Got to have enough people to be excited about it together, and I feel like that is a defining factor. But a classic to one can be unlistenable garbage to another, so its a fine line.

why

elephant - the white striples

loved it when it came out but it's only gotten better with time.

In my opinion a classic album has to be something that no matter your mood you can put it on and it can take you somewhere else or make you feel something else. Deja is my favourite album of all time but it took me a few listens to really appreciate it, so it doesn't have to be something that instantly grabs you it can easily be something that grows on you. Everyone's idea of classic is different, I'm not a Metallica fan but I wouldn't ever disagree if someone said one of their records is a classic in the genre, same applies to some major pop artists just because I don't get it doesn't mean it isn't a classic in someone's eyes, it's all subjective.

to me a classic is an album that is indicative of it's time yet progressive and has lasting value. with that being said, SWYA by saves the day is a classic to me, as well as deja entendu and bleed american and enema of the state. iarb by say anything might be as well. the only album in recent time that i've heard that i might consider a classic is Suburbia, I've given you all and now I'm nothing by the wonder years. i know everyone's jumping on the twy train but there's a great narrative to that album and i still given it daily spins 1 1/2 years later and have no sights of slowing down.

tbc or swya will be remembered as std's classic(s), but in reverie really has thr most musical prowness. swya though is just flawless to me as an album.

IT was hard for me to choose. I would never choose tbc as their classic but I do think swya probably is their biggest universal classic. For me personally both SWYA and In Reverie are very special. I think I choose In Reverie is because I can end long nights with it really well. As good as tbc was good for what it was Saves The Day only got better. swya and in reverie are high points on their discography and the trilogy were not as good in my opinion but had some great songs and I personally liked them more than tbc. Daybreak was std in rare form again so I really hope the band continues with their current sound and lineup.

very accurate statement. both are easily "classics" but I heard swya because i'm in this scene. i listened to college dropout back in the day because I "had to" as a fan of music.

agreed. tbc is good, but not std's best. swya is thier best emo/pop-rock release. like you said though, this album is special. see you, nightingale. aygtf, freakish, firefly and exit still get daily spins. in reverie is thier best indie and i'm starting to really enjoy it, espeically the title track. sound the alarm i thought was strong but suffered from redundant themes. utb felt too drawn out, but can't stay the same/radio/ and get f--ked up are still solid. . daybreak was stronger but chris' voice really gets to me on the record and the lyrics fell too drawn out again at times.

You mean every single music publication in existence?

Ahhh, I see what you mean now. I suppose that could be the case, but I prefer to think that the critics just saw a stronger start-to-finish record in MBDTF. In the Slant Magazine review for The College Dropout (which they gave 3.5 stars), the writer kicked off the review by saying, "Like every hip-hop album (even the great ones), Kanye West's The College Dropout is marred by too many guest artists, too many interludes, and just too many songs period. (I challenge every hip-hop artist working today to record just one album with 12 tracks or less—no skits, no guests, no filler.)" They gave Late Registration the same rating, but crowned MBDTF as the best album of 2010 and gave it a perfect 5-star rating. Pitchfork had similar reservations about Dropout, but gave Twisted Fantasy the rare 10.0 and also named it the album of the year. I agree that their misgivings were assuaged, but that's because Kanye largely dropped the gimmicks: he got rid of the skits (well, nearly), he trimmed down the number of tracks and kept many of the guest spots shared between a core group of confidantes. And as a whole, the record felt a lot less scattershot or overlong, even though it still stretched to almost 70 minutes. For me, that record flies by in what feels like half the time that it takes me to listen to the other two.

I think your second paragraph is a tough question to ask, since you obviously have a big, important personal connection to TCD. I don't think there's a weak track on MBDTF (which ones don't you like, btw?), but there are a few that I skip on both College Dropout and Late Registration. It could just be a matter of perspective, of our differing musical roots and differences in what we look for in a hip hop album, but I have, over the past two years, gotten the feeling that the appreciation for MBDTF remains very heartfelt and widespread.

I hadn't been aware that GKMC was being considered "classic". Except for Kanye's MBDTF, the last few years I haven't thought about any album in that context, my favorite albums just end up on my end of the year list. As GKMC probably will, probably in the #1 spot.

But I wouldn't say it's a classic, and pretty much whatever else I believe has already been stated very well by that Star Slight and Argentine post. Though I will back the side that says TCD, LR and MBDTF are classics.

Or this site because i was referring to the posters here

I agree with the idea that for an album to be considered a classic it should have far reaching influence and effect the development of the genre. If I had to pick 5 classics of the past 25 years that had the greatest influence on the evolution of popular rock music I'd say Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction , Nirvana Nevermind, Green Day Dookie, Blink-182 Enema of the State and Taking Back Sunday Tell All Your Friends.