A 3 album run refers to 3 consecutive albums within an artist’s discography. This concept of a 3 album run is usually discussed when the 3 albums in question are of a very high quality. These albums also follow in a consecutive order. A great example of great 3 album run could be Led Zeppelin’s IV, Houses of the Holy, and Physical Graffiti: three amazing consecutive albums that helped shape rock music. In this article, I am going to highlight 8 of the greatest 3 album runs that popular music has ever seen.
1. Charli XCX: how i’m feeling now – CRASH – BRAT
Now, you may question whether or not CRASH helps make this 3 album run one of the greatest of all time, but I would say that when it comes to pop music it doesn’t get much better than this, especially when you take into consideration the other two albums. how i’m feeling now was a great pop LP filled with some great pop bangers and really stands out as one her best. And BRAT? I can’t say anything about that album that hasn’t already been said. A definite album of the year contender, Charli’s BRAT LP is just about the perfect record, one that captivated audiences all over the world and boosted her right back into the mainstream.
2. OutKast: ATLiens – Aquemini – Stankonia
Here are 3 of the greatest rap albums of all time from arguably the greatest duo in rap music. Coming off a solid debut, the pairing of Andre 3000 and Big Boi continued to ramp up the quality with ATLiens, and continued to do so with every release. Aquemini is a smooth blend of funk and jazz that’ll leave you enthralled. Stankonia is southern hip hop and it’s absolute best, featuring some of the group’s biggest hits, such as “Ms. Jackson”, and “B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)”.
3. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon – Wish You Were Here – Animals
There aren’t many rock and roll bands that have as deep of a discography as the legendary Pink Floyd, serving out nothing but classics throughout the entirety of the 1970s. In 1973, the band would proceed to release one of the greatest rock albums of all time, The Dark Side of the Moon. To this day, there is not one album that has beaten this album’s record as the album with the longest spent on the Billboard 200, 990 weeks to be exact. Even after the success of this album, they keep on going with two other classic albums, Wish You Were Here and Animals. I could also include The Wall if we were talking about 4 album runs.
4. D’Angelo: Brown Sugar – Voodoo – Black Messiah
R&B performer D’Angelo has released only 3 albums in the entirety of his career, and all 3 of those albums are absolutely fantastic. In 1995 he released his debut Brown Sugar to great critical acclaim, and 5 years later he followed that up with the release of what has been called, not only of the greatest R&B albums of all time, but just one of the greatest albums of all time, Voodoo. After he released Voodoo, he didn’t release another full-length LP for another 14 years. However, with the release of Black Messiah, he showed that he hadn’t gotten even a slight bit rusty.
5. Michael Jackson: Off the Wall – Thriller – Bad
Before he was the king of pop, you could say that Michael Jackson was the prince of disco. In 1979 he released possibly the greatest album the genre of disco had ever seen, Off the Wall. And for him, it was only just the beginning. A few years later he would go on to drop would may be the biggest album of all time, Thriller, a pop phenomenon that is filled with nothing but some of the greatest anthems in pop music. Even after Thriller, he would continue on making more anthems with the release of Bad, which would feature 5 number one hit singles, a feat only done by one other person.
6. The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles – Abbey Road
You should have figured this was going to be on here. When you talk about 3 album runs, it’s hard not to mention The Beatles. They dominated the charts in the 1960s, and in the last 3 years of the decade, they reached a level that is still hard to replicate. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band has been considered by many to be The Beatles’ masterpiece, however, there are many other contenders. The album that followed, which is commonly referred to as The White Album, was super creative and innovative as well, and Abbey Road features some of the greatest written and performed songs ever.
7. TLC: Ooooooohhh…On The TLC Tip – Crazysexycool – Fanmail
I think there needs to be more respect put on the name of the great TLC. T-Boz, Left Eye and Chili came together to form THE 90s girl group, and they took R&B by storm, selling millions of records and producing a great deal of hits. Their first album introduced fans to a fun, sexy style of R&B, which they follow up with on their second album, Crazysexycool. This LP featured hits such as as “Waterfalls” and “Creep”. Their last album released before the passing of Left Eye, featured their biggest hit to date, “No Scrubs”, which just recently passed 1 billion streams on Spotify.
8. Kanye West: Graduation – 808s & Heartbreak – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Controversy aside, Kanye West is going to go down as one of the greatest rappers of all time. He has a discography that is indisputably incredible. The man barely has any misses within his catalog. Graduation has some of the most fun rap songs I’ve ever heard in my life. 808s & Heartbreak brings an R&B vibe that was different and quite experimental, but still executed so well. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy might be the greatest rap album of the 2010s, it’s absolutely perfect. A concept album done exceptionally well that leaves you mesmerized throughout the entire LP.
Do you agree with my list?
What do you think are some of the greatest 3 albums in music history? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading!
