3rd Album Theory (part 5, The Pantheon)

Pantheon Artists prove their greatness by album #3. These artists are like the NBA greats (Jordan, Bird, Magic, Duncan, Kobe), while the newer artists are like the NBA players that are on the cusp of all time greatness (Durant, Lebron, Wade, Carmelo and Paul). The obvious Pantheon Artists and their 3^rd album masterworks:

U2- War (and they kept improving on the next 3 albums)

Radiohead- O.K. Computer

Talking Heads- Fear of Music

Prince- Dirty Mind (you knew he was special and not even close to attaining what he was capable of)

The Clash- London Calling

Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run

David Bowie- The Man Who Sold the World

Jimi Hendrix- Electric Ladyland

The Who- The Who Sell Out

Led Zepplin- Led Zepplin III (not their best album, but still amazing)

The Velvet Underground- The Velvet Underground

Otis Redding- Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul

Metallica- Master of Puppets

Al Green- Al Green Gets Next To You

Elvis Costello- Armed Forces

Run- DMC- Raising Hell

The Smiths- The Queen is Dead

Not so obvious, but worth debating. For some it is too early to tell, while others may lead to people to disagree because their greatness is debated (i.e. Tom Petty, White stripes, Eminem, Aerosmith). But each of those created something masterful on number 3 and have sustained an excellent career arc:

The National- Alligator (sure, too early to tell and no one owns this album, but wow)

New Pornographers- Twin Cinema

The White Stripes- White Blood Cells (let the angry comments begin again)

The 77s- The 77s

The Choir- Chase the Kangaroo

Eminem- the Marshal Mathers Album

Aerosmith- Toys in the Attic (this surprised me, but I have to include it)

Ramones- Rocket to Russia

The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in America

Tom Petty- Damn the Torpedoes

Vigilantes of Love- Killing Floor

Husker Du- Zen Arcade