It doesn't matter whether your headphones are attached to an mp3 player or to a home stereo system, it's proven that a headphone listening experience differs from all other forms of enjoying music. By cutting out all the outside noise that typically invades a listening experience, you can better catch the nuances of the music and the pronunciation of the lyrics. Though some albums hardly benefit from headphones, there are some that shouldn't be listened to in any other way. Here are five of the very best.
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
The best way to listen to the Flaming Lips is, without a doubt, live and in person. If you don't have that option though, headphones will do; and there is no better Lips album to enjoy than their 2002 magnum opus Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. From the sing along choruses to the textured electronic soundscapes, Yoshimi is pure psychedelic pop splendor that no doubt sounds best without any other distracting outside noises. Just remember to try not to jump when Yoshimi's high pitched scream rips through the energetic "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt 2."
Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
Wilco's climbing experimentation met its apex with A Ghost Is Born, an album that dabbles in electronica, krautrock, retro pop and even contains a hint of the folk music Wilco was founded on. Though it may not be the band's best album, it's certainly the one that sounds best behind headphones. Whether you're soaking in extended instrumental parts or trying to make out Jeff Tweddy's more interesting and intelligent than ever lyrics, A Ghost Is Born just doesn't have the same impact when being played on stereo speakers. Also, you may be able to better enjoy the 12 minutes of squealing noise on the album's most questionable track "Less Than You Think" while listening with headphones - or then again, maybe not.
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
My Bloody Valentine's shoegaze "blueprint" is the one album on this list that you may not be able to truly appreciate unless you do listen to it with headphones. With so much dissonant noise and ethereal distortion, any outside sounds only seem to get in the way. When listening to Loveless with headphones on, all distractions are washed away and you can truly hear the beauty that lies within. Just try to listen to the album highlight “Sometimes” and not be carried away by the haunting melodies and the distortion filled guitar.
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd's most famous LP is an obvious choice for this list. Though some may argue that the best way to listen to The Dark Side of the Moon is with a certain 1940's film playing in the background, I'll take a pair of a headphones and a comfortable couch over an overplayed movie any day. Pink Floyd's dreamy, progressive rock sound was always great headphone music, but at times the band’s early albums seemed to float around aimlessly with no real purpose while Dark Side is a tighter more focused album that can better hold your attention all on its own. Believe me, listening to Dick Parry's saxophone solo on "Us and Them" with a pair of headphones is pure unadulterated ecstasy.
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Jazz music is always a good choice when picking out a good album to listen to with headphones, but no jazz album is perfectly captured with headphones the way that John Coltrane's seminal album A Love Supreme is. On A Love Supreme, Coltrane touches on his free form avant-garde phase that he would completely immerse himself in during the coming years and yet it still retains Coltrane's more accessible hard bop sound. From the opening gong to Coltrane's magnificent album ending solo, A Love Supreme is an enthralling listen no matter how it sonically meets your ears, but it just seems to be accentuated by a pair of headphones. There's really nothing in the world quite like hearing the greatest drum solo ever, performed by the incomparable Elvin Jones, fill your ears on "Pursuance."
