Greatest album openers

[Waterbagel]

Birdland from Heavy Weather by Weather Report

YES!

Speak to Me/Breathe on Dark Side of the Moon is solid.
Boreal Network (turquoise70 on here!)'s opener on her Means Business album fits it perfectly.

[rolypablo]

The start of Dark Side of the Moon has always been my favourite.

[maxd98]

I Robot - Alan Parsons Project

Goddamn fantastic track, and leads perfectly into I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You.

[warphead]

The start of Dark Side of the Moon has always been my favourite.

Yeah I think is my favorite. Speak To Me/Breathe combo is unbeatable for me.

Angel of Death and War Ensemble are worth a mention

[Negamuse]

"Alpha Phase" - Global Communication (I love this track to death and never get bored of it. 6:30 of intro, track peaks at about 10:45)

[drillkicker]

Old Black by Earth is easily the best track on the album that it opens. Fire of the Mind by Coil is a good one. LCC by Autechre is probably the best track on Untilted. Fredericia by Do Make Say Think is quite an experience. I've always loved RBA-1A by Merzbow, which is just a phenomenal collage of sounds with a violin solo that borders between eerie and psychedelic. Redwood Ramble by Robbie Basho is another great one. 79°S 83°W might be the fairest opening in the land.

Also, shout out to my man ADM for his opening to Life Is Meaningless, Clouds Are Beautiful.

[RVeldhuis]

Helios - Bless this morning year
Aphex Twin - Xtal

[North by North]

Have to agree with the earlier mentions of Sonic Youth’s “Teenage Riot”, Fugazi’s “Turnover” (though “Break”, “Do You Like Me” and “Waiting Room” are just as amazing) and Apex Twin’s Xtal (though “Cliffs” has always been my fav).

Some others:

Radiohead- Everything in It’s Right Place
Led Zeppelin- Black Dog
Sublime- Garden Grove
GYBE- Dead Flag Blues
Choir of Young Believers- The Third Time (amazing)
Underworld- Cups
Buffalo Springfield- Mr. Soul
Nirvana- Serve the Servants
Ben Fold Five- Narcolepsy
Beck- Cold Brains
Huggy Bear- Immature Adolescence (and Dissthentic Penetration)

[RVeldhuis]

Cliffs is also really cool, the 2nd SAW is different then the first though.
I completly forgot about Everything in It's Right Place aswell.

[2020k]

I second "Cups" by Underworld & "Mr. Self Destruct" by NIN.

"Wannabe" by The Spice Girls. Holy. Shit. It's not only a tone setter for their album, but for their entire career and personalities. I've never thought of a song more suited to be an opener. It's so defining.

"We Are All made of Stars" by Moby

Generally, Tori Amos and Bjork have amazing openers. Those women arrange the flow of their albums immaculately. "Parasol" is probably my favorite opener from Tori & it's impossible to choose when it comes to the Bjork records.

"Extraordinary Machine" by Fiona Apple

"Bamboo Banger" by M.I.A.

"Angel" and "Pray for Rain" by Massive Attack

"Myth" by Beach House

"Don't Look Back" By Telepopmusik. GREAT mood setter.

"The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" By The Postal Service

I really enjoy "Gemini" as the introduction to Tomorrow's Harvest....I like introductions that seem cinematic so Dr. Dre's introductions on Chronic 2001 & Compton fall in line as well.

[Jonse]

Sax Rohmer #1 by The Mountain Goats
Umbrella by Dntel

Neither of these would qualify for me as some of the "greatest album openers", but they are "great" album openers and I'm struggling to come up with a list. Those were on my mind. Here is a "greatest": Cipater by Autechre.

Generally, Tori Amos and Bjork have amazing openers.

....& "Mr. Self Destruct" by NIN.

A. That they do. I'm more partial to Tori though here.

B. It's great live too, with a sub-par touring band, with fucked up equipment: [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d491vgxBEuw[/media]

That said, I don't really value that track as heavily when it is removed from its job, the position on the record it belongs to. That's a rare exception where an opener is not one of my favorites because the song is, but because it can't not be an opener for the following material. If there's a gauntlet of angry noise that stands alone really well from that album, it's not that. Though the closer stands amazingly well in or out of context, best performed with David Bowie.

[mc10101]

A few that readily spring to mind, setting the scene perfectly for their parent albums, in no particular order...

Radiohead "Everything in its Right Place" (Kid A)
Talk Talk "The Rainbow" (Spirit of Eden)
Global Communication "Alpha Phase" (Blood Music)
Air "La Femme d'Argent" (Moon Safari)
Scott Walker "It's Raining Today" (Scott 3)

[Headphase]

Here's a few I like (some were already mentioned)
Nine inch nails - mr self destruct
Radiohead - planet telex, airbag, everything in it's right place, 2+2=5 AND 15 step
Björk - Hunter and pleasure is all mine
BoC - ALL their studio album openers
Aphex twin - jynwheythek, acrid avid jam shred and 4
Flying lotus - Theme
Atoms for peace - before your very eyes
Chvrches - the mother we share
Death grips - get got
FKA twigs - preface
Goldfrapp - Clowns and Jo
Windsor airlift - hello enchanted evening (and also moonfish parachutist is pretty good too)

[valleaux]

Speak to Me/Breathe - Pink Floyd
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
Xtal - Aphex Twin
cliffside hinson - C418
Timelapse Kingdom - C418
Seventeen Years - Ratatat
Gemini - BoC
Awake- Tycho

[FernieCanto]

Seconding Airbag by Radiohead, and LCC by Autechre. Matter of fact, LCC was my introduction to Autechre. Blew my mind.

Some more of my own:

Open - Com Truise, from In Decay
Isi - NEU!, from NEU! '75
Procession / Father to Son - Queen, from Queen II
Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) - Arcade Fire, from Funeral
Untitled #1 - Sigur Rós, from ( )
Roundabout - Yes, from Fragile
Panis et Circenses - Os Mutantes, from self-titled debut
Wouldn't It Be Nice - Beach Boys, from Pet Sounds
Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan, from Highway 61 Revisited
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye, from What's Going On
One of These Days - Pink Floyd, from Meddle
Gimmie Shelter - Rolling Stones, from Let It Bleed (I can't stand most of the album, though)
Tom Sawyer - Rush, from Moving Pictures (they have so many great openers)
Neon Beanbag - Stereolab, from Chemical Chords
Born Under Punches - Talking Heads, from Remain in Light
Pulstar - Vangelis, from Albedo 0.39
A Sort of Homecoming - U2, from The Unforgettable Fire
Needles in the Camel's Eye - Brian Eno, from Here Come the Warm Jets
You Don't Know Me - Caetano Veloso, from Transa
Pinch - Can, from Ege Bamyasi (most would say Paperhouse from Tago Mago, but Pinch drives me crazy every time)
Frownland - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, from Trout Mask Replica (I still remember the first time I heard this...)
Politik - Coldplay, from A Rush of Blood to the Head
Lazy Calm - Cocteau Twins, from Victorialand
The Abandoned Hospital Ship - The Flaming Lips, from Clouds Taste Metallic (Race for the Prize is a good call too)
Peaches in Regalia - Frank Zappa, from Hot Rats
Watcher of the Skies - Genesis, from Foxtrot
21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson, from In the Court of the Crimson King
Runaways - XTC, from English Settlement

Phew, this was longer than I anticipated.

EDIT: Five Years - David Bowie, from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

[drillkicker]

Yeah, LCC is a killer track. I always hated it and it kept me from getting into Untilted, but after a few plays I absolutely fell in love with those synths in the second half. It's all composed so perfectly.

[Scotronica]

The Queen is Dead from the very same album

[jcnporter]

'Where the streets have no name' from The Joshua Tree by U2. That glorious synth intro, then The Edge's guitar arpeggio fading in...

[jcnporter]

Old Black by Earth is easily the best track on the album that it opens.

'Introduction' from 'Pentastar: In the Style of Demons' is a cracker as well.

As is 'Bright Yellow Gun' by Throwing Muses, from University and 'You and Me Song' from The Wannadies' 'Be a Girl'.

As a pure statement of intent for the album to follow, 'Yes' by Manic Street Preachers from 'The Holy Bible' takes some beating.

[mechanismj]

Alan Parsons Project - Sirius / Eye In The Sky - Eye In The Sky (1982)
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)
The B-52's - Planet Claire - The B-52's (1979)
The Faint - Agenda Suicide - Danse Macabre (2001)
Depeche Mode - In Chains - Sounds Of The Universe (2009) *The way the synths slowly tune up like some sort of orchestra is awesome.*
Killing Joke - Requiem - Killing Joke (1980)
The Sound - Winning - From The Lion's Mouth (1981)
Tame Impala - It Is Not Meant To Be - Innerspeaker (2010)
Ulrich Schnauss - Never Be The Same - Goodbye (2007)
Boards Of Canada - Wildlife Analysis - Need I say more?