I’m returning to my top 50 favorite rock bands. In this video series, I’m identifying the best three albums by each band. This blog is for band #31 – Depeche Mode.
Criteria for selecting the best three albums
First, the band must have more than three records in their catalog. Depeche Mode has been around for decades and continues to release records so they have a lot of them. In fact, whittling it down to three was somewhat of a challenge. Second, Greatest Hits albums are allowed. Third live albums are not permitted. I will note Depeche Mode has released a lot of live music and some of it is really really good.
The third-best album by this band is Catching Up with DM
When this band got started they were really popular in Europe, but unknown in the US until “People Are People” hit the charts. They took off like a rocket after that so they did something really smart. When people started saying who in the world is this band they released this album which was a compilation of their best music to date. I highly recommend it If you’ve never listened to Depeche Mode before. It is a perfect place to start.
The second-best album by Depeche Mode
The second-best album by Depeche Mode is called Some Great Reward. If you want to dig deeper into their early catalog I recommend going here. I own it on vinyl. It has the mega-hit “People Are People”, the popular song “Blasphemous Rumors” as well as “Master and Servant”. The rest of the album is great.
The best album by Depeche Mode
The best album by this synth band is called Violator. I own this one on vinyl. It includes “Personal Jesus”, “Enjoy the Silence” and “Policy of Truth”. I have to confess I had kind of fallen away from this band once they got hugely popular for all the wrong reasons. When I started listening to this synth band nobody knew about them. I saw them in concert at the Warner Theater in DC, a teeny tiny venue. By the time Violator drops they were worldwide stars. They definitely deserve it. This is their best album.
There you have it – the three best Depeche Mode albums. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
I am Doug Keating and this is my letter to my sons.