I'll go with Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. You might think, how is Pink Floyd going to be underrated? Well, this CD was sandwiched in between Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, in dedication to ex-guitarist Syd Barrett who had been committed to a mental institution. This CD features nothing but great songs, top notch efforts from the entire band. However, it gets little to no play on the radio or among classic rock "fans," nevermind people who still think Pink Floyd was one guy.

 

Close second goes to London Calling by The Clash.

2pac and the Outlawz' "Still I Rise"

Saga - Generation 13

 

Or anything by Saga, for that matter.

Wish You Were Here is not underrated. In fact, that is a lot of the older generation Pink Floyd fans favorites. At least that's what I have heard. Who knows. A ton of people dislike the Wall. But that's another story.

 

Anyways, Anything by Journey or Foreigner.

I was speaking more of on a mainstream level. Wish You Were Here, IMO, is better on a musical level than The Wall - all four parts shine through. The Wall, though definitely a masterpiece, is more of Waters' artwork with a touch of Gilmour here and there. The old Pink Floyd stuff like Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Atom Heart Mother, plus Animals which was sandwiched in between DSOTM and The Wall along with WYWH, doesn't get as much attention though it was pretty good as well. But it's really no where near what Wish You Were Here is.

 

I think Syd Barrett is one of the shining examples of musicians who fall and then become overrated due to their fall, at least with their fans. Barrett doesn't hold a candle to Gilmour at all (one could say his being committed was the best thing that happened to Pink Floyd) yet he's remembered by alot of the fans as Gilmour's equal. Potential is so overrated in everything.

 

And definitely agreed on Journey and Foreigner. Two top notch bands that get lost in the shuffle more often than not.

Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf The Second

I'm seeing Journey in September

 

Pretty much anything by Steely Dan, specifically an album like Aja.

Wake of the Flood- The Grateful Dead

 

Probably they're most unknown album, but it's still pretty awesome.

Quadrophenia.

 

Probably one of The Who's best pieces of work; Townshend is at his peak in terms of writing, Entwistle is Enwistle, Daltrey's voice is actually quite good, and Moon is wild like always. Definitely better than Tommy, probably their second best album ever.

I've been meaning to get Quadrophenia for about two years now, but the price is a little ridiculous.

Wish you were here isn't underrated.

 

Good call on the dead album.

One of the best CDs I've ever heard. Great sound and Lauryn Hill is so fantastic lyrically that she really steals the show. Great album. So many great songs.

This is a no brainer- The Blackout by Method Man and Redman

 

Seriously, one of the best rap albums of the 90's, and no one talks about it.