Eric B. & Rakim's discography makes for the greatest first four albums of any music act of the last 25 years. I stand by this 100%. The first four OutKast albums are a really, really close second.
Not to derail this thread (impossible), and not rudely to link to another message board entirely but ...
http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=47481For those who don't want to bother clicking thru, this is an "I Love Music" thread that I started years ago -- here is the intro text:
In his review of Brick by the Talking Heads (in the Onion's AV Club), Andy Battaglia posits Talking Heads' 77, More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music and Remain in Light as
"arguably the greatest four-record run in rock history."
I thought this warranted discussion (and he doesn't even get into the fact that their next release was the fabulous (especially in its expanded reissue format) live album The Name of This Band is Talking Heads).
Possible (obvious) alternatives
RollingStones - Beggar's Banquet to Exile on Main St.
ElvisCostello - This Year's Model to Trust
BobDylan - 4 of the early-ish ones ...
Early replies relevant here are The Velvet Underground, CCR, LedZep, Funkadelic, Pixiies and so forth