As one of maybe only two people here who defends Future Days, I totally agree. They don't have many (any?) straight terrible songs.

Even Something Special is fine for me. I don't dislike it at all.

This thread could also be titled "Goddamn, Lucky Us."

Listening thru Gigaton now. These last two albums are superb.

PJ eras at this point:
1. Ten/Vs/Vitalogy
2. No Code/Yield
3. Binaural/Riot Act
4. Avocado/Backspacer/Lightning Bolt
5. Gigaton/Dark Matter

Ranking these groupings, I'd put #5 right there with #2 and #3.

We'll probably never know, but it definitely makes me curious to know what happened in 2017/2018 or so, when it looked like they were going down the road of another record with BoB. Going from that to the approach on Gigaton (and then, later, to Dark Matter), is such an about-face, I assume there had to be some kind of come-to-Jesus moment for the band.

Setting Sun (Dark Matter)
Who Ever Said (Gigaton)
Got to Give (Dark Matter)
Alright (Gigaton)
Dark Matter (Dark Matter)
React, Respond (Dark Matter)
Scared of Fear (Dark Matter)
Wreckage (Dark Matter)
Seven O'Clock (Gigaton)
Dance of the Clairvoyants (Gigaton)
Superblood Wolfmoon (Gigaton)
Comes Then Goes (Gigaton)
Waiting for Stevie (Dark Matter)
Upper Hand (Dark Matter)
Retrograde (Gigaton)
Quick Escape (Gigaton)
Never Destination (Gigaton)
Won't Tell (Dark Matter)
Take the Long Way (Gigaton)
Running (Dark Matter)
Buckle Up (Gigaton)
Something Special (Dark Matter)
River Cross (Gigaton)

I always loved this as a thought exercise. Actually all the albums (thematically) pair up really well right now, as luck would have it

1)Ten - VS
2)Vitalogy - No Code (No Code is, in many ways, a response to Vitalogy)
3) Yield - Binaural (I think an argument could be made (I make it in the book) that Binaural is not so much a response to Yield as the evolution of the tensions that exist below its surface
4) Riot Act - S/T. Sonically different but these are the Bush Administration albums. It's REM's Around the Sun and Accelerate, in Pearl Jam form
5) Backspacer - Lightning Bolt. These are the albums where the middle aged fear of loss/what is my legacy themes emerge. They are also the Obama administration albums, and the initial wave of optimism getting ground down by deeper, systemic problems around how our communities constitute themselves is all over here
6) Gigaton - Dark Matter. These are elder statesmen reflecting on their experiences and legacy and how to message it to the next generation. They are personal records, and deal with a lot of ideas in Backspacer and Lightning Bolt, but there is a shift as the audience (their children's generation as well as their own) as the rising generation is now ready to act on its own


I think there's also a thematic arc that starts in Ten and completes in Backspacer, and another one that begins in Backspacer and is still unfolding (and likely wont' resolve unless Pearl Jam sits down to intentionally make a FINAL album). Backspacer really is an important pivot record thinking about this stuff.

But ranking your typology I'd go

1
5
4
2
3

Yes but your love for 4 is unnatural and beyond comprehension lol
We seem to be in agreement on 5 though, as you've placed it above 4.

For me:
1
5-3-2 (in order, but close)
4

My first one is just ready.

Upper Hand (Dark Matter)
Buckle Up (Gigaton)
Got to Give (Dark Matter)
Won't Tell (Dark Matter)
Scared of Fear (Dark Matter)
Who Ever Said (Gigaton)
React, Respond (Dark Matter)
Dance of the Clairvoyants (Gigaton)
Quick Escape (Gigaton)
Setting Sun (Dark Matter)
Wreckage (Dark Matter)
Take the Long Way (Gigaton)
Waiting for Stevie (Dark Matter)
Seven O'Clock (Gigaton)
Dark Matter (Dark Matter)
Comes Then Goes (Gigaton)
Superblood Wolfmoon (Gigaton)
Something Special (Dark Matter)
Alright (Gigaton)
Never Destination (Gigaton)
Running (Dark Matter)
Retrograde (Gigaton)
River Cross (Gigaton)

Album scores
Dark Matter: 156 (Average: 14.2)
Gigaton: 120 (Average: 10.0)

It’s a sensible set of groupings, but the ranking should of course be:

2
1
3
5
4

Now I could argue with myself for some time that 5 deserves to be above 3, but that may be recency bias talking.

Although Ten with everything (death of Andrew Wood, early origins of the band with Mike and Stone jamming, and later Jeff joining them, the recruitment process, Dave K, Singles - movie and soundtrack, TOTDG, early shows, Mookie Blaylock, eventual recruitment of Dave A, initial success, etc, deserves to be an era of its own).

1 Ten
2 Vs/Vitalogy
3 No Code/Yield
4 Binaural/Riot Act
5 S-T/Backspacer/Lightning Bolt
6 Gigaton/Dark Matter

Today, Scared Of Fear ended up ahead of Who Ever Said.

DOTC vs Wreckage another tough one, but still DOTC ahead today.

The rest are fairly easily the same.