All the way though. Preferably alone and through decent headphones. Depending on the band possibly in a chemically altered state. Not doing anything else -- just just sit back, close my eyes and listen. Loud. If I like it -- repeat the steps just listed several times.
And if it's a band I know already or a band that comes very highly recommended by a few trusted individuals, I also prefer to not have heard any songs on the album prior to hearing the whole thing. It just makes for a better listening experience to me.
Originally posted by Tarvark
Have any of you ever had an album that they couldnt finish the first time around but then grew to love?
Yeah. Several years ago I found a cassette of
Priest = Aura by The Church at Goodwill for 25 cents. I was so excited to find a Church album that I immediately popped it into my car stereo as the guy I was seeing at the time and I ran errands. Big mistake. Not only was the car stereo quite poor, but the guy was being his usual whiny bastard self, so I just didn't get anything out of the album.
A few months later I listened to the album again -- on a decent portable cassette player (still not great, but a whole lot better than the one in my poor car) and without the whiny bastard. And I thought "Wow, this is
good!" so I listened to it again, and again, and again. It's one of my very favorite Church albums now(and therefore one of my favorites overall as well).