as dark and oppressive as PORNOGRAPHY is, it's pretty one dimensional. A cool dimension though.
SEVENTEEN SECONDS is nearly my favorite, but it's still the work of a young, albiet genius group of musicians.
DISINTEGRATION gets the vote, because it really has all their elements in one package, all done to near perfection. I know, "Love Song" isn't quite "Just Like Heaven" but song for song, it's just the strongest thing they ever did. How can you beat an opener like "Plainsong" and a closer like "Untitled" Both are among the best they ever did. If anything it's a bit too long, and I really got burned out on "Fascination Street" but the rest of the album remains magical to this day.
Everything I've heard since DISINTEGRATION has had a higher percentage of what could be called "filler" songs. WISH was good, but just not as strong. Going back an album, KISS MEx3 was great, but a bit too schizophrenic for its own good. It does contain several of their best pop songs, you just kind of have to dig through the album to get to them. It's not one I listen to end-to-end very often.
HEAD ON THE DOOR is awesome and tight as hell. Just about a perfect album in its own right. A very close 2nd, but coming from the other side, so to speak.
If DISINTEGRATION is the center of the Cure solar system, PORNOGRAPHY, HEAD ON THE DOOR and SEVENTEEN SECONDS all orbit in a very close inner ring.. then going out you have FAITH and KISS MEx3, the others.. though I really can't do much ranking beyond that.
hope this made some kind of sense.
-jar