Is Discovery a good place to start with Pink Floyd?

Yes, Discovery is recommended as a starting point for new Pink Floyd listeners. A sprawling journey through psychedelic soundscapes, exploring the cosmos and human experience with haunting melodies and intricate arrangements. Released in 2011, Discovery is a comprehensive box set that encapsulates Pink Floyd's evolution from their early experimental works to their later iconic albums. This collection arrived during a period of renewed interest in the band, showcasing their influential catalog as they approached the 50th anniversary of their formation.

Who is Discovery for?

Discovery works well if you're into cosmic explorations for deep thinkers, dynamic journey with emotional peaks and immersive soundscapes for late nights.

How many songs are on Discovery?

Discovery has 149 tracks, running approximately 726 minutes.

Discovery

Pink Floyd · 2011

726 min · 149 tracks · progressive rock

A sprawling journey through psychedelic soundscapes, exploring the cosmos and human experience with haunting melodies and intricate arrangements.

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Top tracks — play these first

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Astronomy Domine Start here — This track serves as a quintessential introduction to Pink Floyd's early sound, marked by its cosmic themes and experimental instrumentation that foreshadowed their later works.
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Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun — With its hypnotic rhythms and ethereal lyrics, this song exemplifies the band's ability to blend poetry with avant-garde soundscapes, establishing them as pioneers of progressive rock.
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Wish You Were Here — An enduring anthem of absence and longing, this track showcases the band's emotional depth and lyrical poignancy, resonating across generations.
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Comfortably Numb — This iconic piece features one of rock's most celebrated guitar solos, embodying the tension between isolation and connection that permeates much of Pink Floyd's work.

Is this for you?

Good fit if you like

cosmic explorations for deep thinkers
dynamic journey with emotional peaks
immersive soundscapes for late nights
patient listening with rewarding details
wave-like pacing for reflective moods

Maybe skip if you

prefer short, standalone tracks
seek instant gratification and hooks

Where this album fits

In the catalog: Deep Cut — A comprehensive collection that showcases the breadth of Pink Floyd's evolution.
Themes: Syd Barrett tribute· cosmic soundscapes· mortality reflections
Career context: Released in 2011, Discovery is a comprehensive box set that encapsulates Pink Floyd's evolution from their early experimental works to their later iconic albums. This collection arrived during a period of renewed interest in the band, showcasing their influential catalog as they approached the 50th anniversary of their formation.
Stylistic neighbors: King Crimson· Yes· Genesis

New to Pink Floyd? Find your way in →

Moments worth listening for

Where the writing does something specific.

Comfortably Numb

The transition into the second verse shifts from first person to a more detached observation about disconnection from reality.

This structural change emphasizes the theme of alienation, making the listener acutely aware of the emotional distance portrayed in the narrative.

Tracklist

Disc 1

1 Astronomy Domine Start here 4:12
2 Lucifer Sam 3:07
3 Matilda Mother 3:08
4 Flaming 2:46
5 Pow R. Toc H. 4:26
6 Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk 3:06
7 Interstellar Overdrive 9:40
8 The Gnome 2:13
9 Chapter 24 3:42
10 The Scarecrow 2:11
11 Bike 3:23

Disc 2

1 Let There Be More Light 5:38
2 Remember a Day 4:32
3 Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun 5:27
4 Corporal Clegg 4:12
5 A Saucerful of Secrets 11:56
6 See‐Saw 4:36
7 Jugband Blues 3:00

Disc 3

1 Cirrus Minor 5:18
2 The Nile Song 3:26
3 Crying Song 3:33
4 Up the Khyber 2:12
5 Green Is the Colour 2:58
6 Cymbaline 4:49
7 Party Sequence 1:08
8 Main Theme 5:26
9 Ibiza Bar 3:19
10 More Blues 2:12
11 Quicksilver 7:13
12 A Spanish Piece 1:05
13 Dramatic Theme 2:18

Disc 4

1 Astronomy Domine Start here 8:32
2 Careful With That Axe, Eugene 8:49
3 Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun 9:27
4 A Saucerful of Secrets 12:51

Disc 5

1 Sysyphus, Part One 1:09
2 Sysyphus, Part Two 3:30
3 Sysyphus, Part Three 1:49
4 Sysyphus, Part Four 6:59
5 Grantchester Meadows 7:27
6 Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict 4:58
7 The Narrow Way, Part One 3:28
8 The Narrow Way, Part Two 2:53
9 The Narrow Way, Part Three 5:57
10 The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party, Part One – Entrance 0:59
11 The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party, Part Two – Entertainment 7:05
12 The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party, Part Three – Exit 0:41

Disc 6

1 Atom Heart Mother: a) Father’s Shout / b) Breast Milky / c) Mother Fore / d) Funky Dung / e) Mind Your Throats Please / f) Remergence 23:42
2 If 4:30
3 Summer ’68 5:28
4 Fat Old Sun 5:23
5 Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast: a) Rise and Shine / b) Sunny Side Up / c) Morning Glory 13:01

Disc 7

1 One of These Days 5:55
2 A Pillow of Winds 5:12
3 Fearless 6:08
4 San Tropez 3:43
5 Seamus 2:14
6 Echoes 23:34

Disc 8

1 Obscured by Clouds 3:05
2 When You’re In 2:31
3 Burning Bridges 3:30
4 The Gold It’s in The… 3:07
5 Wot’s… Uh the Deal 5:09
6 Mudmen 4:17
7 Childhood’s End 4:33
8 Free Four 4:16
9 Stay 4:07
10 Absolutely Curtains 5:52

Disc 9

1 Speak to Me 1:07
2 Breathe 2:49
3 On the Run 3:45
4 Time 6:53
5 The Great Gig in the Sky 4:44
6 Money 6:23
7 Us and Them 7:49
8 Any Colour You Like 3:26
9 Brain Damage 3:46
10 Eclipse 2:12

Disc 10

1 Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1–5 13:32
2 Welcome to the Machine 7:31
3 Have a Cigar 5:07
4 Wish You Were Here 5:34
5 Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 6–9 12:29

Disc 11

1 Pigs on the Wing, Part 1 1:25
2 Dogs 17:05
3 Pigs (Three Different Ones) 11:26
4 Sheep 10:18
5 Pigs on the Wing, Part 2 1:28

Disc 12

1 In the Flesh? 3:20
2 The Thin Ice 2:26
3 Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1 3:11
4 The Happiest Days of Our Lives 1:50
5 Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 3:58
6 Mother 5:34
7 Goodbye Blue Sky 2:47
8 Empty Spaces 2:07
9 Young Lust 3:29
10 One of My Turns 3:36
11 Don’t Leave Me Now 4:15
12 Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3 1:14
13 Goodbye Cruel World 1:17

Disc 13

1 Hey You 4:40
2 Is There Anybody Out There? 2:41
3 Nobody Home 3:22
4 Vera 1:33
5 Bring the Boys Back Home 1:27
6 Comfortably Numb 6:22
7 The Show Must Go On 1:36
8 In the Flesh 4:15
9 Run Like Hell 4:23
10 Waiting for the Worms 3:57
11 Stop 0:30
12 The Trial 5:18
13 Outside the Wall 1:46

Disc 14

1 The Post War Dream 3:00
2 Your Possible Pasts 4:26
3 One of the Few 1:13
4 When the Tigers Broke Free 3:15
5 The Hero’s Return 2:42
6 The Gunner’s Dream 5:18
7 Paranoid Eyes 3:41
8 Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert 1:16
9 The Fletcher Memorial Home 4:10
10 Southampton Dock 2:12
11 The Final Cut 4:42
12 Not Now John 5:01
13 Two Suns in the Sunset 5:18

Disc 15

1 Signs of Life 4:23
2 Learning to Fly 4:52
3 The Dogs of War 6:03
4 One Slip 5:08
5 On the Turning Away 5:41
6 Yet Another Movie 6:13
7 Round and Around 1:13
8 A New Machine, Part 1 1:45
9 Terminal Frost 6:15
10 A New Machine, Part 2 0:39
11 Sorrow 8:46

Disc 16

1 Cluster One 5:56
2 What Do You Want From Me 4:21
3 Poles Apart 7:03
4 Marooned 5:29
5 A Great Day for Freedom 4:17
6 Wearing the Inside Out 6:49
7 Take It Back 6:12
8 Coming Back to Life 6:19
9 Keep Talking 6:10
10 Lost for Words 5:13
11 High Hopes 8:34

What to play next

Listen next

The Endless River

2014

Continues the cosmic exploration with expansive soundscapes and reflective themes.

Go back to

Oh, by the Way

2007

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Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata