Both are considered the band's defining LP career high points depending on who you listen to, but who is correct?

There's only one way to find out!

Skylarking.

I never took to English Settlement, and when I choose to put it on I go with the abridged US version (which still seems a bit padded). Skylarking is a great listen from start to finish, especially if the version being played doesn't have "Dear God".

Black Sea beats both, BTW.

I only have two collections from XTC on my iPod: Fossil Fuel and Skylarking.

English Settlement meant far more to me at the time of its release than Skylarking, but with the distance of time, the better album is Skylarking, easily. It's more fully realized with no truly bad songs or filler. The vocal and musical arrangements are inventive and reveal themselves over multiple listens. While Todd Rundgren's production is polished, it lacks the slick fussiness that always put me off of Oranges and Lemons and Nonsuch.

While I still like English Settlement, it has songs like 'Leisure" that do nothing, and songs like "Melt The Guns" and "Jason and the Argonauts" that go on for a couple of minutes too long. It's also a transition album between XTC's high energy, new wave, live performance days and the more produced and arranged studio years, and has that sort of "what do we do next?" tentativeness about it.

But, like Sid, my favorite XTC album is Black Sea.

Skylarking by a mile. I like English Settlement,But there is so much filler and no unifying concept. I don't listen to it nearly as much as Skylarking. Black Sea is probably just as good though.

I'm the only vote for English Settlement so far. I like both albums but "Yacht Dance" puts ES over for me.

God I hate that song. Basically ruins the record for me.

Like both of you, Black Sea is my favorite.

Yeah, the poll is flawed. Should be Drums And Wires vs Black Sea

Huh, these two are my favourites and finished highest in our most recent album poll.

Got into XTC through Skylarking. Holds a special place. Also it's a very good record.

Black Sea absolutely.

As Bobzilla says with age Skylarking has held up better. ES has a bit of that dated angry Brit thing going on. And I loved ES in the day. Purchased the double LP import of it.

Skylarking is a brilliant song cycle of passage through the seasons of life, heartbreak, and disillusionment. Colin Moulding, Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory are better than ever with top notch melodies and performances. Coupled with Todd Rundgren and his supple production, this is nothing short of a pop masterpiece.

English Settlement would be a career maker for anyone else.
Runaways-Ball&Chain-Senses-All of A Sudden-Jason-NoThugs-Yacht-Melt The Guns-ERoundabout-Snowman
Solid effin record.

I'm a bit partial to Skylarking, mostly because I was at the sessions at The Tubes studio in SF for a week in April. '86.

That being said, Black Sea is STILL the one to beat.

Skylarking is a better song cycle, but I really overplayed it when I had my XTC phase in college, to the point where I can't really imagine ever putting it on. English Settlement wanders, the songs get too long, there are bad filler tunes, and while I like the 12-string sound, it's not their best overall envelope IMO.

Black Sea is definitely my favorite overall XTC sound- that super polished, perfectly crafted big beat sixties pop awesomeness.

Also a big fan of The Big Express.

25 O'Clock vs. Psonic Sunspot

I voted Skylarking, but English Settlement was my intro to the band and has more than it's share of great tunes. The worst I've heard though, is clearly Mummer. awful record.

Now we're talking.

But to the matter at hand... Skylarking is my least favorite XTC album. I'd sooner listen to The Dub Sessions. On an WXRT / XTC interview with Johnny Mars about a zillion years ago, Mars asked Partridge "How did you run across Todd Rungren?" Partridge said, "In a van, about 5 tons. Then we backed up and had another go." That animosity is clear in the record, and no matter of smooooooth production makes it interesting for me. Which is too bad, because some of the writing is very strong.

Black Sea ahead of the pack by a mile, closely followed by:
English Settlement
Drums And Wires

I think the reason that Black Sea is still the best is because they still had a full-time drummer at that point... even if Terry Chambers can only seem to do hard-hitting 4/4. The percussion is more tightly integrated somehow.

After that, it's a jumble-- some of Oranges & Lemons, Nonsuch, White Music, etc.

To its credit, it does have Love On A Farm Boy's Wages, which is one of Andy's best songs.

Psonic Sunspot, ONLY because it has more tracks.

The former -
Mole From the Ministry - What In The World - My Love Explodes

The latter -
Vanishing Girl - Pale & Precious - Shiny Cage - The Affiliated - Brainiac's Daughter - YAGMAB

Good thing they gave us both in one.

25 O'Clock is a truer pastiche of a psych record. Could almost come straight out of 1968. Love pretty much all of it.
Psonic Psunspot has some great songs like "Vanishing Girl" "Little Lighthouse" "Collideascope" "Brainiac's Daughter" and "Pale and Precious" that are a bit of a psychedelic smorgasbord, and a few that are little more than XTC songs with some period trimmings. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just a little less consistant.

The Dukes of Stratosphear Chips From the Chocolate Fireball compilation would probably be my third or fourth favorite XTC album (behind Black Sea, Skylarking and maybe Drums and Wires).

"Brainiac's Daughter" - I wish there were more songs with slide whistle solos

Hard decision. My instinct says English Settlement, though my all time XTC favorite is Drums and Wires.

i went with english settlement by a nose over skylarking, mostly because those first 4 songs blow me away.

but i'm also in the camp that says drums & wires and the black sea are superior records.

I'm sorry to say I forgot that one, certainly one of my favorite Dukes' tracks.

surprised no one's mentioned Apple Venus yet