If there's an interlude it needs to let the listener know what the vibe of the rest of the album is going to be like. Will be it similar to the first half of drastically different.

first two songs and the outro

best example for this discovery

If track 1-10 is strong then its a classic tbh

You see it

Track 2 is almost always a banger. Other than obviously the first and last track, I don't think there's any other track number that has a consistent identity across albums. It's not like track 6 on a lot of albums have anything in common

BJ skit after the grimiest track on the album. To goon away the adrenaline.

Track 1-6

Used to be intro and outro but the best songs for me tend to reside in the 2nd half towards the end which is usually the more Introspective songs and climax pieces.

The 2nd track also. The intro is the tone setter and opening curtains but the 2nd track is the first experience inside the album kinda.

exactly.

you gotta hit the ground running and this doesn't even mean put your best three songs at the beginning either

I always care about track 6 and 7 i feel like the best songs should go there

track 11 or 12 gotta hit fasho

Track 2

My band is planning a limited vinyl run of our debut and we purposely made the A/B split polar opposites of each other, one the softest and the other the loudest track on the album. Listening to it on streaming, it's a palate cleanser, but on vinyl it's like you're starting a whole new album. Details like that make a difference.

A bad track 2 can actually KILL an album