Trilogy

[Bloodflower]

I am inclined to say 'Seventeen Seconds', 'Faith', 'Pornography'.

While I think the 'Pornography', 'Disintegration', 'Bloodflowers' trio has merit, as it encompasses seventeen years of the band's career, the more-or-less three-piece trio is more cohesive. Gradually building in darkness and ending in chaos, the so-called Dark Trilogy is lacking in outlier songs like 'Disintegration's Lovesong and Lullaby.

Some people argue that Play For Today on 'Seventeen Seconds' is inconsistent with the rest of the album, but I tend to disagree. The lyrics read similarly to the rest of the album (that is to say, they share the theme of the rest of the album), though it is definitely more like the era preceding it than the rest of 'Seventeen Seconds'.

For that matter, I would love to have had the three-piece of Jason, Robert, and Simon do that trilogy (with, perhaps, Roger on keyboards, though nothing extravagant, as that would betray the minimalist style of the Dark Trilogy). I am, as you might guess, a huge fan of the 4Play sessions and the Yahoo! sessions that had The Cure rerecording the songs Three Imaginary Boys, M, Seventeen Seconds, Faith, The Figurehead and Pornography (The Drowning Man and Fire in Cairo were also recorded, but unreleased, as you probably know).

So... yeah.

Choose one.

[disintegration]

for me Faith, Pornography and Disintegration! 

[KingOfSomeIsland]

17 Seconds, Faith, and Pornography are the "Dark Trilogy"
Head on the Door, Kiss Me, and Wish are the "Pop Trilogy"
Pornography, Disintegration, and Bloodflowers are their best albums. As well as RS favorites.

[Bloodflower]

I've never been able to choose a Pop Trilogy. For me, Japanese Whispers and The Head on the Door are obviously there, but after that it's not so clear. Kiss Me is, often, just too weird, and there's nothing pop about The Kiss, The Snakepit, or Shiver and Shake. Tentatively, I would label any Pop Trilogy as being Japanese Whispers, The Head on the Door, and Wish.

[japanesebaby]

faith, pornography and disitegration would be the three individual albums closest to my heart.
although i'm not sure that could be called a comprehensive/consistent 'trilogy' as such - so i guess i'll vote for the original trilogy anyway... 

[rjl]

I voted Seventeen Seconds, Faith, Pornography, although I'm also leaning towards a completely different (an admittedly less cohesive) trilogy of The Top, Kiss Me x3 and Wish...

[Bloodflower]

The Top, to me, is such an individual album in The Cure's catalogue, such an unashamed outlier in style and substance, that I have a very hard time grouping it with any other albums. Glimpses of it can be likened to other songs by The Cure, both before and after The Top's release (namely, Give Me It sounds natural next to Shiver and Shake off Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me), but the rest of it really doesn't fit any where else. Shake Dog Shake and Give Me It both share an emotion with much of Pornography, but at the same time are very different. The Caterpillar sounds vaguely like it could have been on The Head on the Door, but not really.....

I can liken songs on Seventeen Seconds to songs on Faith. I can liken songs on The Head on the Door to songs on Kiss Me, Disintegration (id est, Lovesong), Wish, and Wild Mood Swings. I can liken some of Disintegration to Wish (Trust, To Wish Impossible Things, A Letter to Elise). I can liken much of Wild Mood Swings to Wish (Want, Mint Car, Round & Round & Round) and some to Bloodflowers (Bare, Jupiter Crash).

But there are some albums by The Cure that I simply cannot liken to anything else they've done. Three Imaginary Boys sounds nothing like their other albums. Pornography (with the mild exception of Cold, which sounds somewhat congruent with All Cats are Grey and The Funeral Party) sounds like nothing else they ever did. Bloodflowers sounds like nothing else they ever did (with the exception of the acoustic-ish link between Jupiter Crash and Bare). And (hopefully!) The Cure sounds like nothing else they've done.

Some albums can be grouped together, threads of consistency can be found, but some are just total outliers. The Top is one such album.

[Tof]

Seventeen Seconds, Faith, Pornography is the real trilogy !!!

[splitmilk34]

I'm going to say Pornography, Disintegration and Bloodflowers if only because Bloodflowers is a much stronger record than 17 Seconds.  Also, the moods in these 3 records, and the way the slowly phase from anger to sadness to nostalgic to wistfulness back to sadness/fear and a little anger just makes sense to me. 
With 17Sec, Faith and Pornography the "trilogy" seems to be in the production and sound of the music, not so much the themes.
If I had to pick the closest "other" trilogy for me, it would have to be Faith, Pornography and Disintegration.

[PAOKCURE]

17 Seconds, Faith, and Pornography are the "Dark Trilogy"
Head on the Door, Kiss Me, and Wish are the "Pop Trilogy"
Pornography, Disintegration, and Bloodflowers are their best albums. As well as RS favorites.

I totally agree.
Still, I voted Faith-Pornography-Disintegration as a "trilogy of perfection".

[figurehead]

Well the truth is that the Dark Trilogy is :
'Seventeen Seconds'
'FAiTH'
& of course
'PORNOGRAPHY'
but i voted the one i believe it really is 'TRiLOGY' as well even if it isn't the Darkest one...
& that means PORNO/DiSi/Blood.

[angel]

faith, pornography and disintegration are the best trilogy for me, because these albums are homogeneous, like one only song, without happy songs (happy songs are good like b-sides), others albums could be in trilogy if we changes happy songs from album by sad songs(b-sides)like the cure or bloodflowers...

[Janko]

OFCOURSE:

Pornography, Disintegration, and Bloodflowers