Thanks to its stripped-down, lean production, Vitalogy stands as Pearl Jam's most original and uncompromising album. While it isn't a concept album, Vitalogy sounds like one. Death and despair shroud the album, rendering even the explosive celebration of vinyl "Spin the Black Circle" somewhat muted. But that black cloud works to Pearl Jam's advantage, injecting a nervous tension to brittle rockers like "Last Exit" and "Not for You," and especially introspective ballads like "Corduroy" and "Better Man." In between the straight rock numbers and the searching slow songs, Pearl Jam contribute their strangest music -- the mantrafunk of "Aye Davanita," the sub-Tom Waits accordion romp of "Bugs," and the chilling sonic collage "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me." Pearl Jam are at their best when they're fighting, whether it's Ticketmaster, fame, or their own personal demons. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
I'm shocked to hear someone say that Ten sounds dated! It's aged very well in my opinion - as well as Vs. and Vitalogy. I think Vs. is a step above this album, but Vitalogy is still amazing, and Pearl Jam had quite a dry spell after they released this - No Code, Yield, Binaural, and Riot Act had some great tracks but didn't sound nearly as complete as this one or either of its predecessors.
Still the best and most interesting artwork I have ever seen for a CD. Plus, there are a number of parallels between the artwork on Vitalogy and on the Hovercraft CD Akathisia (Eddie Vedder's wife's band at the time).