The Discography Ranking Thread
 

Thought it might be fun to rank your favorite bands / artists discographies and make our cases for why we like what we like. :beer:

No strict format here, though I recommend TierMaker if you need a good template.

I'll start with Genesis

https://i.postimg.cc/vBtp1hSm/Genesi...m-Rankings.png


S Tier (Essential)

Trespass (1970) - The strongest of the Gabriel-era albums for me from a compositional and performance standpoint. Anthony Phillips guitar work is phenomenal and the material covers a lot of territory for 1970, with 'Looking For Someone' and 'Stagnation' being particularly nice.


A Trick Of The Tail (1976) - Phil Collins' debut as lead vocalist after Peter Gabriel left. It works really well as an album for similar reasons to Trespass, but it has the additional edge of having some arena-ready hooks at times like on 'Squonk' and the surprisingly poignant 'Ripples'. Basically, it has everything that was great about the Gabriel-era of Genesis but even better production and overall execution with less of Gabriel's meandering tendencies.


Duke (1980) - The best of the 80's era of Genesis, coincidentally, happens to be at the very start after yet another reinvention. Similar to the magic trick Yes would pull off a few years later with 90125, Duke is where Collins really takes off into big stadium AOR type territory. 'Turn It On Again' is a cool slice of pop (plus it's basically in 13/4 time which is ridiculous) and the New Wave-meets-prog aesthetic on 'Man Of Our Times' and the Duke's Travels suite are as good as pop-Genesis got. Very synth-heavy experience, but you can feel the energy just crackling off these songs.


A Tier (Almost Perfect)

Foxtrot (1972) - 'Watcher Of The Skies' is the one of the best opening songs by any band ever. You could get rid of every other song off this record besides this one and the 23 minute closer 'Supper's Ready' and it's still some of the best 30+ minutes of music ever made. The only reason it isn't S-tier is because the rest of the songs here aren't quite as memorable.


Genesis (1983) - The 2nd best 80's Genesis "pop" album. Side A is basically perfect with the skittish epic 'Mama' and the bouncy yet eerie 'Home By The Sea' being examples of Phil Collins doing his thing perfectly. Very close to S-tier overall, but the lulzy 'Illegal Alien' is just a joke song and 'Just A Job To Do' is pretty disposable.


The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974) - Very ambitious concept album and pretty out there for '74. What holds it back from S-tier is that it lacks digestibility as a singular experience, too much meandering around and a tendency to jump between some great songs and questionable Beatle-esque diversions with little rhyme or reason. The best songs on this thing are great though, with my favorites being 'In The Cage' and the dreamy 'Carpet Crawlers'.


B Tier (Good-To-Great)

Nursery Cryme (1971) - The bridge between the glorious Trespass and almost-as-great Foxtrot, but not as strong as either album. 'The Musical Box' is one of the best songs from the Peter Gabriel era and the overall atmosphere is fairly nice, especially when those harmonies hit on 'Harlequin'.


Selling England By The Pound (1973) - 'Firth Of Fifth' is a legitimate slice of perfection, but otherwise it's easily the most overrated album from the Peter Gabriel era. A strong prog album objectively (Gabriel-era Genesis never did a "bad" album), just not a personal favorite.


Wind & Wuthering (1977) - Notable for being the last Genesis album with Steve Hackett's presence on lead guitar, this album has a lot of writing credits from him and it shows. 'Afterglow' has a 10cc vibe about it and 'All In A Mouse's Night' has a quirky charm to it, but I don't think the writing here (in an overall sense) measures up to the S-tier or A-tier albums. Production is pretty good though.


We Can't Dance (1991) - Of the albums I have here at B-tier, I think this one is probably the most underrated. Half of it is pretty nice, half it is meh. The songwriting at times reminds me of the best parts of the '83 self-titled, with my "I'd put this on a playlist' nods going to 'Driving The Last Spike', opener 'No Son Of Mine', the nifty 'Living Forever' and the 10-minute closer 'Fading Lights. Is it super cheesy? Oh yes. Should you probably own it anyway? Hell yeah.


From Genesis To Revelation (1969) - Surprisingly strong album at times. It doesn't sound at all like what Genesis would do just a year later, but Peter Gabriel is in fine form and the groovy 'In The Beginning' followed by 'Fireside Song' is one of my favorite sequences in their whole discography.



C Tier (A Few Good Songs But Generally Inconsistent)


...And Then There Were Three (1978) - I should love this album considering when it came out, but it really only has two great songs - the opener 'Down And Out' and the balladish but lovely sounding 'Snowbound'. I guess if I was feeling generous I would say it's on par with Wind & Wuthering with more accessible songwriting, but your mileage my vary. High C-tier / almost B-tier territory overall.


Abacab (1981) - The oscillating title track, the yacht rock-flecked 'No Reply At All', the proggy 'Dodo/Lurker' and the thudding yet catchy 'Like It Or Not' are all single-worthy and should be in your collection, but otherwise this is a case of a band basically treading water.


D Tier (Shrug/Meh/Etc.)

Invisible Touch (1986) - Not awful objectively but not all that interesting either. The problem with this album is that it sounds like a Phil Collins solo album at this point rather than something a band decided to put together...and his solo material is better than this. It's also the Genesis album that got played on the radio so much that you never want to revisit it unless you just adore the mini-keyboard break in the title track (very sample-able). It's not all a waste - 'Land Of Confusion' is a good single, 'Throwing It All Away' is a fair ballad...and 'Domino' is 10 minutes of decent progginess, but I consider this album the weakest of the Collins era overall.


Calling All Stations (1997) - This album has precisely two tracks worth owning - the crunchy and very well done 'The Dividing Line' and the surprisingly catchy 'Anything Now' that was buried and never even made it on the final record. It's not a terrible album, but it doesn't really feel like a Genesis record. With a different vocalist and writing approach it could have been A-tier material though.

great idea, of course I'll do Sleater-Kinney. Albums are also roughly ranked within each tier.
https://i.imgur.com/aze0h13.png

S Tier
Either Dig Me Out or The Woods could be #1, it's basically a shared 1st place.

Dig Me Out (1997) - Where S-K perfected their punk sound into something highly sophisticated and powerful. The music is full of brilliant moments: a well-constructed anxiety and heartbreak trip as a whole, engaging from beginning to end, but every song is very strong and individually memorable (Heart Factory being the only semi-weak link). The subject matter has also matured: this is the perfect break up album.

The Woods (2005) - Strictly speaking this is probably my favourite; the unexpected ****ed up, swaggering, hurricane-like take on Led Zeppelin (although comparing it to Led Zeppelin is almost an injustice to this album) which also happens to be deeply moving. Everyone in the band is being an absolute powerhouse here. It's experimental (in a way) and takes risks, but somehow it also has virtually no weaknesses. Underrated moment: the absolutely gorgeous interlude in Rollercoaster.

A Tier

The Hot Rock (1999) - With the previous album being a perfect punk album, this one chooses complexity as the way forward. Relatively quiet and introspective, it's an album of intricately intertwined instruments and voices. That comes at the cost of the immediacy of their previous albums, meaning that it can sound a bit aimless at first, but it slowly unfolds its logic and brilliance and is relatively rewarding in the long run. It contains many of S-K's most beautiful songs.

Call The Doctor (1996) - Here is where the ranking starts to get difficult. Placing Call The Doctor here is largely a matter of personal preference, I suppose, but it is pretty much the perfect riot grrrl album: an immensely fierce and catchy burst of energy, and relatively consistent in quality. And of course I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone is iconic. And Carrie still screams bloody murder here.


B Tier

One Beat (2002) - I feel like this one is usually slightly overrated compared to other S-K albums: it gets credit for being the brave album about 9-11 and motherhood leading up to The Woods, but I think people tend to forget how uneven the second half is. Still even the lesser songs have plenty of merits, and the best songs here are incredible. Combat Rock alone would make this a good album, and Oh! is so goofy it shouldn't work, but somehow it really does.

No Cities To Love (2013) - Fresh, streamlined, and coherent, I feel like you can tell the band considered this a high-stakes comeback album: it sounds like it was tweaked and perfected until the more doubtful bits were peeled off and a strong unified result remained. That means it's one of their most consistent albums, but also less adventurous and varied.

All Hands On The Bad One (2000) - This one is underrated, although I admit that I'm partial to it (I probably like it better than the two albums above). There are many fantastic songs here: Youth Decay has all the qualities of a song from Dig Me Out (but wrapped in the sound of this album), You're No Rock & Roll Fun is delightful, and so is Milkshake And Honey. As a whole it's uneven and they can get preachy (a trap they normally avoid) but most of the lesser songs here have at least some brilliant little moment making it worthwhile.

C Tier

Sleater-Kinney (1995) - This one is a rough diamond, sloppy but promising and brutal like a kick in the nuts. Corin sings about angels in the sky, Carrie sings about how sucking dick sucks. Good times.

The Center Won't Hold (2019) - I've talked about this one in more detail when it came out. It's less powerful, sophisticated and original than their other albums, lacking some essential things that made the band great. It has some great moments though.

David Bowie

S Tier: (the greatest album ever made)

Low - Still my all-time favorite album and it pretty much has been since the day I discovered it. I've never really written about it because I don't know how I would start. I can't pick a favorite track off of it, I think I prefer side 1 but I find every track to be perfect for what it is so there's nothing I could ever point to as being a flaw with this album.

A Tier: (still legendary albums, like 9.5/10)

Hunky Dory: God damn this album is just banger after banger. Some of my favorite pop hooks and vocal performances by Bowie on this one.

"Heroes": how the **** did this mother****er make both this and Low in the same year

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars: probably the best glam rock album of all-time? Crazy to think Bowie was only just beginning when this came out

Blackstar: So different from the rest of his catalogue. So dark and upsetting but also beautiful.

B Tier: (very solid albums but not amazing, this is most of his catalogue)

Lodger, Aladdin Sane, Station to Station, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, Scary Monsters, The Next Day

C Tier: (okay albums, worth listening if you love his work but otherwise skippable):

Everything else.

Actively Bad:

Hours

This is pretty cool.

I'd love to make a tier list for all The Fall's albums - but they don't have a template for them - and it looks like I need a Twitter to login and make one. **** that.

https://i.imgur.com/TiSTPT4.png

S tier

Syotos- WIth the b sides this is a long album great album produced by atticus !!!

Untouchables- Production production !!!!!

SOS-Modern KORN !

issues-SOmething about playing this with the light off candles lit while playing FF8 awww childhood memories

I've waited so long.

nvm i figured it out :P

You were so close.

C'mon Charles, we need a tier breakdown for Bolt Thrower up in this ****.

It's gonna be like a snake blowjob.

I'll start with Swans

S

Great Annihilator - Absolute favorite Swans record and pretty high up my top 100, this album I feel like captures the sounds of both the earlier goth and industrial side of swans and the later post-rock and folk influences that they picked up, bringing an exceptional middle ground and some of the most chilling songs they've created as well as more experimental tracks

Children of God - This is the second Swans album I listened to, and while it may border on being a tier down in some moments I feel a very close attachment to this one in my early college years, the Jarboe tracks especially

The Glowing Man - I listened to this on mushrooms, enough said. Nevermind, it's Swans most ambient release, with tracks filtering in and out these timbres and instruments and hypnotic rhythms that give me increddy vibes

A

White Light from the Mouth of Infinity - A really good record, some of their best folkier material paired with absolutely beautiful tracks such as Love Will Save You that got stuck in my head for months with their melodies

Soundtracks for the Blind - I haven't listened to this one as much as some, but it's really good and Volcano is a banger

To Be Kind - Some tracks off this I keep coming back to a lot, but the length of it doesn't do it justice as much as The Glowing Man for me personally

The Seer - Same as above

B

Cop - Dun dun DUN dun dun DEEEEE *loud chants abt violence and religion*

Filth - This was the first Swans record I heard in an era of time I was heavily into sludge metal, and I considered this at the time one of the sludgiest things I had heard so far, still do too

Love of Life - My brother bought me this on vinyl and it's really good, She is incredible in particular

C

Holy Money - I didn't like this one as much, kinda got tired of the formula at this point and felt this release wasn't as strong. The EBM version of A Screw is really cool tho

The Burning World - Honestly don't hate this album at all, God Damn the Sun and their Blind Faith cover are really good in particular but this album just has a vibe I like as well

D

Greed - Oh I forgot about this record

My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky - Probably need to relisten to this one

Leaving Meaning - The krautier tracks were fine but kinda a dissapointment considering Ben Frost was on this record

Life is Peachy on the bottom? For why :(

Manowar surely, or Slayer?

billy woods (not including Super Chron Flight Bros or Reavers)

https://i.imgur.com/Mo0XVzU.png

S: History Will Absolve Me, Terror Management, BRASS, Shrines, Haram - History Will Absolve Me is woods' true opening statement. Literally covers a whole world of subject matter over really grimy production with no misses. Terror Management marked woods going into exceptionally cryptic territories that have insane replay value. Shephard's Tone has his best lyrics. BRASS was a huge positive surprise with Moor Mother and they both bring their a-game for their best output. The production on it is dark, atmospheric, and perfectly complementary to each performer. Shrines and Haram had Armand Hammer refining the high watermark they set for themselves in Rome & Paraffin and excelling. If I wasn't picky this tier would be more crowded.

A: Rome, Paraffin, Hiding Places, Today, I Wrote Nothing - Rome was where Armand Hammer introduced their standard uncompromising dark sound with ultradense lyricism. It Was Written, Fanon's Ghost, and Dianetics are among woods' best output. Paraffin carries on this idea, favourite tracks are If He Holla, Vindaloo, and Rehearse With Ornette. Incredible records that don't quite hit the S tier because some tracks are a bit underwhelming. Hiding Places is near perfect, but the features on the album bring it down a tad bit. Spongebob, Houthi, Bedtime, and Red Dust are some of the standouts on the album. Top notch storytelling, just the right amount of abstraction, weird but nonabrasive production, always a good listen.

B: Race Music, Known Unknowns, Furtive Movements - Race Music and Furtive Movements have some of Armand Hammer's best tracks like Soft Places and Frog and Toad Are Friends. They were still finding their footing and some of E L U C I D's early vocal experiments don't land. With Known Unknowns, woods tried to put a hook in every song and it definitely helped him grow but didn't always work out. Better Blockhead production here, but still a bit underwhelming.

C: Dour Candy, Camouflage - Camouflage has some really great dark production and moments with Vordul Mega, but the tracks run together in a forgettable way. Dour Candy has great lyricism but Blockhead's production is pretty lame on it.

D: The Chalice - lacks vision and the production isn't that great. Also my least listened to woods album so maybe I should give it more time.

https://i.imgur.com/Dcsecld.png

S-Tier

Around the fur- its like there first album but better deftones 2.0 in everyway

White pony- most big bands there 3rd album is like there turning point

Diamond eyes -TBO this album was a turning point cus i think steph started using 8 string guitars and also chino also played guitar in more of the songs so u had that left and right thing going in full force

A-tier

Saturday night - Ummm def a chino inspired album they were bluring the lines with heavy but more melodic artsy

koi no yokan -TBO this album diamond eyes and gore are like a trilogy they all sound similar this album just after the success of diamond eyes trys to go further down the rabbit hole and trys to create or craft the perfect songs

Deftones-Dark

Ohms- at this point its like deftones are soundscaping there songs almost like different themes of AAA movie images def more proggy meldic and the guitars sound different verryy clean

adrenaline- Nu metal

GOre- Further down the rabbit hole following Koi no yokan dang near the bottom and getting more weird more electronics like i said it was a trilogy and this is the end well Ohms was part 4 kinda ..and dont know were they go from here

im thinking there 10th album will be something really different maybe like Elevator music jazz or avent garde who knows

Good breakdown on Billy Woods there Frown. Need to dig into him more than I'll use your analyses as my starter guide.


Anyway, reading TH's review earlier made me want to give some thought to Magma's great discography. My rankings:

https://i.postimg.cc/s281d5yb/Magma-Albums.png

Tier Summaries

S - The 1970 debut Kobaia has always been my overall favorite from them, partly because it covers a lot of sonic territory but it has a cool golden era jazz-fusion aesthetic that was de-emphasized on later records. 2019's Zess and 1984's Merci stand out to me for similar reasons - they really jump out in regards to flow and production in a discography full of Zeuhl jewels. To me, they are flawless standouts of their respective eras.

A - 1978's Attahk is basically S-tier in regards to creativity but it just doesn't flow quite as well for as my favorite four do - "Maahnt (The Wizard's Fight Versus The Devil)' has a killer synth opening though. Also, albums like Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh and Köhntarkösz see Magma solidifying the fundamental elements of Zeuhl and moving away from the vibe of Kobaia and the spiritual jazz leanings of 1001° Centigrades (another great one that's just about S-tier).

B. Mostly live albums I just don't jam much or albums in Magma's discography that I enjoy but don't replay as much, so it's harder to rate their material against what I really love from them. Udu Wudu is probably the one that's most likely to move up to A or even S-tier from me eventually, but I don't love it quite yet.

Blasphemy!!!!
You literary underrated and underscore some of their greatest albums. You sit upon your hoity-toity music critic throne and speak lies. Selling England by the Pound, Nursery Cryme, and Abacab deserve S list or even better like R list for Really Essential.

There is no higher ranking than S. S is basically god-tier material for that artist.

Also, just cause I gave Abacab a C doesn't mean I dislike it. The good songs are really good. I just don't think it quite measures up on a song-by-song blow with the 1983 Genesis self-titled. It does have more replayability for me than Nursery Cryme and SEBTP also, so hats off I suppose. :love:

Agreed on the majority of your Magma picks,
but I have to say that even if you're not a big
fan of (the) live albums, you must take the time
to hear Hhaï because it is absolutely amazing in its
power and complexity with a teenage Didier Lockwood
soaring into the stratosphere so many times on top of
beautiful complexities. I wore out copies of that album
trying to play drums to it, with "Side 4" (Mëkanïk Zaïn)
being an incredible sweat-inducing ecstatic ride of 7/8.
It's really incredible. You should take the time to listen.

^^ well that was pretty awesome. I'll try some of their above recommended albums.

Also, MB nerds should do more of these.

Decided to do a quick tier list of an old favorite, first generation prog-metal innovator Queensryche. If you haven't spent any time with them, this is a good reference point to explore 'em.

https://i.ibb.co/8xLSBnD/Queensryche-Tier-List.png

S Tier (Essential)

Operation: Mindcrime is their most critically lauded record, considered one of the best concept albums ever made in any genre and something of a milestone in heavy metal in general. Good story too, capped at the end by the awesome 'Eyes Of A Stranger', which is my favorite closing number to any album ever.

Empire (1990) was the follow up to O:MC - really slick and catchy but still heavy at times, an album Charles and I have a mutual appreciation of.

Condition Human (2015), is the best album so far from the Todd La Torre era of the band (current lineup) and synthesizes elements from their 80's and 90's periods into something substantial for more modern metal fans. I think it's the best end-to-end album experience they've put together besides Mindcrime and Empire overall.


A Tier (Nearly Perfect)

The Warning (1984)- Their debut is a cool first-gen prog-metal album with a nebulous, dense sounding production style. There's a distinct influence here from the epic stylings of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden who were at their respective commercial peaks at this point, but The Warning takes those elements and wraps them up in something like a brooding, late 70's Krautrock mystique. Very underrated and could be S-Tier depending on one's preferences.

Rage For Order (1986) - The snazzy sophomore outing, a juicy metal record that also draws in more experimental industrial and dark ambient influences. Has an intriguing theme going on about mankind's relationship with technology and some truly great songwriting to match.

Queensryche (1983 S/T EP) - The legendary EP heard 'round the world. When this thing came out of Seattle, nobody would have believed that a bunch of pre-20 somethings could create an instant classic, but that's what you get with masterful anthems like 'Queen Of The Reich' and the epic 'The Lady Wore Black'. Revisiting it decades later, it's still an astounding release and the ultimate showcase for Geoff Tate's vocal power.

The Verdict (2019) - Their most recent album and the 3rd with Todd La Torre on vocals. A bit heavier than Condition Human but perhaps a tad less diverse in regards to songwriting. Lot of great hooks, especially 'Inner Unrest' and the slammin' 'Light-Years'.


B Tier (Solid)

Promised Land (1994)- The last "classic" album from the founding lineup. Stronger jazz and grunge and even some psychedelic rock influences. The biggest difference quality-wise between this one and previous albums is while there are some monstrously good songs here like the proggy, noir-flavored title track and heavy 'Damaged', there are other songs that don't quite hold up and the album is slightly marred by that inconsistency. Still a great record though.

Queensryche (2013 S/T)- The "rebirth" of the band following Geoff Tate's ousting from Queensryche with new vocalist Todd La Torre. Catchy songs with some of their 80's US Power Metal swagger but let down by a muddy production and a lack of more overtly progressive moments. There are some great songs here, but this is the weakest of the "worth owning" Queensryche albums.


C Tier (Average)
Everything between 1994 and 2006 is represented here. They're all a lot of more alternative rock / grunge focused than classic Queensryche and are mixed bags. Of the three, 2003's Tribe is probably the best of the litter. Mostly unessential with a few gems scattered about.


D Tier (Meh)
Operation Mindcriime II through 2012's release Dedicated To Chaos are all mediocre. Tate's vocals have degenerated into pure meh territory and the songwriting is varied but uninspired or just downright bad. Things would not be good again until Tate was fired and Todd La Torre came in for the 2013 self-titled.