Rank Artists' Discographies!

[Lexi Darling]

I recall there was an old MB thread where people would list all the albums by a particular artist in order of favorite to least favorite, so I thought I'd bring back that concept. If someone else has already made this thread and my memory is once again failing me, then we can merge the threads of course. Feel free to start discussion and comment on others' rankings.

I'll start with David Bowie, an artist who has a big catalogue where I'm pretty intimately familiar with every album, so without further ado, in order of favorite to least...

Low
Heroes
Aladdin Sane
Scary Monsters
The Man Who Sold the World
Station to Station
Ziggy Stardust
Hunky Dory
Space Oddity
Diamond Dogs
Outside
Blackstar
Lodger
Earthling
Young Americans
Let's Dance
Heathen
The Buddha of Suburbia
David Bowie
Never Let Me Down
Hours
The Next Day
Pin Ups
Black Tie White Noise
Reality
Tonight

I think I got them all (no Tin Machine sorry ). Looking forward to hearing your lists and insights!

[GD]

Nice idea to revive this concept! I'd like to do a Bowie ranking at some point as well, though there are actually a few albums I've yet to hear! (mostly in his 80's discog) so instead I'll start with Cocteau Twins, another long-term favorite of mine (also in order of most to least liked):

Heaven or Las Vegas
Victorialand
Treasure
The Moon and the Melodies
Blue Bell Knoll
Head Over Heels
Garlands
Four Calendar Café
Milk and Kisses

That was not so easy! It's pretty close between many of the albums, notably between everything going from Victorialand to Blue Bell Knoll. Still, based on how often I revisit them, I feel like this is correct, and the rest of the list was not very difficult to rank. Perhaps a bit interchangeable in terms of my preference between the last two but hey

[Lisnaholic]

I used to consider myself a Bowie fan, but that was based on the albums I knew at the time, i.e. chronologically up to Low. Turns out that he's made way more albums, and I admire your ability to rank so many items in order, Lexi.

TBH, there aren't so many artists whose complete discography I'm familiar with, so I'm going to go with a shortish and obvious one: The Beatles. I'm just doing the original UK releases, with no US compilations or Apple out-take albums released years later. (Final disclaimer: this ranking is from memory because I haven't listened to a Beatles album, start to finish, for about 45 years.)

My ranking starts from the bottom of the deck, as that was the easiest choice to make:-

Yellow Submarine - too few actual Beatles songs, and they're sub-standard too
Please Please Me - dated, plus too many cheesy covers
With The Beatles - also dated, but at least a stronger collection of songs
A Hard Day's Night - too many love songs, not enough rockers
The White Album - lacks cohesion; has a few good songs, but is also the source of the most irritating songs the band ever recorded
Let It Be - a disappointing rag-bag of songs with the band turning their back on the very innovations that had made them so fascinating to follow
Help - some rockers, and this time the love songs have wistful melodies and interesting lyrics
Beatles For Sale –  some genuinely bleak songs from JL are balanced by the band paying their r 'n' r dues with covers of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and more. Special merit award: their most overlooked album.
Rubber Soul – top quality pop throughout, with some the band gently pushing at the boundaries they'd soon break with completely
Revolver – more stretching of the possibilities of pop, with TNK being the real harbinger of things to come
Abbey Road – the first side is kind of patchy, but the long run-together track is full of great moments
Magical Mystery Tour – bit of a cheat, because I mean the US-packaged album with previously released singles on it. But if it had been a genuine album,  the songs of those double-A-side singles would've made this album a serious rival to:-
Sgt. Pepper's LHCB – rightfully considered one of the GOAT albums, just packed with powerful songs and fascinating details in both music and lyrics

[Lexi Darling]

I recently marathoned King Crimson's discography, my first time revisiting a large portion of their work in years. So I hereby revive this thread with my rankings of their albums. From favorite to least:

In the Court of the Crimson King
Red
Discipline
Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Three of a Perfect Pair
Starless and Bible Black
The Power to Believe
Islands
In the Wake of Poseidon
Lizard
Beat
Thrak
The Construkction of Light

[Lisnaholic]

^ I don't think I'd ever "marathon" my listening in that way, Lexi: I always hop around according to what I'm in the mood for. Not proud of it but pretty often that means about one side of a cd before I fancy something different.

So, for complete discographies, I'm still cheating my way with the easiest possible options, this time, Nick Drake:-

Five Leaves Left - a melancholy beauty with strings, and a mood set by the singer that makes for a cohesive, quality album.
Bryter Layter - a jazzier development of the previous. The only thing you can say about the weakest imo track (One Of These Things First) is not that it's bad, it's just not quite as good as the others.
Pink Moon - This was the one that took me longest to like, but it's highly regarded, and if you're in the mood is still a good, if fairly stark collection of songs.

Sad that, to my mind, ND's albums can arguably be ranked in the order in which he made them, with the last being the weakest.

In fact, I'm double-cheating because that ranking is just a copy and paste from this slightly overlapping (but obvs not the same) thread :
Perfect Discographies? https://scd.community/index.php?topic=742.0

[Buckeye Randy]

I'll start with David Bowie, an artist who has a big catalogue where I'm pretty intimately familiar with every album, so without further ado, in order of favorite to least...

Low
Heroes
Aladdin Sane
Scary Monsters
The Man Who Sold the World
Station to Station
Ziggy Stardust
Hunky Dory

I see that 4 of your top 8 albums are ones with Mick Ronson, well done!  Fans of Bowie/Ronson have always loved The Man Who Sold The World but casual fans are often turned off by the bass heavy mix by Tony Visconti and the stark lyrics.

Television (band, not appliance)

Marquee Moon ('77) - Timeless
Television ('92) - This very listenable 1992 release is the most melodic
Adventure ('78) - Fractured sounding

New York Dolls

New York Dolls ('73) - Todd Rundgren's production perfectly captures a moment in time
One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This ('06) - The long awaited follow-up to "Too Much Too Soon" delivers
Too Much Too Soon ('74) - How do you feel about cover versions?
Cause I Sez So ('09) - Solid album
Dancing Backwards In High Heels ('11) - A revamped line-up and this sounds like a mediocre solo album by David Jo

 

[Psy-Fi]

The Clash

Give 'Em Enough Rope - 10/10
London Calling - 9.5/10
The Clash - 9/10
Sandinista! - 6/10
Combat Rock - 5/10
Cut the Crap - 1/10

[Lexi Darling]

I see that 4 of your top 8 albums are ones with Mick Ronson, well done!  Fans of Bowie/Ronson have always loved The Man Who Sold The World but casual fans are often turned off by the bass heavy mix by Tony Visconti and the stark lyrics.

I love how dark and twisted the lyrics on that album are. The sound is a complete 180 from his work in the 60s too, and Bowie hadn't really built up his reputation as a musical shapeshifter quite yet so I'd imagine it was quite a shock for people who discovered him because they really liked Space Oddity to put TMWSTW on and hear an album like that, haha.

[Buckeye Randy]

Mott The Hoople

Ranking Mott the Hoople albums can be difficult because the albums can be divided as glam (CBS/Columbia) and pre-glam (Island/Atlantic). I've known fans over the years that vote straight down party lines on the glam or not-glam debate.  I have no problem mixing and matching the styles of music.

The order today...subject to change tomorrow...I really do like them all.

Mott ('73) - The post Bowie masterpiece and the last with Mick Ralphs
Mad Shadows ('70) - Best rainy night music ever! Deeply disturbed.
The Hoople ('74) - Spooky Tooth's Luther Grosvenor appears on lead guitar as Ariel Bender. This album is the most over the top of any of MTH's albums
Brain Capers ('71) - Some consider this the birth of punk and I won't argue much because the Dropkick Murphys include a couple songs on their pre-concert mix tape
All The Young Dudes ('72) - Bowie's production is thin and keeps this from being higher
Wildlife ('71) - Mick Ralphs sings about half the songs as they try to be a UK version of CSN&Y.
Mott The Hoople ('69) - Summed up best as a British Dylan but also gives a glimpse of things to come.

[Buckeye Randy]

I love how dark and twisted the lyrics on that album are. The sound is a complete 180 from his work in the 60s too, and Bowie hadn't really built up his reputation as a musical shapeshifter quite yet so I'd imagine it was quite a shock for people who discovered him because they really liked Space Oddity to put TMWSTW on and hear an album like that, haha.

Probably a conversation for another thread but I've always found it interesting that TMWSTW gets namechecked by some metal artists as being influential. 

[Buckeye Randy]

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Whenever standing in line waiting to get into a show, people always talk music.  The conversations inevitably turn into clever contests as people try to out-cool one another with obscure bands.  The Sensational Alex Harvey Band is always part of these conversations because it just don't get much cooler than the early albums by SAHB.

I remember about 15 years ago being at an outdoor show featuring Blue Oyster Cult, Three Dog Night and STARZ.  After soundcheck, there was a mix tape playing some classic rock as people chatted with one another.  The beginning notes of "Faith Healer" came through the PA and it received an enthusiastic response that rivaled any response we heard the rest of the evening.  The cool kids get it.

Next ('73) - Five of the tracks are part of the regular rotation in Randyland and "Faith Healer" is in my all time top ten.
Framed ('72) - How can you not love "There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree, Mother They're Burning Big Louie Tonight".  The song combines Christmas cheer and the execution of a gangster.
The Impossible Dream ('74) - The last solid album by SAHB and the tour is well documented on "US Tour '74".
The Penthouse Tapes ('76) - I'm not a cover version guy but this is pretty fun.  Everything from The Osmonds to Jethro Tull to Alice Cooper to Lead Belly.
Tomorrow Belongs to Me ('75) - When listening, there are glimpses of greatness and the album checks all the boxes except...great songwriting. 
SAHB Stories ('76) - It just doesn't click...the worst is yet to come.
Rock Drill ('78) - Not great
Fourplay ('77) - This was actually released as SAHB (without Alex).  If he can't bothered why should I?

[Psy-Fi]

The Beat (known in North America as the English Beat and in Australia as the British Beat)

I Just Can't Stop It - 9.5/10
Special Beat Service - 7/10
Wha'ppen? - 6/10