Studio album rankings, best to worst, Part 3: The Rolling Stones

[JeanGary Diablo]

OK, @ogibowt, this one's for you, bud.

I must report a personal bias I have with respect to the Rolling Stones.

I look at the Stones as having two eras: The Brian Jones Years and the No Brian Jones Years.

I'm definitely a bigger fan of the records Brian Jones was on.

Jones, of course, became the first member of rock's 27 Club in 1969, and I don't think the Stones' sound was ever the same post-1969.

Despite being in the background most of the time, Brian Jones also brought new instrumentation into the Stones' sound, like sitar, wind instruments and the mellotron. Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood were good in the Stones, but they never replaced Brian.

A surprise with my personal rankings might be Voodoo Lounge, which I think is their best post-Exile on Main St. LP, save for Tattoo You. I also put Some Girls lower than most people would; I'm just not a huge fan of this record

Using the Stones' UK discography, which is slightly different from international releases from 1964-67. My personal rankings of Rolling Stones' albums, best to worst:

Let it Bleed (1969)
Beggars Banquet (1968)
Aftermath (1966)
Between the Buttons (1967)
Exile on Main St. (1972)
Sticky Fingers (1971)
Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
Out of Our Heads (1965)
The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965)
Tattoo You (1981)
Voodoo Lounge (1994)
The Rolling Stones (1964)
Goats Head Soup (1973)
Some Girls (1978)
It's Only Rock and Roll (1974)
Undercover (1983)
Emotional Rescue (1980)
Black and Blue (1976)
Blue & Lonesome (2015)
Bridges to Babylon (1997)
Dirty Work (1986)
Steel Wheels (1989)
A Bigger Bang (2005)

Pink Floyd albums ranked best to worst:

https://terb.cc/xenforo/threads/studio-album-rankings-best-to-worst-pink-floyd.761778/

Beatles albums ranked best to worst

https://terb.cc/xenforo/threads/studio-album-rankings-best-to-worst-part-2-the-beatles.761891/

 

[Sonic Temple]

OK, @ogibowt, this one's for you, bud.

I must report a personal bias I have with respect to the Rolling Stones.

I look at the Stones as having two eras: The Brian Jones Years and the No Brian Jones Years.

I'm definitely a bigger fan of the records Brian Jones was on.

Jones, of course, became the first member of rock's 27 Club in 1969, and I don't think the Stones' sound was ever the same post-1969.

Despite being in the background most of the time, Brian Jones also brought new instrumentation into the Stones' sound, like sitar, wind instruments and the mellotron. Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood were good in the Stones, but they never replaced Brian.

A surprise with my personal rankings might be Voodoo Lounge, which I think is their best post-Exile on Main St. LP, save for Tattoo You. I also put Some Girls lower than most people would; I'm just not a huge fan of this record

Using the Stones' UK discography, which is slightly different from international releases from 1964-67. My personal rankings of Rolling Stones' albums, best to worst:

Let it Bleed (1969)
Beggars Banquet (1968)
Aftermath (1966)
Between the Buttons (1967)
Exile on Main St. (1972)
Sticky Fingers (1971)
Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
Out of Our Heads (1965)
The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965)
Tattoo You (1981)
Voodoo Lounge (1994)
The Rolling Stones (1964)
Goats Head Soup (1973)
Some Girls (1978)
It's Only Rock and Roll (1974)
Undercover (1983)
Emotional Rescue (1980)
Black and Blue (1976)
Blue & Lonesome (2015)
Bridges to Babylon (1997)
Dirty Work (1986)
Steel Wheels (1989)
A Bigger Bang (2005)

Pink Floyd albums ranked best to worst:

https://terb.cc/xenforo/threads/studio-album-rankings-best-to-worst-pink-floyd.761778/

Beatles albums ranked best to worst

https://terb.cc/xenforo/threads/studio-album-rankings-best-to-worst-part-2-the-beatles.761891/

Solid mate - they are all good, but would rank Steel Wheels ahead of any of the 60's and early 70's output. Just because for me - that was the first RS Tour I went too.

 

[ogibowt]

i had a feeling my list would differ..........a function of my age..71.....i lost interest in the Stones after Aftermath.........and i was dissapointed by that one.........keep in mind i was buying these Albums in real time
the albums prior to Aftermath are hard to rate for me...but i asked myself, which one would i choose if i could only listen to one for the rest of my life, and its Rolling Stones Now
the rest in no particular order
12x5
Decembers Children
England,s Newest Hit Makers....their 1st i believe
Out of Our Heads.....JGD.........nice choice on your part........some great covers of Soul Classics from Sam Cooke, to Marvin Gaye to Soloman Burke and Don Covay...........in fact i would say Cry To Me is one of my alltime favs by the Stones....a wonderfully done cover of the song by the aformentioned Soloman Burke

 

[ogibowt]

 

[Insidious Von]

Some Girls is the first Stones album I bought, I would rate it higher. Beggar's Banquet @ No. 1.

 

[JeanGary Diablo]

i had a feeling my list would differ..........a function of my age..71.....i lost interest in the Stones after Aftermath.........and i was dissapointed by that one.........keep in mind i was buying these Albums in real time
the albums prior to Aftermath are hard to rate for me...but i asked myself, which one would i choose if i could only listen to one for the rest of my life, and its Rolling Stones Now
the rest in no particular order
12x5
Decembers Children
England,s Newest Hit Makers....their 1st i believe
Out of Our Heads.....JGD.........nice choice on your part........some great covers of Soul Classics from Sam Cooke, to Marvin Gaye to Soloman Burke and Don Covay...........in fact i would say Cry To Me is one of my alltime favs by the Stones....a wonderfully done cover of the song by the aformentioned Soloman Burke

I thought I was a purest of the Brian Jones years; I have absolutely nothing on you!

 

[ogibowt]

the eventual realization on my part that the Stones, in their very early years, made it a point to cover Soul , R&B and Blues songs..and then , of course me seeking out the originals, with the help of my father...god rest his soul....this led me to the lifelong love of early Soul, R&B, Doowop and Blues...............and in a way i will always be grateful for the Stones in paving the way to such incredible great music...

 

[mandrill]

1. Sticky Fingers
2. Disc 1 of Exile. Plus Happy and Shine a Light on Disc 2. Lots of filler otherwise.
3. Let It Bleed
4. Beggars Banquet
5. A couple of songs on Black and Blue.

Nothing else really counts.

 

[jeff2]

Some Girls is the first Stones album I bought, I would rate it higher. Beggar's Banquet @ No. 1.

Same with me. First stones album and would place it higher and definitely higher than anything in the eighties or later.. I had a party and my mom was concerned about what the girls would say about the women with bras on the back cover of the album(or was it the front cover, can't remember now?).

 

[mburner]

Still have originals of first 4 Stones albums (London Records label) I bought when they came out eons ago. Thick, thick discs. Mono. Played they daylights out them, scratches and all. Yeah, the Jones-era Stones were best. Never took to "imposter" Ronnie Woods.

 

[Robert Mugabe]

As much as I hate their existence, I have to grudgingly acknowledge their well deserved success. The first album kicked ass. Right after that they got this muddy distorted sound which I found unpleasant, for the next while. However,19th nervous breakdown is a fave. Nobody can play Jumpin Jack Flash, except them. I read somewhere decades ago that farmers were playing various types of music to pigs in feeding enclosures. Rolling Stones for some reason put them right off their swill. Created some sort of dystonic reaction in them. Something about the rhythm being out of sync.

This is me reacting to those "bad boys"

 

[ogibowt]

Still have originals of first 4 Stones albums (London Records label) I bought when they came out eons ago. Thick, thick discs. Mono. Played they daylights out them, scratches and all. Yeah, the Jones-era Stones were best. Never took to "imposter" Ronnie Woods.

Your,e a brother in arms

Rolling Stones Now...favs..Pain in My Heart and Heart of Stone
Out of Our Heads..favs Cry To Me and Thats How Strong My Love Is
Decembers Children..favs,,You Better Move On and Talkin About You
Englands Newest Hit Makers..Im A King Bee and Tell Me
12x5....Time Is On My Side and Congratulations
and not 1 filler in any of them
how about you Mburner...got some favs from these albums?

 

[mandrill]

Your,e a brother in arms

Rolling Stones Now...favs..Pain in My Heart and Heart of Stone
Out of Our Heads..favs Cry To Me and Thats How Strong My Love Is
Decembers Children..favs,,You Better Move On and Talkin About You
Englands Newest Hit Makers..Im A King Bee and Tell Me
12x5....Time Is On My Side and Congratulations
and not 1 filler in any of them
how about you Mburner...got some favs from these albums?

OK, you got me. Although I'm a late 60's / early 70's period Stones fan, "Heart of Stone" kicks ass, especially the guitar solo. Was that Jones or Richards?

 

[JeanGary Diablo]

OK, you got me. Although I'm a late 60's / early 70's period Stones fan, "Heart of Stone" kicks ass, especially the guitar solo. Was that Jones or Richards?

Not 100%, but my guess is that's Keef.

 

[ogibowt]

never followed the Stones after about 1966...too much stuff like Mothers Little Helper etc...but the cover of Harlem Shuffle sealed the deal lol..

 

[ogibowt]

Harlem Shuffle (Remastered 2009) - YouTube

 

[ogibowt]

Harlem Shuffle - YouTube....the real deal

 

[Fun For All]

It’s a good thing the thread says “studio” albums because anybody that knows anything knows that “Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out” is the best Rolling Stones album.

 

[Bbw hunter]

OK, @ogibowt, this one's for you, bud.

I must report a personal bias I have with respect to the Rolling Stones.

I look at the Stones as having two eras: The Brian Jones Years and the No Brian Jones Years.

I'm definitely a bigger fan of the records Brian Jones was on.

Jones, of course, became the first member of rock's 27 Club in 1969, and I don't think the Stones' sound was ever the same post-1969.

Despite being in the background most of the time, Brian Jones also brought new instrumentation into the Stones' sound, like sitar, wind instruments and the mellotron. Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood were good in the Stones, but they never replaced Brian.

A surprise with my personal rankings might be Voodoo Lounge, which I think is their best post-Exile on Main St. LP, save for Tattoo You. I also put Some Girls lower than most people would; I'm just not a huge fan of this record

Using the Stones' UK discography, which is slightly different from international releases from 1964-67. My personal rankings of Rolling Stones' albums, best to worst:

Let it Bleed (1969)
Beggars Banquet (1968)
Aftermath (1966)
Between the Buttons (1967)
Exile on Main St. (1972)
Sticky Fingers (1971)
Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
Out of Our Heads (1965)
The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965)
Tattoo You (1981)
Voodoo Lounge (1994)
The Rolling Stones (1964)
Goats Head Soup (1973)
Some Girls (1978)
It's Only Rock and Roll (1974)
Undercover (1983)
Emotional Rescue (1980)
Black and Blue (1976)
Blue & Lonesome (2015)
Bridges to Babylon (1997)
Dirty Work (1986)
Steel Wheels (1989)
A Bigger Bang (2005)

Pink Floyd albums ranked best to worst:

https://terb.cc/xenforo/threads/studio-album-rankings-best-to-worst-pink-floyd.761778/

Beatles albums ranked best to worst

https://terb.cc/xenforo/threads/studio-album-rankings-best-to-worst-part-2-the-beatles.761891/

Good list. I agree Let It Bleed is the best LP track by track. I would put Sticky Fingers right behind it, followed by Some Girls, Between the Buttons, and Exile to round out my TOP 5.

 

[Bbw hunter]

Some Girls is the first Stones album I bought, I would rate it higher. Beggar's Banquet @ No. 1.

Some Girls is great! Far Away Eyes is a big fave. Banquet is good but spotty. Amazing highlights but too much folky acoustic stuff going on IMHO.