Foo Fighters albums ranked

This list is based entirely on my personal opinion.

[center][b]10. Sonic Highways[/b][/center]
This was such a disappointment because the idea behind the album was brilliant! Consisting of eight tracks, each recorded in a different city, each influenced by the musical history of the city it was recorded in and each featuring at least one guest musician associated with that city's music scene. Such an intriguing and elaborate project, it sounded like a recipe for a masterpiece! Yet somehow, we ended up with a dull album that is the Foo Fighters' worst. While not a terrible album, the only thing memorable about it is its unique production and recording. There's not one song that can be considered a hit or a concert staple for the band. So much wasted potential. But it only goes to show that if something never lives up to it, then that potential is meaningless.

[center][b]9. One by One[/b][/center]
It might've received positive reviews upon release, but it hasn't aged well since. The band themselves were proud of this record at first but have come to dislike it over time. It does have a very strong start that features some of the group's best songs like "All My Life" and "Times Like These'', but it quickly loses its momentum after the first four tracks. The rest of the album is bland and makes one think it might've been better released as an EP. It's easy to see why [i]One by One[/i] isn't up to the standards of most of the Foo Fighters' other works considering its rushed production which nearly broke up the band. It's also ironic that this record's darker and heavier style was intended to channel the band's exhilarating live energy into an album, yet the album ends up having a distinct lack of energy, save for its four singles.

[center][b]8. Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace[/b][/center]
"Run-of-the-mill" is probably the best term I could use to describe this album. [i]Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace[/i] is far from the Foo Fighters' worst record, but it's also far from their best. They revisit the same formula of half heavy rockers, half mellow acoustics they used on this album's predecessor [i]In Your Honor,[/i] but mixing it together on a single disc instead of two. Dave Grohl said he was shooting for the band to reach outside of their comfort zone with this one. While they may have achieved that much, they also made something that feels rather uninspired for a Foo Fighters release. It does have a few hits like "The Pretender", "Long Road to Ruin" and "Let It Die", but even those are among the band's lesser-known classics. Perhaps fitting for them to be on one of the band's lesser-known albums.

[center][b]7. In Your Honor[/b][/center]
The one double album from the band. The first half consists of straightforward rock while the second half is made up of slower, acoustic tracks. A common complaint with [i]In Your Honor[/i] is that it's inconsistent with its two discs being drastically different from each other. There's no arguing that it is definitely two separate albums packaged together and it's a bit awkward how we're supposed to believe a song like "Miracle" belongs on the same record as "No Way Back". Despite that, however, it is still a fairly solid album; the band's best from the 2000's. The first half has most of the hits like "Best of You", "Resolve" and "DOA" and feels like a standard Foo Fighters album. Fans tend to favor the first half over the second, but I say they're both equally enjoyable. The second half may not have as many singles, but it has its own share of great numbers that get criminally overlooked, such as the "Still", "On The Mend" and the rare Taylor Hawkins-led "Cold Day in the Sun". It's a shame this album's inconsistency is so distracting. It probably would have felt more natural if both halves were released as the separate albums they really are, but it is what it is.

[center][b]6. Concrete and Gold[/b][/center]
The Foo Fighters redeem themselves with this one after the disappointing [i]Sonic Highways,[/i] which might've led one to believe the group only regained their momentum for a brief moment with [i]Wasting Light[/i] before losing their way. [i]Concrete and Gold[/i] was some much-needed reassurance. Though not overtly political, it is their most politically-charged album to date, influenced by the tense 2016 election year in the US. As a result, there's a great deal of seething aggression that can be heard in songs like "Run" and the title track, then there's more desperate yet hopeful bits like "The Line" and "The Sky is a Neighborhood". It deviates from their usual formula by making a slightly more technical record, but at the same time, it contains several nods to their classic material. In doing so, the band are able to find a middle ground between evolving artistically while still keeping fans of their earlier music happy.

[center][b]5. Medicine at Midnight[/b][/center]
Their most recent album. If you haven't listened to it yet and are thinking "Is it really that good that it makes the top five?" The answer is yes. Yes, it is. The Foo Fighters prove once again that they're still able to flourish magnificently after all these years and it doesn't look like they're about to stop anytime soon. [i]Medicine at Midnight[/i] is arguably their most pop-driven album and is just as arguably their most successful endeavor in stepping out of their comfort zone. The album flirts with disco and funk but still retains the signature Foo Fighters sound so that it never stops sounding like them. "No Son Of Mine", "Waiting On A War" and "Cloudspotter" are vintage Foo Fighters tracks, while "Shame Shame", "Making A Fire" and the title track are the group covering new ground. Much like its predecessor [i]Concrete and Gold,[/i] this album manages to be both a trip down memory lane throughout the band's career and a bold step forward to the future. Perhaps this methodology is what we can expect from the band's future releases? So long as they can keep making excellent records like this, this fan welcomes it!

[center][b]4. There Is Nothing Left to Lose[/b][/center]
The band's close to the '90s and the last great album they would release for a whole decade. It was also a turning point for the Foo Fighters, as it was their first true breakthrough into the mainstream when they would start seeing a great deal of commercial success. While not a huge departure from the first two albums, it is noticeably more melodic and pop-oriented, giving up much of the band's edge in favor of power ballads. But this works out extremely well as it has given us some of the band's most iconic ballads like "Next Year", "Aurora" and of course "Learn to Fly" (my favorite Foo Fighters song). It does have some heavier remnants from their previous albums like "Stacked Actors" and "Breakout", but even they are laced with catchy pop hooks that find a medium between aggression and accessibility. Dave Grohl has said this was his favorite Foo Fighters album. While it may not be their best, it's easy to understand why it would Dave's or anyone else's. It's the most melodic and soulful record they've ever released and they haven't done anything else quite like it.

[center][b]3. Foo Fighters[/b][/center]
What was intended to be a solo project by Dave Grohl done as a means of therapy after Kurt Cobain's demise and as an outlet for his creativity (which he only named "Foo Fighters" to conceal his identity), would turn out to be the album that marked the beginning of the Foo Fighters legend. Who'd have thought? Certainly not Dave Grohl, who has stated if he knew Foo Fighters would have grown so big, he would've chosen a different name. Critics initially compared this to Nirvana and one can hear why in grungy tracks like "Good Grief" and "X-Static". Some even consider the record a swan song for grunge, but it's more than that. It's a landmark album that signifies the transition from grunge to more accessible alternative rock that took place in the '90s. One can hear pop sentiments in songs like "I'll Stick Around" and "Big Me", which also makes this album the foundation of the band's distinct sound. The Foo Fighters' debut is undoubtedly a classic that grew so big, it simply had to develop into the actual band that we know and love today. Even if it may technically be a Dave Grohl solo album, it stands as one of the group's very best.

[center][b]2. Wasting Light[/b][/center]
In retrospect, the 2000's was something of a low period for the band. The albums they released during that decade, while not all bad, they definitely weren't any of their better records. When [i]Wasting Light[/i] came around at the beginning of the 2010's, it saw a return to form for the Foo Fighters. The band recaptured the fierce energy they had in the '90s and used it to not only make the best album they had put out in years, but one of their absolute best albums to date. It has a mix of whimsical pop-rockers like "Arlandria", "These Days" & "Walk" and aggressive heavy numbers like "Rope", "White Limo" & "Bridge Burning" to create a perfect blend of melody and heaviness not too different than what can be heard on their first two albums. Many bands that saw their heyday in the '90s are washed up, desperately clinging to nostalgia or fading into obscurity. But [i]Wasting Light[/i] showed that the Foo Fighters are still going strong, still pumping out classics that'll be remembered for years and they don't plan on leaving their rightful place in the spotlight anytime soon.

[center][b]1. The Colour and the Shape[/b][/center]
Their second album marks the first Foo Fighters album done as an actual band and it's also the first to establish the band's trademark sound. Their self-titled debut featured remnants of the bygone grunge era and comparisons to Nirvana, but [i]The Colour and the Shape[/i] is textbook Foo Fighters and nothing less. Here is where they demonstrated they're not going to be just another bunch of wannabes riding off grunge's coattails like many other bands around that time. They proved they're a self-made band and whether it was intentional or not, they made that statement loud and clear by making this - their absolute greatest album. It features some of the band's signature songs such as the energetic "Monkey Wrench", the celebratory "My Hero" and the inspirational "Everlong". Even without the singles, the other songs on the record hold their own very well. "My Poor Brain", "February Stars", "Up In Arms", "Enough Space" the whole album is filled with brilliant examples of the band's incredible songwriting! The shifting styles of each foreshadow the melding of melodic and heavy elements that would become a defining part of their music. Indeed, [i]The Colour and the Shape[/i] truly epitomizes everything the Foo Fighters are about and they have yet to make an album that surpasses it.

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