Foo Fighters albums ranked
I will not be including [i]Hail Satin[/i] or [i]Dream Widow[/i] in this ranking. While they are technically Foo Fighters just under a different name, the former is part cover album, part live album and the latter is a soundtrack that's more like an EP record anyway. Foo Fighters studio albums only.
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[b]10. Sonic Highways[/b][/center]
The idea behind this album was pretty grand, I must admit. Eight songs recorded in eight different cities, the style of each song matching the musical scene of the city it was recorded in, with a guest musician from from that city as well. With how ambitious it was, [i]Sonic Highways[/i] should have been a masterpiece, but it ended up being the most lackluster record the Foo Fighters have done so far. Most of the songs are just boring and even what decent songs it has, they're not all that interesting either. [i]Sonic Highways[/i] had a lot of potential, but it only goes to show that if something doesn't live up to it, then that potential is meaningless.
Highlights: "Something from Nothing", "Subterranean"
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[b]9. One by One[/b][/center]
It's ironic that this record was made with the intent of channeling the explosive energy from the band's live performances into an album when most of the end product just sounds devoid of the Foo Fighters' famed live energy. To be fair, though, this was more than likely marred by the tensions between band members going on at the time. [i]One by One[/i] does get off to an incredibly strong start with the first four songs, a couple of which are some of their best! But the rest of the album just falls flat from there. Makes you think it would've been better if only the first four tracks were released as an EP.
Highlights: "All My Life", "Times Like These"
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[b]8. Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace[/b][/center]
"Run-of-the-mill" is probably the best word I can use to describe this one. [i]Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace[/i] isn't a bad album, but it's not a particularly good album either. It's okay, but apart from a few stand-out tracks, I can take it or leave it. It's similar in style to it predecessor [i]In Your Honor[/i] in that it features both electric and acoustic compositions, but rather than dividing the styles up on a double album, they combined them together on the same tracks. However, despite Dave Grohl's attempt at writing music that would resonate with fans better, the album just sounds uninspired.
Highlights: "The Pretender", "Let It Die", "Long Road to Ruin"
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[b]7. In Your Honor[/b][/center]
The band's only double album. In retrospect. the 2000's were a bit of a low period for the band, but [b]In Your Honor[/b] is the strongest album they made during that decade. The first disc is composed entirely of fast-paced rockers while the second is all slower and softer acoustic songs. There's a good selection of songs on each, but the first half is definitely the superior one, which makes the album suffer from inconsistency. But again, there are excellent tunes to be found on both parts of the album. [i]In Your Honor[/i] might've been better released a single disc with the less remarkable songs left out, but it's still a decent enough record that has some of the band's best hits.
Highlights: "Best of You", "Cold Day in the Sun", "No Way Back", "Resolve", "Miracle", "Still"
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[b]6. Concrete and Gold[/b][/center]
The band redeem themselves after the disappointing [i]Sonic Highways[/i] with [i]Concrete and Gold.[/i] It's also their first album as a six-piece band as keyboardist and longtime contributor Rami Jaffee is brought on as an official member. With this record, the Foo Fighters successfully find a middle ground between moving forward artistically while keeping fans of their earlier work happy. It holds an equal amount of songs that sound like vintage Foo Fighters reminiscent of their earlier music and songs that get more inventive, utilizing influences from metal, pop and progressive rock. It might not be one of their best album, but it's still better than some of the albums that came before it.
Highlights: "The Line", "Run", "Concrete and Gold", "Sunday Rain"
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[b]5. Medicine at Midnight[/b][/center]
The most recent album by the band and the last to feature Taylor Hawkins before his untimely death the following year. [i]Medicine at Midnight[/i] is one of the Foo Fighters' more ambitious records as they they explore new territory with a few styles they've never done before, such as dance-rock, power pop and even disco. But, in keeping with the formula of [i]Concrete and Gold[/i] by having a mix of old and new sounds, the album still has a fair share of old school-sounding Foo Fighters songs, that's sure to satisfy older fans. [i]Medicine at Midnight[/i] may be different, but I feel it's one of their best! I hope they will continue to follow this formula of experimenting with new styles and while also keeping to their classic sound. It's just a tragedy that it wound up being the last one with the late and great Taylor Hawkins. RIP
Highlights: "Making A Fire", "Medicine At Midnight", "Shame Shame", "Waiting On A War", "Love Dies Young"
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[b]4. There Is Nothing Left to Lose[/b][/center]
The bands closer to the '90s that saw a slight shift in tone from their first two records. It's the first without Pat Smear, who was replaced by Chris Shiflett and also the first with Taylor Hawkins. [i]There Is Nothing Left to Lose[/i] has a considerably softer and more accessible style, utilizing more melodies and pop hooks. Fans partial to their more straightforward rock material might not appreciate the poppier sound of this album, but in all fairness, Foo Fighters have always been a bit poppy, so it really isn't that out-of-place. It's better to look at it as the Foos embracing their more melodic side, which makes for some pretty solid songwriting from the band. Not quite as good as their first two, but it's still one of their better ones. Just so happens to have my favorite Foo Fighters song too, "Learn To Fly".
Highlights: "Learn To Fly", "Stacked Actors", "Next Year", "Generator" "Breakout"
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[b]3. Foo Fighters[/b][/center]
What started as a solo project by Dave Grohl (who wrote and recorded the whole album) done as a means of therapy through his depression following Kurt Cobain's suicide and the subsequent demise of Nirvana, ended up becoming the start of the Foo Fighters. The name was chosen to hide Grohl's but then something happened: the album ended up being a critical and commercial success, which prompted Grohl to form an actual band around the record and the rest is history! The Foo Fighters self-titled debut is much more raw and unpolished in its sound compared to the records that came after it, but it's teeming with great tracks, many of which would become some of the band's signatures and live performance staples. They would immediately surpass it with their follow-up, but their first album was a powerful start to the Foo Fighters legend.
Highlights: "Big Me", "I'll Stick Around", "This Is a Call", "Alone + Easy Target", "X-Static", "Exhausted"
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[b]2. Wasting Light[/b][/center]
The band's opener to the 2010's saw Pat Smear - a man who had been a major influence on the Foo Fighters' music - back as a full-time member, returning the band to full strength and marks their first album as a five-man group. Indeed, [i]Wasting Light[/i] was a return to form that plays out like a trip through time all the way back to the band's early years. Nothing but the band's old school sound throughout and the quality is right on the same level! Made doubly impressive after a decade of them on a downturn in quality and, with the exception of [i]Sonic Highways,[/i] the band have gone back to releasing excellent records once again, making [i]Wasting Light[/i] the beginning of a reinvigorated Foo Fighters.
Highlights: "Arlandria", "These Days", "Bridge Burning", "Rope", "Walk", "Dear Rosemary"
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[b]1. The Colour and the Shape[/b][/center]
Despite the success of the self-titled debut, when it was announced that the Foo Fighters had become an full-fledged band, many critics didn't have high expectations from them, expecting them to be just another post-grunge band in a scene oversaturated with them. Having recruited a team of his heroes who influenced him, Pat Smear of The Germs and Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith of Sunny Day Real Estate (though Goldsmith left before the album's release and has minimal presence), Dave Grohl firmly established the Foo Fighters signature style and that they weren't just another group of wannabes riding on grunge's coattails with their sophomore album [i]The Colour and the Shape.[/i] It was the album that launched the band's career and remains the very best record they have released to date.
Highlights: "Everlong", "My Hero", "Monkey Wrench", "Walking After You", "Hey, Johnny Park!", "New Way Home"
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Feel free to share your opinions on my album ranking and thanks for reading!
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[b]10. Sonic Highways[/b][/center]The idea behind this album was pretty grand, I must admit. Eight songs recorded in eight different cities, the style of each song matching the musical scene of the city it was recorded in, with a guest musician from from that city as well. With how ambitious it was, [i]Sonic Highways[/i] should have been a masterpiece, but it ended up being the most lackluster record the Foo Fighters have done so far. Most of the songs are just boring and even what decent songs it has, they're not all that interesting either. [i]Sonic Highways[/i] had a lot of potential, but it only goes to show that if something doesn't live up to it, then that potential is meaningless.
Highlights: "Something from Nothing", "Subterranean"
[center]
[b]9. One by One[/b][/center]It's ironic that this record was made with the intent of channeling the explosive energy from the band's live performances into an album when most of the end product just sounds devoid of the Foo Fighters' famed live energy. To be fair, though, this was more than likely marred by the tensions between band members going on at the time. [i]One by One[/i] does get off to an incredibly strong start with the first four songs, a couple of which are some of their best! But the rest of the album just falls flat from there. Makes you think it would've been better if only the first four tracks were released as an EP.
Highlights: "All My Life", "Times Like These"
[center]
[b]8. Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace[/b][/center]"Run-of-the-mill" is probably the best word I can use to describe this one. [i]Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace[/i] isn't a bad album, but it's not a particularly good album either. It's okay, but apart from a few stand-out tracks, I can take it or leave it. It's similar in style to it predecessor [i]In Your Honor[/i] in that it features both electric and acoustic compositions, but rather than dividing the styles up on a double album, they combined them together on the same tracks. However, despite Dave Grohl's attempt at writing music that would resonate with fans better, the album just sounds uninspired.
Highlights: "The Pretender", "Let It Die", "Long Road to Ruin"
[center]
[b]7. In Your Honor[/b][/center]The band's only double album. In retrospect. the 2000's were a bit of a low period for the band, but [b]In Your Honor[/b] is the strongest album they made during that decade. The first disc is composed entirely of fast-paced rockers while the second is all slower and softer acoustic songs. There's a good selection of songs on each, but the first half is definitely the superior one, which makes the album suffer from inconsistency. But again, there are excellent tunes to be found on both parts of the album. [i]In Your Honor[/i] might've been better released a single disc with the less remarkable songs left out, but it's still a decent enough record that has some of the band's best hits.
Highlights: "Best of You", "Cold Day in the Sun", "No Way Back", "Resolve", "Miracle", "Still"
[center]
[b]6. Concrete and Gold[/b][/center]The band redeem themselves after the disappointing [i]Sonic Highways[/i] with [i]Concrete and Gold.[/i] It's also their first album as a six-piece band as keyboardist and longtime contributor Rami Jaffee is brought on as an official member. With this record, the Foo Fighters successfully find a middle ground between moving forward artistically while keeping fans of their earlier work happy. It holds an equal amount of songs that sound like vintage Foo Fighters reminiscent of their earlier music and songs that get more inventive, utilizing influences from metal, pop and progressive rock. It might not be one of their best album, but it's still better than some of the albums that came before it.
Highlights: "The Line", "Run", "Concrete and Gold", "Sunday Rain"
[center]
[b]5. Medicine at Midnight[/b][/center]The most recent album by the band and the last to feature Taylor Hawkins before his untimely death the following year. [i]Medicine at Midnight[/i] is one of the Foo Fighters' more ambitious records as they they explore new territory with a few styles they've never done before, such as dance-rock, power pop and even disco. But, in keeping with the formula of [i]Concrete and Gold[/i] by having a mix of old and new sounds, the album still has a fair share of old school-sounding Foo Fighters songs, that's sure to satisfy older fans. [i]Medicine at Midnight[/i] may be different, but I feel it's one of their best! I hope they will continue to follow this formula of experimenting with new styles and while also keeping to their classic sound. It's just a tragedy that it wound up being the last one with the late and great Taylor Hawkins. RIP
Highlights: "Making A Fire", "Medicine At Midnight", "Shame Shame", "Waiting On A War", "Love Dies Young"
[center]
[b]4. There Is Nothing Left to Lose[/b][/center]The bands closer to the '90s that saw a slight shift in tone from their first two records. It's the first without Pat Smear, who was replaced by Chris Shiflett and also the first with Taylor Hawkins. [i]There Is Nothing Left to Lose[/i] has a considerably softer and more accessible style, utilizing more melodies and pop hooks. Fans partial to their more straightforward rock material might not appreciate the poppier sound of this album, but in all fairness, Foo Fighters have always been a bit poppy, so it really isn't that out-of-place. It's better to look at it as the Foos embracing their more melodic side, which makes for some pretty solid songwriting from the band. Not quite as good as their first two, but it's still one of their better ones. Just so happens to have my favorite Foo Fighters song too, "Learn To Fly".
Highlights: "Learn To Fly", "Stacked Actors", "Next Year", "Generator" "Breakout"
[center]
[b]3. Foo Fighters[/b][/center]What started as a solo project by Dave Grohl (who wrote and recorded the whole album) done as a means of therapy through his depression following Kurt Cobain's suicide and the subsequent demise of Nirvana, ended up becoming the start of the Foo Fighters. The name was chosen to hide Grohl's but then something happened: the album ended up being a critical and commercial success, which prompted Grohl to form an actual band around the record and the rest is history! The Foo Fighters self-titled debut is much more raw and unpolished in its sound compared to the records that came after it, but it's teeming with great tracks, many of which would become some of the band's signatures and live performance staples. They would immediately surpass it with their follow-up, but their first album was a powerful start to the Foo Fighters legend.
Highlights: "Big Me", "I'll Stick Around", "This Is a Call", "Alone + Easy Target", "X-Static", "Exhausted"
[center]
[b]2. Wasting Light[/b][/center]The band's opener to the 2010's saw Pat Smear - a man who had been a major influence on the Foo Fighters' music - back as a full-time member, returning the band to full strength and marks their first album as a five-man group. Indeed, [i]Wasting Light[/i] was a return to form that plays out like a trip through time all the way back to the band's early years. Nothing but the band's old school sound throughout and the quality is right on the same level! Made doubly impressive after a decade of them on a downturn in quality and, with the exception of [i]Sonic Highways,[/i] the band have gone back to releasing excellent records once again, making [i]Wasting Light[/i] the beginning of a reinvigorated Foo Fighters.
Highlights: "Arlandria", "These Days", "Bridge Burning", "Rope", "Walk", "Dear Rosemary"
[center]
[b]1. The Colour and the Shape[/b][/center]Despite the success of the self-titled debut, when it was announced that the Foo Fighters had become an full-fledged band, many critics didn't have high expectations from them, expecting them to be just another post-grunge band in a scene oversaturated with them. Having recruited a team of his heroes who influenced him, Pat Smear of The Germs and Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith of Sunny Day Real Estate (though Goldsmith left before the album's release and has minimal presence), Dave Grohl firmly established the Foo Fighters signature style and that they weren't just another group of wannabes riding on grunge's coattails with their sophomore album [i]The Colour and the Shape.[/i] It was the album that launched the band's career and remains the very best record they have released to date.
Highlights: "Everlong", "My Hero", "Monkey Wrench", "Walking After You", "Hey, Johnny Park!", "New Way Home"
[sep]
Feel free to share your opinions on my album ranking and thanks for reading!
31-35, F