RANK THE ALBUMS

[blueviper]

2014...
Ten
No Code
Vs.
Yield
Lightning Bolt
Vitalogy
Backspacer
Binaural
Riot Act
Pearl Jam


Now...
Ten
No Code
Vs.
Vitalogy
Yield
Riot Act
Lightning Bolt
Binaural
Backspacer
Pearl Jam

[DWFB]

Just wondering if 2 people on this site have ranked the albums in the same order

[Habitman]

Vs
Yield
Ten
Binaural
Vitalogy
No Code
Backspacer
S/T
Riot Act
LB

[NewKurtLeon]

Based on how much I listen to them

Binaural
Vitalogy
Pearl Jam
Yield
No Code
Riot Act
Ten
Backspacer
Vs
Lightning Bolt

[WaitingForBluey]

No Code
Yield
Binaural
Riot Act
Vs
Vitalogy
Ten
Pearl Jam
Lightning Bolt
Backspacer

[burl jam]

As of April 2014:

1. Ten
2. No Code
3. Binaural


4. Pearl Jam
5. Riot Act
6. Vs.
7. Yield

8. Lightning Bolt
9. Vitalogy
10. Backspacer

As of Jan 2020:

1. Binaural
2. No Code
3. Yield
4. Ten

5. Riot Act
6. Vitalogy
7. Pearl Jam
8. Vs.

9. Backspacer


10. Lightning Bolt

Honourable Mention to Live on Two Legs as it was the first PJ album I heard.

[Tsuga]

I love doing these things, and I just came up with my ranking, but I don't know. It's hard because my mind always argues with itself as to whether I'm ranking an album a certain way out of habit, because I feel like an album's legacy (or what I perceive as an album's legacy) should supersede or at least influence my ranking somewhat, or should it just be purely my enjoyment. And if the last one, how do I quantify that? Every album brings me joy for one reason or another, and I don't know how conducive that is to ranking--at least with entire albums. Songs are easier.

Of course I am overthinking it. All I really know is that I think No Code is tops for me. If I could only have one Pearl Jam album to listen to for the rest of my life, that would probably be it.

[liebzz]

I love doing these things, and I just came up with my ranking, but I don't know. It's hard because my mind always argues with itself as to whether I'm ranking an album a certain way out of habit, because I feel like an album's legacy (or what I perceive as an album's legacy) should supersede or at least influence my ranking somewhat, or should it just be purely my enjoyment. And if the last one, how do I quantify that? Every album brings me joy for one reason or another, and I don't know how conducive that is to ranking--at least with entire albums. Songs are easier.

Of course I am overthinking it. All I really know is that I think No Code is tops for me. If I could only have one Pearl Jam album to listen to for the rest of my life, that would probably be it.

Definitely true. I would add that how you listen to them also makes a difference. I had never really sat down and listened to them in order over the course of a week like I did last month and it made a huge impact on my experience. It positively affected Vitalogy and Binaural for whatever reason. It had a negative impact on how I experienced No Code because I had always experienced it in its vacuum and not as part of a string through their musical journey (note: negative in terms of rankings since it slides from #1 to #3 or 4 - I still love the album all the same).

[PHATJ]

1. Binaural
2. Vs.
3. No Code (the Moline performance revitalized this album for me)
4. Yield
5. Vitalogy
6. Riot Act
7. Ten
8. Pearl Jam
9. Lightning Bolt
10. Backspacer

1. Binaural
2. Vs.

3. Vitalogy
4. Yield
5. No Code

6. Ten

7. Riot Act
8. Gigaton
9. Avocado




10. Lightning Bolt
11. Backspacer

[DWFB]

1. Riot Act
2. No Code
3. Yield
4. S/T
5. Lightning Bolt
6. Ten
7. Binaural
8. Backspacer
9. Vs
10.Vitalogy

I think my initial high placement of Lightning Bolt was just the troll in me. That or maybe because I hadn't listened to No Code and Yield in a long while.

[hlniv]

2000:
1. No Code
2. Yield
3. Vitalogy
4. Vs
5. Ten
6. Binaural

2010:
1. Vitalogy
2. No Code
3. Yield
4. Vs.
5. Lost Dogs
6. Ten
7. Binaural
8. S/T
9. Riot Act
10. Backspacer

2020:
1. Vitalogy
2. Binaural
3. Riot Act
4. Yield
5. No Code
<DOTC/Gigaton>?
6. Lost Dogs
7. Vs
8. S/T
9. Backspacer
10. Ten
11. Lightning Bolt

[stip]

1. Riot Act
2. No Code
3. Yield
4. S/T
5. Lightning Bolt
6. Ten
7. Binaural
8. Backspacer
9. Vs
10.Vitalogy

I think my initial high placement of Lightning Bolt was just the troll in me. That or maybe because I hadn't listened to No Code and Yield in a long while.

or because it is a criminally underrated album round these parts

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Ill try this

1.No code
2.Yield
3.Vitalogy
4.Binaural
5.Riot act
6.Vs
(I feel pretty good about the top 6)
7.Ten - i love what the album means to me but dont listen to the it any more
8.Lightning bolt - im not a hater, i enjoy the album but its definitely near the bottom
9.Backspacer - its better then i felt about it a couple of years after it was released, i loved it at first then was burned out on all but johnny guitar and force of nature, but im enjoying the whole album again.
10.Pearl jam - 2 of my all time favorites with parachutes and marker in the sand, but i dont enjoy listening to anything else on the album. I like most of the album live though, there are a lot of great songs


Once Gigaton comes out the newness will easily put it up in the riot act range but it will be a year or so before id be able to rank it

[epilogue]

Smart man

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Smart man

Is that close to yours Joe? Im not sure how far back to look

[Matters]

If I ranked the albums based on how much I loved them when they were new, Ten and Yield would be at the top. I’ve never been so hooked on any other albums by anyone as I was on those two. Vitalogy and Binaural have aged the best for me and I usually consider them as my favorites, but I still take into consideration how much I listened to Ten and Yield in their time. Riot Act is the album I’m most likely to defend because it’s just as good as any other PJ album but usually isn’t cited as such. I love No Code as well but I’m content to let others do the talking for that one.

[Matters]

1. Riot Act
2. No Code
3. Yield
4. S/T
5. Lightning Bolt
6. Ten
7. Binaural
8. Backspacer
9. Vs
10.Vitalogy

I think my initial high placement of Lightning Bolt was just the troll in me. That or maybe because I hadn't listened to No Code and Yield in a long while.

or because it is a criminally underrated album round these parts

Hello Stip and thank you for all your contributions on here, I’ve enjoyed reading them.

In my experience, here’s the best evidence to prove that Lightning Bolt, Backspacer and to a lesser extent Avocado are not as strong as the first 7 albums:

Pick any of the first 7 albums, and PJ fans are likely to argue about the 1 or 2 songs on the album we don’t like. On the last 3 albums, we’re more likely to argue about the 1 or 2 songs we do like. Obviously this doesn’t apply to everyone but I think it’s a common theme.

[epilogue]

Smart man

My personal ranking is fairly different. But I like how you talk about waiting on Gigaton before being able to fully rank/evaluate it. I know I'm the kind of person that gets super excited about things at first and needs time to let stuff settle. It's wise to allow for time on this stuff, I think.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Yeah, i dont have the ability to be objective with new PJ, its all great at first just because its new

[DWFB]

1. Riot Act
2. No Code
3. Yield
4. S/T
5. Lightning Bolt
6. Ten
7. Binaural
8. Backspacer
9. Vs
10.Vitalogy

I think my initial high placement of Lightning Bolt was just the troll in me. That or maybe because I hadn't listened to No Code and Yield in a long while.

or because it is a criminally underrated album round these parts

For me, Hail Hail, who u are, in my tree, present tense, red mos, smile and off he goes are a tough 7 to beat.