RANK THE ALBUMS

[mikejasond]

My ranking changes ALL THE TIME. For ever I would put Vs. first. I now have a new appreciation for Ten. I'm sure this will change many more times. Right now I'm gonna go ahead and say...

1. Ten
2. Vs.
3. Vitalogy
4. No Code
5. Gigaton
6. Self/Titled
---
7. Yield
---
8. Backspacer
9. Binaural
10. Riot Act
11. Lightning Bolt

And yeah, it will probably change many more times after that. I usually have Vs. on top, and Riot Act at the bottom but lately I've had a change of heart, idk. I should listen to them all through some time again. It's possible Gigaton falls down to 7 but I think I feel confident putting Backspacer/Lightning Bolt/Binaural/ Riot Act as the bottom 4, and the first 4 albums as the top 4

[balders]

vitalogy
vs
ten
no code
yield
gigaton
riot act
biunural
st
backspacer
lightning bolt
.. but i love them all and change all the time ..except vitalogy

[PHATJ]

I’d much rather listen to Gigaton than any other PJ music at this point. I think it’s going to be that way for a long time. I honestly don’t know what that means for rankings, but Gigaton is fucking awesome and I can’t imagine my connection and love for it will be diminishing much over time, if at all. So number one?

[knee tunes]

I’d much rather listen to Gigaton than any other PJ music at this point. I think it’s going to be that way for a long time. I honestly don’t know what that means for rankings, but Gigaton is fucking awesome and I can’t imagine my connection and love for it will be diminishing much over time, if at all. So number one?

the song "dance of the clairvoyants" sounds like alot of farts going off in the foreground

[Fattie_Vedder]

Gigaton and Yield are so similar in style and quality.

It’s strange but I really get this.

The two records feel closest in spirit out of their catalogue.

I stand firm by my assessment that Gigaton is the move child of Yield and Riot Act. But the dirty uncle Lightning Bolt got some weird ideas stuck in Gigaton’s impressionable young mind.

[knee tunes]

Gigaton and Yield are so similar in style and quality.

It’s strange but I really get this.

The two records feel closest in spirit out of their catalogue.

I stand firm by my assessment that Gigaton is the move child of Yield and Riot Act. But the dirty uncle Lightning Bolt got some weird ideas stuck in Gigaton’s impressionable young mind.

that's gross

[Fattie_Vedder]

Gigaton and Yield are so similar in style and quality.

It’s strange but I really get this.

The two records feel closest in spirit out of their catalogue.

Lightning Bolt is gross. Blame lightning bolt.

I stand firm by my assessment that Gigaton is the move child of Yield and Riot Act. But the dirty uncle Lightning Bolt got some weird ideas stuck in Gigaton’s impressionable young mind.

that's gross

[Fattie_Vedder]

I’ll attempt this though effort to do so meaningfully is futile.

1. Vitalogy
2. Yield
3. No Code
4. Binaural
5. Gigaton
6. Vs? Ten?

8. Riot Act
9. Pearl Jam
10. Backspacer
11. Lightning Bolt

The top 3 are interchangeable. Yield is often my number 1. Sometimes No Code is. Sometimes Binaural is. All depends on mood and broader mental and emotional state. But the holy trinity of Pearl Jam albums for me is Vitalogy-No Code-Yield. Binaural can tag along and make it a... Quad... rinity.

I have no idea how to rank Ten and Vs. They are more complete albums from top to bottom than most anything in their catalogue, full of timeless master pieces. Yet the albums themselves have not aged consistently well for me, and I almost never have a desire to listen to them back to front anymore. Yet some of the songs on them will forever be some of my favorites, and I bet would still sound amazing 30 years from now. They can be ranked at the very top simply for the fact that for the time they were created, they were perfect albums through and through, and for the sheer nostalgic emotional power they hold. Or they could fall in the middle of the pack for me because I’m more called to the music of the aforementioned holy trinity of albums.

Gigaton is the closest thing in sound they’ve done recently to that top tier. It naturally falls right after that. The fact that the messages in the album are both relevant to our times and resonate emotionally with my emotional and mental state at this age with how I want to approach life make it super fucking special.

And it puts Gigaton above Riot Act, as good as Riot Act is. Easily.

That may change over time, and time will tell where Gigaton ranks in the fold...

[PHATJ]

I’ll attempt this though effort to do so meaningfully is futile.

1. Vitalogy
2. Yield
3. No Code
4. Binaural
5. Gigaton
6. Vs? Ten?

8. Riot Act
9. Pearl Jam
10. Backspacer
11. Lightning Bolt

The top 3 are interchangeable. Yield is often my number 1. Sometimes No Code is. Sometimes Binaural is. All depends on mood and broader mental and emotional state. But the holy trinity of Pearl Jam albums for me is Vitalogy-No Code-Yield. Binaural can tag along and make it a... Quad... rinity.

I have no idea how to rank Ten and Vs. They are more complete albums from top to bottom than most anything in their catalogue, full of timeless master pieces. Yet the albums themselves have not aged consistently well for me, and I almost never have a desire to listen to them back to front anymore. Yet some of the songs on them will forever be some of my favorites, and I bet would still sound amazing 30 years from now. They can be ranked at the very top simply for the fact that for the time they were created, they were perfect albums through and through, and for the sheer nostalgic emotional power they hold. Or they could fall in the middle of the pack for me because I’m more called to the music of the aforementioned holy trinity of albums.

Gigaton is the closest thing in sound they’ve done recently to that top tier. It naturally falls right after that. The fact that the messages in the album are both relevant to our times and resonate emotionally with my emotional and mental state at this age with how I want to approach life make it super fucking special.

And it puts Gigaton above Riot Act, as good as Riot Act is. Easily.

That may change over time, and time will tell where Gigaton ranks in the fold...

Nice post. I can relate very much with your thought process. Ranking Ten and Vs. feels impossibly complicated and nuanced. And your top five albums are basically mine in reverse order, but they’re all pretty much interchangeable. Like you, I’d rank Riot Act just a step below, but then a small gap before Avocado, and a massive gap before Backspacer and Lightning Bolt. To me, that’s seven 5 star albums, one 4 star album, one 3.5 star, and two duds. That’s a pretty damn remarkable career.

[injuddstree]

Vitalogy
Vs
Yield
No Code
Ten
Binaural
Gigaton
Riot Act
Avocado
Backspacer
Lightning Bolt

[BelieveYouMe]

This is where my head is at right now...

Tier 1
Ten, Vs, Vitalogy, No Code, Yield - all interchangeable

Tier 2
6. Gigaton
7. Binaural

Tier 3
8. Riot Act

Tier 4
9. Avocado
10. Backspacer
11. Lightning Bolt

[daft twat]

1 Vitalogy
2 Ten
3 Vs, No Code, Yield, Gigaton
4 Binaural, but if Sad, In the Moonlight, and Fatal replaced Evacuation, Soon Forget, and Rival, it might be in the 3 spot all by itself.
5 Backspacer
6 Self-titled
7 Riot Act
8 Lightning Bolt

[RockPusher]

I should listen to them all through some time again.

Been doing that, and will post rankings sometime in the near future to reflect how that's gone. I'm really doubtful that I can accurately gauge Ten, as its gaining exposure coincided with my coming of age, and its profound impact on me threatens to make every song on it a 4.5 or 5.0. But then again, I haven't done the listen of it yet, and maybe it really is just that good!

[Kevin Davis]

I think I've been kind of surprised to see, in all the post-Gigaton rankings, here and elsewhere, how low people still rate Riot Act. I feel like there is a general sense around here that the fanbase has "come around" on that album -- maybe it's just a small but vocal faction of RM'ers (with excellent taste, but still) that give that illusion.

Gigaton has grown on me immensely in the past week. But, as some others have said as well, I think I still pretty comfortably rank it below the first seven, if comfortably ahead of the last three.

[RockPusher]

I have no idea how to rank Ten and Vs. They are more complete albums from top to bottom than most anything in their catalogue, full of timeless master pieces. Yet the albums themselves have not aged consistently well for me, and I almost never have a desire to listen to them back to front anymore.

This is EXACTLY how I feel about Ten and to a lesser extent Vs. and Vitalogy. I would only add that bar none I will sing along with any song from Ten that comes on the radio.

[chewm]

Riot Act is a weird one for me, a lot of my all time favorites are in that album (I especially love Matt's tunes), but there's also too much folky stuff that I really don't care about. A cropped version plus the outtakes might become my favorite Pearl Jam album.

[Tuolumne]

I can listen to every Pearl Jam album happily all the way through, never skip a track, I enjoy them all. There is not a "bad" album in the catalog.

THIS.

I'd guess I'd say:

Universal all time classics: Vitalogy, Ten

Band classics: Yield, BACKSPACER, Vs - albums I'd play for people to introduce them to Pearl Jam

Just Great Band albums : Gigaton, No Code, Binaural, Riot Act, Avocado, Lightning Bolt, Lost Dogs

The last category sets them apart from their contemporaries, no clunkers to be heard anywhere, amazing material throughout. What an awesome band we chose to and got lucky to be on this ride with.

Gigaton is too new for me to truly classify yet. I do know with complete confidence that it is yet another really really good album with it's own unique identity. Love it.

[ABNorman]

I'm not sure there's a single Pearl Jam album I'd still listen to all the way through these days.

[Birds in Hell]

Yield remains the last Pearl Jam album I can enjoyably listen to all the way through.

[Strat]

Yield remains the last Pearl Jam album I can enjoyably listen to all the way through.

This is foreign to me.

I get it, im strat, a fanboy, but I can always at least enjoy hearing ed's voice, or mike playing guitar, etc...etc...

There are absolutely 0 songs that I would immediately turn off or skip because I couldnt stand them.

Yea, backspacer and lightning bolt are easily bottom of the pile, but if i decided to listen to the album i could still sit through the entire thing and find some enjoyment.