Pink Floyd Albums Rank

Ashes And Diamonds

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Pink Floyd Albums Ranked​

15. The Endless River

The absence of Roger Waters, for the first time, has proved a problem. It’s not a horrible album, but it’s most defiantly not a great one either. Filled with ambient out-takes from 1993-94 recordings meant for ‘The Division Bell’ it’s still obviously a Floyd album. Or, at least, a very Floyd inspired album. It has a slow build up, taking you back to Golden-Year songs such as ‘Shine On...’ and ‘Echoes’. Yet that build up doesn’t go anywhere. It’s like being stuck in that intro to ‘Shine On Your Crazy Diamond’. And then, for the last song (the only ‘fully fledged’ song on the album), ‘Louder Than Words’, the build goes somewhere... but it’s no where near as good as it was in their earlier years. However, the music is relaxing, good for going to sleep or studying.

14. A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

Like ‘the Endless River’, it’s not all too bad. After the last few listens, I’ve quite enjoyed it. It’s not a strong album by any means, however. ‘Learning To Fly’ falls into the rabbit hole of 80’s pop, ‘Dogs Of War’ feels like an attempt to mimic Roger Waters lyric writing style. ‘One Slip’ is a pretty alright song, and featured one of the best non-Waters lyrics: ‘Was it love or was it the idea of being in love?’ None of these songs are horrible, yet I find ‘A New Machine’ hard to enjoy. But it definitely does what it was meant to do: prove that they could still be Pink Floyd without Roger Waters.

13. More

The soundtrack to the Barbet Schroeder film ‘More’ is an album of a band trying to find it’s footing. There are a few great tracks (The Nile Song, Ibiza Bar, Cymbeline and Green Is The Color are among them) but it’s an average album overall. Not a bad listen, not a great one either.

12. Atom Heart Mother

The first album on this list that I thought was an album full of great songs. The title track, a 23 minute song, sounds like four different songs that go back to the same chorus. ‘If’ is a beautiful song, one of the first song by Roger Waters to mention insanity (If I go insane/Please don’t put your wires in my brain). ‘Summer ‘68’ is an amazing song, written by Rick Wright. ‘Fat Old Sun’ is another beautiful song, with the first truly great Gilmour guitar solo. Yet the final track, ‘Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast’, is more of a humorous sort of song. However, overall, the album performs well, and is a lovely listen.

11. Obscured By Clouds

Another soundtrack for a Barbet Schroeder film, ‘Obscured By Clouds’ is another beautiful albums, with some low points (When You’re In, Obscured By Clouds, Absolutely Curtains) some average points (Mudmen, Burning Bridges) and some VERY HIGH points (Wots, Uh... The Deal, The Gold It’s In The..., Stay, Free Four). It definitely is a great run up to ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ and it might be just as good. Definitely an underrated gem.





10. Piper At The Gates Of Dawn


Please forgive me for placing it here. Don’t get me wrong, I freaking LOVE this album, I think it’s one of the greatest debut albums of all time... but I think the Floyd did some better albums. Syd Barrett’s genius lyrics and melodies are all over this album, and to this day, NO-ONE has done anything like it (although, that could be said for all Floyd albums). Roger’s first song, ‘Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk’ doesn’t have a hint of the genius who wrote ‘Dark Side...’ and ‘The Wall’. But it’s still amazing. ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ is amazing, as is the rest of the album. But for me, the highlight is ‘Chapter 24’.

9. Ummagumma

I know what you’re thinking: ‘His bloody mad, placing ‘Ummagumma’ this high up on the list!’, but hear me out. Of course, the live side of the album is great (Careful With That Axe, Eugene being my favorite) but so is the studio side. Songs like ‘Sisyphus’ and ‘Several Species...’ are interesting, but not un-enjoyable. ‘Grantchester Meadows’ and ‘The Narrow Way’ are most definitely high points in the album, and the last song, Nick Mason’s ‘Grand Vizier’s Party’ is another great song.

8. Meddle

At long last, the Floyd have finally found there footing, setting them up in the right direction for the future. It starts with the hard hitting ‘One Of These Days’, with Nick Mason’s spoken word, ‘One of the days I’m going to cut you into little pieces’. Next is a more relaxing ‘Pillow Of Winds’ that suddenly grows dark (when night comes down, you lock the door/the book falls to the floor). ‘Fearless’ is much more up beat groove, as is ‘San Tropez’. Next, is ‘Seamus’ (that’s the dog), a blues song featuring harmonica, slide guitar and a howling dog. But the highlight is the final song, the side long 23-minute epic, ‘Echoes’. It goes from a slow ambient build up to the first verse. One second, it’s slow, the next it’s a funky groove, followed seagull guitar and whale noises, another, much more dramatic build up to the third verse, and (another) guitar solo.

7. The Division Bell

The only truly great Floyd album without Roger Waters, this album is a nod to their prime in terms of music, and a nod to their earlier, more confusing lyrics of their early years. The only songs that you understand the meaning behind at first listen are ‘A Great Day For Freedom’ and ‘High Hopes’. The guitar solo and the end of the latter would have been a great way to finish off the band, compared to the solo at the end of ‘Louder Than Words’ or the entirety of ‘Hey Hey, Rise Up’. The highlight of this album are ‘High Hopes’, ‘Marooned’ ‘A Great Day For Freedom’ ‘Wearing The Inside Out’ and ‘Keep Talking’.

6. A Saucerful Of Secrets

Their second album, with minimal input from front man Syd Barrett, was definitely an album by a band trying to find their footing. Yet there are aspects of their future albums here. ‘Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun’ features near-whisper vocals by Roger Waters, the title track is full of psychedelic and progressive soundscapes, and ‘Corporal Clegg’ features political lyrics, mainly about Roger’s father, Eric Fletcher Waters, a theme that would reoccur later in their career. Overall, this is a great album, and incredibly underrated.

5. Animals

If you listened to Sex Pistol’s ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’, then The Clash’s debut album, and then ‘Animals’, I think you’ll find that the Floyd’s 1977 album is the nastiest (in a good way). It starts off with the mellow ‘Pigs On The Wing, Pt. 1’, an acoustic, (somewhat) love song. This is followed by ‘Dogs’. It starts off as an upbeat acoustic, that, after the first verse, breaks into the soaring, heavily distorted, first guitar solo (the first of five). It goes back to the original chord progression for the second verse, another guitar solo, a bridge, a synth solo (with the echoed ‘stone’) another guitar solo, a third verse, another guitar solo, and finally, the great outro. ‘Pigs (Three Different Ones)’ is much heavier song, about Mary Whitehouse (Hey you, Whitehouse/Ha ha, charade you are) and is one of the few Floyd songs to drop the f-bomb (Bus stop bread bag/Ha ha, charade you are/You fucked up old hag/Ha ha, charade you are). Next is ‘Sheep’, featuring Roger’s, shall we say, slightly altered bible verse, creepy organ, loud music, loud singing (Harmlessly passing your time in the grass land awaaaaaaaaay), and finally, Gilmour’s final, let’s rock, guitar outro. And to sum it all up, ‘Pigs On The Wing, Pt. 2’ (But I know that you care/what happens to me). Take that, punk rockers!

4. The Dark Side Of The Moon

Yeah, I know, I placed it 4th. And no, this is not a mistake. Trust me, the top five list is tough. But, in my opinion, this the greatest album of all time. But not the greatest Floyd album. It starts with the, let’s say, strange intro of ‘Speak To Me’, leading into ‘Breathe’. ‘On The Run’ is thirty years ahead of its time. Speaking of time, the next song, ‘Time’ is the heaviest song on the album, but you get that slower, smoother chorus, and a reprise of ‘Breathe’. ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’ is a beautiful Rick Wright composition, featuring vocals by Clare Tory. ‘Money’ has that iconic bass line most of us know, ‘Us And Them’ is just beautiful, ‘Any Color You Like’ is a funky guitar instrumental, ‘Brain Damage’ is slow with dramatic bursts in the chorus (‘I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon’), and ‘Eclipse’ is an amazing way to end an album. As I said, it’s the greatest album of all time. But not the best Floyd album.

3. Wish You Were Here

The perfect album. ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ has that ambient build up, multiple guitar solos, and amazing lyrics. ‘Welcome To The Machine’ has amazing vocals and an amazing Rick solo on the organ. ‘Have A Cigar’ is a funky groove, with lyrics reminiscent of ‘Money’. And the title track is the perfect song. I can’t think of a better one. And yet, I feel that there are two albums that can beat this...

2. The Wall

Yep. None of the big four get number one. This 26-track double album is an amazing concept album, with themes of war, insanity, and a burnt out rockstar named Pink, who shares characteristics of both Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. But the highlight is ‘Comfortably Numb’. In particular, that second guitar solo. It really makes you think, ‘WOW!’ It was a tough decision, but still, I don’t think The Wall can make number one.

The Final Cut

I know, I know. ‘You can’t put it here, it’s basically a Roger Waters solo album!’ Okay, it’s obvious why you would think that. I mean, even the cover says ‘By Roger Waters. Performed by Pink Floyd’! But it’s still performed by the Floyd, and features some of Gilmour’s best solos. There is not a single flaw on this album. Songs like ‘The Gunners Dream’, ‘The Fletcher Memorial Home’ and ‘The Final Cut’ are some of the most emotional songs ever written. ‘Not Now John’ is an amazing rock track, as is ‘The Heroes Return’. And the final track, ‘Two Suns In The Sunset’ (a song about nuclear holocaust), features one of the greatest lines ever written: ‘Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend. We were all equal in the end’. So yeah, I feel justified placing this number one.

Of course, this is my opinion.

And, of course, I want to know your opinions.

So what do you think?
 
The Wall and the final cut are good albums but not the best in my opinion. The cut in particular gets good towards the end but like with the wall there is just too much naration and 'heavy' anti war propaganda to make it the best. You are right about DSotM and wish you were here being difficult to chose between but album sales alone would probably swing it towards DSotM. Animals is another 'difficult' album that takes quite a few listens to properly appreciate.
 
I thought The Wall would be in first place (because that's my favorite Pink Floyd album). However, I have no problem with The Final Cut being in the number one spot. Not Now John and Paranoid Eyes are some of my favorite pieces from the album. I think Piper At The Gates Of Dawn should have been ranked little higher.
 
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