Ranking the Pink Floyd albums

I'd planned to include all the solo albums and side projects to make this exercise slightly more worthwhile and to demonstrate why you should get around to checking out Wet Dream some time rather than lazily touring the recesses of the main catalogue again, but then I couldn't be bothered.

The Top 15 Pink Floyd Studio Albums it is then, not even including singles compilations, collaborative soundtracks or other miscellany, lazy.


Somewhat vague key:

Barrett era
Collaborative era
Waters era
Gilmour era


15. Ummagumma (studio album) (1969)

I'm not allowing the live half to raise the average, since I'm not rating all the other live albums and bootlegs out there. The solo quartet has to speak for itself. The least worst efforts would have been the forgettable filler on other albums of this era, overshadowed by sprawling psychedelic epics; here, they're drowned out by annoying, boring shite. They don't even give any indication of their later solo work, although to be fair, I haven't listened to any Nick Mason albums. 'The Grand Vizier's Garden Party' killed any enthusiasm for excursions down that road.

Fave: Nothing, really

14. The Endless River (2014)

Clearly a heartfelt tribute rather than cynical cash-in, good intentions don't make this mediocre supplement of jingles and ringtones any more worth holding on to, especially not compared to the better unreleased material from across the decades that will remain more obscure without prestigious packaging. I'd care about it harming the eternal legacy if Ummagumma hadn't generously slackened that tension 45 years earlier. I tend to just forget about it.

Fave: Louder Than Words, obviously

13. Obscured by Clouds (1972)

It's a scenario I've pondered with other bands – what if you suddenly discovered a fairly obscure album released at the height of their golden age? Well, if they were busy crafting their masterpieces, the side project would probably turn out pretty half-arsed, they're not wizards. The positive of this spec soundtrack being so rushed and first-draft is that it didn't cut into the Dark Side sessions and no gems were wasted on the throwaway release. It might even have helped them to hammer out a couple of ideas, or at the very least to let off steam with a working holiday.

Fave: Childhood's End

12. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)

Maybe because they were the first '60s band I got into (depending on when Black Sabbath was recorded), this psychedelic kaleidoscope feels like it marks some vaguely-defined doorway to modernity that the likes of the Beatles and most other contemporaries are squarely on the unrelatably archaic side of, even those releases that came later. That doesn't mean I care for it a huge amount though, not being especially enamoured with Syd's nostalgic storybook whimsy that's the dominant colour here, sometimes mixing in the middle with the space tones. Admittedly, I've never listened to any of these in the mindset that was probably intended, heeding the implicit warning.

Fave: Astronomy Domine

11. The Division Bell (1994)

Inoffensive in its uncomplicated smoothness (unless you're allergic to dad rock), but the endless failed attempts to write a new 'Comfortably Numb' or 'Wish You Were Here' get pretty boring. The most collaborative effort since the '70s, the committee approach smooths down the sharp edges that made the '80s albums more interesting and more fun to argue about.

Fave: Coming Back to Life

10. The Final Cut: A Requiem for the Post War Dream by Roger Waters, performed by Pink Floyd (1983)

What a cunt. He should have gone officially solo and drafted in a Gilmour soundalike, since he was replacing band members already. Then this wouldn't have the dark cloud hanging over its utter gloom and it could be appreciated more favourably alongside the likes of Amused to Death, which is better, but that we inevitably haven't listened to as much, because we're brand slaves.

Fave: The Gunner's Dream

9. A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)

An extremely flawed rebirth, it's fortunate that I enjoy its earnest '80s Band Aid vibe and echoing stadium excess, so I can focus on the positives. I'd forgotten how much of a Gilmour solo project it was before reading the credits just now, but for bringing the band back together rather than driving them apart, it can rightfully be called a Pink Floyd album. Legally, too. Suck on it, Rodge.

Fave: On the Turning Away

8. Animals (1977)

You could describe several Pink Floyd albums as bloated EPs, but that's the main feeling I've always had from this one, alongside the general disappointment that my favourite space band has suddenly plummeted down to hard, stony earth. It's partly the uninspired Orwellian themes that make 'Dogs' a slog but the broadly similar yet celestial 'Echoes' a marvel, but it's also the comparative minimalism making it feel like nothing much is even happening, the usually dependable atmosphere being noticeably depleted. There are a few great guitar bits, that's about it.

Fave: Sheep

7. A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)

The self-eclipsing of Syd Barrett casts a dark shadow over the band's transitional second album. I prefer it in all ways, but by leaning more into the hypnotic rhythms, and not having daft songs about Noddy or whatever, it's less memorable (though the fucking kazoo won't get out of your head for a while). It's fine, they don't all have to be masterpieces, chill out.

Fave: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

6. More (1969)

The most worthwhile of their film soundtracks (official and bootlegged), the need for diversity creates some interesting outliers in the discography – from hard rock to jazz, blues and flamenco – but inevitably, their customary spacey passages and mellow ballads are better, in the latter case better than ever. Not a classic album, but good, varied background music, as was intended, even More than usual.

Fave: Green Is the Colour

5. Atom Heart Mother (1970)

I've always sensed that I appreciated this one more than it might actually deserve, but listening again after a long time, the whole is a bit better than I remembered. The pompous title suite is really good (if a few minutes past my attention span), thanks to the efforts of Ron Geesin and his reluctant players. Another B-side of solo works is a disappointing step backwards, but they're all miles better than their Ummagumma equivalents. A weird classic, in a way.

Fave: Atom Heart Mother

4. Meddle (1971)

'Echoes' is the best song in the world, so the failure of the other half of the album to similarly upscale from Atom Heart Mother's filler side has always been a disappointment. Those songs are okay, but I don't rate it highly as an overall album experience. If I want to listen to 'Echoes,' I put on 'Echoes.' Swapping the more disposable ones for a version of 'Embryo' would make this a more serious contender, but maybe that was considered overkill. On a conspiratorial note, 'Echoes'/2001 is a lot more convincing than the Wizard of Oz rubbish. It's got the Monolith sound and everything.

Fave: Echoes, obviously

3. The Wall (1979)

Like most rock operas, Roger Waters' self-indulgent semi-autobiographical public therapy session gets less enchanting the closer you follow the narrative, but the music's good enough that you can isolate it to an extent, with abridgement. Stripping the fat from Animals and adding catchy disco hooks and Beach Boys harmonies makes this a fun and easy listen, but with less longevity than the earlier classics. The depressing band politics casts a pall as our heroes get sidelined for session players, but it's all about results, and he gets away with it this time.

Fave: Hey You

2. Wish You Were Here (1975)

I've always associated the Syd Barrett thematic tribute album more with Rick Wright, since it's his ever-expanding (subsequently sharply contracting) keyboards that shine most brightly, in harmony with Gilmour's heavenly electric whines and paradoxical acoustic clanging in some of the best soundscapes discovered by man. Waters' venting about rich band problems is too unrelatable to be depressing and general enough to not be self-indulgent yet.

Fave: Welcome to the Machine

1. Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

I went into this fairly clueless, as a metal kid transitioning to classic rock. I wanted to check out some prog and this was the clear recommendation. They had me at the lazy beach guitar, and by the time the first song popped out of a rabbit hole inside the third, I had a new favourite band. I'm not normally swayed by lyrics, beyond 'Echoes'-style scene setting, but there are profound cosmic thoughts here, and those disembodied ramblings make a lot of sense, even if you're too square to be listening 'properly.' Maybe that heaviness is part of the reason I haven't made this journey too often, along with wanting to preserve the experience, and never isolating individual songs from the whole like some kind of lunatic.