The Who Albums Ranked From Worst to Best
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- Опубликовано: 8 июн 2020
- This week we take a look at the legendary rock band, The Who. From laying the groundwork for punk rock to inventing the rock opera, The Who are one of the most influential rock bands of all time. But which records are the best? Which ones aren't that great? Jason, Kram, and Joe are here to sort all of that out for you.
Albums Discussed:
My Generation
A Quick One
The Who Sells Out
Tommy
Who's Next
Quadrophenia
The Who By Numbers
Who Are You
Face Dances
It's Hard
Endless Wire
WHO
Be sure to leave a comment. Let us know what you think of our lists and share your own list as well!
Thanks for watching Listography!
Stock footage provided by Videvo, downloaded from www.videvo.net
Live at Leeds blows every Who studio album out of the park. It’s staggering played extremely loud.
i cant say i disagree
Absolutely.
Greatest live album of all-time.
Best live record ever
The best live record ever released
'Can you imagine how awesome an album with "Substitute" and "Happy Jack" and "Magic Bus" on it would be? That album is called MEATY, BEATY, BIG & BOUNCY and it is, indeed, awesome.
Essential!
You all prolly dont give a damn but does any of you know of a trick to get back into an Instagram account??
I somehow forgot my account password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.
@Khari Ezekiel Instablaster ;)
@Zayd Turner Thanks for your reply. I got to the site on google and I'm trying it out atm.
Takes quite some time so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Zayd Turner It did the trick and I now got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thanks so much, you really help me out !
My favourite channel of RUclips right now, keep on doing great guys!!. Greetings from Spain.
Thanks!
1. Quadrophenia
2. Who's Next
3. Live at Leeds (original release)
4. Tommy
5. Rarities Vol 1 & Vol II and Odds & Sods (mostly US singles and B sides)
6. Sell Out
7. Who By Numbers
8. Quick One
9. Who Are You
10. My Generation
11. It's Hard
12. Face Dances
Jason looks like a John Entwistle impersonator.
12: Endless Wire (2006)
11: It’s Hard (1982)
10: Face Dances (1981)
9: A Quick One (1966)
8: WHO (2019)
7: My Generation (1965)
6: Who Are You (1978)
5: The Who Sell Out (1967)
4: The Who By Numbers (1975)
3: Tommy (1969)
2: Who’s Next (1971)
1: Quadrophenia (1973)
Couldn’t imagine this list taking any other shape but you guys are all over the place which really shows their depth.
"Quadrophenia" has to be up there. It's a brillant album.
My favorite
They were at the Albert Hall, London, on the same bill with Chuck Berry, 1969. The same afternoon we saw The Stones in Hyde Park. What a day!
Another great panel discussion/ranking. I ranked my Who albums before I watched your post and I gotta say, Joe and I were pretty much eye to eye. Post-Keith albums are (naturally) hit or miss, but there always seems to be something I can connect with. Keep up the great work and I can’t wait to see your subscribers in the thousands!
Really, really enjoyed the discussion. Thanks gents!
1) Best Moon drumming = 'Tommy'.
2) Most insightful Townshend lyrics = 'Quadrophenia'.
3) Finest Daltrey vocals = 'Who's Next'.
4) Purest Entwistle contributions = each and every time the Ox picked up his bass. Cheers!
I’d say Entwistle’s best album would be Who Are You. “905” and “Trick of the Light” have his best lyrics and the whole album has great basslines
@@reillyjamessullivan6940 Absolutely love '905'!
Quadrophenia is the best drumming album ever in my opinion
As an old gen-xer Who fanatic I'm really surprised By Numbers is ranked so high by you guys. I agree it's very underrated. Also love throwing the hat when quadraphenia is ranked #6
Something i say about Tommy. Its one of the few double concept albums where i don't get bored getting through it ever. Its very easy to follow, its always interesting from track to track, and those musical themes that kinda bookend it really wrap everything up so well.
For me Tommy isn’t as easy to follow if you haven’t researched it (unlike The Wall) but it’s still me #2 Who album behind Who’s Next
I realize it is not a real album but Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is truly great.
I feel the same about Odds n Sods
I haven't heard Hooligans yet but after looking at its track listing I can tell it's great.
@@BernardChelgren odds & Sods is amazing! Post Card, Now Im a Farmer, Pure and Easy, Little Billy, Long Live Rock, Too Much of Anything, Put the Money Down…. They’re all fantastic
I have a lot of good feelings about the It's Hard album. Kept me good company driving around in 1982, with powerful songs like It's Your Turn, Dangerous, Athena, and others. The album has a straightforward, unpretentious energy that I've always enjoyed. Kenney Jones' drumming fit in perfectly with everything else.
Who’s Next. Still can’t believe how good it is when I hear it! Live at Leeds - great album.
The Who one of my top 10 favorite bands. I hope the album who are you score as well one of my absolute favorites very underrated
Excellent video. Among the classic rock and metal history, I'm probably least familiar with The Who. Of course I know the big hits and generally the high end albums, but I've always kind of wanted to give them more time than I have(who has enough time for everything right).
Favorites:
Quadrophenia (my favorite album of all time, an incredible portrait of the loneliness of adolescence, the beauty of young hearts, and the frustrations of trying to live up to one's image of masculinity)
Tommy (also top ten albums of all time)
[Live at Leeds]
The Who Sell Out
Who's Next
My Generation
A Quick One
The Who by Numbers
As for Who's Next, Face Dances, and It's Hard, I've listened to them all at least once but never have been too excited about revisiting these other than the singles.
Kram came to the rescue for me by ranking Who Are You higher in his list. I think every song on there is so strong- great lyrics, great performances, really unique compositions by way of key changes and instrumentation. I think the guitar tone on this album sounds amazing- it has this fuzz but still really cuts through, and I think it sits in well with the synthesizer parts. The bass tone is great too, and I think it's some of John's best playing. Quite honestly, Who Are You might rank #1 for me. I was actually surprised to hear both Jason and Joe didn't favor it.
12. Who
11. Endless Wire
10. It's Hard
9. Face Dances
8. Who Are You
7. A Quick One
6. My Generation
5. The Who By Numbers
4. Tommy
3. The Who Sell Out
2. Quadrophenia
1. Who's Next
Nope
Another entertaining video guys !!! Cool list from each one of you but this time Jason's one is my favorite cos yeah your no.1 choice Jason is "exactly" the same as mine !!! That album is "easily" a top 20 (if not a top 10) all-time favorite of mine !!! LOVE it !!!!!
Great summary of the albums again, they’re always a joy to watch, but I gotta disagree about Joe’s opinion on Tommy not being personal; a lot of it is based on Townsend’s experiences as a kid.
All great choices. I’m team Quadrophenia - it’s my favorite album of all time - a masterpiece and Tommy was first - Quadrophenia wouldn’t exist without Tommy and I like it quite a bit as well. Sell Out is probably my second favorite after Quadrophenia just this incredible 60s pop record - I love the interludes and the songs are amazing - so yeah great show
Sell Out and Tommy would likely be my #2/3 also... especially after the release of the studio recordings.
Jason lost me putting Quadrophenia at number 6, that album is my favorite from The Who.
The more of these ranking videos I watch, the more I realize how much of an impact the time and place one is in when they are introduced to an artist and/or album makes to one's ranking. For example, for a period of three of four months I worked split shifts at a grocery store a 4 km walk away from where I lived. I had a cassette of Quadrophenia in my Sony Walkman playing Quadrophenia on every one of those walks. I was also at the perfect age for the messages in that album, so it's always going to be my favourite. Also, Face Dances was released a few months before I graduated high school and is therefore ingrained in my memories of freedom from high school and a summer of racing down the highway, swimming in the river, and ... girls. I'm sure that's why it ranks higher in my opinion than it does for most people. As for WHO, I'm in the return to form camp. In some ways Daltrey’s phrasing and dynamics are better than ever. Townshend’s material is excellent, as are the performances of the contributing musicians, including Pino Palladino (bass), Zak Starkey and Joey Waronker (drums), and Benmont Tench (organ and mellotron).
1. Quadrophenia
2. Who's Next
3. Tommy
4. The Who Sell Out
5. My Generation
6. A Quick One
7. The Who by Numbers
8. Face Dances
9. WHO
10. Who Are You
11. Endless Wire
12. It's Hard
The Who Sell Out is also my favorite by far. "Armenia City In The Sky" and "I Can See For Miles" are absolutely incredible. I'm surprised none of you mentioned the song "Rael" as it contains chords and other musical elements which would be featured prominently on "Tommy"
Jason - thanks for the shout out about Meeting Of Important People! Never had heard of them before but been listening the past two nights. Great stuff!
I agree with Kramzer! It’s Hard is personally one of my favorite Who albums and it disappoints me to hear that the majority of people dismiss it as their worst album! Definitely their most underrated!
1: Who's Next
2: Quadrophenia
3: Tommy
4: My Generation
5: Who by Numbers
6: Who Are You
7: Who Sel Out
8: It's Hard
9: Face Dances
10: A Quick One
I don't know the others!
1. Who’s Next
2. Quadrophenia
3. Tommy
4. The Who Sell Out
5. A Quick One
6. My Generation
7. Who Are You
8. Who By Numbers
9. Who
10. Face Dances
11. It’s Hard
12. Endless Wire
Totally agree that Daily Records has some Sloop John B vibes
Nice work guys! it was interesting to what you all had to say. I also think 'Who By Numbers' is highly under rated. I believe the wrong songs were released as singles. The singles should have 'However Much I Booze' and 'How Many Friends' that's what I felt the first time I listened to it back in 1975. I also feel 'Quadrophenia' is a little bloated and find it hard to listen all the way through, still a great album. 'Who's Next' is by far my number 1. Here's my top 5...
1. Who's Next
2. Tommy
3. Who By Numbers
4. Quadrophenia
5. Who Are You
With regard to Face Dances,Pete Townshend had just released his highly acclaimed solo album Empty Glass a few months before Face Dances,and supposedly Roger Daltrey was furious that Townshend kept his best songs for his own album. Empty Glass is tremendous,and handily blows away Face Dances
I can't go as far to say Empty Glass is tremendous, but I would also put it above Face Dances. - Rk
It does blow away Face Dances but FD is pretty damn good ... it has aged well IMO.
Well done! Boy, The Who has a lot of great songs.
favourite new channel kinda binging now, love from Australia. I wonder what Aussie band you will do first. I reckon you guys might like Midnight Oil... hint hint. Try Red Sails in the Sunset or Deisel and Dust
Funny you should ask...a certain Aussie band has an album dropping Friday.
I listen to My Generation the most since it's my workout album, but Quadrophenia is my number 1 Who album for sure! I just hope that their next album sounds more like either My Generation or A Quick One because I really love that punky/raw sound!
I forgot to mention this, but The Who are up in my top 3 bands of all time! Huge fan of them for sure!
Surprised no one mentioned how groundbreaking the title track to A Quick One was for the time. It definitely inspired Tommy
Absolutely, I like these guys' reviews a lot but to not mention AQO, especially the group's performance a Rock n Roll Circus is really missing a trick
Same with Rael from The Who Sell Out which later had riffs lifted from it for Tommy.
totally. probably my all time fave who song actually.
Great show of appreciation for this original gangster of rock music.
Live at Leeds is a masterpiece incredible live experience
Who by numbers is very underated
Album as regards there Best album is who's next
Love this channel. There is no right or wrong.. My top four are 1. Who’s Next 2. Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy 3. My Generation 4. Live at Leeds. The Who are one of the few bands where a live album and a greatest hits album should be considered when assessing their greatest albums
Thanks Jack. As a matter of fairness we didn’t include Live at Leeds or Meaty, Beaty ... The Who are tough because of all their singles and their awesome live show. Saw them a few years ago. Still good! - Joe
Quadraphenia is my #1 Album of all time
!
Townsand was an Art major. Moon's drumming often took the role of lead quitar.
The songs on Face Dances are fantastic. Middle of the pack for song construction & execution. Better than Who Are You, Quick One, It’s Hard and By Numbers (though the latter is very close) - though these are all great. Daily Records is great. When it came out, we all thought it was a superb album. It’s much better than It’s Hard which has two memorable songs. Sell Out is a springboard to Tommy and kind of a companion piece. The live version of A Quick One on Rock n Roll Circus is one of the best live performances ever. I agree totally about the debut…one of the top handful of debuts ever, the first punk lp decades ahead of their time
i'll have to search your channel and see if you've done a listing for The Kinks - but I think you'll find that You Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night both came out in 1964 and pre-date the Who's debut album.
I love the question posed to those my age (60 +), "Where you a Zeppelin guy or a Who guy?"
I love both bands.
Love Zeppelin, but The Who are my fav!
Good work again guys. I must admit I've never really warmed much to The Who, though I do own several of their records. The problem I have with them is that a lot of their songs sound like huge, bombastic, self-celebratory fanfares. Also I find Keith Moon's drumming rather monotonous. Even though he's celebrated as this great free spirit, he mainly just did the same huge roll in every song. My favourite thing Townsend ever did is his solo album All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes.
Also remember: pure and easy could have also appeared on Who's Next
who sell out 1#
I love the jingles that support the pirate radio theme. the '95 expanded (or the more recent deluxe editions) are the way to hear it, with great song additions: glow girl, jaguar, early morning cold taxi, glittering girl, a repeat of maryanne with the shakey hands (a very cool and subtle way to reinforce the radio theme), and a few others. It's their masterpiece i think.
Also, before watching these ranking videos it was easy for me to forget that The Who only have 12 proper studio albums in their history, but their non-album singles compiled together would easily rank 3rd on my list, and so would either Live At Leeds or Isle Of Wight if those were counted, so their total output would probably be more like 15 albums worth of stuff.
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is basically a collection of the early singles, and Odds and Sods is an album of rareties and outtakes. So, they do exist. But not really fair to compare those to the studio albums, which is why we leave them off. A good point to make though...the who are definitely greater than the sum of their studio albums.
Thanks for watching!
-Jason
This is easy. I totally agree with Kramzer.
I’ve been a Who-fan since 1982 when i was 16 years old.
goin with my top 5...
5. a quick one
4. tommy
3. who's next
2. quadrophenia
1. the who sell out.
the last two , the way they flow, its so great. quadrophenia is an experience with quad sound!
1. Who’s Next
2. Tommy
3. Quadrophenia
4. Who Are You
5. It’s Hard
6. Sell Out
7. By Numbers
8. My Generation
9. Who
10. Endless Wire
11. A Quick One
12. Face Dances
Who’s Next is one of my top 5 of all - time. I know they’ve been played to death but Won’t Get Fooled and Baba O’Reilly 2 of the greatest songs ever. My only criticism was not including Pure & Easy which definitely should have made the album. Tommy & Quadrophenia are both classic concept albums that are both almost equally great. It’s Hard is definitely the most underrated Who album and a huge improvement over Face Dances. Entwistle has 3 songs on It’s Hard and there all really good to go along with some great Townsend songs like I’ve Known no War and Cry If You Want and the 2 hit singles of course.
My list: 1- Who's next 2- Sell out! 3- Tommy 4- My generation 5- A quick one 6- Quadrophenia 7- Who are you 8- Who by numbers 9- It's hard
Love the zany, crazy stuff from 66-68 but Who's next is an incredibly powerful album.
12) Endless Wire
11) Who
10) Its Hard
9) Face Dances
8) My Generation
7) A Quick One
6) Who are you
5) Who Sell Out
4) Tommy
3) Who By Numbers
2) Who’s Next
1) Quadrophenia
* Live at Leeds is a masterpiece
Please do a Townshend solo album ranking...the man is a genius.
My top five in order
1. Quad
2. Sellout
3. Who's next
4. Tommy
5. My generation
Of the albums I have.....
(1: Live at Leeds... Especially the expanded version. Yes, I realise why it's not included but it's flipping brilliant)
1: Quadrophenia
2: Who's Next
3: Tommy
4: The Who Sell Out
5: A Quick One
6: My Generation
7: Who Are You
👍👍
For a band of such status their catalogue looks a bit thin - but quality goes over quantity and the first six albums on my list are enough to make any band a legend. (To mention, the Who's music is part of my life's soundtrack and goes back to hearing My Generation and other singles on the radio by the time of their release before I even saw any of their albums.)
1. Who's Next
2. Quadrophenia
3. The Who By Numbers (sooo underrated, I can remember that many were disappointed when it was released in 75, but that album still is relevant in 2020 and that tells a lot)
4. Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy (I put this one here because early Who were a powerhouse band and extremely influential but not well represented on their early albums. I have this compilation for 40 years and it is classic, yes, it is a compilation but it has the status of an album for me. Townshend himself compiled and sequenced it.)
5. Tommy
6. Who Are You
7. It's Hard
8. The Who Sell Out
9. Face Dances
10. The Who Sings My Generation
11. A Quick One
12. The Who 2019
13. Endless Wire
Never mention the Who without Live at Leeds, I am always reluctant to live albums because too many are filler for contractual obligations but this one is a record in its own rights.
@Lloyd Bonafide I was only talking of quantity. You need not convince me that the Who are one of the top bands of the last 50 years. Who's Next for me is one of the 10 best albums of all time. Since I first heard it in 1971 it has been the benchmark for THE rock album.
I loved Endless Wire
"I'm so nervous I just sit and smile..." I haven't heard all of The Who's albums but I must confess the one I enjoy the most is Who Are You (except for the title track).
Guitar and Pen is amazing
12. Endless Wire
11. Who
10. Face Dances
9. It's Hard
8. A Quick One
7. Who Are You
6. My Generation
5. The Who By Numbers
4. Tommy
3. The Who Sell Out
2. Quadrophenia
1. Who's Next
"Tommy" the rock opera is probably number 1.
My ranking is different from all of you :
1. The Who Sell Out
2. A Quick One
3. Tommy
4. Who's Next
5. Quadrophenia
6. Who Are You
7. Who
8. My Generation
9. The Who by Numbers
10. Face Dances
11. It's Hard
12. Endless Wire
@Burr Anderson Of course I got "Live at Leeds", "Live at Lyon", "Isle of Wight" and others... As far as I know, the ranking is just studio albums ! But you probably didn't notice it. Shame on you !
Not a Who fan but the WHO sell out is the best record they ever did. Then Who's Next. I can't believe you put the who sell out first and for that I am giving you a lifetime stipend of very High Numbers.
Great opinions here guys. I particularly liked some of the observations such as "Squeeze Box" being a juvenile song and really the weakest track on a now-overlooked album. Or the way that Entwistle's bass could be heard better when he played with Moon than with Jones, especially per the "It's Hard" album (which I agree is a lot better than "Face Dances" though both have at least a few great songs).
I'm not sure how anyone could put Quadrophenia in anything less than the top 3, but that shows these are honest and uninfluenced opinions, so I greatly respect that. I'm looking forward to your takes on The Beatles and whatever other albums you might cover and rank. You probably are a long way from doing the Tom Petty albums, but if you are running out of topics at some point, you might want to give those a try.
The Beatles video exists already. I ranked the Tom Petty albums way back before Joe and Kram joined the channel. That video is still available but we will eventually remake it with all three of us. -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic Thanks for the reply. I did see your older video of the Tom Petty albums with just yourself, but yes one of all 3 of you would be great. You guys do a great job of reasoning out what you like about an album, which is a lot better than just a ranking with no explanation. I am at least a marginal fan of most of the bands you've reviewed, so it's fun to hear your views.
When Moon passed on, so had The Who. Townsend wanted to disband the band at the time, but Daltry apparently talked him out of it. The best “Who” songs after that appeared on Townsend’s solo albums.
Quadrophenia is their best record. Saw them perform it live, just phenomenal. Easily in my top 10 favorite albums of all time.
Some clown here put Quad at #6! 🤡
I somewhat liked their album since this Listography. I'd put it about 7th among the now-13 of them.
Wow, never thought I'd agree with Joe but without a doubt Quadrophenia is their apex. No words for Jason. #6? Unconscionable.
As he said he’s not trying to rank the greatness of the albums in an objective sense, he’s ranking them based on personal favorites and the order he would want to hear them the most. So in that way it makes total sense, these rankings are very much down to personal preference.
When Moon passed on, The Who did the same. Townsend was so broke up he intended to do the same with the band, but was reportedly talked out of it, not surprisingly, by Daltry, who would have been lost without Townsend’s vision and writing (born out by the solo career he attempted but failed to find success with, for all he had to say was always said by Townsend). The best post Moon era “Who” albums were solo Townsend albums.
Shocked. I really thought Who’s Next would be #1 across the board. Quadrophenia at 6? I had the same reaction as Kramzer. Quadrophenia > Tommy
Who put together your intro and outro music? Just curious. I was going to guess one of you, or a collaboration
Nah, it’s just a free track that we pulled from RUclipss music library. Someday I’d love to put together a better title sequence with original music. -Jason
The Sonics sounded like that in 1965, Joe. As did The Kinks to a lesser extent.
Guided by voices? 2 part..pre-reunion and after. Tho its kinda hard to compare the 2
That's gonna be a multi-year project to even listen to all the albums
Hi Guys, i've been following all your videos for a while now, is there a chance you do a KINKS albums ranking?
We want to. 24 albums is a lot to get through though. It’ll happen sooner or later. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic thanks, i know it takes time to listen to 24 albums, keep up the good work, your videos are great
Yes, best of the guitar gods at that all important, too often overlooked essential aspect, Rhythm Guitar. Even prevalent to dominant degree in his lead work, Astute Mention, Guys 👌
Loved The Who since picking up their first album in1965 as a 15 year old kid. Saw their first performance in the states at the last Murray The K Show inNYC, the era just before actual Rock Concerts, where about a dozen bands appear a few times per day, each playing a couple of songs. The Who played Anyhow, Anyway, Anywhere & My Generation. Also on that same bill was Cream, also on their first American trip. Saw them next on their second American tour, at which time Rock Concerts were in full seing at The Central Park outdoor skating rink..... great memories, great band..... except for Daltry, never cared for him, such a mismatch to the over the top skills of the rest of the band. Kept them from the potential top of their heap in my opinion. Still loved them , tho, one of the very best bands in Rock history, fer sure.
12) Face Dances
11) Endless Wire
10) Who Are You
9) It's Hard
8) My Generation
7) The Who Sell Out
6) A Quick One
5) The Who By Numbers
4) WHO
3) Quadrophenia
2) Who's Next
1) Tommy
I do like the newest album a lot more than you 3, also its interesting how none of you mentioned that on A Quick One, theres the 10 minute track "A Quick One, Whilst He's Away" was a song in 6 movements written by Pete Townshend, bassically like a mini-opera.
I'm with Jason on Quadrophenia. The concept is interesting, but the music never reached me on an emotional level.
Jason coming through with Who Sell Out at 1. I know I'm in the minority but they work better for me overall as a pop band than a rock band (despite some great rock tracks in their catalogue)
I love the Who but having said that their discography cant touch BEATLES and STONES.. not even close IMO..and JASON...quadrophenia 6!!!???. .i respect your opinions andenjoy your insightful comments...much more thourugh and educated than most similar analysts...but you ALWAYS have me shaking my head..lol..keep up the good work..always look foward to your vids...JOE...YOU DA MAN11
Well there we go! We now have Kramzer’s Top 3 favorite albums of all time.
1. Radiohead - Ok Computer
2. The Who - Tommy
3. Interpol - Turn On the Bright Lights
Tommy is Tops for me followed by Who's Next. Quadrophenia didn't connect with me for the longest time but has grown on me. The performances are top notch by all the members and the sound is amazing. The songs just don't grab me nearly as much. I don't like Love Reign O'er Me at all and having heard it on radio hundreds of times hasn't endeared it to me any more. I like the new WHO album more than any of you guys. Roger sang a lot better than on Endless Wire which I didn't care for much.
Check out Odds and Sods, lots of interesting outtakes and B sides
My favorite WHO studio albums are: 1. Who s Next 2. Quadrophenia 3. Tommy 4. Sell Out 5. WHO 6. By Numbers 7. Its Hard 8. Odds & Sods 9. Face Dances 10. Who are You 11. Endless Wire 12 A Quick One 13. My Generation. Sadly, there are 4 unreleased.albums: 1. Their very first album, mostly covers, was rejected by the record company and ended up being half "My Generation". 2. The 1968 "Sell Out" fabulous song collection 4.The 1970 studio album 5. "Who s Next" other half. 6. 1972 "Long Live Rock-Rock is Dead" album.
Townshend wrote most the songs, Daltrey sang most of them and was the visual "front", Entwhistle was the foundational "quiet one". But for me, something was missing when Keith Moon died. A biopic mentioned that he was going off the rails around the time of "Who Are You", and was even challenged to be fired by the other members for messing up. Kenny Jones, who was a part of the mod scene as Small Face/Face...was musically qualified to replace him. But still, something was missing....and their last 2 albums (Face Dances, and It's Hard), though listenable, seem tired....and sad.
Are all of you from Pittsburgh? You should do top ten bands that nobody knows about. Number 1 would be the Iron City Houserockers.
Jason with Who sell out and Quadrophenia at 6 is so Jason.
PLEASE DO JOE JACKSON..I know its an extensive discography
Live at Leeds really should have been included.
It's not a studio album
@@shanemckenna9416 Right on. I didn't know that was a condition for inclusion. Makes sense though.
Ironically, the best singer in the band was Townsend. No great singer per se, but whenever he took the rare lead song or piece of a song, it sounded more connected to the heart of the tune, much more so than Daltry’s self serving stylings. After the first album, his producer actually tried to get Townsend to dump Daltry & replace him with Townsend himself, but that unfortunately didn’t take hold for whatever reason/reasons.
I've been listening to Tommy a lot in the last few months, it's my number 1 in the Who top list and at least in my top 20 albums ever, I'm not a great fan of Who's next," Who sell out" would be my second choice with "Quadrophenia" ranking 3rd
1. Quadrophenia
2. Who's Next
3. My Generation
4. The Who Sell Out
5. The Who By Numbers
6. A Quick One
7. Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy
8. Face Dances
9. Who Are You
10. Tommy
11. Who
12. Odds & Sods
13. It's Hard
14. Endless Wire
Very hard to rank these albums since The Who are one of my favorite bands of all time! Even the bottom albums are still good and contain some really good songs. The rest of the 70s and 80s material are really good too.
How is faces better than who are you and Tommy give us reasons
That was fun! As a Who freak for over 4 decades, here are mine, which by and large concur with the consensus. It is a testament to the greatness of this band that there can be this much divergence of opinion form #1 to #6..
First, the merely *good* stuff. Still good, but uneven, without the consistent greatness of the classic period, and a considerable amount of filler that I find only mildly enjoyable
12) Face Dances. Some good tracks, but a bit too polished and too LA, as opposed to Shepherd's Bush sounding, but not the barrage of excellence up to By Numbers. Kenney Jones is OK, but how good would Moon have been, given how rapidly his drumming went downhill during their hiatuses?
11) It's Hard. Another good album. "Eminence Front" is among their best, and more excitement than Face Dances. Benefits from a crisper, no nonsense sound, with Glyn Johns back in the control room.
10) Who. A good, solid record. More consistently solid than Endless Wire, but not as many I find as interesting and memorable, either.
9) Endless Wire. Odd for an album to sound unfinished when it's the first in 23 years. Has some very interesting songs, a few that are very lovely, and really rocks out for too brief of bits. Some great moments, but feels like it could have been so much *better* with some more development and attention.
8) Who Are You. Like a precursor to Endless Wire, in a way, and the high points are very high. The title track is great, except for some puzzling noodling that more deflates it than sets the stage for the final explosion The Ox made some great contributions. Otherwise, much of it is merely OK, not memorable. The first album since the misguided democracy of A Quick One to have any substantial amount of filler.
Now on to the *great* stuff:
7) A Quick One. Hampered by a bit too much democracy, with the positive side-effect being the emergence of The Ox as a composer. The high points, such as the title track and the power pop perfection of "So Sad About Us" are very high, indeed, though the title track only really came to life on stage.
Now it gets really, really tough. Hardly even a so-so track from here on down. So much brilliance. They could have released a couple more *great* albums even from the stuff they left in the can - and in fact, did (Odds and Sods).
6) My Generation. Goundbreaking album, with a lot of great material, but dragged down by the R&B covers, which were OK, but vastly inferior to Pete's compositions. The intentional distortion on the recording Shel Talmy evidently got by overloading everything did not serve all the songs so well, either. But tunes like "Much Too Much", the title track, and "The Kids Are Alright" make up for the shortcomings many times over.
5) The Who By Numbers. Daltrey said he loved this one, being about that feeling you've got a f-ing hole in the ground waiting for you. Alas, for Moon, that would be rather soon. Moon reportedly cried when he heard "How Many Friends". A downer of an album, but a really awesome, heart-wrenching downer, though not without some humor. A vastly underrated record that defied expectations.
*The Best of the Best, to my ears.* These can be in any order, and may change from day to day for yours truly. Eeenie, meenie, minie, moe...
4) Tommy. Awesome from start to finish. The best of all the albums live. Not quite the same energy on the recording, but still, what tunes and performances!
3) Who's Next. The prototype for 70s classic rock, much imitated, never duplicated. Best album in terms of recording, Glyn Johns capturing the band's full power in the studio, at last, and awesome performances from all. Every song is excellent, and how many albums are there for which that claim can be made? Roger and John are at their peak here, Moon still great, and Pete as dynamic and creative as ever.
2) Quadrophenia. Awesome, powerful, dynamic. Like its predecessor, the songs vary from merely great to greater, ending with what I regard as among the greatest of all time by anybody, the devastating "Love, Reign O'er Me."
1) The Who Sell Out. The most diverse, interesting, and most importantly *fun* album in the catalogue, to my ears. A few slight missteps, but the remaining brilliance overwhelms it. I'm with Jason in that I'd have rather they fully played the radio concept through. Includes what I consider the most underrated Who song of all, "Our Love Was" (what a middle of the album, from "Tattoo" through "I Can't Reach You"!), and ends with a stunning preview of what was to come. An idiosycratic proto-indie classic in the realm of Face to Face, by the Kinks, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, by the Small Faces, Odessey and Oracle, by The Zombies, and Shazam, by The Move, in which my musical soul ultimately lives. The album I put on my turntable the most, 'nuff said! But then again, that could change by next week.
I'll have to check out Meeting of Important People, thanks, Jason!
The Who by numbers will always be my fav, seems I´m the only one but
that´s fine cheers..!!
Not my favorite- that would be Quadrophenia (Sorry, Hans Gruber) but definitely in the top three and too often overlooked.
THE second best song by the who voted by fans is "I can see for miles" . SEE Jason gets the WHO Sell Out. Folky is good and the melodies are not so quaint as some think ; the record is understated and gorgeous and Daltrey is not bombast in voice. Did someone talk to him to get him to be a little more humble of voice?
Don't get me wrong.. I like 25 who songs, just not to the degree most fans do. All of the pretentious records suck but for Who's Next which is really good. Won't Get Fooled Again though is too long. I wonder if oft times pompous bravado voice Roger Daltrey realized that Pet wrote the song "that screams defiance at those who feel any cause is better than no cause". I got tired of the song after 10 listens but I didn't realize that Pete was tongue in cheek (to a some degree ) and maybe I was dense. Glad Pete wasn't caught up in revolution or causes totally but was mocking them in some way when extreme. Not that I am not for Causes but you need to have humor unlike fascist dangerous AOC. Also Eminence Front is a very good song.
Worst Who popular Songs: You better you bet / Who are you (their most annoying song)/ Squeeze Box.
Jason your out of your mind quad at 6 my favorite easily
Joe… RS actually gave Def Leppard 5 stars…..never looked at the mag again
My personal ranking
#1: Who’s Next
#2: Quadrophenia
#3: Tommy
#4: The Who Sell Out
#5: My Generation
#6: A Quick One
#7: The Who by Numbers
#8: Who Are You
#9: Who
#10: It’s Hard
#11: The Endless Wire
#12: Face Dances
I agree with The Who SellOut as #1 👌 ~ Too bad you didn’t include Meaty, Beaty, Bouncy, a compilation of some of their very best work, mostly British singles that were never released here as singles or on any albums.
I like Jason put the who sell out at number one though it's one of my favorite albums they did
My Top 13 Who Albums, There Isn't a Terrible Album from The Who, They All Deserve to be Number 1.
13. The Endless Wire
12. It's Hard
11. Face Dances
10. The Who By Numbers
9. Who
8. Who Are You
7. Live at Leeds
6. Quadrophinia
5. A Quick One
4. The Who Sell Out
3. My Generation
2. Tommy
1. Who's Next!!!!!!!!!!!
My Real List..
1. All Of Them.
Rating the catalogues of great bands like the Who, Beatles, Zeppelin etc are really hard. Kind of like ranking the plays of Shakespeare or paintings by Picasso
Wouldn’t really put The Who or Led Zeppelin up there with the Beatles. In fact putting Zeppelin there is insulting. And kind of strange you left the most important band out? The most influential the Rolling Stones? Rock music really grew out of the Stones introducing Blues and just being rock n roll stars.
@@dondamon4669 for me personally Stones are number 3 or 4 fav, but they are objectively in the top 2 with the Beatles.