In honor of the recent news that Pink Floyd won their case against EMI, who wanted to sell individual Pink Floyd songs online (heresy!), here is my ranking of Pink Floyd’s studio albums (i.e. my favorites). If an album is omitted it is because I haven’t listened to it enough to rank it (sorry Piper).
1. Pink Floyd – Meddle (1971)
Echoes is the reason this is number one. For me, it’s Pink Floyd best moment. So dark and heavy. I listen to this more than any of their other albums.
2. Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
Yes, It’s a masterpiece. Any Colour You Like is my favorite track.
3. Pink Floyd – The Wall (1979)
This is the album that made me appreciate Roger Waters. I didn’t get it at first, but it’s an album that requires some time. Waters’ vision and energy is unreal.
4. Pink Floyd – Division Bell (1994)
I rank this high because it is the album that got me into Pink Floyd. Great mellow guitar jams. Gilmour and Wright are great on this. An album you can listen to anytime (not always the case for PF).
5. Pink Floyd – Animals (1977)
Dogs is an awesome song. Solid album.
6. Pink Floyd – Momentary Lapse Of Reason (1987)
Even though I’m a Waters fan, I still enjoyed what they did after he left. The album is bright and sounds like summer to me.
7. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)
Yes, this is a great album. A classic really. The only reason I decided not to rank this higher is because I have listened to it a little too much. It needs a break.
8. Pink Floyd – The Final Cut (1983)
A very underrated album. I know a few people who rank this as their favorite PF album and one person (a drummer who sat in with our band) that says this is his favorite album period.
9. Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother (1970)
Love the title track. Some of the quirkier pop songs, not so much.
10. Pink Floyd – Obscured By Clouds (1972)
Probably because this was recorded as a soundtrack, this album just doesn’t feel like a Pink Floyd album to me. It has some good moments though.
I’ve never gotten into Pink Floyd. I discovered them after I was coming down from the peak of my druggy days and by then I was seriously into R&B and Hip Hop before it all went to shits. But looking at this list though, it is sad to me that album covers aren’t as artistic as they used to be back then.
I have a lot of respect for Pink Floyd even though I don’t listen to them a whole lot. They are four (sometimes three) awesome and creative musicians.
Us and Them was the song that turned me onto Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) as a kid at 9 years of age,and further to classics like The Wall,Comfortably Numb, on to their later offerings; Learning to Fly, On the Turning Away (A Momentary Lapse Of Reason – great album).