Pearl Jam CDs--Ranked!
Well, here goes my ranking from 7-1 (excluding Live on 2 Legs and all of the other boots).
7. Vs
When I first heard this cd back in 96 (yeah, I'm a late bloomer when it comes to PJ) I thought it was amazing. It is incredibly intense, but it doesn't quite do it for me anymore. "Rearviewmirror" is one of the best songs of PJ's career, but "Leash" is probably the worst. There is a good amount of energy and it did set the stage for the other cds to follow, but it's pretty messy. As a whole, the cd is uneven.
Best song: "Rearviewmirror"
Worst song: "Leash"
6. Riot Act
Maybe I haven't "lived" with this one long enough. It's very even. There are no real high points, but there aren't really any low points, either. "Love Boat Captain" had the potentional to be amazing, but there are some lyrics that really drag it down and Ed's vocal delivery is not the greatest. "Can't Keep" is lovely, but it's also lacking...something...Several of the songs are repetitive and get boring after the initial minute or so. Maybe this should be ranked behind Vs. because it clearly has less energy, but it is much more consistent.
Best song: uh...I'll go with "Love Boat Captain" and "Can't Keep"
Worst song: hmmm...I could go with "Arc", but I guess I'll pick..."Ghost"
5. Binaural
Some strong songs, but something's missing. Lots of people complain about the production, but I don't think it's that bad.
Best song: "Nothing as it Seems". "Light Years" has nice lyrics, but Ed is pretty much buried in it. "NAIS" is better all around with a sweet, sweet McCready solo.
Worst song: "Sleight of Hand" (sorry, it does nothing for me)
4. Ten
Of course, there are so many classic songs on their debut, but it's not one that I play very often.
Best song: "Release" and "Black" (oh well, I picked two)
Worst song: "Why Go", but it's tolerable.
3. Vitalogy
It's as though the band (mostly Ed at this point from what I've read) wanted to make a hardcore, punk album ("Last Exit", "Spin the Black Circle"), but couldn't help but showing their (his) pop roots ("Betterman", "Corduroy"). Lots of interesting religious imagery on this one ("Last Exit", "Corduroy", "Tremor Christ", "Satan's Bed", possibly "Immortality"). A very interesting cd, but one that you have to be in the mood for.
Best song: "Nothingman" and "Immortality". Yeah, I like the slow songs.
Worst song: "Satan's Bed" (tho the liner notes for it--radio title "Santa's Bed"--are worth a giggle)
2. Yield
More straightforward than Vitalogy. Not as many "weird" songs (well, there is "Push Me Pull Me"), more "mainstream".
Best song: "Given to Fly". "All Those Yesterdays" (mostly based on the lyrics) is a very close second.
Worst song: "Do the Evolution" (when Ed gets didactic, I tend to tune out and the filter on Ed's voice annoys me)
1. No Code
Amazing. Whenever I start thinking, "Ah, it's not that great", I play it. It just makes me happy to listen to it, which might be surprising because the songs aren't exactly happy. Very interesting songs with great lyrics (in general anyway).
Best song: "Present Tense" with most of the others as close seconds.
Worst song: "Lukin" (but it's short, so it's all good), "Mankind" (but it's Stone, so it's all good :-P)
Well, there's my rankings. I'm sure someone will disagree, so shoot me an email if you want to call me an idiot :-).