{"id":532237,"date":"2026-07-09T02:20:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/532237\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T02:20:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:20:27","slug":"the-rolling-stones-every-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/532237\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rolling Stones: Every Album Ranked From Worst To Best!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few would regard the albums The Rolling Stones made between 1964 to 1972 \u2013 that is, from their debut LP to\u00a0Exile On Main St.\u00a0\u2013 as anything other than vital documents from rock\u2019s formative era. But, of course, that was only the first phase of their 64-year journey, which would deliver many more musical pearls, whether it was 1978\u2019s Some Girls with its mix of disco and punk influences, or the unfeasibly good collection of studio outtakes Tattoo You in 1981, or Steel Wheels, their punchy \u2018comeback\u2019 statement after a midlife lull in the \u201980s.<\/p>\n

The Stones\u2019 recorded output may have slowed down in the 21st\u00a0century \u2013 2005\u2019s\u00a0A Bigger Bang<\/a>\u00a0was their first album in almost a decade, while 2016\u2019s\u00a0Blue & Lonesome<\/a>\u00a0was made up entirely of blues covers \u2013 yet 2023\u2019s Andrew Watt<\/a>-assisted reboot\u00a0Hackney Diamonds<\/a>\u00a0will be followed this Friday by a brand-new Stones record,\u00a0Foreign Tongues. Speaking in the new issue of MOJO, on sale now, Mick Jagger<\/a>, Keith Richards<\/a> and Ronnie Wood<\/a> discuss the making of the album, the madness and excess surrounding the band during the 60s and 70s, the loss of Brian Jones and Charlie Watts, and why The Greatest Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll Band In The World are not done yet – “If you’re not performing,” they tell MOJO’s Will Hodgkinson, “what are you going to do?”<\/p>\n

While we await Foreign Tongues arrival, MOJO’s Mark Blake has rundown every studio album to date from the band. From their earliest days as blues and R&B-loving youngsters, through their late ’60s and early ’70s imperial phase, their more chequered ’80s and ’90s output, and their recent revival in the 21st century.<\/p>\n

Every Rolling Stones Album Ranked…<\/p>\n

24.<\/p>\n

Dirty Work<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1986)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cobbled together by a group in freefall (Jagger and Richards weren\u2019t speaking),\u00a0Dirty Work\u00a0is briefly redeemed by a cover of the Miracles\u2019 Going To A Go-Go and One Hit (To The Body)\u2019s scrappy hard rock. But most of it suggests the Stones sleepwalking \u2013 and some. Poor old Charlie Watts is so disengaged, he can\u2019t even look at the camera in the cover pic,\u00a0and\u00a0he\u2019s grown a beard.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0One Hit (To The Body)<\/p>\n

23.<\/p>\n

Undercover<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1983)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Marginally better than\u00a0Dirty Work, the single, Undercover Of The Night is worth the price of admission (and, as an aside, the 12-inch mix is worth investigating). While there is an awful lot of over-processed hard rock and camp S&M imagery here, Too Much Blood, where Jagger semi-raps about a murder (\u201cEver see the Texas Chainsaw Massacre? \u2018orrible isn\u2019t it\u201d) is both bizarre and brilliant.<\/p>\n

Key track: Undercover Of The Night<\/p>\n

22.<\/p>\n

Bridges To Babylon<\/p>\n

(Virgin, 1997)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This late-\u201890s makeover was engendered by Jagger hiring several hip co-producers, including Beastie Boys collaborators the Dust Brothers, while Richards glowered on the sidelines. However, Keith\u2019s Thief In The Night and How Can I Stop? are more intriguing than by-rote rockers such as Flip Of The Switch. The single Anybody Seen My Baby? (with rapper Biz Markle) is a melancholy highpoint, but an accidental partial re-write of k.d. lang\u2019s Constant Craving, hence some last-minute credit changes.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Anybody Seen My Baby?<\/p>\n

21.<\/p>\n

Voodoo Lounge<\/p>\n

(Virgin, 1994)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Apparently, Jagger wanted more grooves and strangeness on the Stones\u2019 first album without Bill Wyman (and their first of the 1990s), while co-producer Don Was steered them towards familiar Stones terrain. You Got Me Rockin\u2019 is less prosaic than it sounds, and became a mainstay of the live set, while New Faces has Jagger unusually playing the role of a lover cuckolded by a younger man. But overall it\u2019s a bit safe.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0You Got Me Rockin\u2019<\/p>\n

20.<\/p>\n

Their Satanic Majesties Request<\/p>\n

(Decca, 1967)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Stones\u2019 riposte to The Beatles\u2019\u00a0Sgt Pepper\u2026\u00a0was pieced together in between Jagger and Richards serving jail time \u2013 and sounds like it. Sing This All Together proves the Stones didn\u2019t really \u2018do\u2019 love and peace, and The Gomper suggests Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd slipping into a Mandrax stupor. Better to stick with 2000 Light Years From Home and the slightly creepy flower-power pop of She\u2019s A Rainbow.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a02000 Light Years From Home<\/p>\n

19.<\/p>\n

Steel Wheels<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1989)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s bury the hatchet\/wipe out the past,\u201d declares Jagger on Mixed Emotions, the lead single from the Stones\u2019 1989 comeback.\u00a0Steel Wheels\u00a0benefits from Mick and Keith\u2019s truce, whether on the daft Terrifying (\u201cI\u2019m h-o-r-n-y as a hog\u201d indeed), grubby rockers such as Hearts For Sale or the mournful ballad, Almost Hear You Sigh. Also tips a hat to Brian Jones on Continental Drift featuring Jones\u2019 old collaborators, The Master Musicians Of Joujouka.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Hearts For Sale<\/p>\n

18.<\/p>\n

Hackney Diamonds<\/p>\n

(Polydor, 2023)<\/p>\n

\"Hackney<\/p>\n

Re-energised by co-producer Andrew Watt, the Stones\u2019 first album of all original material since\u00a0Bridges To Babylon\u00a0and the last to include contributions from Charlie Watts, bested their \u201890s output. Cameos from Elton John, Lady Gaga and Paul McCartney are all well and good, but it\u2019s the sheer Stonesy-ness of Get Close and Mess It Up that impress, with Depending On You a textbook example of the band\u2019s flair for vulnerable ballads.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Get Close<\/p>\n

17.<\/p>\n

A Bigger Bang<\/p>\n

(Virgin, 2005)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Feted as \u2013 that old chestnut \u2013 \u201ctheir best since\u00a0Exile On Main Street\u201d,\u00a0A Bigger Bang\u00a0is their finest this century so far and exudes more vim and fire than its immediate predecessors. Exhibits A and B: the lascivious Rough Justice (\u201cAm ah justa one of ya cocks?\u201d) and Look What The Cat Dragged In, a wiry funk-rocker in which Jagger moans about his dirty stop-out girlfriend staggering in while he\u2019s reading the morning papers.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Look What The Cat Dragged In<\/p>\n

16.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Only Rock\u2019N\u2019Roll<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1974)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mick Taylor\u2019s swansong LP is a curate\u2019s egg. The title track remains a cornerstone of any Stones hits collection (and featured Taylor\u2019s replacement Ronnie Wood). The real juice, though, lies in Time Waits For No One, which demonstrates the departing Stone\u2019s gorgeous guitar playing, and Fingerprint File, where Jagger runs through his gamut of regional US accents on a funky tale of covert surveillance and what sounds like cocaine paranoia.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0It’s Only Rock’N’Roll<\/p>\n

15.<\/p>\n

Blue & Lonesome<\/p>\n

(Polydor, 2016)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Arriving 11 years after\u00a0A Bigger Bang,\u00a0Blue & Lonesome\u00a0comprised of 12 covers cranked out during three studio sessions. Its sparky versions of Howlin\u2019 Wolf\u2019s Commit A Crime and Little Walter\u2019s Hate To See You Go suggested the band weren\u2019t experiencing collective writer\u2019s block but wanted to revisit the source of so many of their own songs. A fine showcase, too, for Jagger\u2019s peerless harmonica playing.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Commit A Crime<\/p>\n

14.<\/p>\n

Between The Buttons<\/p>\n

(Decca, 1967)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jagger and Richards\u2019 songwriting had bedded in by now, as had Brian Jones\u2019 desire to broaden the group\u2019s sound with dulcimers and harpsichords.\u00a0Between The Buttons\u00a0is a band in transition, then: flitting between bratty R&B (Let\u2019s Spend The Night Together) and the newfangled baroque pop songs, Yesterday\u2019s Papers and Ruby Tuesday; music for lounging around on cushions in some hip art dealer\u2019s Mayfair pad, while his Moroccan manservant pours the Darjeeling.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Let\u2019s Spend The Night Together<\/p>\n

13.<\/p>\n

Black And Blue<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1976)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Recorded while the Stones were seeking a replacement for Mick Taylor, Black And Blue is more cohesive than its transient personnel (Wayne Perkins, Harvey Mandel and Taylor\u2019s eventual replacement, Ronnie Wood, all feature) suggests. The teary Fool To Cry had legs beyond the album\u2019s natural lifespan, but the pared-down jams Hot Stuff and Hey Negrita impress as much \u2013 and few rock bands looked as disreputable as the Stones did on the LP cover.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Fool To Cry<\/p>\n

12.<\/p>\n

Out Of Our Heads<\/p>\n

(Decca, 1965)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The US version of\u00a0Out Of Heads\u00a0squeezed in some early hits alongside a bunch of covers. Instead, Britain got the Stones tearing up Don Covay\u2019s Mercy Mercy and Marvin Gaye\u2019s Hitch Hike, alongside the Jagger\/Richards originals, Heart Of Stone, I\u2019m Free and The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man (credited to the group\u2019s shared pseudonym, Nanker Phelge), in which the pair poked fun at a record company stooge: \u201cI\u2019m a necessary talent behind every rock and roll band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Heart Of Stone<\/p>\n

11.<\/p>\n

Emotional Rescue<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1980)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Stones\u2019 first album of the \u201880s followed its predecessor\u00a0Some Girls\u00a0by meshing rock, reggae and disco, and, on Indian Girl, political commentary with mariachi horns: \u201cMy father he ain\u2019t no Che Guevera,\u201d claims Jagger in a questionable accent. Mick\u2019s lilting falsetto is a thing of wonder on the fabulous title track, as is his over-enunciated rap at 4:01 minutes: \u201cI will be your knight in shining armour\u2026\u201d indeed. An often-underrated curveball in the catalogue.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0All About You<\/p>\n

10.<\/p>\n

The Rolling Stones No.2<\/p>\n

(Decca, 1965)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The young Stones radiate hooligan vibes from the LP\u2019s cover, setting the tone for this grab-bag of chippy R&B covers (even Solomon Burke\u2019s Everybody Needs Somebody To Love sounds a bit sullen) and three equally sneery originals. What A Shame and Off The Hook hardly break the mold, but Grown Up All Wrong is typical Stones fare: complaining about a girl who isn\u2019t falling for their bullshit anymore: \u201cYou were easy to fool when you were in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Grown Up All Wrong<\/p>\n

9.<\/p>\n

Tattoo You<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1981)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A clever hotch-potch of mostly outtakes,\u00a0Tattoo You\u00a0still included the hits Waiting On A Friend and Start Me Up; the last a setlist mainstay as recently as 2024. The provenance of Slave, Hang Fire and Neighbours (in which Jagger hilariously berates the noisy folks next door) barely matters as the whole thing flows beautifully, while Heaven \u2013 a dreamy, psychedelic groove cooked up by Jagger, Wyman and Watts especially for this album \u2013 is a lost gem.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Start Me Up<\/p>\n

8.<\/p>\n

The Rolling Stones<\/p>\n

(Decca, 1964)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Where it all began: 12 covers of songs by the Stones\u2019 heroes, including Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters, plus one Jagger\/Richards original, Tell Me (You\u2019re Coming Back). You can already hear the future, though, in these ferocious takes on Dixon\u2019s I Just Wanna Make Love To You and Chuck Berry\u2019s Carol; songs to inspire mass hysteria among teenagers and mass condemnation from a generation who\u2019d fought two world wars only to be subjected to this bloody racket.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Tell Me (You\u2019re Coming Back)<\/p>\n

7.<\/p>\n

Goats Head Soup<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1973)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dwarfed by its predecessor,\u00a0Exile On Main Street,\u00a0Goats Head Soup\u00a0is also partly let down by its cover image (Mick as the world\u2019s campest bank robber, anyone?). The groupie anthem Star Star is the most explicit example, but most of the album, from the gnarly Dancing With Mr D to the wounded-sounding Angie, seem to reflect the Stones\u2019 itinerant lifestyle; all tax-exile globe-trotting and nasty drug habits.\u00a0Goat\u2019s Head\u2026\u00a0deserves more love.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Angie<\/p>\n

6.<\/p>\n

Some Girls<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1978)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On their late-\u201970s comeback, the Stones faced down the twin threats of punk and disco by reminding the world of their garage band origins on Lies and Shattered, and their black music roots on the dancefloor filler Miss You. Elsewhere, flipping between almost parodic country (Far Away Eyes) and soulful balladry (Beast Of Burden) compounded their flair for always sounding like the Stones no matter what genre they laid their grubby mitts on.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Miss You<\/p>\n

5.<\/p>\n

Aftermath<\/p>\n

(Decca, 1966)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mother\u2019s Little Helper\u2019s opening lyric, \u201cWhat a d-r-a-g it is getting o-l-d\u201d, sets the tone for the rest of the Stones\u2019 fourth LP: essentially, snarky beat-pop decorated with Brian Jones\u2019 exotic instrumentation (dulcimers, kotos, etc). Just as the Stones did on later albums, Aftermath\u2019s glib putdowns (Stupid Girl) and quest for sexual dominance (Under My Thumb) held up a mirror to their insular world \u2013 and woe betide anyone on the outside.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Under My Thumb<\/p>\n

4.<\/p>\n

Beggars Banquet<\/p>\n

(Decca, 1968)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In many ways, the Stones\u2019 first \u2018American\u2019 album (despite being recorded in West London), Aftermath trailered the tough-as-nails blues-rock with knowingly British wordplay that became their calling card from hereon in. It\u2019s all here: in Richards\u2019 riff-driven Street Fighting Man, Sympathy For The Devil\u2019s satanic majesty, and Parachute Woman\u2019s sexual braggadocio: \u201cI\u2019ll break big in New Orleans and I\u2019ll overspill in Carolina,\u201d promises Jagger. Steady on Mick\u2026<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Sympathy For The Devil<\/p>\n

3.<\/p>\n

Let It Bleed<\/p>\n

(Decca, 1969)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A soon-to-be-fired Brian Jones was barely present, with Mick Taylor taking his place here. But\u00a0Let It Bleed\u00a0is the Mick and Keith show, from Gimme Shelter\u2019s doomy overture to You Can\u2019t Always Get What You Want\u2019s grand finale, but also in the Appalachian hoedown Country Honk\u00a0and\u00a0Monkey Man\u2019s ode to Italian painter Mario Shifano. Having embraced their collective public enemy number one persona, the Stones sound poised to conquer the world here.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Gimme Shelter<\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

Exile On Main Street<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1972)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Apparently, Jagger dislikes the mix and some songs on\u00a0Exile\u2026, but for non-Stones members, its noisy sprawl of rock, soul and gospel is part of its charm. All Stones life is present on this joyous double LP: on Rip This Joint\u2019s redux Chuck Berry grooves and Tumblin\u2019 Dice\u2019s exultant blues-rock shuffle to those songs (think: I Just Want To See His Face\u2019s voodoo ceremony-meets-revivalist church hymn) that too often slip between the cracks on sides three and four.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Rocks Off<\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

Sticky Fingers<\/p>\n

(Rolling Stones Records, 1971)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Partly recorded at Alabama\u2019s Muscle Shoals studio, the Stones fully consummated their love affair with American music here. However, nothing, from the now partially cancelled Brown Sugar\u2019s tale of \u201cscarred old slavers\u201d to Dead Flowers\u2019 hillbilly lament ever lapses into pastiche. Instead, the Stones bring their droll British perspective to it all and, on the closing Moonlight Mile, even sound a little homesick for the Thames Delta. There are no bad songs on\u00a0Sticky Fingers.<\/p>\n

Key track:\u00a0Can\u2019t You Hear Me Knocking<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and Mick are very different people \u2013 and that\u2019s what makes the gravy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get the latest issue of MOJO to read our exclusive interview with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood in full, in which they reveal the secrets behind The Rolling Stones\u2019 ongoing saga \u2013 from the loss of Brian Jones and Charlie Watts, to on-the-road excess, almost splitting up, and why The World\u2019s Greatest Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll Band aren\u2019t done yet. \u201cIf you’re not performing what are you going to do?\u201d they tell MOJO. More information and to order a copy for delivery wherever you are\u00a0HERE<\/a>!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Few would regard the albums The Rolling Stones made between 1964 to 1972 \u2013 that is, from their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532238,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":["post-532237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}