Wilco Discography Ranking

[boo jim boo]

If anyone wants to have the same conversation they've had on this board 10,000 times, but on a different website, you might wanna check this out - Washington Post does a ranking of wilco albums on their rock blog:

 

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postrock/20...aking_wilc.html

[mfwahl]

Way Off! They obviously have no idea what they're talking about.

[mpolak21]

That's a pretty accurate list in my opinion. I'd probably flip YHF and Summerteeth, and AGIB and Being There, but they got the top four and the bottom two right.

 

--Mike

[Griddles]

Way Off! They obviously have no idea what they're talking about.

 

Clearly, I mean there was no mention of MA 1 or 2 and no KT. Just piss poor listing.

[Guest Muncle Douchey]

not a single album sits where i'd put it, but whatever.

[Joey Slugs]

not even close. sorry.

[lost highway]

Some people are just ignorant. All you can do is fight them in an alley after ripping your shirt off...........bitches.

[allgodsmoney]

Some people are just ignorant. All you can do is fight them in an alley after ripping your shirt off...........bitches.

NS

 

Yawn?

 

I'll yawn them!

[dondoboy]

Well, I don't think the Washington Post has ever been considered a well spring of rock knowledge. And this, of course, proves it.

[Doug C]

Clearly, I mean there was no mention of MA 1 or 2 and no KT. Just piss poor listing.

I agree. The fact that they left out albums speaks volumes about the list's credibility.

[indy81]

Hmm...I'm not sure someone is "ignorant" because they think Summerteeth and YHF are Wilco's best albums.

[DAngerer09]

That list is the same as mine. They got it right.

[summerteeth091]

Pretty accurate. My list is:

 

1. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

2. Summerteeth

3. Sky Blue Sky

4. Being There

5. A Ghost Is Born

6. A.M.

[markosis]

That guy is obviously a fucking idiot. Who in their right mind would even begin to think like that? My god, is this what passes for rock journalism these days? I long for the good old days when critics would actually take the time to write something that was substantial, instead of this blog crap. I'm boycotting the Washington Post. In fact, I'm boycotting all media altogether. I'm throwing out my computer. This is my last post. GOODBYE.

[Thurston Howell III]

Hats off to the VC'ers in the comments who are listing their favorites in chronological order.

 

I know a lot of folks are sick of it, but that joke is still one of the most endearing things about this forum. A little Wilco fanchat mutation that doesn't exist anywhere else in nature.

 

rcb

[sky blue bats]

1. yhf

2. a ghost is born

3. being there

4. summerteeth

5. sky blue sky

6. a.m.

[Head in a Guillotine]

A response I posted:

 

 

 

David-

 

Your analysis of 5 of the 6 six Wilco albums was pretty good, representing the basic views of music reviewers for popular newspapers.

 

Yet, your comments about SBS, and your linked review, have serious flaws. First of all, you probably only listened to SBS once, or a couple times. The first time that I listened to SBS, I was somewhat disappointed. Yet, after multiple listens I saw the brilliance of the record. Maybe you could argue that a record ought to hit you over the head the first time you listen to it, but I don't think that's true. SBS is Tweedy's Blood on the Tracks. It represents a giant step forward in an artist's maturity level, both personally and musically.

 

Here are some problems with your analysis:

 

"On every album to date there were at least a few songs on which Tweedy and his cohorts simply rocked."

 

How about "Walken?" Listen to it a few more times. Listen to it live. Tell me that song doesn't simply rock.

 

""What Light" does the best job of synthesizing Wilco's new aesthetic with Tweedy's classic, Americana songwriting style."

 

"What Light" is the worst song on the record. It is borderline disingenuous lyrically, and doesn't do anything that hasn't been done before.

 

SBS has some great lyrical insights that you do not acknowledge. How about, "Nothing more important than to know someone's listening." If that doesn't remind an individual of a close relationship, than he/she should probably get out of it now. The line, "Ceiling fan is on/Chopping up my dreams," is a good a lyrical turn as any of Tweedy's in the past. Also, you could try, "I will try to understand/Everything has its plan/Either way." So many people (Tweedy included) struggle because of their inability to come to terms with the fact that they cannot change their own reality. Tweedy's insight here is a brilliant one, especially for his fans, who have felt his past angst with lines like, "Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm."

 

Finally, SBS is as instrumentally rich as any past Wilco album. Some of this is attributable to Cline, as you assert, Yet, some is also attributable to the members of Wilco feeling comfortable with each other. Maybe the album does sound like yacht rock when your listening to it at low-medium volume driving fifteen miles an hour in your Jetta, but if you turned up the volume a bit, and gave the record a few listens, you may realize that it belongs in the same breath as YHF and Summerteeth, not due to its experimentation, but its musical beauty.

[froggie]

my rankings:

 

1) BT

2) SBS

3) MM1

4) MM2

5) AM

6) SBS

7) YHF

8) AGIB

 

 

(sorry, i'm old school taste!)

[mpolak21]

Since everyone is doing it...

 

1.) Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

2.) A Ghost is Born

3.) Summerteeth

4.) Being There

5.) MA I/MA II

6.) Sky Blue Sky

7.) The Wilco Book CD

8.) AM (I do like this album, I just listen to the others a lot more, I don't really listen to Please Please Me a lot either.)

 

--Mike

[bobbob1313]

I agree. The fact that they left out albums speaks volumes about the list's credibility.

 

MA aren't proper Wilco records, and KT Is a live album. So yeah. Good job.

[Kalle]

To me they haven't put out a bad record yet so this is hard! I just enjoy each record for different reasons and enjoy each one differently at different times, ohhh well.

[jak]

Wow...I guess I'm out of the norm here. There are certainly no bad ones! Using only what the WP listed:

 

1. AGIB

2. SBS

3. Summerteeth

4. Being There

4. YHF

5. AM.....and I love me some AM - the others are just more loveable.

 

I also think Kicking Television is probably their best "album", and I think SBS is a masterpiece disquised as simplicity

[Bunk]

"Being There" doesn't have the range of styles and emotions found on later albums..."

 

What the fuck? Being There isn't my favorite Wilco album (I have this incredible fondness for A Ghost Is Born, it's kind of a mess, but I like every track on that record), but I feel it's probably the best record they've ever put out. Just for the reason that it does have an incredibly diverse range of styles and emotions. Summerteeth is mopey lyrically and overproduced. A Ghost is Born is atmospherically mopey. A.M. lacks something in the middle tracks (even though I enjoy them). Sky Blue Sky has grown on me, but not to the point where I feel like it's their best record. If I were trying to get someone into Wilco and couldn't find a song for them somewhere on Being There, I doubt they'd really dig any of the other records.

 

If I were trying to be objective about it:

 

1 - Being There

2 - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

3 - Summerteeth

4 - A Ghost is Born

5 - Sky Blue Sky

6 - A.M.

[aricandover]

Summerteeth

Being There

A Ghost Is Born

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Sky Blue Sky

A.M.

[Guest Muncle Douchey]

Being There

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Summerteeth

A Ghost Is Born

A.M.

Sky Blue Sky

 

but i seriously like all of these albums better than 99.99% of other albums i've ever heard. only a handful of dylan, uncle tupelo, neil young, and beatles records get more play time than SBS.