Bad Religion Album Tier Rankings (Suffer, Against The Grain, Generator, Stranger Than Fiction)

John, Matt and Louis rank Bad Religion Albums for 1982 - 2019
How Could Hell Be Any Worse - Age of Unreason
Who do you agree with? Or are we all clueless clowns?
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[@QTIP95]

Suffer and Empire are my personal faves. Also thanks for the shout out to Wes Hoffman and Friends! Glad you guys dig the music🤘🏻

[@PunkRockRadar]

Empire is so good, Suffer definitely a classic as well. No problem on the shou out, love Wes and his music

[@rdiddy1411]

I like hearing some love for New Maps of Hell. Very underrated album.

[@PunkRockRadar]

It would definitely be in my top 5 BR albums, slightly below Empire but still awesome.

[@earthcitizen3939]

I find it to be better than Suffer, a lot better. A lot of people put Suffer as number one, I wonder if they do that just because?

[@nukkleargarlicbread]

Dood putting No Control in C tier is actual psychobabble bro 😭😭😭

[@brandynkilpatrick]

Age Of Unreason is the album that got me into the band and is probably my favourite of theirs haha

[@petefasulo5664]

Great stuff! My personal Top 10 BR Albums: Bad Religion 1. No Control 2. Stranger Than Fiction 3. The Empire Strikes First 4. Against the Grain 5. Process of Belief 6. Gray Race 7. True North 8. Suffer 9. Generator 10. New Maps Of Hell

[@shahrizaljasmi9751]

hello from Malaysia! just thought i'd share mine here! S - Suffer / No Control / Against the Grain / Generator A - Recipe for Hate / The Gray Race / The Process of Belief / The Empire Strikes First / The Dissent of Man B - Stranger Than Fiction / New Maps of Hell C - The New America / True North / Age of Unreason D - How Could Hell Be Any Worse / Into the Unknown / No Substance

[@PunkRockRadar]

Thanks so much for watching! This is a pretty solid list, love that the holy trinity is at the top and also you show some love for Empire in the A Tier, great list!

[@christopherwarne8732]

Enjoyed the chat here's my list in order of preference 1 recipie for hate 2 no control 3 generator 4 process of belief 5 against the grain 6 Grey race 8 new maps of hell 9 suffer 10 stranger than fiction 11 age of unreason 12 empire strikes first (sorry!) 13 dissent of man 14 true north 15 no substance 16 how could hell 17 new america

[@PunkRockRadar]

Solid List, Thanks for checking out the video!

[@PuppetPerspectives]

What album is number 7??????

[@andrewbair7810]

My first experience with BR was the All Ages comp in a Tower Records listening station in 1995 so I'm always going to gravitate towards those early Epitaph records, especially No Control and Against the Grain. When Suffer came out nothing else sounded like that record, the influence of those albums are huge and I don't think we would have had the 90's skate punk explosion if not for those records. John I am with you on Gray Race, it's my favorite of the Atlantic Records years and I feel like I have to revisit Empire.

[@PunkRockRadar]

Yeah I think I may have been a bit harsh on the older stuff. I do think all the albums are great, but I definitely tend to prefer the later stuff (Empire / New Maps) But Empire is just absolutely incredible, the production is great too, it just packs such a punch.

[@andrewbair7810]

@@PunkRockRadar You're the first person I've ever heard be like, yeah I love Bad Religion but I just can't get into their older stuff. 🤣

[@earthcitizen3939]

Against The Grain is good, one of their best, probably.

[@connors7078]

Go John on the 'No Substance'. Hell yeah!

[@markpreston6930]

No Control was recorded in Hollywood in June 1989. I believe I saw the first Bad Religion show loaded with No Control songs at The Spirit Club in San Diego June 11 1989. Bad Religion wanted to play the songs at a show before making the record and they didn't want the show in LA. I saw Bad Religion play at Iguana's in Tijuana many times between 1990 and 1992.

[@PunkRockRadar]

That is so cool man, I am jealous! First time (non-festival) I saw Bad Religion was probably not until around 2001/2002, probably the reason for my soft spot for No Substance.

[@Melvinshermen]

Maybe do the Clash, Buzzcocks, The Adicts, and also sex pistols. And also do Johnny rotten post punk music.

[@thomasanderson2757]

Bad Religion albums ranked: 1. How Could Hell Be Any Worse? (1982) 2. The Process of Belief (2002) 3. Stranger than Fiction (1994) 4. Recipe for Hate (1993) 5. Generator (1992) 6. The Gray Race (1996) 7. New Maps of Hell (2007) 8. Suffer (1988) 9. Against the Grain (1990) 10. The Empire Strikes First (2004) 11. True North (2013) 12. No Control (1989) 13. Age of Unreason (2019) 14. The Dissent of Man (2010) 15. No Substance (1998) 16. The New America (2000)

[@PunkRockRadar]

Didn't expect to see How Could Hell Be Any Worse #1, is it safe to assume you have been a fan since the very beginning?

[@thomasanderson2757]

@@PunkRockRadar I love how raw and angry it is reminds me of Never Mind The Bollocks, also no be a fan since about 2020

[@lillo5353]

Been listening to BR since '92 (and still think I was late in the game lol). I actually like Into the Unknown (I like prog rock and this has that vibe) and think that the only 2 bad albums were The New America and No Substance. My tier list below: S - Suffer, No Control, Against the Grain, Generator, The Process of Belief A - Recipe for Hate, Stranger than Fiction, The Gray Race, The Empire Strikes First B - New Maps of Hell, The Dissent of Man, True North, Age of Unreason C - Into the Unknown, How Could Hell Be Any Worse D - The New America, No Substance

[@a7x_1909]

I had to smile when you guys talked about 52 seconds. I had the same conversation with a friend and we also found it odd that the song isn't 52 seconds long. But if you are particular about it, the song lasts 52 seconds if you leave out the "intro".

[@PunkRockRadar]

Yeah there is a few songs like that, I think F.O.D. and With the Punches have similar situations. I like when it's not exact personally

[@earthcitizen3939]

Call me easily amused, but I find that hilarious😂

[@wesleyhills5325]

26:30, the Crazy Taxi album is how I remember it as well lol

[@PunkRockRadar]

Such a weird moment in punk rock haha, thanks for checking out the video!

[@thomasmoori8450]

The cover model from No Substance is actually not Kristen Johnston from 3rd Rock. Apparently, in 2017, she came out on Twitter and clarified that. Her post has since been deleted though.

[@superunknown2812]

Good ranking guys however I would move how could hell be any worse up too at least B tier just cause of the time when hardcore punk was originated.Stranger then fiction up a notch and grey race is a great album.But true north and empire are probably the ones I listen too the most and grey race.

[@PunkRockRadar]

This episode is probably going to get re-done if/when BR releases another album, Matt and I's combined list didn't really make either of us happy (Same with the NOFX video) Empire and Grey Race would be my personal S Tier albums as well.

[@kodorogames]

My S tier are Stranger Than Fiction, Empire and True North. A tier: Suffer, Dissent, Age of Unreason. B tier: No Control, Against the Grain, Recipe, New America, New Maps of Hell. C tier: How could Hell, Gray Race, Process D tier: Into the Unknown, Generator, No Substance

[@oneball1926]

Bad Religion is the best band that had ever been a band. I fucking love Bad Religion! Keep rockin punk rockers!

[@inhaste6007]

Brooks W. is just a beast! empire strike first and process of belief are the best albums!

[@PunkRockRadar]

Hell Yes! Agree 100%

[@fformentif]

S - Stranger than Fiction / No Control / The Gray Race A - Generator / Against the Grain/ New Maps of Hell / Age of Unreason B - Recipe for Hate / Suffer / True North / C - The Process of Belief / Dissent of Man / New America / The Empire Strikes First D - No Substance / How Could Hell Be Any Worse / Into the Unknown * best to worst within a tier

[@evegasse6999]

Into the Unknown is fun for what it is, and they've played a couple of songs off it (like The Dichotomy) live in recent years. It's kind of cool in a quirky way. My top tier would be Process of Belief, Against the Grain and No Control, but I really love Recipe for Hate and Suffer of course. I think the Gray Race is super underrated and that The New America is not nearly as bad as people say. No Substance is meh but has a few bangers. Stranger than Fiction is cool. I find the output after Process of Belief decent but less remarkable. Age of Unreason is my least favourite but it's more because of the production than the songs. I -HATE- how the drums sound on that record, and it's not Jamie's fault, it's the producer's.

[@jackcarraway4707]

Bad Religion = Beach Boys of punk. Their vocal harmonies would impress Brian Wilson.

[@PunkRockRadar]

Definitely, nobody does it better!

[@jamesb1988]

Can anyone explain to me why Graffin sounds 10 years older on Suffer than he does on No Control? Also I'm curious as to why they took such a huge step back on recording quality... Suffer sounds pretty damn good while No Control sounds very brittle and lifeless.

[@PunkRockRadar]

This is a good point, the production on those late 80s/early 90s BR albums is so hit or miss, in the BR book "Do What You Want" there is actually a good amount of time spent on Brett's learning the recording process and a lot of what went in to those recordings, highly recommend reading that if you're interested. Thanks for watching!

[@BoX182]

The major complaint about most BR albums is that they could cut a couple subpar songs of their best albums and made a five minute shorter album with all killer songs and no fillers. Also, the last albums sequencing is not the best.

[@Melvinshermen]

And also every single uk punk band.

[@guilhermecoelho2721]

S suffer no control Against the grain A Generator stranger gray race process B true north, empire strikes, unreason, hell C dissent, new maps, recipe for hate D into unknown, new america no subs

[@12pdfb5]

My favourite album ever is Against The Grain 2nd place Generator 3rd place True North 4th Process of Belief 5th No control/suffer

[@PunkRockRadar]

Great list, the amount of quality albums Bad Religion has is incredible!

[@12pdfb5]

@@PunkRockRadar Agreed they're my favourite band. Can't choose between suffer and no control for my number 5 spot. 7th is probably Empire 8th is Stranger than Fiction 9th New Maps from Hell. Then I struggle to choose a number 10 because Grey Race and Age of unreason are such bangers XD.

[@mountaverage2706]

I actually kinda like some of the stuff on Into The Unknown.

[@toddpacker4683]

No substance has too many slow songs imo, while process of belief has so much energy like the opening 3 song punch of supersonic-prove it-can’t stop it, and destined for nothing, materialist, kyoto now, evangeline

[@PunkRockRadar]

Process of Belief is definitely WAY better than No Substance. I just think No Substance is a pretty good record too, People hate it!

[@earthcitizen3939]

The Process Of Belief is a lot better than No substance. If The Process Of Belief is at one No substance is at 10, even though there are some good songs on it. Eventually, The Biggest Killer In American history is my favorite from NS, but it feels like (I can be wrong about it) they threw the record together just to put something out there.

[@pavloskritikos8256]

You forgot my favorite track from "how could been any worse" which is " In the night"

[@LuisSantos-fl1rl]

1- STRANGER THAN FICTION.

[@Melvinshermen]

Do biohazard and also downsett. And maybe do Kottonmouth kings. There mostly a rap group But there Done some punk rock. And also do zebradhead and Again this might be closer And also maybe do hed pe and also snot and also amen and maybe alien ant farm there Both pop punk and nu metal. ( Which closer thing you Will do that is nu metal ) And also be on roach koach When there do zebrahead or Kottonmouth kings and also biohazard

[@PunkRockRadar]

Might have something for you on April 1 ;) But I'll be doing Zebrahead later this year

[@FrankDaze]

I think Louis list is pretty consistent, except for 'Gray Race' that should be boosted to A!

[@PunkRockRadar]

Yeah definitely needs to boost Grey Race, hoping BR comes out with a new record so I can amend my list

[@Melvinshermen]

And also do post punk

[@Melvinshermen]

And also do the damged

[@connors7078]

Oh man... I don't have True North that high. I probably need to have another listen. Only 2 songs made my Top70 BR songs and they are well down the list.

[@kos4290]

New Amarica was my first BR album, so don't get all the hate for it, one of my favourite

[@rocket69218]

Dissent of Man is far far better than Age of Unreason, New America and No Substance.... that's the only thing I'm really shocked by. It's a very solid mid-tier album for me... maybe a 'B' ... I appreciate how difficult this is though when you have a limit of 4.

[@pavloskritikos8256]

Guys don't forget how could be any worse was recorded in a garage and bad religion were 15 and 16 years old

[@fformentif]

Age of Unreason gets so much hate. I really liked it. Chaos, Paranoid Style, Old Regime, Candidate are great. Big Black Dog it's fun! Just the drumming on the album that's subpar

[@earthcitizen3939]

My five favorites are in no order: How Could Hell Against The Grain The Gray Race (probably) New Maps True North Even though Suffer isn't bad, it's not on the list. A lot of people put Suffer high up, but I think that they have other albums that are a lot better.

[@HappyHippo2002]

I'm a newer fan (got into them in 2020), so my opinions are quite different. To start, there isn't a single album/song by Bad Religion I consider bad, so even my least favourites are still considered amazing by me. So here's my tier list. - - - S Tier - - - Age of Unreason True North Empire Strikes First New Maps of Hell - - - A Tier - - - Stranger Than Fiction The Dissent of Man The New America The Gray Race - - - B Tier - - - Process of Belief Against the Grain Generator Suffer - - - C Tier - - - No Substance No Control Recipe For Hate - - - D Tier - - - How Could Hell Be Any Worse? Into the Unkown

[@PunkRockRadar]

Our lists are pretty similar, it's refreshing to see another opinion that is based on personal preference instead of the established narrative 🤟 thanks for watching the video, we really appreciate it!!

[@HappyHippo2002]

@@PunkRockRadar Yeah when I discover a new band and listen to their discography, I tend to rank them afterwards by myself, before looking at s community for the band and seeing the popular opinions. I don't want to subconsciously alter my rankings to fit the general consensus.

[@Fanged.Fiend.Reactor]

Terrible list

[@HappyHippo2002]

@@Fanged.Fiend.Reactor That's fair. It's been 2 years since I made this and I'd definitely change a lot about it. I'd probably move most of the pre-2000s albums up at least 1 tier for sure, since I enjoy them more than I did back in 2020.

[@connors7078]

'New Maps of Hell' has to be near the top. One of my favourites. I have it higher than 'Empire'. For the record, my Top70 Bad Religion songs. I agree with a lot of John's views too, but also love the old stuff. music.kzbin.info/aero/PLA-IizFuPTB_3STRrIjs_VKkt8zeEir25&si=KYXT56anR-glte5b

[@maeamaille]

Suffer is their best record by miles

[@josephsousa5552]

bad religions sound is always super affected by the drummer....it's no wonder generator was such a departure from the holy trinity. Bobby's got a particular way of playing.

[@123612100]

Y'all should do black flag.

[@PunkRockRadar]

I'd love too, honestly though I'm familiar with Damaged but not much after, especially the Rollins band stuff. But will probably do it eventually 🤟

[@jamesb1988]

Calling 'Into the Unknown' the "Unos Dos Tre of Bad Religion" is an insult to the Green Day Trilogy. Saying it was BRs "Father of all Motherf***ers" would have been much more apropos.

[@PunkRockRadar]

Haha yeah can definitely get behind that, Father of All... has some good songs though (to me anyway) hard to find anything worthwhile on Uno Dos Tre, and definitely not on In to the Unknown

[@jamesb1988]

@@PunkRockRadar Nothing good on the trilogy?? Tre has some excellent songs! Missing You, X-Kid, A Little Boy Named Train, Dirty Rotten Bastards, Walk Away are all great! Uno has a couple highlights too, Let Yourself Go is a fun one and Loss Of Control is right off Nimrod. I'll agree with you about Dos though, besides for Ashley and Baby Eyes it's kind of a stinker. Honestly I kinda dug FOAMF too, Graffitia is my personal fave.

[@jamesb1988]

The recording quality for HCHBAW? is abhorrent. Damn near unlistenable, especially around non BR fans.

[@toddpacker4683]

That was part of the charm of 80s hardcore

[@earthcitizen3939]

I find it to be a lot better than a lot of their other efforts. Sure it's not perfect, but that's one of the thing with old punk-stuff, that it hasn't got to be that.

[@josephsousa5552]

also normally I appreciate johns takes but he has the worst bad religion takes I ever heard hahaha. it's okay though, you're allowed to be wrong

[@agoo7581]

I think having minimums and limits for each tier pretty much defeats the purpose of a tier list. Having to follow these arbitrary rules means you have to do things like put how could hell be any worse in the same tier as into the unknown, which effectively eliminates any useful information regarding how good or bad you think each album is.

[@PunkRockRadar]

So here was my thinking, we only do the lists for our favorite bands, so the majority of the catalog would be S/A/B - In order to have some tough decisions we make the rules.