The Cars Albums Ranked From Worst to Best

Time for another remastered Listography. I covered the Cars on the channel before Joe and Kram joined. Now I'm reranking them and the other guys are weighing in as well. It;s a crazy episode featuring the channel's first ever mulligan. Enjoy!
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The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, the line-up consisted of singer, rhythm guitarist and songwriter Ric Ocasek, bassist and singer Benjamin Orr, lead guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson.
The Cars were at the forefront of merging 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synthesizer-oriented pop that was then becoming popular and flourishing in the early 1980s. Robert Palmer, music critic for The New York Times and Rolling Stone, described the Cars' musical style: "they have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends-punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the '50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop-and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend."
The Cars were named Best New Artist in the 1978 Rolling Stone Readers' Poll and won Video of the Year for "You Might Think" at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. Their debut album The Cars sold six million copies and appeared on the Billboard 200 album chart for 139 weeks. As of 2001, the Cars had sold over 23 million albums in the United States.
The band disbanded in 1988 and Ocasek stated that a reunion would never happen. Orr died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer. In 2005, Easton and Hawkes joined with Todd Rundgren to form the spin-off band the New Cars, which performed classic Cars and Rundgren songs along with new material. The surviving original members reunited in 2010 to record the album Move Like This, which was released in May 2011, followed by a short tour.
In April 2018, the Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and reunited to perform at the induction ceremony. The reunion was their final performance with Ocasek, who died on September 15, 2019 of cardiovascular disease.
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Let us know how you rank 'em down in the comments. Thanks for watching!
Stock footage provided by Videvo, downloaded from www.videvo.net
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[@chrisdelisle3954]

Joe pulled an Elvis Costello-on-SNL moment, changing listings mid-review. Just goes to show you that you never stop assessing an album.

[@chuckm4540]

Candy O still sounds like it's from the future. Also, you can't listen to Shoo Be Do as a stand alone song. It's part of a brilliant trilogy of songs - Double Life into Shoo Be Do into Candy O.

[@kevtruth]

Exactly. You can't break up that 3-song stretch. Shoo Be Do is like Fitter Happier from OK Computer

[@curly_wyn]

Shoo Be Do is Ric Ocasek’s tribute to Suicide!

[@MisterMikeTexas]

"Just tell me what just tell me what just tell me what", then straight into "Candy-O". I always dug that!

[@jameshunter3177]

You guys are great and very entertaining. Just love the the friendly/competitive variations on opinions. Better than one view of an album. I go way back to the sixties (older) and I am impressed on your knowledge of the entire music scene.

[@Twotontessie]

Candy-O smokes. That drummer Robinson was incredible on the first two albums. People don't talk about that enough. Not one note out of place over two albums. Perfect.

[@davidnelson6874]

I used to love Pan-O-Rama back in the day. Touch And Go and Go Away will always be my favorite tunes.

[@bluebird925]

I love Touch and Go, and Gimme Some Slack from the Panarama album.

[@LisaTedescoVC]

7. Move Like This (actually tied with Door to Door, but lost a point for being both weak and totally unnecessary) 6. Door to Door 5. Shake it Up 4. Panorama 3. Heartbeat City 2. The Cars 1. Candy-O I first heard the Cars when I was 11 and actually painted my sister’s bedroom so that my mom would buy me the record. I was obsessed with them. I got to stay up late to watch the Grammys because they were nominated for best new artist. And then “Get Down Boogie Oogie Oogie” fucking Taste of Honey won. That was criminal to me😂 Candy-O came out about the time that I started going to the skating rink. Skating to “Let’s Go,” great memory. So maybe my choice to put it at number one is sentimental, but I do think they took it up a notch from the debut and I listen to this album twice as often as any of the others. I really loved this one, guys. 💙💙💙 Thank you

[@179rich]

That looks like what my list will be when I do it, just switching Panorama with Shake It Up.

[@LisaTedescoVC]

@@179rich I came thisclose to putting Panorama at 5 and Shake it Up at 4, but I gave Panorama extra points for being so daring. This is one of those lists that could easily change depending on my mood because the top 5 are all so good.✌️💙

[@JCStorm76]

1. Heartbeat City 2. The Cars 3. Door To Door (never understood the hate) 4. Panorama 5. Candy-O 6. Shake It Up 7. Move Like This

[@chessandearl]

1. Candy-O 2. Heartbeat City 3. The Cars 4. Shake it Up 5. Panorama 6. Door to Door 7. Move Like This

[@stevefleming8742]

I don't usually agree with jason as he usually goes for the leftfield (or is just being bloody minded different) But heartbeat city has been my favourite cars album for about 35years. 1.Heartbeat city 2. The cars 3.shake it up 4.candy o 5 panorama 6.door to door 7. Move like this I don't think any of them are bad but top 5 are all good-great. Greetings from liverpool

[@jamaral81]

Thank you, thank you, thank you guys for doing a Listography on this amazing band.

[@NeatBeatZone]

As a Brit, The Cars are my favorite U.S band. Awesome😀

[@179rich]

By the way guys, if you feel like ranking the albums of a band that one or all of you isn't crazy about, don't worry about the criticism. Your opinions are totally legit and worth hearing even if it pisses off the die-hard fans. Screw em if they can't take an opinion.

[@ianbalentine6950]

Mix one third Suicide with 2/3rd's Modern Lovers and you get the Cars, which were awesome, by the way. I think I would go with the Cars as #1, then Candy-O, then Shake It Up followed by Panorama, Heartbeat City, Move Like this and Door To Door bringing up the rear. Great video guys!

[@curly_wyn]

Yes! Suicide were Ric Ocasek’s idols!

[@markgatica12]

Interesting discussion. I resisted The Cars, Loved the Cars, then grew weary of The Cars in the space of about 5 years. For a while I liked every album better than the one before it, but that is now completely reversed. I rank them almost in their order of release: 1. The Cars 2. Candy-O 3. Panorama 4. Shake it Up 5. Heartbeat City 6. Move Like This 7. Door to Door There is a huge gap between 3 and 4. In the late 70s there was a real debate between the debut and Candy-O. The first album had all the hits, but Candy-O was edgier. Aggressive. Dirty. Panorama was a disappointment for most fans, but I loved it. But as the 80s unfolded this band became progressively less interesting. Ground breaking in the 70s, forgettable in the 80s.

[@alyssaadeline5208]

You are correct sir.

[@michaellowrey8159]

I was lucky back in 79 to struggle with do I play Candy-o or the 1st Album???? I remember being on Vacation in St Pete Florida 79 for a week and Candy-O was all I had in the car deck. 1. Is a Tie - Candy-0 and the Debut. Then followed by Panorama - it has grown on my and okay to be higher than the others.

[@paulockenden4278]

1 Candy O 2 The Cars debut album 3 Panorama 4 Heartbeat City 5 Shake it Up

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

1. The Cars 2. Candy-O 3. Heartbeat City 4. Panorama 5. Shake It Up 6. Move Like This 7. Door to Door My #3 and #4 could be flipped either way. Top 50 band, for me.

[@Skycladatdusk78]

Great band, sadly I never got to see them live. Here are my rankings : 1 - The Cars 2 - Heartbeat City 3 - Candy-O 4 - Panorama 5 - Shake It Up 6 - Move Like This 7 - Door To Door

[@curly_wyn]

Boom!

[@chrisdelisle3954]

I appreciate you going through the Cars discography. While I'm WELL aware of all of their singles like everybody else, I am not necessarily aware of their albums. Unless Candy-O and Panorama are utterly incredible, Shake It Up is running neck-and-neck with their debut for my favorite Cars album. I'll be listening to them next.

[@TimeToGetAlone]

The Cars are one of those bands where I knew the big radio hits, and each deep cut I kept discovering won me over until I figured I might as well just do a full dive into their catalogue. 1. The Cars 5/5 2. Candy-O 4.5/5 3. Shake It Up 4/5 4. Panorama 4/5 5. Heartbeat City 4/5 6. Door to Door 3/5 7. Move Like This 3/5

[@kevinmcardle4087]

Kramzer just killed me by putting Panorama last..

[@andrewdyke5561]

Me to

[@Panorama1981]

I wish Move Like This received more love. It’s a fantastic album, new and fresh.

[@burmajones803]

Nice video y'all. Interesting takes on the band. Lotta love for Eliot Easton. Well-deserved. Also, sending gratitude you way. Your albums of the year from the 80's got me through a tedious day of work yesterday. Here's to you! 🍻

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Thanks, Eric!

[@cbctail4029]

I love it when a band goes out on a high which is why I chose to ignore the last two albums. However, listening to you guys talk about them, makes me want to check them out.

[@MisterMikeTexas]

There is no bad Cars album. Here's my rankings starting with OK, ending with Best: 6. (Yes I know there were 7 Cars albums. Keep reading.) Door To Door. This is the OK album. I like "Strap Me In", and maybe a couple others. But they needed to take a break for awhile at that time. 5. Heartbeat City. Good album, but maybe a bit over-polished by producer Mutt Lang. 4. Move Like This. Their reunion album, a return to The Cars sound. Missing ingredient was Ben Orr (RIP, Ric and Ben!). 3. Shake It Up. Title track was OK, but the rest of the album was great. 2. The Cars & Candy-O (Tie!) The former definitely stands as a greatest hits album, and the latter continues the rock/new wave greatness. 1. Panorama. My favorite. The Cars sound perfectly gelled. With Velvet Underground vibes throughout. "Getting Through" reminds me of VU's "Run Run Run", and "You Wear Those Eyes" reminds me of VU's "I'm Set Free".

[@blakeplaster7139]

The debut is exceptional and I also love Candy O and Heartbeat City. Shake it up is solid and the other three I never need to hear again.

[@deanjonasson6776]

Not a huge Cars fan but very much enjoyed watching you three duke it out. The Cars was another one of those acts that released an excellent (hit-filled, summer-of-fun) debut, an awesome follow-up single ("Let's Go") and an album that was merely okay (CANDY-O). I do love "It's All I Can Do" but there are too many empty songs on the album. Contrary to popular opinion, I don't think Ocasek was some kind of minimalist genius, more a hit-&-miss writer. He did have a very talented band behind him so the sound was always interesting, even when the songs weren't there. Unfortunately, PANORAMA tripped them up and on the downward slide, they were lucky to squeeze out a hit with the pretty dumb "Shake It Up". Against all odds, they pulled out of the dive with HEARTBEAT CITY and those wonderful music videos. The interesting "Tonight She Comes" later washed up on their GREATEST HITS package and that was pretty much that. Still, that debut is one of the greats of the decade, a start-to-finish joyride that deserves to be in the Hall of Fame (even if the rest of the Cars' output falls short). Great job, guys!

[@AndrewCapobianco2014]

Move Like This is without a bass player, Panorama was crazy cool when released watch them live on "Fridays"

[@AndrewCapobianco2014]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/roW5q4Wcj6qcd68

[@MikeHoffey]

I could listen to Bye Bye Love another million times. A ten plus.

[@basehead617]

After hearing Jason talk about Heartbeat City's mixing numerous times on the channel I looked it up and it was mixed by Mike Shipley, who also mixed Prefab Sprout's Steve McQueen which is another pristine 80s production..

[@curly_wyn]

Really??? YESSSSSS!!!

[@billslocum9819]

I totally respect and can see each of these choices for #7. I agree with Joe but think Kramzer makes the best case. I felt that way for a long time, too. Definitely more of a grower than the rest of the catalog.

[@DarthR2D2101]

7. Move Like This (pointless and average) 6. Shake it up 5. Door to Door 4. Candy-O 3. Panorama 2. The Cars 1. Heartbeat City

[@curly_wyn]

Boom! Totally agree!

[@spicoli4217]

Heard Heartbeat City many times, but bought the Vinyl recently and Jason was right...

[@kenzoby8300]

The Cars were releasing albums as I was growing up. I was more into Van Halen KISS etc. As time goes on I’m starting to appreciate Cars more. Their debut is undeniable. My fav song by them is Let’s Go. Keyboard player is sooo interesting in his play.

[@frankcona6607]

Heartbeat city #4 Are you kidding me Joe

[@ttmilbr]

Thanks for mostly not trashing Move Like This. I really like it.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

For a comeback album it's really good. It fits in with their discography without dragging it down.

[@MsKalachakra]

I'm a Panorama guy, glad to see it wasn't trashed at least.

[@MyargonautsJason]

There are a handful of Greatest Hits compilations that are HUGE sellers and capture a moment in time - and the Greatest Hits collection from the Cars, released in 1985, is one of those records. Coming off their huge pop crossover album, Heartbeat City and tons of new fans from their wacky videos on the then music-centered MTV, the Hits collection even had something they did back then, a new song only available on the collection (Tonight She Comes). And for tons of us younger fans, who were married to our Walkmans and didn't really buy too much vinyl, the cassette was a PERFECT album - every track is a banger and such a great gateway into a great band.

[@lisanavarro2641]

The 1978 debut was the best for me overall. "Candy O" had tracks that were gems, especially "Dangerous Type". "Panorama" was nice, dark, and moody, from the packaging to its overall sound. Best closing song for me was "Up and Down". Roy Thomas Baker really produced these guys well

[@johnw706]

This is a tough call for me . I go back and forth between the debut and Heartbeat City as my favourite . Listening to Jason extoll the virtues of Heartbeat's production leads me to select Heartbeat City today . He's right , my favourite Cars' song , It's Not the Night , literally explodes out of the speakers . The same with Why Can't I Have You . The sound is astonishing . To Kramzer's point of great sounding albums , Heartbeat City would stand alongside Crime of the Century , Dark Side of the Moon , Abbey Road , Aja , and I Robot as albums with amazing sound . Anyway , you can't go wrong with the Cars catalogue , they're all good to some extent . Cheers !

[@paulayers1111]

Agreed Jason. Door To Door is EASILY THEIR WORST

[@roxannewalsh]

The obvious choices from an obvious band, one of the few pop bands that I really like. I still listen to the first four in my list from time to time...and that really means something. Almost as good as Blondie when they were good. 7. Door to Door 6. Move Like This 5. Shake it Up 4. Panorama 3. Heartbeat City 2. Candy-O (This is really impressive, after the debut it was hard to imagine that they could do it again) 1. Cars

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Good list. - Joe

[@roxannewalsh]

My list was made before watching the video. It seems that I nearly have Joe's list, the bottom ones reversed - but that does not matter because both are irrelevant anyway.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

We have exactly the same ranking. Cheers.

[@wesleyorser4451]

I'd probably rank the films 2, 3, and 1 with the first being the strongest, but I tend to agree with the general consensus that this was Pixar's first major misstep. Wait, what are we talking about?

[@larryvuola7903]

My ranking would be. 7) Panorama 6) move like this 5) shake it up 4) Candy O 3) Door to Door 2) Heartbeat City 1) The Cars

[@JCStorm76]

Finally someone else who rates Door To Door

[@toquecentralmusic9212]

I was 15 the summer the debut was released and The Cars was a big part of the soundtrack of my life through my teens and into my college party years. Let the good times roll! :D 1. The Cars 2. Candy-O 3. Heartbeat City 4. Shake It Up 5. Panorama 6. Move Like This 7. Door to Door

[@curly_wyn]

Fun fact: Shoo Be Doo is Ric Ocasek’s tribute to Suicide. He and Springsteen are probably the duo’s biggest fans. ❤

[@analogkid2869]

First of all Kramzer looks awesome! But all 3 of you are adorable! My tastes usually align more with Joe’s - who is awesome by the way. Love the Cars a completely underrated band who never gets their due! To me, the greatest debut of all time in rock history is the Cars. No question, no contest. Jason - since you did a Rush listing on your own would you consider redoing it with your 2 partners? It’s more entertaining to see the differing lists and opinions, and all 3 of you are Rush fans! I’ve really enjoyed the past two complete listings of AC/DC and the Cars ! Great shows ! Love your work !

[@TastesLikeMusic]

We will definitely do Rush eventually.

[@analogkid2869]

@@TastesLikeMusic Oh awesome! Thanks so much Rush is my all time favorite band. I liked your list Jason and your knowledge but I think it would work great with your excellent co hosts with their differing opinions! Rush lists always end up being different - everyone has a different opinion when it comes to Rush. You are all excellent and thanks for replying to me - I really appreciate that you took the time !

[@jefferysteen1041]

Besides Elliott Easton's awsome guitar work,another great thing about the Cars is how the vocals of Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr sound so much alike!

[@davidl570]

Yep.................for eg., for DECADES I thought that was Ric singing lead on Let's Go! Shows what I know.

[@analogkid2869]

Kramzer looks like Layne Staley circa 92! But I do agree with Joe, putting Panorama last is sacrilegious !

[@graphix6529]

1.S/T 2.shake it up 3.candy o 4.heartbeat city 5.door to door 6.panorama 7.move like this

[@expresscp]

1 The Cars 2 Heartbeat City 3 Candy-O 4 Shake it Up 5 Panorama 6 Move Like This 7 Door to Door

[@curly_wyn]

1. Heartbeat City (1984) *im with ya, Jason! :) 2. The Cars (1978) 3. Shake it Up (1981) 4. Candy-O (1979) 5. Panorama (1980) 6. More Like This (2011) 7. Door to Door (1987)

[@kevinmcardle4087]

1. The Cars 2. Panorama 3. Candy-O 4. Heartbeat City 5. Shake It Up (Huge gap between 5 and 6....) 6. Move Like This 7. Door to Door

[@davidellis5141]

This Is Pop ! Top 3 Cars 1 Panorama 2 Candy-0 3 Shake It Up Favorite tracks - You Wear Those Eyes , Since Your Gone , Trilogy - Double Life - Shoo Be Doo & Candy-O .

[@mrp4242]

I can’t claim to be a big The Cars fan, but I agree with Jason. Heartbeat City is the best album with their top hits. Maybe partly because Drive reminds me of Paulina Porizkova. Even when I was 9 years old, I was like....can I drive her home?

[@179rich]

Well done as always guys!

[@ludwiga9195]

Love all the Cars album, some slightly more than others... 1. The Cars 2. Candy-O 3. Heartbeat City 4. Shake It Up 5. Door to Door 6. Panorama 7. Move Like This

[@andrewdyke5561]

I finally agree with Jason the most .

[@SamSajadi]

Do one for Weezer!

[@richalderson6069]

If anyone was going define what great commercial rock is I would say The Cars is a perfect example, they have bit of everything in their music that makes it both cool and likeable.

[@crazyelf62]

Curious what Jason thought of The New Cars with Todd Rundgren filling in for Ric Ocasek, with two of his usual sidemen. Only two of the original Cars participated, Ben Orr had already passed on. I thought is was OK, mostly live but the three new songs were pretty good. Overall the whole project was a failure, but interesting. Mainly asking Jason as he is the biggest Todd fan of the three of you.

[@Renjeaux]

Panorama last? no way! 2nd on my list. Shake it up 3rd. (Think It Over and Maybe Baby are strong)

[@AndrewCapobianco2014]

They revised "Shooby-Doo" for the Panorama tour as the intro of Gimme Sme Slack, Let's Go is an awesome song. EE fave guitarist ever

[@b.rogers6996]

Agreed...Panorama should not be last. Especially below Mutt-Langed product like Heartbeat City...IMHO.

[@179rich]

07) Door to Door (2 stars) 06) Panorama (2 1/2 stars) 05) Move Like This (3 stars) 04) Heartbeat City (4 stars) 03) Shake It Up (4 stars) 02) The Cars (5 stars) 01) Candy-O (5 stars) My top two were neck and neck but ultimately I chose my personal favorite. I love every track on Candy-O and its got two more than the debut. The debut is a stone cold classic but I consider "I'm in Touch with Your World" to be a less than great song which renders the album to be less than perfect (still waiting for Listography - mainly Joe and Kramzer - to comment on this song and defend the notion that the debut is indeed "perfect.") Shake It Up and Heartbeat City were also neck and neck, but I ultimately decided I like the deep cuts on Shake It Up more and the first two cuts are classic Cars. Hearing Move Like This again for the first time in several years made me appreciate it a bitt more. Panorama just doesn't have much in the way of hooks and Door to Door is pretty awful. It is so light and limp it is almost easy listening. The only song on it I really like is "Strap Me In." I'm with Jason on that one.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Every song on an album doesn’t have to be perfect for an album to be perfect. - Joe

[@179rich]

@@TastesLikeMusic If you say so. What do you think of "I'm in Touch with Your World?"

[@davidnelson6874]

I love Go Away and You Are The Girl off Door To Door. It’s a weak album but it has a few great tunes.

[@curly_wyn]

Yeah. Every song on the debut is great except for I’m in Touch With Your World, which really sucks.

[@benjaminorrfan1312]

RIP Benjamin

[@antunzlodi1087]

Please do Blondie they're kinda similair to the Cars but they kept it consistent at least with releases and i think even with quality

[@179rich]

Here's my review of Move Like This back around when it came out: [NOTE -THERE IS A WEIRD KZbin GLITCH THAT IS NOT DISPLAYING MY RATINGS FOR EACH SONG PROPERLY. Grrrrrrr....] Cars by Numbers 3 out of 5 stars 2011 saw the Cars return with a surprise comeback album that plays it safe. MOVE LIKE THIS is guaranteed to please old fans by resurrecting their classic New Wave sound - danceable rock with crunchy guitars and spacey, melodic keyboards. Some of the songs sound almost like Devo in a few places. They deliver exactly what you would want from the Cars - except for killer tunes. The songs are good, but not great. After 24 years since their last album, the lackluster DOOR TO DOOR, one would certainly hope for something better. The sound is good, classic Cars, but there's nothing here that can compare to "Good Times Roll," "Dangerous Type" or even "I'm Not The One." Breakdown: "Blue Tip" - is simple and fun. Sounds cool but not particularly remarkable. Truth be told it's a little boring. ***1/4 (three and a quarter stars) "Too Late" - part ballad, part rocker - a rockin ballad. At first I thought, "not bad," but it's since grown on me. Pretty good actually. **** (four stars) "Keep On Knocking" - adds some power-chord muscle. Elliot Easton is a great guitarist. Every solo he took in the 80s was just perfect. But I don't hear anything very impressive from him on this album. ***1/4 (three and a quarter stars) "Soon" - a ballad that could've really used Ben Orr's vocals. The original bassist died in 2000 of pancreatic cancer and he's sorely missed here. A pretty straight-forward love song, not bad. Quite nice in fact. ***1/2 (three and a half stars) "Sad Song" - delivers a classic sound that hearkens back to their first album; in particular, the bass sound at the beginning and the hand claps recall "My Best Friend's Girl." ...and then it goes into rather generic, nondescript New Wave territory. Not bad, but nothing too exciting either. *** (three stars) "Free" - takes the same basic approach as the other songs - short, clipped stanzas and straight-ahead, chugging guitar notes propel the song. It's slick, professional and formulaic. **3/4 (two and three quarters stars) "Drag On Forever" - a slower-paced rocker with some decent riffs that kinda hang in the air. Pretty cool... ***1/2 (three and a half stars) "Take Another Look" - has a dreamy sound. ***1/2 (three and a half stars) "It's Only" - The weakest song on the album. A run-of-the-mill mid-tempo rocker - filler. ** (two stars) "Hits Me" - more upbeat, a decent rocker. Not bad but unremarkable. *** (three stars) Overall the album is pleasant enough, mildly enjoyable but nothing to get too excited about. It certainly doesn't measure up to their classic songs from the 80s. It's not a bad thing to have on in the background but I can only marginally recommend it. It you're a big fan get it (and in that case you probably already have already), otherwise I wouldn't bother.

[@179rich]

Note: there is some sort of glitch going on with youtube. It's not displaying the correct amount of stars I'm awarding to each song.

[@simonwalpole8037]

Haha

[@phillipanderson7398]

I quite like the cover of the Move Like This, and the album ain't half bad either. It was just what I needed. Oops.

[@cbctail4029]

The Cars - The Cars = The Cars - Heartbeat City Very different from each other. Both amazing. To put it in perspective from my point of view, the best album from my Junior High years (f#@king disco era) and the best of my high school graduation year and 1984 had some amazing albums! Also, my favorite vinyl and cassette from their respective eras! Have to given Candy O another listen to be fair though! Cheers gentlemen!!

[@curlessmania4708]

I had three different WTF moments on this one....Kramzer putting Panorama at the bottom.? Joe doing the last second switch when his original list was perfect IMO. Finally Jason putting Heartbeat city at number 1. Still enjoy you guys, the cars are awesome.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

You should've seen Heartbeat City coming...I ranked it as my favorite album of the entire decade in our 80's recap video. -Jason

[@vambo13257]

If you cannot hear the Roxy Music influence on the Cars then have another listen

[@markmorgan3058]

But the best song the Cars have is on Door to Door-you can't beat Double Trouble as a rocker

[@BrianCurran8]

That solo. My god that solo.

[@stevefleming8742]

BEACH BOYS NEXT PLEASE 😁😁😁

[@179rich]

Love the Cars, I will do my own ranking when I can get around to it.

[@heresthething41]

7. Move Like This (Not good) 6. Door To Door (OK) 5. Heartbeat City (Good but, not enough Easton) 4. Shake It Up (Great, just not the greatest) 3. The Cars (Great, love it all, but overplayed) 2. Candy-O (I love the quirkiness of it) 1. Panorama (I love when the Cars go dark. "You Wear Those Eyes" is my favorite Cars song)

[@davidclark8543]

Out of all the album choices top to bottom (OR bottom to top in "this" case), I think yours comes closest for me. Panorama is extremely underrated. Candy-O & The Cars debut are very close in quality & very unique, the latter offers the classic hits from late 70s that can never be duplicated, albeit got too overplayed & that also is its legacy sadly. Shake It Up's "A Dream Away" is my favorite from that album along with all of Side 2. And certainly Heartbeat City served up a hitlist not to be forgotten. Even Door To Door has qualities to it that make it an enjoyable listen & take me back to my graduation year 1986-87. So without further ado, my selections: 1. "The Cars" 2A. "Panorama" 2B. "Candy-O" 3. "Heartbeat City" 4. "Shake It Up" 5. "Door To Door"

[@usmcfutball]

I once wrote on KZbin that if Neil Peart did nothing but 'Xanadu' off A Farewell To Kings his place in rock history would STILL be secure. Likewise, those first two Cars albums CEMENTED their legacy...and everything else was superfluous. Benjamin (not 'Ben') Orr was The Man. And when drummers like David Robinson get involved with visuals and color schemes and personas, well...kudos to the percussionist in suspenders. The Cars made red n' black cool. Cool enough for a homely man to bed a Polish supermodel. Much respect.

[@lightningstrikes7314]

'Didn't reinvent the wheel..' lol

[@darrellwhitman2967]

My list : 7. Move Like This 6. Door To Door 5. Panorama 4. Shake It Up 3. Candy-O 2. Heartbeat City 1. The Cars

[@kylelooper2156]

I always wonder at Jason's production fetish. It seems like holding up the role of the recording industry as the most important facet of music making. It would be similar to praising the editing, binding, and font choice of a great novel. "The plot, pacing, and characters are all great, but the font was a real problem for me." Music producers are more like book editors than movie directors. The vision lays with the band. The bands still put together the lyrics and musical arrangements. A producer with a good ear can help the finished product, mix it well, and fill in gaps. I appreciate good production, but I appreciate the lyrics and musical arrangements much more than the production.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

I went to school for audio engineering. The craft of record making is something i have a great appreciation for. Bad production is like a bad director ruining a great script. -Jason

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Arrangements aren’t always handled by the artist. Sometimes it’s the producer, sometimes a dedicated arranger is hired. Music producers responsibilities can vary greatly. From just overseeing things and watching the budget to extremely hands-on involvement in the writing. All the great orchestral stuff on The Beatles records...that’s all George Martin

[@kylelooper2156]

@@TastesLikeMusic Movie directors are the holders of the movie vision. A movie really is dependent upon direction. But I still believe that a music producer is more like a book editor because the vision is ideally the band's. That's why boy bands like the Backstreet Boys have never worked for me. The producers and A&R men pick the members, choose the songs, and construct the arrangements; and the result is uniformly soulless.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Well, it’s not like I don’t think having good songs is important. In fact, it’s the most important thing. But production still matters. To use your analogy, It’d be like reading a great novel in comic sans. You might still get the point, but it would certainly be a less enjoyable experience.

[@kylelooper2156]

@@TastesLikeMusic I've never been let down from a production standpoint by any album you recommend. It's the originality of the music that sometimes suffers. I do agree, though, that Todd Rundgren is pretty great, and he was a master in the studio. Something/Anything is a masterpiece, even his Sounds of the Studio vignette. Record production seems collaborative, and bad production can detract from an otherwise good album (looking at you Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door). But I never think, wow, this production really makes this album great. I think these lyrics are really saying something. These songs fit together nicely. This album is cohesive for these reasons. This is unlike anything I've heard before, and it's challenging my expectations. There's something worth paying attention to here. I do enjoy your picking out interesting tidbits about the production, good or bad, but I wonder if the forest and trees don't become a bit blurry when production is given such a primary focus.

[@analogkid2869]

The Cars Candy-O Heartbeat City Panorama Shake it Up Door to door Move like this

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

We have almost the exact same ranking except I have Door to Door at the bottom.

[@marcbergeron8690]

The Cars have barely a handful of rare but excellent albums. For those who would wish for more, they could give a listen to the Ric Ocasek solo music. Which have a similarity, sometimes darker and more introspective than The Cars. But basically, it's Car's music.

[@realCaptainSanta]

Good 7. Move Like This 6. Door to Door 5. Panorama Great 4. Shake It Up 3. Candy-O Nearly Perfect 2. Heartbeat City - #1 Album of 1984 1. The Cars - #2 Album of 1978 behind Van Halen. Probably only rates higher than Heartbeat City because it had one less song.

[@frankcona6607]

Heartbreak city and the first album are clearly The cars 🚗 best albums

[@kirkstreckfus8844]

With the exception of 4 standout songs, Heartbeat City is a major letdown for me. Mutt Lange kills the band by giving them a cheesy Def Leppard Hysteria sound (is that Joe Elliott singing “Hellllo Hellloo Again” seriously 5/5 on the Velveeta scale), also full of filler songs. Thankfully AC/DC dropped Mutt Lange before he destroyed them. Agree the debut is the best one but I think I’ve killed every song on it but “Moving In Stereo.” Go to Cars albums for me are Candy-O and Shake It Up. The Cars Candy-O Shake It Up Panorama Heartbeat City Door to Door Move Like This

[@newavatar2947]

Yes he destroyed Def Leppard but he did produce the fantastic High n Dry. It seems he is somewhat a control freak. He also charges astronomically for his services making him a very rich man. Def Leppard had to tour for almost 3 years to generate any profit off Hysteria

[@mikestanshillporter4425]

Good video, great group one of my many favorites, very underrated, but they did get into the Hall. With this group, my opinion they had 3 essential albums, The Debut, Heartbeat City, and Candy-O. Most groups would love to have one, they have three. Then they have, what I think is their ground breaking album, one where a group can explore, and that’s Panorama. Those 4 albums are enough to get you in the Hall, but they also had a decent album Shake it up, not monumental like the others, but has some of my favorite cars songs on there like Shake It Up, Cruiser, and more. Then my sixth fav was the reunion, Move Like This. Move Like This is interesting, because Ric Ocasek had said for years he was not interested in bringing back something from the 80’s, it was time to move on, but when the band worked, re-recorded hits, and two new songs, and toured with Todd Rundgren , without Ric and of course Benjamin Orr who had already passed, the group called themselves The New Cars with the album called It’s Alive in 2005, in 2011 Ric said he had some songs if they wanted to get together and record. The album missed Benjamin Orr, and less guitar solos, still a good album with good songs. The last album in the 80’s is Door to Door, is my least favorite, it also has good songs on it, 2 demos before the the debut made the album, Leave Or Stay and Ta Ta Wayo Wayo. The title track Door to Door was a rocker and some good pop songs, but some tracks weren’t as good, production was not consistent. They also had the hit, Tonight She Comes, on a greatest hits album before Door To Door. Most groups with 7 studio albums and a very successful greatest hit album, probably wouldn’t make it to the Hall, but their work is so solid for what they do, most of their music is thriller no filler. Very good group.

[@jamesboyce4000]

Hi guys! I've been a Cars fan since early 79 when I was 15 and I bought the debut in March. Here in the UK the Cars had a huge hit with My Best Friend's Girl as the first picture disc single in 78, though it was the release of Just What I Needed in Feb 1979 that got me on board. Glad to see you, young gents loving them all these years down the line. As for your lists, my one will differ slightly. 1 Panorama. 2 The Cars.3 Candy O 4 Shake It Up. 5 Heartbeat City 6 Move Like This 7 Door To Door. This will sound like a contradiction, the debut is probably their best but the one I play the most is Panorama and that's been the same for a few decades now. A few years back I sent an email to Elliot Easton about his playing on Touch And Go and how much I loved his contribution to that song and he was gracious enough to reply. He was a little surprised to hear from England as apart from Drive, My Best Friend's Girl, and Just What I Needed being hits the Cars singles and albums never did that well. Unlike Blondie, The Cars never toured the UK so I think that contributed to their meagre commercial fortunes here.

[@kimberlywalker3970]

I received The Cars debut album for a Valentine's present. I like it a lot so, I decided to listen to the rest of their catalog. Well, The Cars, like Tears For Fears, is a one album band for me. I agree w/Kram. This albums shits on Van Halen I. I'll go even a step further and say it shits on the rest of The Cars' catalog. Anyway, here's my album ranking minus their 2011 album: 1. The Cars (Love it 9/10) 2. Candy-O (Suffers from a sophomore slump. Wants to be the debut but doesn't quite make it.) 3. Panorama (It's an album of its time but more interesting the majority of their albums.) 4. Shake It Up (Like the title track and couple of other songs and that's it.) 5. Heartbeat City (I hate the hits and the deep cuts. I couldn't wait for it to be over.) 6. Door to Door (I couldn't stand it and skipped the majority of it.)

[@karenduell4620]

New subscriber here, The Cars are my favorite group. My list: 1 The Cars, 2 Candy-O, 3 Heartbeat City, 4 Panorama, 5 Shake it Up, 6 Move Like This, 7 Door to Door. I'm more a fan of their early stuff, which was more rock than pop. I would much rather listen to Take What You Want, You Just Can't Push Me, Bye Bye Love and Moving in Stereo to their pop stuff pushed on MTV. With that being said, Heartbeat City just puts me in a good mood and brings back great memories of being in my 20's in the '80's.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Thanks for the sub. Welcome!

[@pete3105]

7. Move Like This (2011) ★★½ 6. Door to Door (1987) ★★½ 5. Panorama (1980) ★★½ 4. Shake It Up (1981) ★★★ 3. Candy-O (1979) ★★★ 2. Heartbeat City (1984) ★★★ 1. The Cars (1978) ★★★★★ ★★★★★ - Masterpiece ★★★★½ - Really great ★★★★ - Great ★★★½ - Really good ★★★ - Good ★★½ - OK ★★ - Bad ★½ - Really bad ★ - Awful ½ - The worst

[@MomLAU]

*after about **8:45** or so* Guys! No fighting!!!! :)

[@chrisboerger465]

7. Door to Door. The band was breaking up and it shows. If it had included the awesome Take What You Want it would have been better, thought still at the bottom probably. A few good songs though. 6. Heartbeat City. Controversial, I know, but I've never cared for the production...sorry, Jason, but I think it renders some of the songs unfinished and the album as a whole less than cohesive. The title track is excellent, but there's no excuse for leaving off Breakaway and Tonight She Comes. 5. Move Like This. Not great, but an enjoyable return to form. 4. Shake It Up. A poppy first half followed by a more experimental side B. I actually like the second half better, but then I am kind of weird. 3. Panorama. Speaking of weird. This is their strangest, and perhaps their most emotionally engaging album, which is odd considering how mechanical, robotic even, the sound of the album is. You Wear Those Eyes is almost like an android's lament. 2. Candy-O. The top two are close and on another day I might put this one at number one. Definitely their most rocking album, with Let's Go one of my favorite opening tracks for any record. Maybe it doesn't have as many standout cuts as the debut, those songs that really implant themselves in your head. But every song here is better than I'm In Touch With Your World. 1. The Cars. This was the first album I ever bought so of course there's some nostalgia here. But it's also a classic debut, and eight of the nine tracks range from very good to outstanding. You never forget the first time you heard it, how surprising it is that such an upbeat pop/rock effort ends on such a haunting note. Few artists have captured alienation as well or as catchily as the late Ric Ocasek.

[@JCStorm76]

I realise we all have our own opinions but objectively how could anyone rank Move Like This over Heartbeat City?

[@chrisboerger465]

@@JCStorm76 Answer: It isn't meant to be objective. Heartbeat City might be a better album by all rational criteria, but I think I explained why the album doesn't work for me personally. I'm not really in love with Move Like This either but it doesn't have the other's weaknesses. For me it has always been the first four albums and then everything else with these guys.

[@zacharypopp3549]

"Does anyone not like the cars?" says Joe. Yes, my dad hates The Cars. My dad was my main rock influence (I'm sure have a similar situation) but I beg to disagree, the Cars are awesome.

[@179rich]

Joe doesn't like Let's Go. (!!!) Possibly their best song.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

For real. Being a Cars fan and not liking "Let's Go" is like being a Beatles fan and not liking "Help!"

[@179rich]

@@AbbeyRoadkill1 Give them credit for having unusual opinions LOL

[@andrewdyke5561]

Door to door is the worest to me also jason I'm on your side jason

[@ianhampton1208]

Watched this and was surprised. The Cars were an ok group who did a couple of half decent albums with some very good songs on them. But listening to these guys you'd have thought they were a combination of the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Unbelievable.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

I’m afraid someone is a little behind on the critical consensus there, champ. - Joe

[@dancalmpeaceful3903]

I would highly recommend getting the new CD deluxe sets - especially for the first two albums. There's a bootleg of them appearing at the Cleveland Agoura....it's really damn good....Rumor has it though they were the most boring band you've ever seen live.

[@redbirdct]

I saw them in '82 and was disappointed. Went again in '84 because I figured the first time was a fluke. It wasn't. They were pretty boring live, at least during that period. I'd guess they'd have been better in their early days before the synths and drum machines became so prevalent.

[@dancalmpeaceful3903]

@@redbirdct Well....you verified it...I"ve heard from several people they were boring....and you are number 4...

[@ThePhysicalillusion]

My top 3 are definitely the debut (by quite a bit), Heartbeat City (very good but I do think it’s too Mutt Lange sounding) and Candy-O, while Door To Door is definitely last, but the other 3 I could flip around. Okay, Move Like This would probably still be #6 on relistening (I’m barely remembering much from it at the moment), but currently I have Panorama at 4 and Shake It Up at 5. I’m kind of amused that Elliott Easton got namedropped a lot more in this video than Ric Ocasek (pronounced “O-caa-sick”).

[@realCaptainSanta]

Gotta love how Warrant borrowed the title 'Down Boys' and then used the music from 'Bye Bye Love' for their song Down Boys.

[@rodneygriffin7666]

Decent band. Lost me after Candy O. Was listening to more adventurous stuff in the MTV era.