Ranking Records: Steely Dan

[@Boddissatva]

Glamour Profession on Gaucho is a masterpiece.

[@charleskra]

I pretty much agree with your rankings, especially having Katy Lied as #1. Except for "Black Friday", they don't seem to play the tracks on this album live. Too bad.

[@jamesreckling6697]

It was Larry Carleton that played the opening solo on Don’t Take Me Alive. I have seen him talking about it.

[@Boddissatva]

I found SD from the radio in the late 70’s. Then I bought the album Can’t Buy a Thrill. I have all the cd’s and I enjoy all of them including all the Fagan solo ones. Just magical. Two Against Nature is in my mini cooper cd player.

[@kevtruth]

Your #1 is also mine. I love Katy Lied. Great ranking

[@mbodayle]

Right on!

[@richkurl]

I believe that Randall and Dias traded guitar solos on Green Earrings off Royal Scam. For the record, they started touring again in 1993, and didn't miss a year until 2020. The first Steely Dan record I bought was Katy Lied in 1976 at Cheap Thrills Record Store in New Brunswick NJ, freshman year at Rutgers. Love at first listen, and been hooked on this great band ever since.

[@mbodayle]

I loved Cheap Thrills! I may have even bought my Katy Lied there too! Thanks for watching.

[@robertharvey2604]

My love for the band was similar to yours in that I always heard them on FM radio, liked what I heard but never explored their discography, thinking they were for "older people." Now in my 50s, I listen to them all the time.

[@rgwebb5165]

Heard them on the classic rock station when I was young. They were different than the other bands. Jazzier, groovier, more subversive lyrically. I picked up the Decade of Steely Dan cd as an introduction. I liked it alot but my appreciation for them would continue to grow. I found the Citizen box set super cheap many years later when I was finally able to appreciate their greatness. I have seen them five times, more than any other band, and they deserve a place at the table when discussing the best bands of the 70's.

[@MillerGenuineDraft1980]

1. The Royal Scam 2. Gaucho 3. Countdown To Ecstasy 4. Pretzel Logic 5. Aja

[@RWildekrav66]

I can’t pick the Best Steely Dan record , they’re ALL fantastic . You can never go wrong listening to Steely Dan .

[@Walsh1502]

Jim Hodder sang lead vocal on Dallas

[@PapaNicksMusic]

I saw that tour with Elvis Costello-great show! My ranking is very similar to yours, with the exception that I really like Everything Must Go, so it is much higher for me. But ultimately, it’s true: there are no bad albums here.

[@h.m.7218]

70s SD albums are so consistently good I wouldn't be able to rank them. All I can say is Countdown may be, perhaps, my favorite. But I'm not even sure of that...

[@nytrayfl2]

Enjoyed watching this. I love geeking out over albums. Here’s mine: 1) Katy Lied 2) Two Against Nature 3) Aja 4) Gaucho 5) The Royal Scam 6) Pretzel Logic 7) Countdown to Ecstasy 8) Can’t Buy a Thrill 9) Everything Must Go

[@AlabasterEffect]

TAN as #2? Never knew anyone who put it that high before, but I appreciate someone doing it. It might be my number #4 or #5, super underrated album.

[@nytrayfl2]

@@AlabasterEffect I was surprised to learn that a guy who works in our local vinyl record shop rates that as his number one favorite Steely Dan album, and he’s a lifetime fan. Sometimes it’s just a good mesh with the circumstances going on in your life.

[@davidbowman4259]

Can't Buy a Thrill at No. 8? Gaucho ahead of Royal Scam and Pretzel Logic? No, no, no ...

[@stephen1562]

​@@davidbowman4259 Yes yes yes to CTE near the bottom, it should be THE bottom

[@12fretter]

I'm OK with me possibly being the only one in the world to rank "Can't Buy a Thrill" in the bottom of the list. To me, Steely Dan didn't quite exist yet. That album sounds more like Todd Rundgren than it does what we've come to know and love as Steely Dan.

[@spiritualarchitect4276]

9 Pretzel Logic 8 Can’t Buy A Thrill 7 Two Against Nature 6 Countdown To Ecstasy 5 Everything Must Go 4 The Royal Scam 3 Gaucho 2 Katy Lied 1 Aja

[@tillwesenberg1178]

It's not a chestnut guy on the cover of Chestnut Logic. Any major dude will tell you that. 🤗 My number one's The Royal Scam, but the first seven are all dear to my heart.

[@SH-ud8wd]

1. Katy Lied ☆☆☆☆☆ 2. Pretzel Logic ☆☆☆☆☆ 3. Countdown To Ecstasy ☆☆☆☆☆ 4. Can't Buy A Thrill ☆☆☆☆+ 5. Royal Scam ☆☆☆☆ 6. Aja ☆☆☆+ 7. Gaucho ☆☆☆ 8. Two Against Nature ☆☆+ 9. Everything Must Go ☆+ The main criteria for me is emotional satsfaction. The lower the ranking, the less the thrill of listening, here mostly because of jazzy coolness and probably the usage of cocaine. PS.: There is a Steely Dan Song on the soundtrack for the movie FM (No Static At All).

[@maximuskhan2100]

Aja may not be everyone's favorite Dan album, but it is scientifically and objectively the best. Don't see how one could rate Aja lower than the rest of their output.

[@Captain_Rhodes]

I could. Its still a great album

[@PapaNicksMusic]

I don’t want to come across as a dick, but there’s no such thing as “scientifically and objectively the best” album. Aesthetic appreciation is, by definition, subjective. Music has many elements that are objectively quantifiable (pitch and tempo, for examples), but whether those elements are “good” or not is entirely a matter of individual taste and preference. Aja is a fantastic album, but for my money, Katy Lied and Royal Scam are both better. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

[@nathananderson2242]

@@PapaNicksMusic exactly, well said

[@matthewsims9469]

katie lied is my favorite too. Love the album cover!

[@R3TR0R4V3]

The Royal Scam is #1 for me, but Katy Lied is probably right behind it, then Aja. Hell, they're _all_ good! 😎

[@mournblade1066]

_Aja_ is Steely Dan's best album. _The Royall Scam_ is my favorite Steely Dan album.

[@tkshots]

my favourite is aja...but my fovourite song is kid charlemange...i suspect your favourite is based on your age...

[@chrislusk3497]

Katy Lied for me too.

[@ChrisDragotta]

Gaucho grows on you.

[@stephen1562]

For me Pretzel Logic the best, Countdown to Ecstasy the worst. The rest pretty much as I feel on the day but i di like the final two more than most

[@danpro4519]

It's funny, Katy Lied is probably my least favorite from the original 7. There are some ALL STAR tracks, but a bunch of the songs feel really weak or even annoying to me (eg, Rose Darling). I love jazz, so my top 3 are Aja, Gaucho, and Royal Scam in that order.

[@ambikawolf664]

The pazz and jop column!

[@DavidCKendall]

I think nearly the absolute opposite of you and wonder how that's possible. Maybe it's because I'm so fond of Donald Fagen's lyrics. Incredibly, Gaucho is my favorite, because it's razor sharp and so well theme connected. ALL about L.A. life and the drug culture of those times. Perhaps that's exactly why you DON'T like it?!... Generally, I just think that they improved exponentionally with every outing, until they just couldn't outdo themselves any more. But again, those lyrics! I'd encourage you to take another hard listen to 'Everything Must Go' -- for me, the gold nugget in the stream is 'The Things I Miss the Most', especially 'the good copper pan' -- the singer is in tragic denial. We are the mirror image of each other's opposite tastes in what to listen for, but I enjoyed being shocked by your assessment anyway -- rock on!

[@mbodayle]

Quite insightful David - thanks for sharing. I do like the song you mentioned and need to go back to that LP again. Part of it's that musical saturation that effects my brain making little room for new music.

[@DavidCKendall]

@@mbodayle ..... well also, we love the albums most that tie in with our own growing up and particular life experiences. No crime in that. Particular songs, like 'Razor Boy' , 'Night by Night' , 'Only a Fool Would Say That' , 'Any World That I'm Welcome To' -- are ALL my favorite Steely Dan songs. They can't ALL be my favorite song, but they are. You picked a very hard task -- maybe rank Eagles albums next time -- LOL!!

[@mbodayle]

@@DavidCKendall If I did the Eagles I would stop after the first three LPs. They fell off a cliff after that.

[@dansavik7137]

Why do almost only men listen to SD, that is strange and kind of funny. Aja and Gaucho are my favs.

[@andychips]

It's a shame you don't like the jazzier numbers. I think that's where their strengths lie, and therefore their best material.

[@mikebozik]

Katy Lied, katydid.

[@stephen1562]

Predictable ratings....why doesn't he show some originality. For me bottom is Countdown to Ecstasy

[@user-ys3qq6rf6z]

most boring band ever try polish masterpiece NIEMEN ENIGMATIC

[@davidbowman4259]

My ranking (there are so many of these videos): 1) Aja 2) Can't Buy a Thrill 3) The Royal Scam 4) Katy Lied 5) Pretzel Logic 6) Countdown to Ecstasy 7) Gaucho 8) Two Against Nature 9) Everything Must Go. The first six albums are all stellar. The last three, not so much. But they never released a clunker.

[@thephantomarse]

The royal scam, Aja, Katie lied , gaucho and pretzel logic are all Masterpieces The royal scam is my number one Everyone's gone to the movies spoils the Katy lied album for me I don't think it goes with the other tracks