WORST TO FIRST - Pink Floyd (album ranking, worst to best)

[@JTCurtisMusic]

Thanks for the shoutout! And good list. I like your analysis of each album.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Thanks! I was glued to my computer during your reviews of the Pink Floyd albums. 🤘😎

[@ShaggydogStark]

This is a wonderful analysis. Most people I know prefer Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, and even Animals, and I kept dreading seeing Wish You Were Here at #4. Wish You Were Here was always my favorite Pink Floyd album (quite possibly my favorite album of all time), but I always had trouble putting into words why exactly. It was always more a sort of... a feeling. Thank you so much! If the albums on the wall behind you are any indication, I eagerly anticipate many more such album rankings 😊

[@Four_EightMusic]

Thanks so much! Wish You Were Here IS my fave album of all time, from any artist. Stay tuned! More classic (and not-so-classic) rock to come 😎🤘

[@BrentPetrek]

First of all, excellent job. The best part of any of these online ranking vids is the insights commentary/analysis we all have to offer, and not so much the rankings themselves, which are very personal in the end. I can tell you are a major sincere PF fan. I’m a hardcore PF fan also, and although I may not agree with your bold top five ranking, especially The Wall being that high, I’m sure I would have much the same to say about each record. Note, WYWH does rival DSOTM for sure. The additions being highlighting ‘Remember a Day’ on Saucer, and noting that some of Gilmour’s best guitar work is on Animals, and I’m a pro level guitarist looking at these records also. Great work dude. Keep them coming ! Cheers

[@Four_EightMusic]

Humble thanks 🙏 Right on, we all have our own ranking, each as valid as the next! I don't think I mentioned "Remember a Day," but I find Rick Wright spreading his wings as a songwriter to be pretty great, even if the song is unremarkable 👍

[@Fritha71]

Wish You Were Here at the top and I just spontaneously pointed at the screen and uttered out loud "that's right, this man knows!" So many classic, amazing albums and yet one stands apart... After having listened to it for the first time ever, I did ask myself, with my mouth hanging wide open: "have I just heard the best album ever made?" That happened in November 2003, wish I could remember the exact date... Either way, it was a transformative experience. 21 years later I am certain that it is indeed, if not THE best, among the three or four best ever. Great ranking video, really appreciate the time and effort to incorporate all the clips and your thoughtful presentation! Your love for PF came across beautifully.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Humble thanks 🙏 I tend to think there's a point that most PF fans can remember where they were like, "I'm a Pink Floyd fan now; there's no going back."

[@kevinrombouts3027]

My top 4 1. Wish you were here 2. Dark Side of the Moon 3. Meddle 4. The Division Bell

[@Four_EightMusic]

Great ranking. No The Wall, though? I get it; it's pretty dark, and the wild nature of it can be pretty off-putting

[@johnnyklein3946]

My top 3 3. Wish you were here 2. Animals 1. Dark side of the moon

[@StevieZero]

Piper At The Gates of Dawn,,,Saucerful Of Secrets,,,Atom Heart Mother& More

[@AnthonyMichaelAMguitar]

Very good ranking, I do not agree with the order, but your explanation of "why" I could not disagree with.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Thanks so much!! 🤘😎

[@jamesnetwall1193]

The video was a joy and you did an excellent job! More please🎉

[@Four_EightMusic]

Humble thanks 😎🤘

[@AndrewVanderHaeghe]

Pretty solid album ranking! I really like your placement of the wall as I really like it.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Thanks! I feel like The Wall is slipping down in a lot of people's minds. It was my first taste of their music, so it'll always hold a special place in my heart

[@stephendevore]

The list, by me, Stephen DeVore: 04:35 - 16: The Endless River (2014) - 1. Things Left Unsaid; 2. It's What We Do; 3. Ebb and Flow; 4. Sum; 5. Skins; 6. Unsung; 7. Anisina; 8. The Lost Art of Conversation; 9. On Noodle Street; 10. Night Light; 11. Allons-y (1); 12. Allons-y (2); 13. Autumn '68; 14. Talkin' Hawkin'; 15. Calling; 16. Eyes to Pearls; 17. Surfacing; 18. Louder Than Words 06:15 - 15: Relics (1971) - 1. Arnold Layne; 2. Interstellar Overdrive; 3. See Emily Play; 4. Remember a Day; 5. Paintbox; 6. Julia Dream; 7. Careful with That Axe, Eugene; 8. Cirrus Minor; 9. The Nile Song; 10. Biding My Time; 11. Bike 07:27 - 14: Ummagumma (1969) - Disc 1 (Live): 1. Astronomy Domine; 2. Careful with That Axe, Eugene; 3. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun; 4. A Saucerful of Secrets; Disc 2 (Studio): 1. Sysyphus (Parts 1-4); 2. Grantchester Meadows; 3. Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict; 4. The Narrow Way (Parts 1-3); 5. The Grand 10:01 - 13: More (1969) - 1. Cirrus Minor; 2. The Nile Song; 3. Crying Song; 4. Up the Khyber; 5. Green Is the Colour; 6. Careful with That Axe, Eugene; 7. A Spanish Piece; 8. Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict 11:56 - 12: The Final Cut (1983) - 1. The Post War Dream; 2. Your Possible Pasts; 3. One of the Few; 4. The Hero's Return; 5. The Gunner's Dream; 6. Paranoid Eyes; 7. Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert; 8. The Fletcher Memorial Home; 9. Southampton Dock; 10. The Final Cut; 11. Not Now John; 12. Two Suns in the Sunset 14:59 - 11: A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) - 1. Signs of Life; 2. Learning to Fly; 3. The Dogs of War; 4. One Slip; 5. On the Turning Away; 6. Yet Another Movie; 7. A New Machine (Part 1); 8. A New Machine (Part 2); 9. Terminal Frost; 10. I Can't Breathe Anymore; 11. Louder Than Words 17:31 - 10: Obscured By Clouds (1972) - 1. Obscured by Clouds; 2. When You're In; 3. Burning Bridges; 4. The Gold It's in the...; 5. Wot's... Uh the Deal; 6. Mudmen; 7. Childhood's End; 8. Free Four; 9. Stay; 10. Absolutely Curtains 19:08 - 09: A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) - 1. Let There Be More Light; 2. Remember a Day; 3. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun; 4. Corporal Clegg; 5. A Saucerful of Secrets; 6. See-Saw; 7. Jugband Blues 21:44 - 08: Atom Heart Mother (1970) - 1. Atom Heart Mother; 2. If; 3. Summer '68; 4. Fat Old Sun; 5. Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast 23:46 - 07: The Division Bell (1994) - 1. Cluster One; 2. What Do You Want from Me; 3. Poles Apart; 4. Marooned; 5. A Great Day for Freedom; 6. Wearing the Inside Out; 7. Take It Back; 8. Coming Back to Life; 9. Keep Talking; 10. Lost for Words; 11. High Hopes 27:09 - 06: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) - 1. Astronomy Domine; 2. Lucifer Sam; 3. Matilda Mother; 4. Flaming; 5. Pow R. Toc H.; 6. Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk; 7. Interstellar Overdrive; 8. The Gnome; 9. Chapter 24; 10. The Scarecrow; 11. Bike 31:20 - 05: Meddle (1971) - 1. One of These Days; 2. A Pillow of Winds; 3. Fearless; 4. San Tropez; 5. Seamus; 6. Echoes 34:39 - 04: Animals (1977) - 1. Pigs on the Wing (Part 1); 2. Dogs; 3. Pigs (Three Different Ones); 4. Sheep; 5. Pigs on the Wing (Part 2) 38:16 - 03: The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) - 1. Speak to Me; 2. Breathe (In the Air); 3. On the Run; 4. Time; 5. The Great Gig in the Sky; 6. Money; 7. Us and Them; 8. Any Colour You Like; 9. Brain Damage; 10. Eclipse 42:10 - 02: The Wall (1979) - 1. In the Flesh?; 2. The Thin Ice; 3. Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1); 4. The Happiest Days of Our Lives; 5. Vera; 6. Bring the Boys Back Home; 7. Comfortably Numb; 8. Hey You; 9. Is There Anybody Out There?; 10. The Trial; 11. Outside the Wall; 12. Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2); 13. Mother; 14. Run Like Hell; 15. Don't Leave Me Now; 16. Waiting for the Worms; 17. Stop!; 18. The Wall (Reprise) 46:56 - 01: Wish You Were Here (1975) - 1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5); 2. Welcome to the Machine; 3. Have a Cigar; 4. Wish You Were Here; 5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9) Copyright by me, Stephen DeVore.

[@richardkavanagh8863]

Excellent video and analysis. Nice ranking. 1973- 1979 were Pink Floyd's golden years. I watched the Live 8 reunion in July 2015, aged 18 years old. It was the exact moment when I love Pink Floyd. David Gilmour did some live performance in Rome and the Royal Albert Hall this year. He is touring The United States of America in a few weeks time. DSOTM, WYWH, Echoes, Dogs and Comfortably Numb are all excellent pieces of music. Kind regards, Richard.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Awesome 😎 I watched the Live 8 performance just a few years ago, and it was like watching the final breath of a loved one, peaceful and total. Pink Floyd should have ended right then and there

[@gracefuller9981]

I was 14, at boarding school, I was given Dark Side by a girl who got it for her birthday, hated it and gave it the the kid who listened to weird music….. I got Crime of the Century the same way. My 3rd album you probably haven’t heard of, local band, Johnny Clegg and Jaluka African Sky Blue. Best ever

[@Four_EightMusic]

Sweet 😎 What year was that?

[@salmonsandwich3183]

Roger Waters is my favorite lyricist. His words/concepts just flow so well with the music. It's the perfect balance of words and music. I think Amused to Death is probably my favorite album of all time (after Pet Sounds and Smile, of course). Also, your copy of Bowie's "Low" in the background looks like the version I have released by Virgin records. Horrible mastering by Peter Mew. It's almost offensive it shares shelf space with Doug Sax mastered CD's

[@Four_EightMusic]

Amused to Death is awesome. Definitely the best of his solo works, head and shoulders And you're right about Low; it's the crappy master. Thankfully, I never have to listen to CDs anymore 😎

[@wito609]

First of all, congratulations on this great review of the entire PF album history. Of course, the ranking is a matter of individual taste and therefore cannot be discussed. Nevertheless, I am not entirely happy with one or the other assessment. I think The Wall is a bit overrated because the album is very tiring to listen to towards the end. After "run like hell" you don't really want to listen anymore, it's almost painful to endure Roger's tirades in "The Trial". But I want to enjoy music instead of enduring it. That's why, despite all the highlights, The Wall would be further back (place 5 or 6) for me.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Respect. The Wall is a big ask. "The Trial" section in particular is difficult to swallow. But so much of PF's music requires commitment, and that commitment pays off SO much more than other bands 😎

[@littledogkj]

Nice list. The only thing I would change is I would put the Division Bell at least 3 spots higher

[@Four_EightMusic]

Wow, hot take! 🔥 I'm here for it, though 😎

[@ianvincent69]

Excellent commentary and analysis. I mainly agree with your selection and would also put WYWH at no.1. Waters is a complete egomaniac and his insecurities, bitterness and cynicism come through in most of his stuff. DSOTM is not the best as the first quarter of the album is unlistenable. I start it at "Ticking away," and go on from there. Once you've heard "On the run" it becomes boring and annoying! And alot of PF is boring! Dogs is spoiled by that bit in the middle that goes nowhere (but it does have some of Gilmours best guitar). And, although, some of "The Wall" is amazing, some of it is too bitter and boring. I could never listen to it again all the way through. That's why WYWH is the best - because I can listen to it all the way through. It's brilliant! I don't agree with you about Syd Barrett, I can't listen to that earlier stuff. Gilmour is the better singer and one of the greatest guitarists of all time. If Barrett hadn't "left" then we'd never had gotten the PF that we know and love. Just my opinion though!

[@Four_EightMusic]

Great analysis! I think Floyd is an acquired taste, but it's such a GOOD taste that it often deceives me into thinking, "why doesn't everyone love this?" I sort of agree that the first 12 minutes are pretty rough on first listen. It took me a while to get onto it.

[@calliopivogiatzis2235]

I was bafflled when I found out that the song "Incarsuration of a Flower Child " was released in 1999. The song I heard on the radio 30 + years ago had a reoccurring baroque-like keyboard melody and a trippy 3 minute middle 8 guitar solo. with some lyrics sung by I believe Roger. Unlike some of Floyd's mid-60s songs,this tune was quite upbeat. The OUTRO sounded like remnents from the COMMITTEE LP parts 1 and 2and also,this song did not appear on any of Floyd's commercial LPs. The description of this song might be familiar to some,please let me know. Also,if anyone thinks they know this song's title, please share it with me

[@Four_EightMusic]

So, here's what my 5 minutes of research dug up. "Incarceration of a Flower Child" is a song by Marianne Faithfull from her 1999 album Vagabond Ways, where she takes songs by famous British songwriters and does a neo-cabaret sort of thing with them (Faithfull's bread and butter, it would seem). "Incarceration of a Flower Child" was written by Roger Waters, and I couldn't find any other recording of it but Faithfull's. There's no telling when Roger wrote this, but by all accounts, it first saw the light of day when Faithfull recorded it. Fun fact: Marianne Faithfull was Mick Jagger's on-again-off-again girlfriend in the late 60s and early 70s, and co-wrote the song "Sister Morphine" from the Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers.

[@calliopivogiatzis2235]

One lyric in the song,towards the end,sounded like;"PICTURES THROUGH TIME ". This could've been a "psudo" title for this song

[@wbiro]

The studio portion of Ummagumma elevated them above everyone else. They hated it. Little did they know... I was always waiting for more, expecting them to only get better at it. So disappointing that they didn't do any more of it, mistakenly listening to what amounted to pop critics...

[@Four_EightMusic]

So, your position is "Floyd started going downhill after Ummagumma?" Gotta admit, that's a new one 🤣😂

[@Tiago3501]

My top 3 Animals Dark side of the moon The wall

[@sorcerer666]

Loved your video, but you forgot to include Zabriskie Point

[@Four_EightMusic]

Legit 🤘Maybe could have mentioned it during More or Obscured. I don't think it should have gotten a slot of it's own, though, since other artists appeared on the soundtrack

[@sorcerer666]

I know what you mean. There was actually a lot of their songs that were not included on the soundtrack album. In fact enough that they could have made a full album out of it

[@doscwolny2221]

1.Animals 2.Dsotm. 3.Ummagumma.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Hey, whatever floats your boat, man. But .. Ummagumma??? 😅

[@doscwolny2221]

@@Four_EightMusic yep. It's great. You all under rate it.

[@shaynewest8757]

Saw them in january 78 on the animals tour at the old rotterdam arena. The giant pig got stuck halfway across the audience.

[@Four_EightMusic]

I think that was a common occurrence 😜

[@antoniogalianojerez9942]

Animals and the wall equals as two best. Wish you and dark side equals as 3 and 4.

[@scottjackson163]

You are out of your skull about Dark Side.

[@ericpastoral]

A few minor quibbles w your ranking but you make well articulated arguments throughout. And as you say it’s all very subjective. But what I really came here to say is that this video is an excellent analysis of every Pink Floyd album and overview of their career. Strong argument can be made for reediting this video into chronological order and renaming “A history of Pink Floyd one album at a time!”

[@Four_EightMusic]

Thanks! Interesting idea... I'll give it some thought 😎

[@notiolus]

Nice analysis, especially of "The Final Cut" - yeah they shoehorned the music and lost the cosmic along the way (but I agree I like its bite!). I appreciate you sharing your personal relationship with the music. I do have to put in a good word for More - I put on that pretty regularly. I like the experimentalism and suspect it benefits from the discipline of having to do short little vignettes for a film, which reigns in the out of control freeform of Ummagumma. And what you aptly call psychedelic folk, I love those songs (Green is the colour etc), and of course the album features a couple of tracks that are the closest they ever got to metal. When I say I put it on regularly, I mean far more often than, say, Atom Heart Mother, which I know is real controversial.... OK, I've put in more than one good word for More now! Must try and find the film some day....

[@Four_EightMusic]

Thanks! By the by, you can watch More on KZbin kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioXWY4Ssbdamh6c

[@notiolus]

@@Four_EightMusic Thanks for the headsup! Something to look forward to this weekend

[@SteveOSpielberg]

A very good ranking

[@Four_EightMusic]

Much appreciated 👍

[@chrisa6594]

Great effort. Mostly agree, but would swap the places of Dark Side and The Wall.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Thanks! That's legit. I think I put The Wall so high because it was my entry point to PF's music, and because Dark Side was a REALLY tough sell upon first hearing it

[@SteveBarker-q6c]

DSOTM No.3 🤣🤣🤣....one of the greatest and iconic albums ever made , agree with the top 3 but not the order , there will only ever be a definitive No.1

[@Four_EightMusic]

Yup 😎 It's a hot take, I know

[@AshtonRogers-se1zj]

I'm going to call it right at the top of the video: if Animals isn't #1,then a mistake has been made. Because that's the best album. And I mean in the entire history of recorded music.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Wow, that's QUITE the claim. Perhaps by " best" you mean "my favorite?" Because those two are very different 😎

[@AshtonRogers-se1zj]

@@Four_EightMusic well it's perfectly understandable that they'd be two different things to YOU... 😅

[@micdeva]

the Wall second and Ummagumma third last: the world turned upside down. Never mind... "The Division" A Momentary" and "Final cut" should be last in the charts. "Relics" is a collection (with only one unreleased song). With all due respect...

[@Four_EightMusic]

Well, "all due respect" would be none, so that's pretty generous 😂

[@ChezCaroetSylvain]

Wish you were here is a marvelous album, melodic, personal, atmospheric and everything else. The Wall is a wonderful concept album, filled with musical gems, riffs, hits. But none of these 2 reach the ankle level of DSOTM as far as composition, melodies, performance, and overall historical importance go. I know it's «trendy» to put Wish you were here as their best, but it's simply not. DSOTM is in another league.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Eh, I would disagree with the "composition, melodies, performance" bit. Dark Side starts with 2 minutes of music-less build-up, then comes "Breathe In the Air" for just 3 minutes, then beats and space sounds for the entirety of "On the Run," the just the sound of clocks ticking and alarms going off. The first time I listened to Dark Side, I was like, "Come ON! We're 10 minutes in, and we've had about 3 minutes of *actual* music! THIS is one of the best selling albums of all time??? You must be joking!" 😎 But obviously, it grew on me, and it didn't even take long for me to realize how amazing it is

[@ChezCaroetSylvain]

@@Four_EightMusic On the run was Roger and Dave's experimentation with new synths n gear, but they built the perfect prelude to timeless gems like Time, The great Gig, Money, Us and Them, Brain damage and eclipse. While Wish you were here had 2 masterpieces, Shine on and Wish you were here, the first with 4 minutes of wind and keyboard pad, and about 9 notes on the guitar! But Dark side was the very first REAL concept album, like a 1 piece with different parts, all linked together with inventive bridges, with strong themes such as time, love, drugs, war, cash, death, etc. (Sarge Pepper and Pet Sounds are great albums, but only whimsically conceptual) 1 theme in WYWH, the toughness of the music business. Not on the same level, on any account!

[@ChezCaroetSylvain]

Like Mozart, DSOTM will still be played 300 years from now, while the ghost of Syd Barrett will be long forgotten. Anyway, my top-3 would be DSOTM, The Wall, and Wish you were here or Animals as 3rd.

[@shaynewest8757]

​@ChezCaroetSylvain oh doesn't someone you've never met have the same opinion as you? Get over yourself.

[@Four_EightMusic]

@ChezCaroetSylvain Um, I think The Who, David Bowie, the Bee Gees, and countless others would take issue with your "very first *real* concept album" assertion 😅

[@chutspe]

I like "Relics", but it is indeed a strange compilation. It should have been a pure Singles-only-compilation with all the A- and B-sides on it, no album-tracks.

[@Four_EightMusic]

I think the issue is that this was a very *early* compilation. It's only 1971, and record companies may still have been learning how to do those and what music fans really wanted in greatest hits albums. Heck, the fans may have been learning that, too

[@robertkendall6660]

I’m thankful that they did Relics exactly as they did. The Pink Floyd that I love started with Meddle. IMO, Relics collects everything they recorded previously that needs to be in my music collection. I went through their early catalog a few years ago thinking I would buy on iTunes anything that I felt was needed. It turned out there was nothing needed that wasn’t already on that one compilation CD. For me it’s perfect for what it is.

[@WeldonSmith-h6i]

What about the early years when they were called frigid pink and the great song house of the rising Sun

[@Four_EightMusic]

You mean Frijid Pink, and they're not the same band en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frijid_Pink?wprov=sfla1

[@tom121curry]

ANIMALS =BEST ALABUM EVER. BY ANY BAND! just my opinion........

[@Four_EightMusic]

While I don't agree, I can say that Animals is one of the logical picks for that title 🤘

[@FSMDog]

Final Cut & Animals too low, Wall and Gilmour's too high.... But similar to other lists

[@Trunkfish]

Thank you for your number 1 pick you are correct, I was relieved dark side was 3 I think this a very best accurate list

[@Four_EightMusic]

Thanks so much! 😎

[@Mark-sr3dk]

Animals ís either number 1 or at the lowest #2. Anything less is an insult. The Wall isn't even close to the top. David Gilmore said what I believe ís true, The Wall is a good album and a half. You are clueless here.