My Morning Jacket Albums Ranked

My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster.^[1] The band’s sound, rooted in rock and country, is often experimental and psychedelic. The group amassed a following beginning in the 2000s in part due to their live performances. The group first found success in Europe after the release of its debut album, The Tennessee Fire (1999). Its next release, At Dawn (2001), led to a large stateside following and preceded several lineup changes. After signing to major label ATO Records, the group released two albums, It Still Moves (2003) and Z (2005), with the latter representing a critical breakthrough. The group’s next release, Evil Urges (2008), was more polarizing for fans and critics, while Circuital (2011), its sixth album, saw a more measured response. After many years of side projects and touring, the band’s seventh album, The Waterfall, was released in 2015, followed by The Waterfall II in 2020. Here are all of My Morning Jacket’s albums ranked.

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9. The Waterfall II, 2020

“The most consistent MMJ album in some time, and yes this one really sounds like a MMJ album. Lots of really good songs but not many great ones. Track for track though this is pretty satisfying and the fans are going to eat this one up. Favorites are “Feel You”, “Run It” and “Wasted”.

8. Okonokos, 2006

“Pretty much the ultimate My Morning Jacket release, in fact in my opinion you could pretty easily skip all the studio albums and just get this one. On that note though after playing this for the last three days I think I’m going to have to pull out _At Dawn_ for yet another listen. _Okonokos_ is a lot to take in, but take your time with it and I’m sure you will grow to love it.”

7. The Tennessee Fire, 1999

“One of the most compelling songs on the record, They Ran, is Jim recalling a scarlet night out, being brushed by a thug who stole his lighter. The woozy bass and this alt. dance coming from the drums makes this one a hidden gem. I Will Be There When You Die is a showcase of Jim’s delivery and a youthful penchant for melancholy and love, which reading the lyrics, can be platonic or romantic.”

See more: Arcade Fire Songs Ranked

6. At Dawn, 2001

“This is the one really great MMJ record where I sort of understand why people wouldn’t like it. It’s one of their two really long albums and, frankly, It Still Moves justifies it’s length better. It’s not that this has bad material on it per se, it’s just that there’s some stuff that really ups the length of the record and isn’t absolutely uncuttable.”

5. The Waterfall, 2015

“Took me a while to get there, but I am now confident that this is almost as good a record as Z. This is their most unabashedly happy record yet, and I’m happy to report that they pull it off in a genuine and non-obnoxious way! What’s more, this record suffers from none of the mistakes that MMJ have made in the past: the length is manageable (unlike in several of their early records), the track list is consistent (unlike in Evil Urges) and there’s real intensity to counterbalance the more emotional and laid back moments (unlike stretches of Circuital).”

4. Evil Urges, 2008

“Evil Urges is not so much a departure as a consolidation. It takes the dance-oriented rhythms that characterized Z and bonds them with a return to the massive guitar heroics of their earlier albums. Gone for the most part is the alien keyboard sound that made Z so startling and different, but also gone is the band’s signature reverb, the cavernous sound that made them seem otherworldly. Jim Jones’ soaring, angelic tenor is subdued in the mix and comes across more as a funk/soul falsetto.”

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3. Circuital, 2011

“Circuital has an interesting dynamic for me, as so many recent albums I’ve enjoyed start strongly, there’s a dip in quality through the middle and then usually concludes by regaining the lost ground towards the end. Circuital isn’t like that, as it peaks towards the middle with “Outta my System” and “Holdin’ on to Black Metal”, two of my favourite My Morning Jacket tunes to date and the type of reason that I find myself drawn back to the band despite the fact that I know that not all of their albums will appeal to me. Sure, they’re a pair of accessible rock tunes, but hey, that’s why I like them.”

2. It Still Moves, 2003

“Honestly this is kind of just a nice album to listen to and turn off your brain to, it really doesn’t merit deep analysis lyrically or musically, it’s just… very pleasant but still musically interesting country/indie rock things or whatever. Maybe it runs a bit long – the last third of the album is mostly these longer, emptier tracks that are nice but don’t stand out nearly as much as the rest before them, and One Big Holiday is probably the least representative song on the album despite being one of if not the best, too, though Dancefloors and Run Thru definitely make a play for that spot. I dunno, I just really like listening to this.”

1. Z, 2005

“Absolutely awesome. This album offers an embarrassment of riches, whether it’s ethereal brightness and soaring vocals of “Wordless Chorus”, the perfect pop-rock innocence of “Off the Record” or the delicate balladry of “Knot Comes Loose”. The most impressive may be the blistering multi-guitar brilliance to close out “Lay Low”, which sounds like vintage Allman Brothers re-imagined for the new millennium. They’re a reasonably young band, but this feels like one of those milestones that won’t get topped. They certainly didn’t even come close with the follow-up, Evil Urges“