New Order Albums Ranked

New Order is an English rock band formed in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook, and drummer Stephen Morris. The band formed after the demise of Joy Division, following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis; they were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. New Order’s integration of post-punk with electronic and dance music made them one of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 1980s They were the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records and its nightclub The Haçienda, and worked in long-term collaboration with graphic designer Peter Saville. Here are all of New Order albums ranked.

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10. Singles (2005)

“This collection left me cold. Good tunes but I think “Substance” is a much better collection. There’s a lot of their later material on it, much of which is not essential. Not a terrible place to begin the New Order odyssey, I’d say.”

9. Music Complete (2015)

“The first half of the album is up there with some o their best. Quality slides a little in the second half, but still very good. Return to form after the weak Waiting For The Sirens Call sees the electronic techno-pop they’re famous for back to the fore. Poppier and more house than ever before even if the absence of Peter Hook remains a sore point.”

8. Republic (1993)

“This is a pretty underrated album, this album grew on me quickly and there are many tracks here I found to be overlooked such as Liar, Chemical, Everyone Everywhere, Young Offender, etc. The singles are great too. I don’t know how people aren’t paying attention to this album.”

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7. Get Ready (2001)

“A great comeback album after the long eight years when Republic was released. Every song on here is fantastic. Surprisingly good. New Order drifts from the synthpop/dance arena a little more towards (alt) rock. It works! Sounds more like my favorite period…low life and brotherhood era”

6. Movement (1981)

“I really like this record. Despite the stylistic differences to what New Order would go on to do, there is definitely a transition feel to the music contained within the LP. The famous New Order bass makes an appearance, and the songwriting is undeniably them. It’s a post-punk album, but only by dint of the fact that the band was still forming from the ashes of Joy Division, as they take in alternative dance and dance-punk as genres too. I feel they went on to stronger things, but could completely understand someone who felt they peaked with their first release.”

5. Brotherhood (1986)

“Brotherhood is so well-written that, yeah, the production is a bit muddy, but track-for-track, it’s incredibly solid. A very wobbly album, especially the first side. Side two does its best to redeem things as “Bizarre Love Triangle”, “All Day Long”, and “Every Little Counts” are all strong tracks.” 

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4. Technique (1989)

“While the songs are danceable, personally my preferred atmosphere for listening to this album is parked somewhere just looking at the stars. Dream Attack is a standout on Technique, and is an excellent closer, continuing the comedown from the first half of Vanishing Point (another standout). However, it will have the most power when heard in its proper place in the tracklist. As such, I must recommend this album as a whole for anyone looking to get the most out of it. In the right state of mind, I think it will be worth it.”

3. Substance (1987)

“Let me try and put this into context: you have a band that changed the definition of what an indie rock/alternative band could be, pioneered the new wave genre, released a number of songs that become club classics and have since gone on to define electronica and dance music. And then, you take all of their best work, their biggest hits, a couple of remixes and some previously unheard work, and put into a double album which has one of the best names for an album ever. The result is Substance.”

2. Low-Life (1985)

“This album offers great guitar play but bad vocals. There are not many really good songs like “The Perfect Kiss” or “Elegia” but even the weaker material always shows glimpses of greatness and the guitar sound of New Order ist very unique. Note that there’s also a 12 Inch Mix of “The Perfect Kiss” and a 17 minute version of “Elegia” on the 2008 Collector’s Edition of “Low-Life”.

1. Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)

“Power, Corruption, & Lies sees New Order inching further away from their old sound in Joy Division. They ease you into it by starting with a straight post-punk song and the album slowly morphs into a synthpop project. Pretty great. Every song is enjoyable, definitely worth a listen.”