Pearl Jam Albums Ranked
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Seattle, Washington. The band’s 2020 lineup consists of founding members Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar) and Jeff Ament (bass) as well as drummer Matt Cameron, who joined in 1998. Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a session/touring member with the band since 2002. Drummers Jack Irons, Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain and Dave Abbruzzese are former members of the band.
Formed after the demise of Gossard and Ament’s previous band, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with its debut album, Ten, in 1991. One of the key bands in the grunge movement of the early 1990s, its members often shunned popular music industry practices such as making music videos or giving interviews. Here are all of Pearl Jam’s albums ranked.
Don’t miss out on the TIMELESS Pearl Jam music below! Click to experience the forefront of the GRUNGE movement!
11. Binaural (2000)
“6 albums, 6 different journeys through sound and melodies that no other band has ever treaded on before. Binaural is another masterpiece, though softer then all there previous efforts and a bit similar to the Yield sound (usually PJ changes a lot more in sound btwn albums but hey Yield rocked so who cares?) In short Pearl Jam is NOT and has NEVER BEEN Grunge. Bush is grunge ppl good grief. They have no category and that’s what makes them so timeless. They surpass any fads, and never sell out. They even contain a rage-against-the-machine-ish contempt for society which gives the band an even stronger image to us fans. Keep on Rockin Pearl Jam! When were all old, they will STILL be around just like the Rolling Stones. Legends in the Making. Its nice to see we have a band like this in our generation.
10. Riot Act (2002)
“Huge Pearl Jam fan old and new and this album is my least favorite of any of them, that said I still like it. For me the standouts are the slower cleaner “I Am Mine” and Thumbing My Way” the album has a couple of throw away tracks in Bu$hleaguer (I get it you hate GW) and Arc (okay you’re spiritual or something) Much of the remaining songs sound like garage band jam sessions complete with freestyle stream of conciseness lyrics. Remember I am a huge PJ fan and like their gritty uptempo music from Ten to Lightning Bolt this album just felt like they were trying too hard or not trying enough… I’m not sure.”
9. Pearl Jam (2006)
“All the tracks are brilliant here! Pearl Jam have really got this down to a fine art now. Severed Hand is a standout track but Worldwide Suicide, Marker in the Sand, Army Reserve & Inside Job are just superb. Lyrics & music just typical Pearl Jam excellence. This is a “must have” for anyone who likes Pearl Jam, or just likes good music.”
8. Lightning Bolt (2013)
“There’s a sequence on this album, from Mind Your Manners through to Pendulum where Pearl Jam are writing their best stuff since Yield. Therefore it’s slightly disappointing the album tails off at the end. Opener Getaway is by the numbers Pearl Jam, although enjoyable it’s not a stand out. Mind Your Manners is their best balls out rocker since Do The Evolution back in 1998. The title track Lightning Bolt is wonderful, in a Corduroy kind of way, that good. Infallible has their funkiest tiff for a while. Sirens is a little power ballad(ish) but guitarist McCready saves the song with a seriously wicked solo! After a spooky Pendulum, things start to go wrong. Swallowed Whole & Yellow Moon (like Getaway) are PJ on cruise control, and the inclusion of a previous Vedder solo song Sleeping By Myself is baffling. Let The Records is a great song though, with a crazy riff from Stone Gossard, and an euphoric chorus.”
See More: Alice In Chains Albums Ranked
7. Gigaton (2020)
“I’m 40. So I was 12 when ten came out. Ten, vs & Vitalogy were my high school soundtrack. No code was good. Yield was excellent. Since then it’s been ok to not great. Lightning bolt was pretty good. I’m. On my third time through this album. It gets better every time. I’m ready to put this after the big 4 (ten, vs, Vitalogy & Yield). I was never able to get into Backspacer and the avocado album. This one is great. In my opinion the two singles are the worst two songs on the album. Quick escape, comes and goes, retrograde & river cross are highlights. Maybe it’s my age but this album is great. Recommend.”
6. No Code (1996)
“I think there is no need to say how great pearl jam is as a rock band. If you are reading this, you already know what you are checking out now. NO CODE is a great album, even though media, (commercial) music industry and many other music critiscist weren’t quite fond of PJ’s anti-commercial-more-subjective-experimental way of creating outstanding music philosophy. You know that, and as a PJ fan you know that this art concept of the NO CODE album is unique. This vinyl edition, as the cd edition, comes in a 4 way fold out picture sleeve, and includes the 9 Polaroid pictures with size 12″ aprox. inside a pictured inner card-holder, and of course the vinyl itself comes in another pictured inner holder. It is such a great item to have as a PJ fan.”
5. Backspacer (2009)
“After reading reviews from “Backspacer” and have heard a couple of tunes that I liked, I decided to pick it up. I’m glad I did as I find this to be a solid hard rock album from the band. “Backspacer” seems to be a bit more upbeat that many of the band’s albums moving somewhat away from political and social commentary and as others have mentioned the album seems to have an element of fun to it. All of the songs are short and concise. Personally I think some of the tracks could have been fleshed out a bit more, but this is more a matter of personal taste than a critisism. Overall “Backspacer” is a solid album from a band that has outlived most of it’s peers.”
4. Yield (1998)
“This is one of the more collaborative albums in that Gossard and Ament are equally responsible for lyrics this time around w EV. This album has the favorites Given to Fly and Wishlist and the awesome Do the Evolution…such satirical, perfect EV (“I’m a thief…I’m a liar…there’s my church, I sing in the choir”) ..love it, along with Gossards rhythm. Hoo! Some of my favorite lyrical work done on this album. Fun and sometimes in your face, which is why we love PJ. I didnt care much for the experimental Push Me… but easy to forgive because the rest of the album is just so FINE.”
3. Vitalogy (1994)
“This is for the kids who complain that all the PJ records don’t resemble TEN…let me ask a question, if all the Metallica albums sounded like Kill em all, if all the Slayer records sounded like Hell Awaits, if all the Alice in Chains records sounded like Facelift, if all the Pantera albums sounded like Cowboys from Hell, would you buy them? It is a little thing called evolution, and for the most part I’ll bet most of you still think the way you did when you were 6…wake up children, we all age, our tastes progress, and the artists are the same way. If you were a painter, would all your works look like the first..i doubt it, if you were a guitarist would all your riffs and solos sound the way they used to, most likely not, and if they did, you would have a very small, backwoods group of fans. As for this record and all the PJ works I hear, it rocks, and the fact that they basically left mainstream makes me enjoy their work even more.”
2. Vs. (1993)
“The album is great! I’m not gonna lie…I’ve never really listened to this album until now and i love every song here. Sound quality is good and the record itself is in good condition. I would highly recommend this to anybody looking to hear Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam’s incomparable second album sounds really amazing on vinyl played Really Loud on a nice stereo. Highly recommended!”
1. Ten (1991)
“This is a classic grunge, alternative rock, whatever you want to call it album. If you’re introducing someone to this genre, this is one of the best representations you can supply. As for this particular pressing, many remastered albums are garbage, but this isn’t the case here. My analogy between both included album versions is like that of a classic muscle car vs modern day muscle. Take that as you will, but just remember: whichever is your preference, you can’t go wrong with this release.”
