Rod Stewart Albums Ranked
Sir Roderick David Stewart CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 120 million records worldwide. He has had nine number-one albums in the UK Albums Chart and his tally of 62 UK hit singles includes 31 that reached the top ten, six of which gained the #1 position. Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and the early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group, and then with Faces, though his music career had begun in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica.
In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the “Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists”. A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at #33 in Q Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time, and #59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time. As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces. Here are all Rod Stewart’s albums ranked.
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10. Out of Order (1988)
“This was more like it Rod! After three pretty dreadful albums in “Body Wishes”, “Camouflage” and “Every Beat Of My Heart”, Rod Stewart dispensed with quite a lot of the synthesized backing and went back to what he did much better – full-on guitar-driven rock. This is a good rock album, on the whole. Yes, there are still some eighties-style keyboard-replicated imitation brass parts but basically there is a “proper” drum sound, some great riffs and Stewart on rasping vocal form.”
9. Tonight I’m Yours (1981)
“TONIGHT I’M YOURS was Rod Stewart’s artistic comeback after the disposable disco sounds of BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN and FOOLISH BEHAVIOUR. Unfortunately, it was also his last good studio album until OUT OF ORDER, and his last great one until the 90s albums VAGABOND HEART, UNPLUGGED…AND SEATED, SPANNER IN THE WORKS, and WHEN WE WERE THE NEW BOYS. “
8. Blondes Have More Fun (1978)
“I really only wanted this album for a single of Rod Stewart’s that has failed to appear on any compilation I have seen. It’s called , “Aint Love A Bitch”. This album , Blondes Have More Fun arrived in the middle of Disco Mayhem in 1978 and though paying tribute, Rod did not pander to that musical style. I heard the album way back then but it has taken me till now to appreciate what a great album it is. “Standin’ in the Shadows of Love” and “The Best Days of My Life” are favorites of mine but give this album a listen from beginning to end a few times and let it grow on you. It will.”
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7. An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down (1969)
“The album features strong Stewart originals and innovative covers in a folk / rock / blues style. There are no weak tracks but Euen McCall’s “Dirty Old Town” and Stewart’s own “An Old Raincoat …” are exceptional. The musicians are excellent and include Ian McLagan (Small Faces; Faces), Ron Wood (Faces; Rolling Stones) and keyboard virtuoso Keith Emerson (Nice; Emerson, Lake and Palmer).This is an important album which combines the vocal prowess Stewart showed in the Beck group with excellent taste, great playing and flourishing creativity. “
6. Atlantic Crossing (1975)
“Always one of my favourite albums by Rod Stewart and indeed one of my favourite albums period! The second disc of extra material is interesting to see the process of working out the best arrangements etc for the songs. I still think the released product was the best versions of the material. It certainly is a change of style from the Mercury solo years, but I think it was more a broadening of his musical base rather than a change of style per se. There are some great rocking tracks in the fast half, yet it is the 2 mega hits in the slow half “I don’t want to talk about it” and “Sailing” that are the best known tracks from the album. “
5. A Night on the Town (1976)
“Nobody rocks or does a ballad like Rod Stewart. On ” A Night On The Town ” Rod does both and he does them like no one can. In ” The Killing of Georgie ( Part 1&2 ) Rod was singing about a ‘ then ‘ taboo subject, long before anyone else had the nerve. My other favorites are two out and out rockers as ONLY Rod can do, which are….Balltrap and The Wildside Of Life. To me, this is Rod’s best one ever !! If you like a great mix of rockers and ballads, this is the one to buy. Highly recommended.”
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4. Foot Loose & Fancy Free (1977)
“This was perhaps the last completely credible Rod Stewart album for many a year. The firs five had been excellent, the two “American” ones – “Atlantic Crossing” and “A Night On The Town” were more than acceptable. This was another one recorded since he became a Transatlantic superstar and the quality was still pretty good, just about holding on in there. Critically, I have seen it regularly panned as a lazy, complacent offering. I have to beg to disagree here. The next album meets that description, but this one, in my opinion, still has a lot to offer.”
3. Gasoline Alley (1970)
“Song for song, Gasoline Alley has the most amount of raw emotion in any one Rod Stewart Album.Gasoline Alley is a great song to play and jam on, I found. Plus its a totally beautiful song to just listen to. Country Comforts seems to have Elton doing Background vocals, but I can’t be sure. Out of all the beauty in this album, my one question is Who Is Lady Day ? I could only track down three possible meanings, but the one that makes sense is that this is an ode to Billy Holiday, and if it is, its gorgeous. “
2. Never a Dull Moment (1972)
“Similar to the previous year’s album; the mix of rock tunes and ballads blends effortlessly from one to another. The cover versions; Mama you been on my mind (Bob Dylan), Angel (Jimi Hendrix), I’d rather go blind (many) and closing rocker – from Rod’ s hero Sam Cooke, Twisting the night away, are all done in his own distinctive husky-voiced style, and makes them all his own. The clever instrumental link: interludes, is both simplistic and pure genius.”
1. Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)
“One of the greatest albums of the rock era, Every picture Tells a Story was the album that established Rod Stewart as a superstar who has had one of the longest careers in rock music. The album was the culmination of his solo work that had begun with The Rod Stewart Album on Mercury in late 1969, and continued with Gasoline Alley in the summer of 1970. With these albums Rod created his own sound, a mixture of folk, rock’ n’ roll, blues and soul that sounded basically acoustic even when using electric guitars, bass and organ in the mix of acoustic instruments. No one else was doing anything like this and the only somewhat similar sound would be Bob Dylan in 1965 and with The Band and perhaps Fairport Convention. The result was a raw and unpolished sound that evolved in these albums as the perfect accompaniment to Rod’s equally rough and sandpapery voice.”