Scorpions Albums Ranked
Scorpions are a German heavy metal band formed in 1964 in Hanover by Rudolf Schenker. Since the band’s inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal. The lineup from 1979 to 1992 was the most successful incarnation of the group and included Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), Francis Buchholz (bass), and Herman Rarebell (drums). The band’s only continuous member has been Schenker, although Meine has appeared on all of Scorpions’ studio albums, while Jabs has been a consistent member since 1979, and bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and drummer Mikkey Dee have been in the band since 2003 and 2016 respectively. During the mid-1970s, with guitarist Uli Jon Roth part of the line-up, the music of the Scorpions was defined as hard rock. After the departure of Roth in 1978 and short-lived reunion with Schenker’s brother Michael, Matthias Jabs joined and, following the guidance of producer Dieter Dierks, the Scorpions changed their sound towards hard rock/heavy metal, mixed with rock power ballads. Throughout the 1980s the group received positive reviews and critical acclaim from music critics, and experienced commercial success with the albums Animal Magnetism (1980), Blackout (1982), Love at First Sting (1984), the live recording World Wide Live (1985), Savage Amusement (1988) and Best of Rockers ‘n’ Ballads (1989), which is their best-selling compilation album. Rolling Stone described the Scorpions as “the heroes of heavy metal”, and MTV called them “Ambassadors of Rock”. The band has influenced a number of acts such as Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, Skid Row, Cinderella, Doro, Helloween, Hanoi Rocks, and Yngwie Malmsteen. The Scorpions were ranked number 46 on VH1’s Greatest Artists of Hard Rock program, with “Rock You Like a Hurricane” at number 18 on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. “Still Loving You” ranked 22nd place among the greatest ballads. They have received prestigious awards such as three World Music Awards, a star on the Hollywood Rock wall, and a presence in the permanent exhibition of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2015 the group celebrated its 50th anniversary. Here are all Scorpions albums ranked.
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10. Unbreakable ( 2004)
“This album will not disappoint life long Scorps fans (such as myself) and it will (hopefully) draw in a lot of new, younger fans. However, I think it is important to listen to the CD more than once to truly appreciate the effort the guys put into creating this great collection of music.”
9. Savage Amusement (1988)
Savage Amusement and Love at First Sting were at the pinnacle of the Scorpions career. At the height of the 80’s “Hair Metal” bands comes this band that had been around since the early ’70s and we’re still hammering out new and great-sounding songs. They along with several other bands stood the test of time and were better for having done that. These two albums were and are my favorite albums from the Scorpions.”
8. Return To Forever (2015)
“There’s been a few editions of Return To Forever (2015) already released, but this (1 CD, 2 DVD set) is by far the best! CD 1 includes 19 total songs (7 being bonus tracks) with top-notch production and sound quality! The additional 2 DVD’s (not in Blu-ray HD format, All Region 0), featuring concerts in (Brooklyn, NY 9-12-15) and (Hellfest Concert – France 6-20-15), both work just fine on US. DVD players and run wild with excellent HQ video captured in Dolby 2.0.! Other features include a band documentary, some cool videos, and interviews regarding all the album tracks! So if you your a huge fan of the Scorpions, Return To Forever (Tour Edition) is the complete package running wild to purchase ASAP!”
7. Crazy World (1990)
“This is one of the great albums that came out around 1990. Metal started to decline in popularity and flare, as well, but this album delivers as well as any, along with Maiden’s 1990 release, ‘No Prayer For The Dying’. There’s 2 ballads on Crazy World, which, unless you were in hibernation for the decade of the 1990’s and beyond, are essential vinyl masterpieces. The other 9 songs on this release flat out rock! This is one of the greats and has rebounded nicely, since Metal’s big comeback over the last 15 years or so!”
6. In Trance (1975)
“One of the best Scorpions releases, I think. I think the best period of the group was until Uli Jon Roth left the group in ca 1979. Uli is one of the best guitarists in the world, and I really enjoy this CD. I recommend it to everybody who likes this kind of rock. Anyway Scorpions is a popular group consisting of professional musicians!”
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5. Virgin Killer (1976)
“Virgin Killer has a groundbreaking sound that changed metal forever.
The guitar work of Uli Jon Roth is breathtaking and Klaus’ voice is as better as it could be, tracks like Pictured Life and Catch Your Train represent this brilliant combination really well. Other than those great hits there are many amazing songs to be found on here such as the ballads Yellow Raven and In Your Park which have deep lyrics and soft melodies and heavy rockers like Hell Cat and Polar Nights which have this Hendrix feel that Roth had at the time. The title track was one of the blueprints for Thrash Metal and Speed Metal and includes an insane riff and a face melting solo from Uli. In conclusion, this album is a well written and produced masterpiece that suffered miserably because of its disgusting artwork that attracted too much attention and made people miss out the brilliant music that is on here, such a shame.”
4. Animal Magnetism (1980)
“I think this is one of the best Scorpions releases to this day. You can tell the band is hungry and trying to put out quality music. There are some hidden gems on the CD that you may not have heard and some have been played on the radio a lot more. I don’t want to reveal these as you should buy this CD, a true rock collection. If you like music from this era, this CD is one you will probably go back to many times.”
3. Lovedrive (1979)
“This is actually a diverse hard rock album for its time and everything works. The aggressive tracks on this release are top notch and while they would write songs in this vein on future releases, none of them would possess the thunder or the delivery of “Can’t Get Enough” and “Another Peace of Meat”. In fact, the latter track has arguably their heaviest riff period and they have a LOT of heavy riffs. The mid-tempo instrumental “Coast to Coast” is a killer and the guitar work is sick while “Always Somewhere” is a fantastic and very underrrated ballad. “Is There Anybody There?” actually has a cool reggae beat in its verses and the band pull it off well while still sounding like themselves. “Loving You Sunday Morning” and the driving title track are also fantastic songs. Finally, “Holiday” is a gentle acoustic ballad that briefly becomes a loud anthem before returning to its quieter proceedings. All told, a great album by a talented band whose work has come a bit underrated over the years. Highly recommended.”
2. Love at First Sting (1984)
“This is an all-time great classic album. The vinyl sounds really good, nice and quiet without a lot of noise in the background that some older LP’s have. Highly recommended! This is a good place to start with the new remasters, as it is priced a bit lower than the rest and it rocks!”
1. Blackout (1982)
“The album kicks off with the title track, an account of drinking just a bit too much, based on a Rudolf Schenker night out if memory serves. It’s quite magnificent. Can’t Live Without You follows, a track that is just as magnificent. I seem to recall this being a great live workout for the band. You don’t think it can get any better after this opening salvo, but it does with No One Like You. Some stand out, almost Bonhamesque drumming from the superb Herman Rarebell on the drums on this one. You Give Me All I Need and this one too is utterly brilliant. How can they deliver such quality? The next track Now only slightly drops in quality before we are hit again by Dynamite. The title of this one says it all. Arizona follows and is perhaps the only slight disappointment. China White and When the Smoke is Going down ensure that this album can be called a bona fida classic. The songwriting is top-notch, and the band is on fire. A must buy.”