The Chemical Brothers Albums Ranked

The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989.[2][3] They were pioneers (along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. They released their debut album Exit Planet Dust (1995) and it eventually went on to sell over a million copies worldwide. After attracting Virgin Records, the duo achieved more widespread success with their second album Dig Your Own Hole (1997), which topped the UK charts. In the UK, they have had six No. 1 album and 13 Top 20 singles, including two No. 1 hits. Their name came about in 1995 after they dropped their original name of “The Dust Brothers” due to the existence of a different band with the same name.[4] “The Chemical Brothers” refers to the duo’s 1993 groundbreaking “Chemical Beats,” which epitomized their genre-defining sound. In the United States, the musical act has won six Grammy Awards including Best Rock Instrumental Performance, Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronic Album of the year as recently as 2020. Here are all of The Chemical Brothers albums ranked.

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10. B-Sides Volume 1 (2007)

“For a compilation, B-Sides Volume 1 is sequenced professionally well and is an extra incentive to pick this up. It plays like a lost Chemical Brothers album, and fortunately, it’s a treasure – for the most part. Some typical (albeit typically competent) by-the-books beats make up these selections, such as H.I.A., Let Me in Mate, and Prescription Beats. But there’s also some of The Chemical Brothers’ prettiest works in Nude Night, Clip Kiss, and Silver Drizzle. Recommended for more than just hardcore fans.”

9. No Geography (2019)

“This was an album I wasn’t expecting to love as much as I did honestly. But the more I listened to it, the more I was just infatuated with the sound and the feel of the record. It feels as though its broken up into three parts with three different sounds. The first three tracks are these big and foreboding yet uplifting bangers that they’re known for, next three are these spacious and euphoric house tracks, then the last three are just straight up bangers. It is just a fantastic combination of their old sound and their new approach to sound.”

8. Further (2010)

“The culmination of everything that The Chemical Brothers had toyed with prior; the house-inspired grooves that lock you in from the get-go, the immediacy of pop music, the bombast, the build-ups, the transcendent moments of psychedelia, a seamless track-to-track feel of adventure and more ambitious shots of progressive influence than ever. I don’t even think I have done this album’s true feeling much justice by describing all of that either. It’s inspiring, it’s transcendent, it’s energizing, and feels like it is always moving, and moving, and moving.”

See more: The Best Albums of 1995

7. Born In The Echoes (2015)

“A return to form of sorts for the Chemicals. This album is great played loud and will reward you even more if you don a pair of headphones and really get your groove thing on. Big beats and nice interplay between the speakers make this an interesting and enjoyable listen throughout.”

6. We Are The Night (2007)

“This might not be as solid as from begining to end as Surrender or Dig Your Own Hole but I really think this has the best second half the Chemical Brothers has ever done. All Rights Reserved and We Are the Night I think are the only tracks that don’t hold up to the rest of the album. Do It Again and The Salmon Dance grew on me after a while from initially hating them. This album is definitely not a classic but from track 8 on, it is outstanding. The Pills Won’t Help You Now is one of the most beautiful songs I have heard in while. I also got this on itunes, I got the bonus track Seal, which is also good.”

5. Push The Button (2005)

“I think this album is great. There is a lot going on. You need to sit back and listen. I absolutely love the cover art. I think it is one of the best covers I have seen in a long time. This album is a regular in my rotation, especially when I am designing. Energy!”

See more: The Best Albums of 1994

4. Come With Us (2002)

“I have always felt this to be the Chemical Brothers’ most complete work, next to their debut album and with Surrender as a close third. No big beat fillers on here as we got on Dig your own hole -how influential their sophomore second was- and containing genre-defining songs with the outstanding Star Guitar, Come With Us, It Began in Afrika, The Test, Denmark… Couldn’t get enough of it back then and I regularly revisit this album. For me, this is a classic that changed my life as no other electronic album did. Near perfect and as psychedelic as its cover pretends.”

3. Exit Planet Dust  (1995)

“Exit Planet Dust knows what its purpose is, which is to get ya moving, and they accomplish this with flying colors. The first half of the album is one continuous mix of banger after banger after banger. One thing to notice on here is that this is the most analog of all the Chemical Brothers albums. There are electronic noises in the background and noises throughout, but the main focus is on the drum breaks. Speaking of the drum breaks, I get the sense that they were the least edited on this release too. Because of this, Exit Planet Dust to me is a lot closer to instrumental hip-hop than others would expect.”

2. Surrender (1999)

“This one really surprised me. Big beat for me is the sort of music genre that’s cool to listen to for a bit, but often lacks the depth to keep coming back for me. That was really my main issue with their previous album, Dig your Own Hole. In this one they bring back the big beats, and they are still pretty great, but they add psychedelia influences to make their sound palette that much more diverse. “asleep from the day” sees them go full dream pop, with the gorgeous guest vocals by Hope Sandoval. This does wonders to the album on the whole, to the point that i consider this one a vast improvement over their previous. Yet at the same time they still sound true to their sound, they deliver those heavy beats fitting for rave parties.”

See more: The Best Albums of 1993

1. Dig Your Own Hole  (1997)

“In this year in which electronic dance music defines its reign, the second album by this British electronic music duo composed by the geniuses of synthesizers and drum machines Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons respectively are in charge of delivering the break beat masterpiece, an unstoppable and devastating set with syncopated rhythms, abrasive keyboards and first level guests such as Schoolly D, Noel Gallagher, Beth Orton and Jonathan Donahue from Mercury Rev. With most part of the tracks pasted as if it were a DJ session and clear references to psychedelia, disco funk and progressive rock, “Dig Your Own Hole”, “Elektrobank” and “Setting Sun” stand out.”