The Doors Albums Ranked

The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison’s lyrics and his erratic stage persona, and the group was widely regarded as representative of the era’s counterculture. The band took its name from the title of Aldous Huxley’s book The Doors of Perception, itself was a reference to a quote by William Blake. After signing with Elektra Records, the Doors released eight albums in five years, some of which are considered among greatest of all time, Here are all The Door’s albums ranked from worst to best.

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6. The Soft Parade (1969)

“This is the Doors most ambitious album ever. They went way out on a limb with this one because they changed up their style dramatically. It was not well received and the critics jumped all over it. However, they knew what they were doing. They continued to mature and grow and chose to go in a new direction. This is my second favorite Doors album. They took a very new, creative and fresh approach to their music. In this album they used horn and classical music elements to add emphasis and detail to their songs, messages and music and pulled it off very well. The creative ability of this band was incredible. It is just too bad that we had to lose Jim so early on because the potential of this band was tremendous. There was a lot of music left in them, but it never happened (such a shame). This album is very highly recommended.”

5. Waiting for the Sun (1968)

“The Doors’ third album is a mixed bag. If you are a fan you will want this one, however, more casual or less committed listeners might find it puzzling. It contains some of the band’s best numbers as well as some songs which seem to be works in progress. The songs in the first category include Hello I Love You, Not To Touch The Earth, Five To One, Love Street, The Unknown Soldier, Spanish Caravan, Summer’s Almost Gone. That’s enough to justify the purchase.”

See More: Aerosmith Albums Ranked

4. Strange Days (1967)

“If all the Doors you’ve ever heard are the “hits”, please buy this CD. This is the infamous “not what the record company wanted” album that Morrison had to pitch fits to get made. But he wouldn’t compromise, so the company released it without much of a push and some say they were going to drop the Doors altogether if they didn’t get something more commercial for the next album. So with no big hit songs and the music taking an unexpectedly divergent path from what Doors fans were used to, sales were disappointing and Strange Days became the album that critics loved to show off their famous-band-bashing rhetoric with. You still hear it today when they talk about this album historically.”

3. Morrison Hotel (1970)

“I was recently asked what one singer would I like to see in person. It is JIM MORRISON. More for the voice and style than anything else. Yes, I would choose him over Sinatra, Bennett, Jagger, McCartney, McGraw, you name it. And this particular album is their best. Waiting For The Sun, Peace Frog, the list is phenomenal. Every album the Doors did was incredible. They were a gift to music.This is original class!”

2. L.A. Woman (1971)

“It was the winter of 1970-71 and The Doors had some battle scars from the past two years and they needed to find some peace and find the music once more. In the Doors Workshop in Los Angeles there was seclusion form the outside world and it is here that the story of LA Woman begins. “Love Her Madly” “The WASP” “L’America” “Riders On The Storm” and the title track are some strong songs and the blues fitted between “The Changeling” “Been Down So Long” “Cars Hiss By My Window” and “Crawling King Snake” add to wealth you find on this collection.”

1. The Doors (1967)

“This record was a breath of really fresh air, if not hazy blue smoke, in a variety of ways … the first being that it was an American band, and they were challenging the British Invasion, more aptly, The Beatles, with darker more prophetic lyrics that reflected the underside of the Flower Power movement, and in many respects, is probably responsible for its demise.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the movie, but to have been there when this record hit the streets was an event like no other. If you were lucky enough to have gotten the album instead of the 45 rpm, then you were in for a real treat, because once you got past the hit, the music was like opening a long lost and forbidden book of truth, passion, horror, and total abandonment … all set to a new blues / rock beat, with psychedelic overtones.”