The Replacements Albums Ranked

The Replacements were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979. Initially a punk rock band, they are one of the main pioneers of alternative rock. The band was composed of the guitarist and vocalist Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bass guitarist Tommy Stinson and drummer Chris Mars for most of its existence. Following several acclaimed albums, including Let It Be and Tim, Bob Stinson was kicked out of the band in 1986, and Slim Dunlap joined as lead guitarist. Steve Foley replaced Mars in 1990. Towards the end of the band’s career, Westerberg exerted more control over the creative output. The group disbanded in 1991, with the members eventually pursuing various projects. A reunion was announced on October 3, 2012. Fans affectionately refer to the band as The ‘Mats, a nickname that originated as a truncation of “The Placemats,” a mispronunciation of their name. Here are all of The Replacements albums ranked.

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10. For Sale: Live At Maxwell’s 1986 

“85 minutes of great punk rock live show. The Replacements put up a track list that was basically a best of by this stage, and effectively amplify the strength of these songs by their very energetic, sloppy performances. The crowd interactions and haziness given by booze and drugs help to give it a few special touches.´”

9. Dead Man’s Pop 

“This is a box set full of demos and live recordings, but the real attraction here is the Matt Wallace version of Don’t Tell a Soul, the Mats’ most hated album. Based on a rough mix of the album by its original producer before it was sent off for a more radio-friendly remix, this version is allegedly closer to the band’s original vision for these songs.”

8. All For Nothing/Nothing For All 

“Half best-of, half rarities comp, this one sort of fumbles about and could’ve been handled better in many respects, but at least the powers that be haven’t forgotten Minnesota’s most self-destructive rockers… The first disc is nearly perfect, although perhaps better represented by the later release, Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am? The second disc has its moments, but like all rarities compilations, suffers from an overabundance of half-baked ideas, throwaway tracks, and alternate takes of already perfect tunes… Satellite is cool, and We Know The Night, but mostly, you’d be better served by picking up the single-disc best-of.”

7. Don’t Tell A Soul 

“Sure, “Don’t Tell a Soul” could hit harder, but it’s also an album that’s at least twice as good as its reputation. The songs range from good to fantastic. “Asking Me Lies” is one of the band’s very best songs, “I’ll Be You” is supposed to be a single-sell out but is terrific, and others such as “Achin’ to Be,” “Talent Show” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Ghost” are lovely, yearning things that, yes, could have a little more presence but are the farthest thing from embarrassments.”

6. Hootenanny 

“The record collector is renegade archivist. I sift through the bins and pass this up several times until one day it hits me this is historically significant and must be saved, preserved, for future generations. This is a record of juvenile noise we called rockandroll. For the record album archivist/collector, it sometimes is enough knowing a Holy Grail record’s finally in your collection. In the Replacement’s catalog, I don’t think of this as a HOly Grail record, but it’s close. I save that designation for Let It Be. But this is near-Holy Grail, it is along the paved way to greatness the ‘Mats undertook to Let It Be.”

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5. Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash 

“This is one of those rare occasions where the bonus material on a reissue actually strengthens the original release. The Replacements were a drunk-punk band at this point anyway, so it’s not like some rough demos are going to cloud their reputation. Not their best album by any means, but especially with the second disc, this really is an essential album for anyone that likes their power pop fried to a crisp.”

4. All Shook Down 

“As others said, this essentially is a Paul Westerberg solo album and it sounds like him trying to sound like REM. What I didn’t remember was how well that works and how good the production still sounds. It may lack the energy and variety of earlier albums but it’s a consistent, classy singer-songwriter album that heart and serious earworms.”

3. Pleased To Meet Me 

“Contains the jazz influenced “Nightclub Jitters,” the teenage suicide anthem “The Ledge,” the power pop gem “Never Mind,” the slow acoustic “Skyway,” and one of the greatest songs of all time, “Alex Chilton.” I don’t care if you’re a Replacements fan or not, this is essential listening.”

2. Tim 

“The major label debut of the classic alternative rock band The Replacements, Tim is often considered their best album. Now when you talk about the band’s best album, you have to give some kind of mention of Let It Be. I would say that the two albums are about equal in quality. But they are certainly not the same sound. Let It Be was raw and messy, seemed to be thrown together but that gave the album a certain charm that just felt so real that it was hard to resist and so easy to love. The songs were filled with everything: humor, random remarks, open-hearted emotion, etc.”

1. Let It Be 

“What a complete mess. For people in their adolescence and 20’s it works best. Relationship problems, insecurity, having fun with friends, it’s all here ready to be taken’ in. I can never get enough of “Unsatisfied,” it’s the one song I go to when I feel like I don’t have control over anything. Let’s out all my aggression and then some. “Androgynous” is an amusing little number and everybody can relate to the frustrations sang about in “Answering Machine.” Paul Westerberg is the main attraction here.”