Todd Rundgren Albums Ranked

Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He is known for his sophisticated and often unorthodox music, his occasionally lavish stage shows, and his later experiments with interactive entertainment. He also produced music videos and was an early adopter and promoter of various computer technologies, such as using the Internet as a means of music distribution in the late 1990s. Rundgren is considered a pioneer in the fields of electronic music, progressive rock, music videos, computer software, and Internet music delivery. Here are all of Todd Rundgren albums ranked.

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8. Runt: The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren (1971)

“This selection absolutely defies age. Plus, it’s just a straight on lovely collection of tunes whose dynamics reveal a comfortable warmth of ballads and pop. It was made at a time whereby engineers weren’t obsessed with digital, sterile, clinical producing. All the instruments sound real and not contrived in the least.”

7. Initiation (1975)

“This album combines pop sensibilities with progressive rock and not a little humor. (Todd is impish.) The long-form, “Treatise on Cosmic Fire,” is named after a book by Alice A. Bailey, a prolific medium and occultist. Todd’s music was influenced by Bailey in the early stages of his band, Utopia.”

6. Healing (1981)

“None of the lyrics are clear as to whether it’s about healing the mind or body or whether it has to do with spiritual cleansing or just general self improvement. In the end it would almost seem that none of these varieties of “healing” are all that separate and in fact interrelate. Musically most of the songs on this album play out as a series of separate pieces that all flow into one basic idea. Todd’s gift for melody and a potent mixture of progressive jazz,soul,pop and electronica are all evident in this music. “

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5. Runt (1970)

“Perfect blue-eyed Philadelphia soul, Runt has earned a place in pop history alongside Laura Nyro’s incredible Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. Every song is superb. Todd lost the plot after becoming mesmerized by the glitter of his own gadgetry.”

4. Todd (1974)

“There’s good and bad in the eclecticism. The electronic songs are mostly interesting, with some going on a bit long. The silly sung songs are infrequent but good. The rockers are pretty good and interesting. It’s the love ballads, and the slow songs in general that drag and bring down the album, because they don’t fit. In this goofball album we switch to serious sounding songs. In that way it’s a more eclectic album than say, The White Album, but the diversity in the songs is also somewhat jarring (unlike the White Album).“

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3. Hermit Of Mink Hollow (1978)

“HERMIT covers a range of styles from Motown to bossa to hard rock to light pop, so each track is a unique experience. At the same time, Rundgren’s surprising lyrics, harmonic changes, full arrangements, and vocal flexibility unite the album as a cohesive whole. He’s not a particularly happy camper on most of these songs but, like Steely Dan, he sometimes gives his irony an upbeat feel.”

2. A Wizard, A True Star (1973)

“A brilliant album showing Todd at his peak as a songwriter. “International Feel”, “Does Anybody Love You?”, and “Just One Victory” are all-time great tracks. There’s always something going on, and almost always something different will be happening very soon, which keeps it interesting.”

1. Something/Anything? (1972)

“The best of the overproduced the late ’60s. As with most artists that come a bit late to the party, you kinda wished the thing it reminisces actually sounded like it. A bit more catchy, production a bit too perfect, more crazy sound effects that the studio era has brought to flex on them, girls. And that’s exactly what that era had brought, now composition was something not only for classical music, now nerds could be cool, something that would become very clear in ten years. A hint- no, a whiff- no, a small breeze of the new wave can be heard on “breathless”, a joke about that weird-ass talkbox that sounds like you’re in sleep paralysis and trying to scream.“