Albums ranked worst to best
 

I just found this article. No surprise Rumours and Tusk are the top albums. But though I do like Tango, and I think it was cool to give it that 80s sound, and I agree it was a good product considering the stressful environment in which it was recorded, I wouldn't put it in a higher placer than the 1975 album.


I also disagree about the supposed legacy of Behind the Mask. This last (2018) lineup was, to me, the actual nadir, not Time. So I wouldn't consider that the table for that future (at that moment) lineup was a "legacy". I would rescue other more positive aspects of BTM than that.

Anyway, now I know why Rumours is my favorite album. (If you’ve laughed, cried, screamed, joked, aimlessly wandered, longingly pondered, emphatically loved, heartbreakingly lost, or assertively lived at any point in your life, Rumours is an album made for you.) :laugh:

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/fleetwo...worst-to-best/

I would not even try or dare to do this on all the albums. I would arrange them in tiers.

Top Tier
Mystery to Me
Rumours
White Album
Heroes are hard to find
Tusk
Live Album 1980

Upper tier
Mirage
Say You Will
Bare Trees
Future Games
Behind the Mask

Middle Tier
Tango
The Dance
Kiln House
Penguin

Lower Tier
Time

Note: One of my favorite FM songs is on Time. I ranked by order I would want to play and listen to from start to finish. Chris has great songs on Time as usual but I never embraced this era of the Mac. I am not that familiar with the other albums pre Christine since I never owned them so its unfair to rank those pre-1970.

Edit: I just noticed something about my spontaneous ranking. My top tier albums are consistent from 1973 to 1980. Every release in the top tier. As the years went on, it seems I was not impressed as much. As I have always stated Tusk changed the band forever. Post Tusk had the band chasing commercial pop success over rock and creativity. They also lost their rock chops until Behind The Mask came along.

Top Tier
Mystery to Me
Rumours
White Album
Mirage
Tusk

Upper tier
Live Album 1980
Heroes are hard to find
Bare Trees
Future Games

Middle Tier
Tango
The Dance
Kiln House
Time

Lower Tier
Penguin
Say You Will
Behind the Mask

I'll say that I only recently got Penguin and the pre Bob Welch stuff on CD(I have Penguin on vinyl, but never really got into it). I'm still not into that stuff yet. And yes, I've given them quite a few listens. Meh...

Great idea on arranging the albums in tiers and it looks like we're mostly on the same page. I'm including Then Play On in my top tier, it's an amazing albums that meshes Kirwan and Green perfectly and produces some of the band's best all time music. As well, the remasters of Future Games and Bare Trees brings out sonic pleasures never before heard, which moves both of these albums straight to the top. Mystery to Me though, is the true masterpiece of this era.

Top Tier:
Then Play On (how could an album containing Oh Well not be in the top tier)
Future Games. (this album shines as a remaster, wonderful sonic experience)
Bare Trees (as above, Dust, Homeward Bound and Sentimental Lady alone bring this to top tier)
Mystery to Me (early masterpiece)
White Album (really should be tied with Rumours, the album is outstanding)
Rumours (what more can be said, this is their best outing by far)
Tusk. (has aged very well but was too much of a left turn right after Rumours, perhaps after Rumours #2, it would've had better reception at the time)
Live '80 (and 75-77, 82) What's not to like, the band is on fire throughout)

Mid Tier:
Mirage (would have been better with more Nicks who was on fire at the time)
Behind the Mask (sounded like a real band again, but only half of the album is great)
Time (not as bad as reviews say, with great McVie songs and the outstanding singing of Bramlett as well as great production, makes this a mid tier album)
Say You Will. (way too long but some great moments)
The Dance (not raw enough and too many obvious overdubs on a live set)

Bottom Tier:
Tango in The Night (despite amazing McVie songs, too many missteps and lack of real instruments and the Nicks disaster keep it this low)
Penguin (some good moments, but also some real stinkers)
Heroes are Hard to Find (as with Tango, great McVie songs but Welch ran out of steam and he was done- despite being utterly amazing on the short tour that followed).
Kiln House (some love it, but I listen to this one least frequently, although I love Kirwan's songs)

I should have copyrighted my middle tier. Someone copied it almost exactly :eek: I would also like to remind him that Oh Daddy is in his top tier too.

I copied and pasted, then moved sh*t around. Because I'm LAZY.:lol:


And Oh Daddy is still Snoozeville, man.

1st Tier:

Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
Then Play On
Kiln House
Tusk
English Rose
Blues Jam at Chess

2nd Tier:

Mystery To Me
Bare Trees
Future Games
Mirage
Tango
Say You Will

3rd Tier:

Penguin
Mr. Wonderful
Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac
The Dance
Live

4th Tier:

Heroes Are Hard to Find
Time
Behind the Mask


Notes: I love the songs on Heroes but the performances of them on record are often anemic and muddled (the title tune, Prove Your Love, and Bad Loser being the exceptions). I’m one of few people who prefer 1/2 of Mr. Wonderful to the entire debut album. And English Rose is the only compilation album I see as a legitimate album.

Even the weakest Mac albums have at least a couple of great tunes.

1st Tier:

Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
Tango In The Night
Mystery To Me
Mirage
Heroes Are Hard to Find
Tusk


2nd Tier:

Bare Trees
Future Games
Behind The Mask
Then Play On


3rd Tier:
Penguin
Mr. Wonderful
Kiln House

4th Tier:

Say You Will
Time

I own just Rumours lineup albums, and based on that, I agree with jbrownsjr tiers.

Mine are the correct tiers. :laugh:

Top Tier
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac (The White Album)
Tusk
Tango In The Night
Mystery To Me
Bare Trees

Mid Tier
Then Play On
Mirage
Future Games
Heroes Are Hard To Find
Live
Fleetwood Mac (Dog & Dustbin)

Bottom Tier
Say You Will
Time
Behind The Mask
Kiln House
Mr Wonderful
Penguin

Lindsey is shaking his head how you use your Say You Will CD to level the bed. You know he put blood, sweat, and tears into that thing. Silver Girl wants to break free.

Shame!

The tracking order is wrong. The opening tune is garbage to introduce the new line up. I do like some of Stevie's songs (Illume is wonderful, love the guitar sound) . I don't like her getting more and more nasal. I do love some of Lindsey's writing and most of his songs.
But as an album, face it.. it doesn't flow like a BuckVie, or have that Tusk weirdness that makes it work. It doesn't have that sparkle of even Tango which flows so beautiful (until you know who ruins it).

Time has great songs, love the opening number, but the production is terrible and inconsistent. The running order is garbage as well.

I make a distinction between tiers of excellence and personal favorites. Naturally, these categories often overlap (as with the white album in tier one or Bare Trees in tier two). But I list Then Play On and Blues Jam at Chess in the first tier, whereas I personally enjoy and prefer listening to most of Future Games and much of Penguin to those records.

Excellence and comparative mediocrity, in my opinion, have to be considered independent of my personal taste.

But, damn, Otis Span’s voice and playing is enough to give me goosebumps!

I love What's The World Coming To, even though I can't stand the album. It's too f*cking LOOOONNNNGGGG, with too many snoozers.

This man's obsession with double albums while we're living in a "single downloads" world has dated his effectiveness as a producer. Brevity and the ability to self edit are gifts he seems to have lost.

So you would have said no to a double Buck/Vie album? Let the man produce and create. Lindsey was at his best on double albums. He calls himself a painter. You want him to paint only a half Mona Lisa?
Many of the same elements on Tusk are on Say You Will. People say SYW sounds cold. That's what they say about Tusk too on many songs.
Surely SYW would have been better with a few less songs, but I am glad they were not cut because I appreciate them.
I think I donated my Time cassette to a charity even though it has one awesome song. (Yes, I was still buying cassettes in 1995)

I would have accepted a double BuckVie, but would have rather they left if as it is. Releasing every clunker ISN'T a good thing. Some turds can't be polished.

Cut the Silver Girls of the world, and give us a nice 35 minute album. The casual listener will especially appreciate it, and that will most likely be reflected in sales. Blathering on and on(including the Silver Girls) because you don't know when to shut up(are you listening, $tevie?) isn't a gift.

I agree with Homer. The Tusk double album was a fantastic response to Rumours. The Awkward discombobulation, and flipping of everything on it's head is/was perfection. 4 million copies in 1979, very impressive for a double album.

Trying to repeat that direction for the sake of moving left of center, in 2003 was maybe, not so perfect.
A nice try if you will. But the material didn't translate this time. Plus, you don't have a Christine McVie counterpoint. That counterpoint served very well for Tusk (3 different singers/writers in this strange Tusk World.) It's Fleetwood Mac!

This album, SYW, has very little identity, it also has some very odd production choices, and a really strange and random running order. Plus, a lead singer that sounds like a chipmunk through a telephone.
Then, the title track is even more of an attempt to sound like something rather than create something. This album would have been an amazing LB solo album. I wish it were.

Take a deep breath....
Try not to stare at the stairs....
Close your eyes softly....
then
Release your inner Silver Girl

:)

Then flush.

You're just a kiss away, from where I don't know.

Blame it on my Wild ......

Could you imagine Otis Span meeting Stevie Nicks? Had he lived, what would he have thought of Edge of Seventeen?

Set your Silver secrets free....

Only after you wipe your sister honey

Welcome To The Bathroom, Sara.

This cracks me up.

Thanks. I'll be here all week. Try the veal!:blob2::blob1::blob2:

Welcome to the crapper Sir

When you sit there on that throne

You cease to exist

of course it was a problem....diarrhea baby!

Don't steal my thunder...

"That wasn't thunder!"


Thunder only happens when you're draining...:lol:

For a real Fleetwood Mac identity, I've already said it should be the Rumours lineup, that's just my personal opinion. But besides that, I think SYW would have come closer to the FM identity if Lindsey had produced it with Richard Dashut (and better + Ken Caillat). But hey things change over time.

See, I agree with this. But, change them for the better... Not squirrels through telephones with clothespins on their noses. :rolleyes:

Ken and Richard just may have given this album some identity. Like I said, this would have been a fantastic LB solo album.

OMG, that's the funniest thing you've ever written ever!! :lol:
And gross!!!

That song is a step-by-step to wiping. Especially the end...Stevie rapidly recaps

You are all stranger than I am!! And that's a terrible terrible thing!! :distress:;):D:o

JBrowns, where is your creative thinking?! Didn't take that class?:laugh:

Thanks for the giggles, guys! :xoxo:

I know there is a version of the lyrics for the last part of Sister Honey that would fit this narrative but I'm so burned out from work this week my scatalogical humor is failing me....

"And she'll go fast like a jet plane
And then fast like a star stream
and she'll hit you with a fury
whispering the words one more time...
one more time, baby
And he says "don't let that golden hair,
get in your way"

Rumours is their best, Time is their worst. Everything else falls comfortably in between.