Rank The Albums: Brad Paisley

[rsandcm1]

I'm not sure if there has been an activity like this, but I did a search and didn't see anything.

This is where you take the studio albums of an artist and rank them in terms of your preference. The first artist I thought we could go with was Brad Paisley.
Of his ten studio albums to date, this is how I think I would rank them:

1.Part 2 (2001) - If you want to sit down with a Brad cd, I say this is the one to go with. The fun songs are fun, the emotional songs hit a cord, he features George, Bill and Buck on a song that seems to explain the downfall of country radio, and a live tune from the Opry. This is the best in my opinion.
2.American Saturday Night (2009) - an almost perfect Brad album where I think he shows who he is more than on any other record. Unfortunately, for me, it feels like the last couple tracks were thrown in just to finish it on time and don't seem to go with everything else. But still a great listen.
3.Mud On The Tires (2003) - this is a great album, if it were just a little shorter and more concise it would probably be #1
4.Who Needs Pictures (1999) - the singing, playing and writing aren't as good as they could be, but for being the first album there is a lot more good than bad here. Anyone who wants to see a very basic Brad just doing what he loves, this is the album for you
5.This Is Country Music (2011) - this album contains one of the best songs he's ever recorded ('A Man Don't Have To Die'), but it seemed that Brad focused so much on the album theme that he lost some of the heart shown on his other records
6.Time Well Wasted (2005) - there are certainly gems here ('When I Get Where I'm Going', 'Easy Money'), but too many generic tunes ('She's Everything') stop this from being one of Brad's best
7.Moonshine In The Trunk (2014) - a good overall album, but too many boring songs in the middle ('Cover Girl','You Shouldn't Have To') slow momentum and weigh it down on this list
8.5th Gear (2007) - the first half is classic Brad (fun times + emotional bits), but the second half seems to lose focus and fall into boring melodies and lazy songwriting
9.Wheelhouse (2013) - it does have enjoyable parts to it, but with so much going on (too many instruments, songs being too far 'out there') it just doesn't come together in a cohesive way
10.Play (2008) - being an instrumental album, it has some fun moments, some sad moments and some surprises. But what makes Brad great for me is his clever use of words and phrases in unique ways. Without lyrics for most of the songs, it makes this the lowest ranked album in my opinion


How does everyone else rank them?

[Deleted]

I enjoy ranking albums! :)

1. "Part 2" ("You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" alone pretty much seals this spot...)
2. "Play" (I actually really like this album a lot for reasons I can't explain)
3. "Time Well Wasted"
4. "Mud On The Tires"
5. "5th Gear" (I swear this isn't coincidence lol)
6. "Who Needs Pictures"
7. "This Is Country Music"
8. "American Saturday Night"
9. "Wheelhouse" (this actually has grown on me and I actually don't mind it, never realized it but Brad is a pretty strong album artist)
10. "Moonshine In The Trunk"

[Andy]

Nice idea for a thread series. I only know Brad's albums through 5th Gear for some reason. I listened to Play and This is Country Music one or twice when they came out but don't remember enough to have an opinion, although I vaguely remember liking the former and disliking the latter. I really need to listen to American Saturday Night (I love "Welcome to the Future"). I haven't listened to much of Brad in recent times, so a lot of this is based on memory. I'll probably revisit many of his albums this weekend and completely upend my rankings.

1. Part II - The most consistent and overall highest quality, in my opinion. His recording of Darrell Scott's "You Never Leave Harlan Alive" is amazing (unpopular opinion: I like his version is better than Patty Loveless's). "Too Country", "Part Two", "Wrapped Around", "Two People Fell in Love", "The Old Rugged Cross", and especially "I'd Wish You Stay" are all aces. The humorous songs "I'm Gonna Miss Her" and "Come On Over Tonight" work. The only track I'm not wild about is "You Have That Effect on Me", which is just okay.

2. Time Well Wasted - I agree that "She's Everything" is pretty meh, but I like just about everything else on this album. "When I Get Where I'm Going" is possibly his finest moment, and the rest of the album is brimming with good material: the title track, "Alcohol," "Waitin' on a Woman", "I'll Take You Back", Easy Money", etc. And any artist with the good sense to cover Guy Clark and enlist Alan Jackson to help out on it must know his stuff ("Out in the Parking Lot"). Being slightly bloated is the only criticism I have of this album.

2. Mud on the Tires - "Whiskey Lullaby", "The Cigar Song", "Little Moments", "The Best Thing I Had Goin'", and "Celebrity" alone make for a strong album. The album is a bit long, and confession time: I've never been able to get into the title track as much as I'd like, although it's obviously a good song. I like this album pretty much the same as Time Well Wasted and could easily swap them on a different day.

4. Who Needs Pictures - There are a few weaker tracks on this album, but in general, I think it's often underrated. The title track, "He Didn't Have to Be," and "We Danced" are still some of Brad's best singles, and the stone-country "Cloud of Dust" is one of my favorite things he's recorded. Admittedly, there are a couple slightly boring ballads and some humorous songs that might wear thin.

5. 5th Gear - It's been a long time since I've listened to this one. I remember liking "All I Wanted Was a Car", "Better Than This", "Bigger Fish to Cry", and "Letter to Me", but couldn't really get on-board with anything else. I probably haven't listened to this since like 2010 and my tastes have changed dramatically since then, so it could be better than I remember it.

[bjer127]

Great idea for a thread, surprised this wasn't thought of sooner. Some of these rankings are very close, I like alot of Brad's album tracks. He's remained traditional while still being modern. There is only 1 or 2 albums of his I dont spin alot of songs from.

1. Mud On The Tires (2003) - A close number 1 here. This was the breakout album for Brad, and was released at a pivotal time of my life (junior-senior year of high school). The title track was overplayed at the time, but I have come to enjoy it all these years later. "Celebrity" is the only song I dont care for. "Whiskey Lullaby" was one of the decade's best songs. Great album tracks include "Famous People", "Ain't Nothin Like", and the great cover of "Is It Raining At Your House"

2. Time Well Wasted (2005) - This album was at the height of his success. "Waitin on a Woman" is a great song, still love it to this day. "The World" was kind of cliche, and "She's Everything" was sappy but still a good song. "Alcohol" was by far the song of the summer that year for me, still enjoy it as a sittin-around-the-pool type of song. "When I Get Where I'm Going" was a good song too, just not as good as Whiskey Lullaby. Good album tracks include "Out In The Parking Lot", "Time Well Wasted", "Flowers", "Easy Money".

3. Who Needs Pictures (2000) - Great debut album. I really thought he would be the next Alan Jackson, and who to say he hasn't been, he just veered a little from his ultra traditional debut sound. Still love all the singles released, all very timeless. And at the time, the most country songs on the radio for sure (this was height of the boy band, sippy cup country phase).

4. Part II (2001) - No sophomore slump here at all. "I'm Gonna Miss Her" was the sing along song me and my high school buddies all song along to. Again, all the singles here were great. "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive' may be one of the top 5 songs he's ever cut. I really liked the Buck Owens and George Jones duet "Too Country" as well.

5. This Is Country Music (2011) - I still enjoy the title track just for the message of the song. This is the beginning of where Brad's team started botching single choices (hello Miranda!). "Camoflauge" was albums worst song by far. But there some really good songs here including "A Man Don't Have To Die", "Love Her Like She's Leaving", "Toothbrush", "Be The Lake", "New Favorite Memory" etc. How in the hell did "One Of Those Lives" not become a single is beyond me. After hearing album first time, I thought for sure that was a #1 hit, maybe even an award winner. I didn't like "Remind Me" either, premise of song was good, but the production and radio playing it to death ruined it for me. Again, I don't understand hair metal guitar solo's in country ballads, replace it with a steel guitar solo (a la Vince Gill's "Look At Us") and it would be a favorite of mine.

6. Moonshine In The Trunk (2014) - Brad returned to form here (thank god), and delivered his best album in a few years. I disliked "River Bank" upon it's release, but now thoroughly enjoy it. "Crushin It" was always a fun song, and I liked the message and instrumentation in "Country Nation". Really disappointed "High Life" was never a single, great song. Good album cuts include the title track , "Shattered Glass", "4WP", "Me and Jesus" and "Gone Green"

7. 5th Gear (2007) - I saw Brad live right around this time, and the band was SO loud you couldn't hear him sing one note. Brad's voice has never been booming, and he was completely drowned out. I loathed "Ticks" upon it's release (I was rebelling against radio at the time LOL), but now I enjoy it as I get older. "Letter To me" is a great song, as is "I'm Still A Guy". My favorite album cuts were "If Love Was A Plane" ," Better Than This" , "Bigger Fish To Fry" and "With You, Without You".

8. American Saturday Night (2009). This is an album I never really cared for. Brad was very political here (not in his songs, but he seemed to be everywhere around the Obama election). "Water" and the title track were so boring, and way overplayed. "Then" is a good love song, even though some people think it is cliche. I did enjoy "No", "The Pants" and "Anything Like Me". The singles in this era ruined it for me.

9. Wheelhouse (2013) - Brad taking over creative control here i was sure was going to mean some solid country gold. But quite the contrary. Some very oddly arranged songs for sure. I don't necessarily hate the album, but only cared for a few songs. "Beat This Summer" is a good summer song, one of the few I do enjoy. But everything else Is kinda of "meh" to me. I was surprised "Karate" was not a single, I bet it would have been 5 years before this album. It had that novelty feel to it.


Again, albums 1-7 I thoroughly enjoy, so ranking them was hard. On the whole, he puts out good country music and I am glad radio has embraced him for this long.

[sabre14]

I bolded my favorite track from each album.

1. Time Well Wasted (best tracks: "Waitin' On A Woman", "I'll Take You Back", "You Need A Man Around Here", "Out In The Parking Lot", "Love Is Never Ending", "When I Get Where I'm Going", "Time Well Wasted")

2. Mud On The Tires (best tracks: "Mud On the Tires", "Celebrity", "Famous People", "Hold Me In Your Arms (And Let Me Fall)", "Whiskey Lullaby", "The Best Thing I Had Goin'", "The Cigar Song").

3. 5th Gear (best tracks: "All I Wanted Was A Car", "Online", "Letter To Me", "Some Mistakes", "Oh Love", "Better Than This", "Bigger Fish To Fry")

4. Part II (best tracks: "Two Feet Of Topsoil", "I'm Gonna Miss Her", "Part Two", "Wrapped Around", "Two People Fell In Love", "Come On Over Tonight", "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive", "I Wish You'd Stay")

5. Who Needs Pictures (best tracks: "Me Neither", "Who Needs Pictures", "He Didn't Have To Be", "It Never Woulda Worked Out Anyway", "We Danced", "Cloud Of Dust")

6. This Is Country Music (best tracks: "Old Alabama", "A Man Don't Have To Die", "One Of Those Lives", "Remind Me")

7. Moonshine In The Trunk (best tracks: "Crushin' It", "River Bank", "Perfect Storm", "High Life", "Country Nation", "Gone Green")

8. American Saturday Night (best tracks: "American Saturday Night", "Welcome To The Future", "Water", "Anything Like Me")

9. Wheelhouse (best tracks: "Southern Comfort Zone", "Beat This Summer", "Outstanding In Our Field", "Karate", Officially Alive")

10. Play (best tracks: "Huckleberry Jam", "Start A Band", "Departure", "Come On In")

zack97 , you never listed This Is Country Music...unless you hated it that much, lol.