JohnnyoftheWell
fluid in its most purist form. always drenched in an undeniable regal divinity.
User

Reviews 416
Approval 60%

Soundoffs 76
News Articles 104
Band Edits + Tags 1,444
Album Edits 765

Album Ratings 0
Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
Joined 01-01-70

Review Comments 64,287

 Lists
06.12.25 songs called "runaway" ranked06.11.25 Muppelope gateway list
06.07.25 memo: 2025 catchup06.02.25 all yeule songs ranked (FINISHED) ♦
05.17.25 10 things i admire in budgie05.06.25 Ranking Fugazi openers
05.02.25 BANDCAMP FRIDAY03.25.25 a list is dig ♦
03.18.25 i will RATE your PIE CHART ♦03.07.25 Bandcamp Friday
03.06.25 Ichiko Aoba ranked03.02.25 5s reassessment list v.twentytwenty5
01.13.25 @cylinder atmo drum and bass list lfg ♦01.09.25 ask me a question
01.01.25 End of 2024 well_Datadump12.27.24 well_2024: YES (FINISHED) ♦
12.26.24 well_2024: NO ♦12.10.24 2024 BNM: cringe index ♦
More »

very Radiohead Guide/Census

This site has been around forever, and yet people are still posting confusing and inconsistent Radiohead rankings on a near-daily basis! The state of things! Here is a much needed guide to prevent any further such shortfalls, starting from your choice of #1 and going into all the detail you'll ever need! Sputnik is safe; next stop, Opeth.
1Radiohead
In Rainbows

This is the best choice for your #1, and not just because it’s clearly Radiohead’s best album.

In Rainbows covers is such a perfect melting pot of Radiohead’s various different leanings that it’s much easier to get away with eyebrow-raisers in the rest of your ranking. Your #2 is Hail to the Thief? Makes sense - you clearly enjoy this band’s eclectic side. The next few spots are straight electronic? Obviously you prefer that side of the band but don’t like it *quite* enough to give it the top spot without a slight crossover back into rock territory.

Almost any ranking makes some measure of sense with this at the top - consider it the skeleton key of the Radioheadverse.

Users: JohnnyoftheWell, osmark86, AsleepInTheBack, Trifolium, neekafat, Drsmith4, TVC15, anat, samwise2000
2Radiohead
OK Computer

Similar to In Rainbows, this is a fairly forgiving #1, but it does oblige you to take a bit of a rock skew. Putting The Bends outside of the top 4 is a weird look for this one; putting TKOL at #8 (or even #9) is acceptable. This ranking may prefer Amnesiac and/or HTTT over Kid A; let boys be boys, if so.

This is such a conventional placement that both In Rainbows and AMSP are likely to fill the remaining slots in the top 4. If Kid A is ranked second, then every connotation from placing that album at #1 applies here on a lower level - the strain between these expectations and the ‘90s Radiohead rock skew is a big part of why this is ultimately flawed as an appeasement option and you’re better off going with In Rainbows.

Users: Artuma, Lucman, JesperL, Boney, Icebloom, BlazinBlitzer, Doof, FR33L0RD
3Radiohead
Kid A

Oh hi! So you like experimental Radiohead? You like this band’s electronic side? You like them at their most minimal! Nice! Wait, what’s that #2? You put OKC/AMSP there?? Wait, where’s Amnesiac? Where’s TKOL? Why am I scrolling down - what the fuck is the Bends doing here? And so on.

Yeah, don’t be that guy/gal.

Ranking Kid A at #1 is a good move, but not if you follow it with a barrage of boring consensus placements. Amnesiac should be 2-3 places behind minimum, putting either this or TKOL in your bottom three is the stuff of aneurisms. Kid A is great, but put it at the top of a rock list and you’ll look like the kinda person who gets 70% of their Experimental Musics from Radiohead solely.

Users: Pangea, Sowing, Royl123, Demon, tectac, hesperus, Wines
4Radiohead
Amnesiac

Lol, the cool kid’s #1. This is the most fun top pick because you can put whatever you like afterwards as long as it looks vaguely edgy. Hail to the Thief as #2? Why not. Pablo Honey above the Bends? Might look weird, but people will believe there’s a reason for it. Put Kid A at #9 just to prove Amnesiac’s superiority. Put OKC at #9 just because you can.

I’d recommend against a high placement for AMSP - choppy sequencing aside, that album is for people who are earnest about Radiohead’s ‘best’ qualities. None of that shit here; In Rainbows probably shouldn’t be #2 for similar reasons. Beyond that, you’re all good!

This is probably the best #1 for a troll ranking - Pablo is too obvious, TKOL is too associated with earnest electronic fans, and HTTT doesn’t pack quite the same goofball quality. Make of that what you will.

Users: Ars, Wolfe
5Radiohead
The King of Limbs

Not necessarily the best option for #1, but certainly the easiest: as Radiohead’s most stubbornly anti-rock album, The King of Limbs presents a fairly inflexible roadmap. The next three placements *must* contain both Kid A and Amnesiac, and your bottom three *must* contain Pablo Honey and the Bends. Hail to the Thief is likely but not certain to place above AMSP, In Rainbows above OK Computer is pretty much a given.

Taking that into account, it’s pretty hard to make this ranking truly your own without having some genre-defying galaxybrained taste going on.

Users: JustJoe., Pots
6Radiohead
A Moon Shaped Pool

You’ve got two options with this one:

1) Follow it up with other pick ’n’ mix Radiohead albums (IR, HTTT, Amnesiac) and end up with something shapeless that no-one, including you, particularly enjoys looking at.

2) You copy across the Adjusted Boomer ranking from the OK Computer #1 Kid A #2 path, with a little extra weighting in the direction of experimental albums.

If you go for 2), you may remember that this tension was what made the OK Computer ranking a little dicey to begin with; amplifying it further is a firm indication of why A Moon Shaped Pool is a poor choice for #1.

Users:
7Radiohead
The Bends

Incoming boomer ranking. It’s very difficult to start off with The Bends and not follow up with OK Computer; your only other option is probably Pablo Honey, an ominous indication of how much of an eye-roller this one is cut out to be. Putting Kid A or In Rainbows in high placements after this is going to be so awkward in its “I like this but it’s not the Bends”-isms that you might as well spare yourself the embarrassment and put those in the bottom three.

TKOL is #9 as a matter of principle.

HTTT and Amnesiac will likely do modestly well on this, but no-one (including you) will really understand why.

Users:
8Radiohead
Hail to the Thief

A tough one to land at #1 - your options are pretty limited from here. You clearly give no shits about consistency or sequencing, but your list should be consistent in this preference. In Rainbows also works as a pick ’n’ mix album, but Amnesiac in the top three is pretty much mandatory.

AMSP should be high, but not too high, as some parts of that album are too homogenous to fall into the same box as this, and the true HTTT stan likely has some anti-homogeneity attention deficit bullshit going on.

On this basis, having Kid A at #2 is a huge no-no unless you’re edgy enough to like your favourite two Radiohead albums for opposing qualities (plausible given how edgy you have to be to have this at #1 to begin with). TKOL won’t be high, but it will likely place above your expectations.

Users:
9Radiohead
Pablo Honey

Uh yeah, the only way you can pass this off is if you put an Oasis album at #2 and The Bends at #3. Have fun with that.

Users:
Show/Add Comments (113)

JohnnyoftheWell

05.08.20		please take heed and keep your rankings kosher
(order of albums is indeed my radiohead ranking)
osmark86

05.08.20		galaxybrain/boomer ranking incomming:

1. In Rainbows (duh)
2. Kid A
3. The Bends
4. TKOL
5. Amnesiac
6. HTTF
7. OK Computer
8. AMSP
9. Pablo
JohnnyoftheWell

05.08.20		Lol weird- but not that weird bc anything makes sense with IR at 1, nice!
Plz post your #1s everyone, so I can add you to the list and mercilessly type-cast you
osmark86

05.08.20		tbf the only solidified spots for me are 1-2, possibly 3 and 9
AsleepInTheBack

05.08.20		In Rainbows all the way
Pangea

05.08.20		Kid A is my #1
Sowing

05.08.20		Kid A > OKC > IR > AMSP > HTTT > Amnesiac > The Bends > TKOL > PH
Trifolium

05.08.20		Oh my gosh Johnny thanks for clearing that up! This is completely correct.

My ranking would be:
1. In Rainbows
2. HTTT
3. Amnesiac
4. The King Of Limbs
5. The Bends
6. OK Computer
7. Kid A
8. AMSP
9. Pablo Honey

1 is always 1, 2-3-4 switch places all the time (especially 3 and 4), 6-7 also switch around sometimes.
Pangea

05.08.20		Kid A > IR > OKC > amnesiac > KOL > The Bends > AMSP > HTTT > PH
osmark86

05.08.20		Kid A at nr 7 trif? are you on crack again? :'(
Royl123

05.08.20		Lmao I love this and it just makes sense, but still:
Kid A>OKC>Amnesiac>HTTT>AMSP>IR
>The Bends>TKOL>PH

Thoughts OP?
Trifolium

05.08.20		Haha yeah os. I love it a lot, but I've always found it a little too on-the-nose. How To Disappear Completely, Treefingers, In Limbo, Morning Bell and Motion Picture Soundtrack aren't my faves by a long shot. Which is half the album really.
Artuma

05.08.20		don't fool yourselves, ok computer is still the best
osmark86

05.08.20		In Limbo is up there with one of these ladssesess best songs though. Can I please consult thine prescriptions for it's necessary.
Lucman

05.08.20		I love this list.
1. OKC
2. IR
3. KID A
4. THE BENDS
5. AMNESIAC
6. AMSP
7. KOL
8. HTTT
9. PABLO
JohnnyoftheWell

05.08.20		getting both type-a and type-b Kid A rankings here, interesting to see. Royl you're close to the That Guy ranking but those Amnesiac/HTTT placements keep you above water; Sowing, you've got some TKOL bumping to do my dude
Trif How to Disappear Completely is gorgeous and Morning Bell is top-tier creepyHead, how dare you
osmark86

05.08.20		The Bends is superior to OKC lets be real guys. Guys?
Sowing

05.08.20		I love this list because it's funny, but surely none of you actually think that just because you enjoy one style as your #1 doesn't mean you can't enjoy something wildly different at #2 and #3?
Trifolium

05.08.20		@os: You can! Almost never feel the need to return to it though. Perhaps there's something fundamentally wrong with me 😮
@Johnny: soooorrryyyyy, I guess creepyHead is not what I am looking for ever.
JohnnyoftheWell

05.08.20		"surely none of you actually think that just because you enjoy one style as your #1 doesn't mean you can't enjoy something wildly different at #2 and #3?"
no no no, personal preference WILL conform to this logic ;]
Trifolium

05.08.20		Also os ''The Bends is superior to OKC lets be real guys. Guys?'' I like Bends more too.
kalkwiese

05.08.20		Lol, good list man
JesperL

05.08.20		1. ok computer
2. in rainbows
3. a moon shaped pool
4. kid a
5. the bends
6. amnesiac
7. hail to the thief
8. the king of limbs
9. pablo honey
yea so according to this list that makes me.. boring
Rowan5215

05.08.20		S-tier list wellathan
neekafat

05.08.20		Shockingly acceptable ranking, 1 is 1
theBoneyKing

05.08.20		LOL, this was a fun read.
1. Ok Computer
2. In Rainbows
3. Kid A
4. The Bends
5. AMSP
6. Amnesiac
7. TKOL
8. HTTT
9. duh
For what it’s worth 2 and 3 switch places pretty frequently. Kid A is technically a bit better but I like In Rainbows a tad more so for the purposes of this I’ll give the latter the edge.
DocSportello

05.08.20		Great list, brought a smile to my face

1. In Rainbows
2. Amnesiac
3. Kid A
4. A Moon Shaped Pool
5. OK Computer
6. The King of Limbs
7. Hail to the Thief
8. The Bends
9. Pablo Honey
Relinquished

05.08.20		holy shit

yea man this is the epitome that you've been on this site for too long. list is on point.
Relinquished

05.08.20		that said put me down for amnesiac cuz I can
anat

05.08.20		1 is 1, 3 is 2, 9 is 9, the rest don't matter
Demon of the Fall

05.08.20		Love this list Johnny, we need more light-hearted (but also somehow on point) content.

I’ll leave this here so you can judge me...

Kid A
In Rainbows
OK Computer
Amnesiac
The King of Limbs
(some distance)
The Bends
A Moon Shaped Pool
Hail to the Thief
Pablo Honey
Pangea

05.08.20		Hell yeah demon we have exact same ranking. You obviously have excellent taste
tectactoe

05.08.20		*Sigh* here we go again.

1. Kid A
2. OK Computer
3. In Rainbows
4. A Moon Shaped Pool
5. Amnesiac
6. The King of Limbs
7. The Bends
8. Hail to the Thief
9. Pablo Honey
hesperus

05.08.20		1. Kid A
2. Amnesiac
3. In Rainbows
4. The King of Limbs
5. Hail to the Thief
6. OK Computer
7. A Moon Shaped Pool
8. The Bends
9. Pablo Honey
Haha, I have neatly sidestepped your Kid A pitfalls! Of course, in the process, I’ve fallen headfirst into the other Radiohead ranking pitfall, which is that everyone is going to kick my ass for ranking OKC below TKOL and HTTT
Trifolium

05.08.20		hesperus I love you for that. Our lists are pretty similar!
TheSpaceMan

05.08.20		i think this would be my ranking but i also stop giving a shit about radiohead after 3
Winesburgohio

05.08.20		Kid A > Amnesiac > A Moon Shaped Pool > OK Computer > The King of Limbs > Hail 2 da thief > In Rainbows > Pablo Honey > The Bends
theBoneyKing

05.08.20		I will say that it's been interesting to see In Rainbows' reputation continue to increase over time - when I was first getting into Radiohead ca. the release of TKOL, people already loved IR of course, but it was still relatively fresh on people's minds and I think many were still hesitant to put it above OKC and Kid A; now I very frequently see it cited as people's favorite. Does make me wonder how people's attitudes toward AMSP will change in the next 10 years. (A similar thing happend with TKOL of course, with way more people being dismissive of it initially.)
Winesburgohio

05.08.20		honestly i think TKoL's re-evaluation will be extremely interesting
JustJoe.

05.08.20		1 king of limbs
2 in rainbows
3 amnesiac
4 kid a
5 ok computer
6 a moon shaped pool
7 hail to the thief
8 the bends
9 pablo honey
JustJoe.

05.08.20		you [nearly] read me like a book johnny
Lord(e)Po)))ts

05.08.20		Why would you waste your time doing something you are so bad at
theBoneyKing

05.08.20		Wines: I still find it a bit shocking that TKOL's average is only 3.5 here (and less than 3.3 on RYM, IIRC), because discussions of it always seem to skew more positive than that would suggest. I have to assume that's due to inactive accounts that rated it back closer to release.
Lord(e)Po)))ts

05.08.20		"The next three placements *must* contain both Kid A and Amnesiac, and your bottom three *must* contain Pablo Honey and the Bends. Hail to the Thief is likely but not certain to place above AMSP, In Rainbows above OK Computer is pretty much a given."

Wise cracks aside, this is *almost* spot on for me, except in rainbows is #2
Lord(e)Po)))ts

05.08.20		Also I cant think of anything LESS edgy than having HTTT as your favourite radiohead album. It might be a questionable, left field take but make a mental picture of the person you think would favour HTTT and tell me they have a single edge...
osmark86

05.08.20		that person has multiple anti-aliasing algorithms sweating away at all times
Egarran

05.08.20		I'm old enough to have had my mind blown by OK Computer and then being slightly disappointed with subsequent releases.
DocSportello

05.08.20		The only person I've met IRL who claimed HTTT as #1 (not that I go around asking people) was a guy I lifeguarded with who had a whole FB album of fish-holding pics and always turned on the local cookie-cutter indie-of-the-week radio station (not that there's anything wrong with that). It's a v casual favorite is all
anat

05.08.20		There's a fantastic album in HTTT if you take a chisel to it
TVC15

05.08.20		Yknow you’re really not far off with your assessments of the albums

1. In Rainbows
2. OK Computer
3. Hail to the Thief
4. Amnesiac
5. The Bends
6. TKOL
7. AMSP
8. Kid A
100. Pablo Honey
anat

05.08.20		That is such a confused ranking TVC
TVC15

05.08.20		Not confused so much as big brained ;)
osmark86

05.08.20		Galaxy confirmed
theBoneyKing

05.08.20		based
anat

05.08.20		Dick vein brain
JeffKing1992

05.08.20		Pablo Honey is amazing. Don't @ me.
JustJoe.

05.08.20		@
TVC15

05.08.20		@
ArsMoriendi

05.08.20		But Johnny! In Rainbows IS my #2 :o
ArsMoriendi

05.08.20		My ranking in teirs:

5s:
1. Amnesiac
2. In Rainbows

4.5s
3. Kid A
4. The King of Limbs
5. OK Compter

4s:
6. Hail to the Thief

3.5s:
7. A Moon Shaped Pool
8. The Bends

2.5s:
9. Pablo Honey
Relinquished

05.08.20		first time agreeing with ars completely
JohnnyoftheWell

05.08.20		big @
also ok Ars that ranking is pretty delish
TVC15

05.08.20		@Johnny what you think about my ranking?
JohnnyoftheWell

05.08.20		Your ranking is v weird solely because of your Kid A placement. Otherwise it is orthodox, and the weird part is Allowed because In Rainbows is a counter trap card
JustJoe.

05.08.20		mine is the uniquest
Tyler.

05.08.20		what is th9s
Jots

05.08.20		in rainbows is maybe their 3rd worst album

|_ o
__________ へ_(‾◡◝ )>
JustJoe.

05.08.20		johnny wants to have a word with you johnny
Icebloom

05.08.20		Nice list!

1. OK Computer
2. A Moon Shaped Pool
3. In Rainbows
4. The Bends
5. Kid A
6. Amnesiac
7. Hail to the Thief
8. The King of Limbs
9. Pablo Honey
BlazinBlitzer

05.08.20		1. OK Computer
2. In Rainbows
3. Kid A
4. The Bends
5. A Moon Shaped Pool
6. Amnesiac
7. Hail to the Thief
8. Pablo Honey
9. The King of Limbs
sixdegrees

05.08.20		aight
DoofDoof

05.08.20		1. Ok Computer
2. Kid A
3. The Bends
4. In Rainbows
5. Moon Shaped
6. HTTT
7. King of Limbs
8. Amnesiac
9. Pablo
ConcubinaryCode

05.08.20		Creep is radioheads best song
ArsMoriendi

05.08.20		But Creep isn't even a good song

Radiohead would have to suck for that to be true
sixdegrees

05.08.20		perish the thought
JeffKing1992

05.09.20		I would never call "Creep" their best song. Not by a fucking longshot.

- Signed, the guy who thinks Pablo Honey is their second best album
neekafat

05.09.20		Creep is a great song what
ConcubinaryCode

05.09.20		If creep is so bad, why was it their break out song?
sixdegrees

05.09.20		everyone in the 90s had shit taste im afraid
ArsMoriendi

05.09.20		"If creep is so bad, why was it their break out song?"

Appeal to popularity is a logical fallacy

I mean Shiny Happy People by R.E.M. hit #10 on US charts and it's one of R.E.M.'s worst songs by far
ConcubinaryCode

05.09.20		3 of the top 10 albums on the all time charts are from the 90s
ConcubinaryCode

05.09.20		If it's popular why did it get popular?
ArsMoriendi

05.09.20		Marketing? Are you gonna sit here and try to say that popular gets popular music mainly because it's good?

Explain Meghan Trainor and Imagine Dragons
ConcubinaryCode

05.09.20		Also why does the bends have a high rating when it clearly is butt?
samwise2000

05.09.20		Not gonna do a list, but In Rainbows is my favourite : )
ArsMoriendi

05.09.20		"Also why does the bends have a high rating when it clearly is butt?"

Are you saying you think The Bends sucks or that I think that? I don't, I have it 3.5'd.
ConcubinaryCode

05.09.20		No I'm saying the bends in general sucks
ArsMoriendi

05.09.20		So you agree that things can get popular while also not being good?
ConcubinaryCode

05.09.20		So you agree the bends is butt?
Ryus

05.09.20		"If creep is so bad, why was it their break out song?"

really makes you think
ArsMoriendi

05.09.20		"So you agree the bends is butt?"

Nah, but it's their 2nd worst album
ConcubinaryCode

05.09.20		Therefore radioheads worst albums deserve to be called butt.
ArsMoriendi

05.09.20		No

Bye now
ConcubinaryCode

05.09.20		What would you call an album at the bottom if not a butt? What do you call your bottom? An ass? OK but that's just a bit crass.
sixdegrees

05.09.20		LMFAO

now that's just wrong!
TVC15

05.09.20		Creep is a good song, stop being uptight and elitist

Even Thom likes it (which is why they performed it in some concerts in the past couple years cos he's still fond of it), he just hated how overplayed it got
DoofDoof

05.09.20		The band’s creative frenzy was clearly 1995 to 2001 where they near enough came up with/blueprinted all the song types they’d ever work with.

In Rainbows was an amazing comeback and a 5 but even there most of the songs aren’t wholly original for the band (‘Reckoner’ the most original maybe?). It’s predominantly a refinement album and betters a lot of material from HTTT, Amnesiac and the B-Sides of the era in particular.
JohnnyoftheWell

05.09.20		big time gaslighting of TKOL right there :[
DoofDoof

05.09.20		I like the term gaslighting but it don’t make sense in that context

TKOL has three quite original song ideas but the most original one is ‘Feral’ and meh, that’s the worst song on it

‘Separator’ is pretty successful and the opener and Lotus Flower are solid. The rest is nothing new really. It’s a good but slight and nowt groundbreaking release.
JohnnyoftheWell

05.09.20		so now you're gaslighting my use of 'gaslighting' :[
Feral is comfortably in that album's top half for me; would say that, the first two tracks and Lotus Flower all break new ground in various ways, while the rest innovate around RH tropes. given that's half the album, I'd say consigning it to old song types counts as gaslighting its more original qualities ;]
DoofDoof

05.09.20		I'm making you doubt your sanity because you used 'gaslighting' wrong?

lol it's a stretch but ok
FR33L0RD

05.09.20		Funny introduction Johnny.
The only Radiohead album properly digg. is Ok Computer.
Amazing album. For the rest, i will dive into them.
Im due
markjamie

05.10.20		1 Kid A

I don't like any of the rest - sorry.
Egarran

05.10.20		Well if you're sorry it's ok
JohnnyoftheWell

07.07.21		nothing has changed
GhandhiLion

07.07.21		put me on pablo honey
GhandhiLion

07.07.21		ye fuck in rainblows
hesperus

07.07.21		"nothing has changed"
yeah, including the nonexistence of the Opeth guide you promised in the description
JohnnyoftheWell

07.07.21		Lolouch okay but tbf there is a good reason for that, and it's that since Phero's Opeth list all guides have been redundant

https://www.sputnikmusic.com/list.php?listid=195741&memberid=1035674
hesperus

07.07.21		lol, fair. it would be fun to see you give some other artists this treatment tho
DoofDoof

07.07.21		If you have The Bends at 1 I’d say Ok Computer, In Rainbows and HTTT would be understandable picks in the next places
DoofDoof

07.07.21		1. Ok Computer [100%]
2. Kid A [97%]
3. In Rainbows [96%]
4. The Bends [96%]
5. Moon Shaped Pool [90%]
6. HTTT [72%]
7. Amnesiac [65%]
8. King of Limbs [60%]
9. Pablo Honey [whatever]
fogza

07.07.21		1. Kid A
2. OKC
3. The Bends
4. In Rainbows
5. HTTT
6. Amnesiac
7. KOL
8. MSP
9. PH

Submit Comment
STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy