Rush Albums Ranked
In honour of Canada's 150th birthday its time to rank the studio albums of one of the best and most influential Canadian band of all time, RUSH! For over 40 years these bad ass mother fuckers have been putting out consistently amazing hard-prog-rock masterpieces with some of the best musicianship in the game. Even when they went the pop route in the mid 80s they still effortlessly kept up the quality. Hopefully we will hear from them soon! |
| 19 |  | Rush
Test for Echo
Not a terrible album, but nothing to write home about. There are some great songs here like the title track, Driven, and Resist, but alot of the rest feels like the band had writers block. lts a good thing Rush bounced back from Neils tragedy or else this might have been their last album. |
| 18 |  | Rush
Presto
Rush may have tried to break free of the 80's and move back to a heavier sound, but it would take them a few albums to get there. Presto starts off with the promising 'Show Don't Tell' and the emotional 'The Pass' but soon wanders into filler territory. The instrumentation leaves something to be desired, I find few memorable moments on the later half of the album. Available Light is pretty good though. |
| 17 |  | Rush
Vapor Trails
A pretty good album, Geddy Lee's vocals are really interesting on this one (in a good way). The weak production kind of gives it a grungy (but surprisingly decent) feel and if that bothers you there is a remixed version that rectifies this. Like Presto, it has alot of filler, but the high points (title track. secret touch) show that the band still has a spark after their long hiatus. |
| 16 |  | Rush
Hold Your Fire
Ok so from here on out were in great album territory. Hold Your Fire is definitely an underrated album, usually ranking at the bottom of most peoples lists. While I guess I'm guilty of this too, the only reason it ranks this low is because I love all the other albums a bit more. With Hold Your Fire, Rush delivered a poppy album completing their 4 album synth-experimental years, without sacrificing great lyrics and musicianship. The bass lines on this album alone are enough to make it a classic. Oh yeah, and Tai Shan is pretty damn good, I don't know what people are talking about! |
| 15 |  | Rush
Roll the Bones
A huge improvement over Presto! With Roll the Bones Rush just said fuck it and ditched going for a particular sound (as they had on presto with pop-rock), the result is a great eclectic album filled with rockers, ballads, a funky instrumental and even a rap section on the title track (ya seriously). Just an all around fun listen from beginning to end. |
| 14 |  | Rush
Fly by Night
It really hurts me so much to put this album so low (14-11 on the list are almost all tied) but i cant deny it has some weak moments (cough cough Rivendell). Rush had just acquired Neil and were beginning to venture into the prog rock universe, the result is a transitional album containing glimpses of the masterpieces to come while still holding on to their hard rock origins. Anthem and By-Tor are some of their greatest songs, but not much else ranks up with their other 70s work. Its still a great album though. |
| 13 |  | Rush
Rush
I'm a sucker for hard-rock, what can I say. Just because it isn't progressive rock doesn't mean it doesn't kick ass! With 'Finding My Way', 'In the Mood', 'What You're Doing' and 'Working Man' this album really packs a punch. |
| 12 |  | Rush
Counterparts
Best Rush album of the 90's hands down. After experimenting with their sound for a few albums, Rush went back to hard rock with Counterparts. Rather than rehashing their prog-hard-rock sound of the 70's they pursued a more modern approach, deciding to focus more on songwriting than extended solos. The restraint shown in the synth years paid off big time when they went back to hard rock. |
| 11 |  | Rush
Grace Under Pressure
Grace Under Pressure is the second album of the Synth years and is really a tale of two sides. Side one is perfect containing some of the best Rush songs of the era. The dark lyrics and musical tone of 'Afterimage', 'Distant Early Warning' and 'Red Sector A' echo the cold war paranoia of the time and really give the album an edge. Sadly the quality drops a bit on side two. There are still some great songs on side two but nothing that matches up to side one (except maybe Between the Wheels). |
| 10 |  | Rush
Caress of Steel
Probably one of the most underrated albums of all time. 'Caress of Steel' takes a big progressive leap from 'Fly By Night' with two 10 minute plus epics. 'The Fountain of Lamneth' the 20 minute saga paved the way for 2112 and Hemispheres but also has a charm of its own. Sure its disjointed, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The Necromancer is slightly repetitive but has a great midsection and Bastille Day just rocks. The album is pretty great from start to end so I don't understand why its so low on alot of lists. It seems with most fans you either hate the album or think its one of their best. I'm in the middle. |
| 9 |  | Rush
Signals
The first of the synth albums and one of the best. This album proves what a great band Rush is. Even when they do a complete 180 and change their sound they are still able to put out creative genre defining classics. The album features some of the best 80's Rush. 'Subdivisions', 'Analog Kid' ,'Digital Man', and 'Losing it' are the real highlights for me. |
| 8 |  | Rush
Power Windows
Power Windows narrowly beats Signals as the best synth era album. While Signals proved Rush could pull off their new sound, Power Windows proved they could perfect it. This album is just chock full of fantastic songs with great instrumentation, lyrics and atmosphere. Although it is known as a synth driven album the guitar here really shines with some of Lifesons best solos of the era. The bass playing is so fuckin good (see Marathon) and the lyrics are Neil Peart's best. Don't listen to reviews that say this is one of the worst Rush albums, just listen to it for yourself. |
| 7 |  | Rush
Snakes & Arrows
I didn't have very high expectations for this album. I mean, sure I thought it would be good but the last 2 rush albums didn't do much for me so my hopes weren't really high. Boy oh boy was I surprised. This album is just great, better than every album since Moving Pictures. It has 3 awesome instrumentals (one of them being a solo acoustic) hard rocking 'counterparts' style songs and fantastic lyrics. The album also has an eastern vibe that gives it a spiritual/reflective tone. Proof that Rush were always at the top of their game. |
| 6 |  | Rush
Clockwork Angels
Yes its this high. Clockwork Angels is by far the best Rush album outside of their classic period. Coming out of nowhere in 2012 for god sakes, a 40 year old band released one of their greatest achievements - a concept album, their longest to date. It took many listens to fully appreciate but it was extremely rewarding. 'The Garden' has to be one of the greatest songs the band has ever done and the title track proves the band never abandoned prog rock. Hopefully there will be more studio work to come because they were clearly at the top of their game in 2012. |
| 5 |  | Rush
Permanent Waves
Now were getting into masterpiece territory. As good as Clockwork Angels is, nothing beats the classic period. Permanent Waves is a transitional album for Rush. While they still held on to their prog roots, they shortened the songs and tightened their musicianship with this one. Two all time rock anthems came from this album 'The Spirit of Radio' and 'Freewill' and for this reason alone the album is a classic, but it also features the moody 'Jacobs ladder' and 9 minute epic 'Natural Science' one of their most intense songs. |
| 4 |  | Rush
2112
This was the album that saved Rush's career and after listening its easy to see why. The opening epic track 2112 is one of the greatest hard-rock/prog tracks of all time, I honestly can't say enough about it. Side 2 also has some fantastic tracks and I feel its really underrated. Sure its not as great as side 1 but side 2 alone blows most of the previous albums out of the water. |
| 3 |  | Rush
A Farewell to Kings
Rush's most progressive album of their entire career. This album has it all. Its got their best song 'Xanadu', along with the underrated classic title track and the strangely dark Cygnus-XI. Throw in the anthem 'closer to the heart' and you have one of the best albums of all time. |
| 2 |  | Rush
Moving Pictures
A classic from start to finish. The first 4 songs are basically Rush's greatest hits. Some of their best instrumentation put on record, backed with amazing lyrics and Rush songwriting at its finest. The restraint and balance on this album is a work of magic. |
| 1 |  | Rush
Hemispheres
The best Rush album and the only Rush album that cracks my top 10 albums of all time. Its perfection. From the absolutely epic Cygnus X-1: Book 2 Hemispheres (just rolls off your tongue) to the hard rockin 'Circumstances' to the Anthemic 'the Trees' to the instrumental extravaganza 'La Villa Strangiato' there isn't one flaw. I'm proud that a band from my hometown released something of this magnitude. |
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