Studio album rankings, best to worst, Part 4: Rush

Sonic Temple · Oct 16, 2021

Ok - inspired by of @JeanGary Diablo - thought I do one for my favorite band of all time

.

Sad that we will have no more studio outputs as Neil passed away (September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020).

1. Grace Under Pressure (1984) - my first ever Rush record - bought at Eglington - just east of Brimley at A&A Records
2. Moving PIctures (1981)
3. Presto (1989)
4. Signals (1982)
5. Power Windows (1985)
6. Rush (1974)
7. A Farewell to KIngs (1977)
8. Fly By Night (1975)
9. 2112 (1976)
10. Vapour Trails (2002)
11. Hold Your Fire (1987)
12. Clockwork Angels (2012)
13. Snakes & Arrows (2007)
14. Roll the Bones (1991)
15. Permanent Waves (1980)
16. Hemispheres (1978)
17. Counterparts (1993)
18. Test for Echo (1996)
19. Caress of Steel (1975)

Pink Floyd albums ranked best to worst:
https://terb.cc/xenforo/threads/studio-album-rankings-best-to-worst-pink-floyd.761778/

Beatles albums ranked best to worst
https://terb.cc/xenforo/threads/studio-album-rankings-best-to-worst-part-2-the-beatles.761891/

Rolling Stones albums ranked best to worst

https://terb.cc/xenforo/threads/studio-album-rankings-best-to-worst-part-3-the-rolling-stones.761972/

JeanGary Diablo · Oct 16, 2021

Nice one @Sonic Temple ! This is what I wanted to see!

I was also planning to do Rush, but since you got to it first, I will do mine now.

I am cheating a bit on Rush here, because I am leaving out some albums from the 90s and 2000s that I just don't like. These are Presto, Roll the Bones, Test for Echo, Vapour Trails, Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels. I put them at the bottom of my list in no particular order.

Rush is one of my favourite bands, but virtually everything they did in the 1990s and 2000s was not reflective of their greatness, IMHO. If people like those records, great, just not my cup of tea. Counterparts from '93 I included because it's better than Rush's other stuff from the 90s and 2000s, I think.

My take on Rush albums, ranked best to worst.

Moving Pictures (1981)
2112 (1976)
A Farewell to Kings (1977)
Hemispheres (1978)
Fly by Night (1975)
Rush (1974)
Permanent Waves (1980)
Caress of Steel (1975)
Signals (1982)
Hold Your Fire (1987)
Grace Under Pressure (1984)
Power Windows (1985)
Counterparts (1993)

bazokajoe · Oct 16, 2021

As a Rush fan I don't care what Rush song is playing. Chances are the volume goes wayyyyy up.

jeff2 · Oct 16, 2021

I saw them in the early eighties. Ended up with 6th row floors at the Gardens as my brother had connections with tickets there. Was there for the seventies music. At the time I thought Tom Sawyer was kind of silly.
I would place Hemispheres first. My first Rush album. Some people got the transparent red record.. That one side with Circumstances, Trees, and La Villa Strangiato in particular is great. This was when they were probably working the hardest. But l would listen to music from albums earlier than this. As for the eighties, YYZ , maybe Limelight. Lost interest after that.

K Douglas · Oct 16, 2021

I don't know Rush's music enough to rank their entire discog. But for me Moving Pictures and Signals are basically non skip albums

Fun For All · Oct 17, 2021

I never listened to a lot of Rush after “All the worlds a Stage”.

My favourite Rush album would be the first one.

Carvher · Oct 21, 2021

I would rank "Rush" and Fly By Night higher but it's just nitpicking

poker · Oct 21, 2021

1. Moving Picturs
2. 2112
3. Hemispheres
4. Counterparts
5. Permanent Waves
6. Power Windows (my 2nd store bought Rush album)
7. Signals
8. Rush
9. Clockwork Angels
10. Grace Under Pressure (my 1st store bought Rush Album)

poker · Oct 21, 2021

poker said:
1. Moving Picturs
2. 2112
3. Hemispheres
4. Counterparts
5. Permanent Waves
6. Power Windows (my 2nd store bought Rush album)
7. Signals
8. Rush
9. Clockwork Angels
10. Grace Under Pressure (my 1st store bought Rush Album)

I liked that they evolved. I loved that they took chances. I have so much respect that they never made the same album twice. Some bands made formula records (some better than others)…. Neil Young once complained to Randy Bachman that todays bands make the same music over and over, and actually call it a new album.

tml · Oct 22, 2021

1.Moving Pictures
2.Vapour Trails
3.Signals
4.2112
5.Permanent Waves
6.Hemispheres
7.A Farewell to Kings
8.Counterparts
9.Hold Your Fire
10.Grace Under Pressure
11.Power Windows
12.Fly by Night
13.RUSH
14.Test for Echo
15.Roll the Bones
16.Clockwork Angels
17.Snakes and Arrows
18.Caress of Steel
19.Presto
#1 to #2 and #17 to #19 are set in stone. All the others could change week to week.

barnacler · Aug 29, 2025

jeff2 said:
I saw them in the early eighties. Ended up with 6th row floors at the Gardens as my brother had connections with tickets there. Was there for the seventies music. At the time I thought Tom Sawyer was kind of silly.
I would place Hemispheres first. My first Rush album. Some people got the transparent red record.. That one side with Circumstances, Trees, and La Villa Strangiato in particular is great. This was when they were probably working the hardest. But l would listen to music from albums earlier than this. As for the eighties, YYZ , maybe Limelight. Lost interest after that.

Very close to my experience.

I had that red record!

Two things: many bands do their best when they are young, very few retain that creative spark later.

Second, the entire music industry - I mean everything, Rock, Pop, country Music - lost the ability to come up with a decent tune. Most new songs became this atonal nonsense where the so-called tune bounces around 2 or 3 notes, with endless repetition. Rush (to me at least) also lost the ability to come up with a good tune.

Xanadu was a killer song, so I would put A Farewell to Kings up there.

jeff2 · Aug 29, 2025

barnacler said:
Very close to my experience.

I had that red record!

Two things: many bands do their best when they are young, very few retain that creative spark later.

Second, the entire music industry - I mean everything, Rock, Pop, country Music - lost the ability to come up with a decent tune. Most new songs became this atonal nonsense where the so-called tune bounces around 2 or 3 notes, with endless repetition. Rush (to me at least) also lost the ability to come up with a good tune.

Xanadu was a killer song, so I would put A Farewell to Kings up there.

I like Xanada a lot also even though I know Gene Simmons teased them about dining on honeydew. I put La Villa Strangiato at the top of my list. If if am in the mood, something like Working Man is fine though.
By the way , I believe they said something to the effect that they would go with the lyrics first and then the music but in the 1980s they reversed that. To me, so many bands turned into plastic in the 1980s.

Robert Mugabe · Aug 29, 2025

Saw them at the Gasworks with John Rutsey back in 74 before their first and best album came out. Actually saw them later that year at Larry's Hideaway for a one night gig. They must have owed somebody a favor or money. Anyway vintage pooners will know what Larry's Hideaway was.
Second best album for me was Permanent Waves. Didn't keep up with them much after that. Few good singles like New World Man and Big Money. I am sure there are lots of Rush tracks I would like, but probably just as many I wouldn't.
Saw them at the Pacific Coliseum back in the 80's for the Presto tour. Found them boring at that stage. However, they played Working Man on the radio as I was driving home from work this afternoon. Have to hand it to them. For such young guys it was outstanding.
Watching them play bars, you could see how serious and professional they were.

jeff2 · Aug 29, 2025

Robert Mugabe said:
Saw them at the Gasworks with John Rutsey back in 74 before their first and best album came out. Actually saw them later that year at Larry's Hideaway for a one night gig. They must have owed somebody a favor or money. Anyway vintage pooners will know what Larry's Hideaway was.
Second best album for me was Permanent Waves. Didn't keep up with them much after that. Few good singles like New World Man and Big Money. I am sure there are lots of Rush tracks I would like, but probably just as many I wouldn't.
Saw them at the Pacific Coliseum back in the 80's for the Presto tour. Found them boring at that stage. However, they played Working Man on the radio as I was driving home from work this afternoon. Have to hand it to them. For such young guys it was outstanding.
Watching them play bars, you could see how serious and professional they were.

Interesting about seeing them at Larry's Hideaway which is now a dog park. I liked how Rush could often sound like the record although I see they later ruined Working Man by doing a reggae version.. I mean, for a lot of bands unless they can pull off a Deep Purple Made in Japan, they should just leave the songs alone.

ogibowt · Aug 29, 2025

Robert Mugabe said:
Saw them at the Gasworks with John Rutsey back in 74 before their first and best album came out. Actually saw them later that year at Larry's Hideaway for a one night gig. They must have owed somebody a favor or money. Anyway vintage pooners will know what Larry's Hideaway was.
Second best album for me was Permanent Waves. Didn't keep up with them much after that. Few good singles like New World Man and Big Money. I am sure there are lots of Rush tracks I would like, but probably just as many I wouldn't.
Saw them at the Pacific Coliseum back in the 80's for the Presto tour. Found them boring at that stage. However, they played Working Man on the radio as I was driving home from work this afternoon. Have to hand it to them. For such young guys it was outstanding.
Watching them play bars, you could see how serious and professional they were.

Larry,s Hideaway?............Ogibowt slowly raises his hand in acknowlegement

Robert Mugabe · Aug 30, 2025

jeff2 said:
Interesting about seeing them at Larry's Hideaway which is now a dog park. I liked how Rush could often sound like the record although I see they later ruined Working Man by doing a reggae version.. I mean, for a lot of bands unless they can pull off a Deep Purple Made in Japan, they should just leave the songs alone.

It was then, in a manner of speaking.

onomatopoeia · Sep 3, 2025

jeff2 said:
Interesting about seeing them at Larry's Hideaway which is now a dog park. I liked how Rush could often sound like the record although I see they later ruined Working Man by doing a reggae version.. I mean, for a lot of bands unless they can pull off a Deep Purple Made in Japan, they should just leave the songs alone.

Nope.

Larry's Hideaway was east of Jarvis Street, on the south side of Carlton. The location is now the Golden Diner restaurant.

jeff2 · Sep 3, 2025

Nope.

Larry's Hideaway was east of Jarvis Street, on the south side of Carlton. The location is now the Golden Diner restaurant.

View attachment 479811
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for that but here is the AI thing.

Larry's Hideaway was a famous music venue in Toronto, Canada, located in the basement of the Prince Carlton Hotel at 121 Carlton Street, on the northwest corner of Allan Gardens. The venue operated in the 1980s, primarily featuring punk rock, heavy metal, and new wave music, and is now part of Allan Gardens park after the hotel building was demolished in 1993.

I was only at Larry's once in the night time, so I cannot remember the exact location. Also, I believe Golden Diner is west of Jarvis.

jeff2 · Sep 3, 2025

jeff2 said:
Just found this.

AI Overview

The Prince Carlton Hotel was a hotel at 121 Carlton Street in Toronto that closed after a fire in 1991, with the site now part of the off-leash dog area in Allan Gardens. The hotel is historically known for its basement venue, Larry's Hideaway, which featured jazz in the 60s and later became a prominent punk and new wave club in the 80s, with its history detailed on sites like Wholemap and Wikipedia.

onomatopoeia · Sep 3, 2025

jeff2 said:
Nope.

Larry's Hideaway was east of Jarvis Street, on the south side of Carlton. The location is now the Golden Diner restaurant.

View attachment 479811

Thanks for that but here is the AI thing.

Larry's Hideaway was a famous music venue in Toronto, Canada, located in the basement of the Prince Carlton Hotel at 121 Carlton Street, on the northwest corner of Allan Gardens. The venue operated in the 1980s, primarily featuring punk rock, heavy metal, and new wave music, and is now part of Allan Gardens park after the hotel building was demolished in 1993.

I was only at Larry's once in the night time, so I cannot remember the exact location. Also, I believe Golden Diner is west of Jarvis.

View attachment 479859
[/QUOTE]

Correct, the Golden Diner is indeed, west of Jarvis Street, not east.

I was in Larry's Hideaway only once, (I saw Billy Bragg there in 1985). I won't dispute you on this. The configuration of the club looked a lot like the Golden Diner.

Studio album rankings, best to worst, Part 4: Rush

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