AC/DC Albums Ranked from Worst To Best
By Joe Lavigne
With over 70 million albums sold, AC/DC are the biggest rock and roll band in history. That is not even debatable. Angus and co have ben an absolute mega-force, and with sixteen studio albums (not including cover albums and live albums), we ask: What is the best album AC/DC album?
DC's catalog is broad, and opinion is often divided. So, after much deliberation, here is our top sixteen list of AC/DC albums, from Bon to Brain, ranked from worst to best...
16. Stiff Upper Lip (2000)
Having released a lot of uninspiring albums since their peak years, Stiff Upper Lip probably does finish at the bottom of the pile. A few catchy riffs aside, this is an album that caught the band at their uncreative worst, or so it seems.
15. Rock Or Bust (2014)
Expectations were at a low point for Rock Or Bust. This probably had something to do with the fact they'd just lost the hugely influential rhythm guitar player Malcolm Young. But, the album itself turned out to be pretty decent. It's not the bands best album, but neither is it their worst.
14. Fly On The Wall (1985)
Fly On The Wall came at a strange time in the career of AC/DC. The band had experienced a hugely successful period in the early '80s, therefore expectations were quite high for this album. However, it always felt like the band were on a 'come down', or a hangover from their smash hits of the early '80s, and this album turned out to be a bit of a let down.
13. Blow Up Your Video (1988)
Blow Up Your Video is not a great AC/DC album. A couple of decent tracks aside, there's not really that much to remember about the album. There is far to much filler on this album, which unfortunately became the norm for the band after the early '80s.
12. Ballbreaker (1995)
With Phil Rudd back and long-time AC/DC fan Rick Rubin on board as producer and promising to restore the classic sound of the band’s earliest recordings, things looks promising. But, dogged by production problems, they struggled to get a good drum sound,and Ballbreaker ended up being an album with lots of potential, but fell quite short of their high standards.
11. T.N.T. (1975)
T.N.T. marked a change in direction from AC/DC's debut album, High Voltage, whereas High Voltage featured some experimentation with the styles of its songs and had a variety of personnel filling multiple roles, T.N.T. saw the band fully embrace the formula for which they would become famous: hard-edged, rhythm and blues-based rock and roll.
10. Black Ice (2008)
It wasn’t all home runs with the much anticipated Black Ice. At 15 tracks and 55 minutes, Black Ice is too long and too reliant on the mid-tempo verse-chorus rockers that had become AC/DC’s default setting. However, with eight much better than decent tracks it had a higher strike rate than any AC/DC album since For Those About to Rock… in 1981. It proved to be their most successful record since then too.
9. The Razors Edge (1990)
Not everything on The Razors Edge was so striking, but it was the best DC album for some time. The Razors Edge stands as AC/DC reclaiming their title of the world’s greatest hard rock band in the post-Appetite For Destruction landscape, with a hard-hitting, back-to-basics album. It contains one of the greatest rock anthems in "Thunderstruck" -- an AC/DC classic!
8. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)
Normal AC/DC service is resumed with the rip-snorting title track and the mischievous Problem Child. But following Scott’s death in February 1980, the desolate, searching spirit embodied by Ride On took on new meaning and significance. And that’s why Dirty Deeds will always be about that particular song.”
7. For Those About To Rock We Salute You (1981)
“By the time we’d completed the album,” Malcolm said, “I don’t think anyone, neither the band nor the producer, could tell whether it sounded right or wrong. Everyone was fed up with the whole album.” Coming at a bloated period for the band, For Those About To Rock didn't get anywhere near the credit it deserved - and maybe it still doesn't.
6. Flick Of The Switch (1983)
Recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, where they’d created Back In Black, Angus and Malcolm sought to get back to basics, something more immediate, less refined, than their last record. This they got, as Flick Of The Switch definitely seems thrown together. A bit of grit never hurt an AC/DC song – and even though the album wasn't well favoured by most DC fans, it has to be the most underrated in their catalog.
5. High Voltage (international) (1976)
High Voltage was comprised of the best tracks from the band’s first two Australia releases from 1975: the original High Voltage, and T.N.T.. Two of those songs have remained in AC/DC’s live set ever since: T.N.T. itself, with its wonderfully yobbish sensibility, and the dirty blues The Jack. And in Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer and It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll) – Bon’s tales of dreams and heartbreak – there is a hunger in his voice that burns.
4. Let There Be Rock (1977)
Recorded mostly live-in-the-studio, Let There Be Rock included two tracks that would become rock classics: "Whole Lotta Rosie," and the frenetic and profane title track. The title song became the one AC/DC would end their set with for years to come while "Whole Lotta Rosie" would be guaranteed to get the crowds moving. This is a fine rock album, indeed.
3. Highway To Hell (1979)
Highway To Hell was the band’s big breakthrough, their first million-seller. And, sadly, the last record that Bon Scott ever made. Packed with mega hits that would go onto become mega rock anthems, Highway To Hell is widely regarded by fans and critics to be the band's best work. If it's not their best, then it sure does come pretty close...
2. Back In Black (1980)
“Back In Black is not just the best album AC/DC have ever made,” Classic Rock’s Paul Elliott once wrote. “It’s the best album anybody has ever made.” The iconic Back In Black album has so many classic songs: "Shoot To Thrill," "What Do You Do For Money Honey (a song that dates from the Powerage sessions)," and of course that genius title track, built on that famous riff. With the tragic death of talisman Bon Scott, just months before this album's release, out of tragedy came AC/DC’s greatest ever triumph.
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