Every Gorillaz Album Ranked

I’ve done quite a few lists ranking the tracks on Gorillaz albums, but I’ve forgotten to rank the albums themselves!

This is obviously all just my opinion, so try to ignore my bad taste and poor life choices. I haven’t included side albums like “D-Sides” or “The Fall”, partly because they’re not main entries but mostly because I haven’t listened to them enough.

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Meh

6 – Humanz

• BEST – Andromeda
• WORST – The Interludes / Momentz
• UNDERRATED – Strobelite

Gorillaz came back in 2017 after many years away with “Humanz” … and it wasn’t the revival I was looking for.

Too many of the songs sound like cheap Gorillaz knock-offs, and there are way too many interludes! I don’t mind a few here or there, but this album feels like half filler!

It’s not all doom and gloom though – “Andromeda” is a classic Gorillaz track, and “Strobelite” is an underrated bop.

OK

5 – The Now Now

• BEST – Humility
• WORST – One Percent
• UNDERRATED – Kansas

The follow-up to “Humanz”, “The Now Now” was slightly more coherent but it still didn’t wow me.

It feels more stripped back and personal, so I can appreciate it for that. “Humilty” and “Kansas” are pretty great, but that’s about it.

Good

4 – Gorillaz (2001 Debut)

• BEST – Clint Eastwood
• WORST – Punk
• UNDERRATED – M1A1

As debut albums go, this isn’t half bad.

A lot of the things that make Gorillaz great are already present here – the genre fusions on songs like “Rock the House”, the blood-pumping bangers like “M1A1”, and the all-out classics like “Clint Eastwood”.

If anything, it’s the album’s length that lets it down. There are so many songs here that some are bound to fall by the wayside, and tracks like “Punk” feel completely unnecessary.

Great

3 – Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez

• BEST – The Valley of The Pagans
• WORST – Dead Butterflies
• UNDERRATED – Désolé

The most recent Gorillaz album, the more I listen to “Song Machine, Season One” the better it gets.

There are loads of great tracks on here, like “Strange Timez”, “Aries” and “Désolé”, and my personal favourite would have to be the Beck rocker “The Valley of The Pagans” for its thumping groove.

Time will tell if this album creeps up a tier, but for now there are too many tracks like “Dead Butterflies” that hold it back for me.

All-Time Great

2 – Demon Days

• BEST – Dirty Harry
• WORST – Intro / Don’t Get Lost in Heaven
• UNDERRATED – Every Planet We Reach Is Dead

The top two Gorillaz albums are fairly obvious, but the tricky thing was picking a favourite. As of today, “Demon Days” will have to settle for the silver medal.

It’s the first Gorillaz album I fell in love with, mainly due to classics like “Dirty Harry”, “Feel Good Inc.” and “D.A.R.E.”. Even some of the deep cuts like “Every Planet We Reach Is Dead” are amazing!

Unfortunately, the first half of the album is much stronger than the last, and it makes listening to the whole thing more of a chore than it needs to be. I’d much rather have a more consistent album than one that has a couple of my favourite songs. Speaking of which …

1 – Plastic Beach

• BEST – Empire Ants
• WORST – Sweepstakes
• UNDERRATED – Pirate Jet

“Plastic Beach” dips in places (mainly just with “Sweepstakes”, to be honest) but the overall consistency on the album is the best Gorillaz have ever done.

The run of songs from “Rhinestone Eyes” to “Empire Ants” is one of the strongest in music history, and other tracks like “On Melancholy Hill” and “Pirate Jet” are worth the mention. The features are all perfect, and the concept for the album comes together in a way that transcends the music itself.

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