All the B-52's Studio Albums Ranked!

A couple of weekends ago, I had a true '80s flashback, with the release of the new Duran Duran album, the Belinda Carlisle show at the Fonda Theatre, and ending the weekend with the Fireworks Finale at the Hollywood Bowl with the B-52's!
I discovered the B's the summer before my 8th grade year, when the video for "Channel Z" was getting airplay on MTV. I thought they were a new band (I've told this whole story before here) and they quickly became my favorite band for a few years! I loved going record shopping and finding their older albums and singles. For a band that has been around for so long, they really haven't made any bad albums (of course, they have not been all that prolific), so this list was very hard to rank. I do love every album of theirs, but for the sake of this blog I am going to have to make some tough decisions to rank them from least favorite to favorite, so here we go!

8. GOOD STUFF 1992

Let me be clear: I love ALL of the B-52's albums, so even this one which was an easy decision to rank in last place, is still something I've listened to many times and have derived much pleasure from. The reason it's last though, is because of a few key reasons, the first of which being the absence of Cindy Wilson who was probably my favorite vocalist in the band. This is the only album she does not appear on. Secondly, after the phenomenal success of Cosmic Thing, which was the point in time I personally discovered the B's, it was naturally difficult for the band to live up to expectations. There are some really great tunes on this album and it showcases new sides of Fred Schneider, who actually sings really well on the beautiful track "Dreamland" and Kate Pierson who soars to new vocal heights while harmonizing with herself on "Revolution Earth." "Hot Pants Explosion" is classic B-52's silliness and "Is That You Mo-Dean" is awesome. The title track (and lead single) is a little cumbersome and overly long at 5:58 but has a great chorus. Overall, a great album, just slightly less than what I was hoping for at the time. Highlight: "Revolution Earth"

7. PARTY MIX 1981/MESOPOTAMIA 1982

I'm packaging these EP's together as one album, because really neither one constitutes an album on its own, and this is the way I was introduced to it - they were packaged together and re-released after the success of Cosmic Thing. Party Mix is really just a remix EP with songs from their first two albums, but it is done in a fun way and breathes new life into those tracks, and the artwork was fantastic. Mesopotamia is perhaps the most experimental B-52's work, produced by David Byrne of the Talking Heads. I believe Rolling Stone quipped "the B-52's clip the "P" off of "Party" when reviewing Mesopotamia. It definitely incorporates many different sounds and rhythms. I love this EP because it shows a new side of the band, and I was very happy when they decided to revive the song "Mesopotamia" for their live shows a few years ago. Highlight: I just love the opening song "Loveland" which really sets the tone for the whole EP, with a wonderfully passionate lead vocal performance from Cindy.

6. WILD PLANET 1980

Everyone seems to love this album, and there are definitely some amazing songs on it like the classics "Private Idaho" and "Party Out Of Bounds" but it's just not my favorite. I often hear it as an example of a band's second album being better than their first, but I'm not sure that's the case. It is solid, and a lot of the songs were written around the same time as the songs on the debut album, but it's a little more streamlined and perhaps loses some of the quirky charm of the first album. "Dirty Back Roads" is beautiful and may have been the first song to show a more serious side to the band. It's kind of a short album, however, with only 8 full songs and one instrumental. Highlight: "Give Me Back My Man."

5. BOUNCING OF THE SATELLITES 1986

The band, and others, have criticized this album due to producer Tony Mansfield's use (or over-use) of the Fairlight CMI but I rather enjoy the sound. The one thing that makes this album a little less cohesive is the fact that several songs are really more "solo" outings with tracks like "Housework" mainly featuring Kate, the quirky single "Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland" and the lovely "Ain't It A Shame" featuring Cindy and "Juicy Jungle" featuring Fred. But the lead single "Summer of Love" and album tracks "Theme For A Nude Beach" and "Wig" are very fun collaborative ditties with the classic B-52's sound brought up-to-date for the times. However bright and poppy the album sounds, though, it is tinged with sadness as guitarist Ricky Wilson was suffering from AIDS-related illnesses during the recording and passed away before the album could be released. Highlight: Summer of Love should have been a huge summer hit!

4. THE B-52'S 1979

This is just a classic album, and what put the band on the map was the ultra-wacky single "Rock Lobster" which to this day is played all the time. The entire album shows a truly original band making their own rules and their own sound. The iconic album cover epitomizes the band's thrift-store look and outsider status. Cindy Wilson shines on tracks like "Dance This Mess Around" and "Hero Worship" and the girls' harmonies are on-point on "52 Girls." Fred is at his best on the silly "6060-842" and the sci-fi romp of the opening number "Planet Claire."  I was never that fond of "Lava" and the cover of "Downtown" sounds like it was recorded on a home tape recorder, but even those lend a sense of camp to the album. Highlight: The first time I played "Rock Lobster" was at my aunt and uncles house when I was in 8th grade, and my uncle was like "what the heck is this crap?!?"

3. FUNPLEX 2008

I may be in the minority of fans who would rank this album so high, but I really respect the B's for coming back with such a strong album over a decade and a half. Like Duran Duran's "Astronaut", they took their time and built up anticipation for the album, playing many of the songs live for over a year before the album was released. Producer Steve Osborne worked well with Keith Strickland to update the band's sound without losing the original spirit. All the songs are very strong, including the fun title track, "Ultraviolet" and "Love In The Year 3000." The band sounds much younger and vital than many would have thought they could. Perhaps my favorite track is the gorgeous "Juliet of the Spirits" which I had fallen in love with through live videos on YouTube before I ever got to hear the studio recording, which is stunning. Like the last track says, with this album, the B-52's "keep this party going on." Highlight: I was in the video for "Funplex"! Although I'm the only person who would be able to spot myself, because I know what I was wearing and which part to look at, it was a super fun day of filming and getting to see the band in action, and I met so many other fans that I had a great time getting to know.

2. WHAMMY 1983

This album is definitely of-the-times, what with it's cheap drum machine beats and wonky synthesizers, but it really showcases the band's ability to bend their sound while keeping their voice. The two music videos from this album, "Legal Tender" and "Song For A Future Generation" are probably my two favorite videos from the band ever, full of wacky wigs, outrageous outfits and lots of 80's gimmicks. This albums is still fun, space-age kookiness, but with more of a synth-pop sound that the previous ones. The girls shine on "Queen of Las Vegas" while Fred is at his manic best on "Whammy Kiss" and "Trism." Some of the songs were holdovers from the Mesopotamia era, re-recorded to fit the sound of this album. It also initially included a song called "Don't Worry" which is loosely based off a Yoko Ono song. The band gave credit to Yoko, but she ended up threatening legal action and the song was removed and replaced with "Moon '83", an updated song from their debut album. Highlight: "Legal Tender" is probably my all-time favorite B-52's song.

1. COSMIC THING 1989

How could I not put this album in the top slot? Every song is a winner, with a cohesive overall sound despite diverse songs like the shimmering dream-pop of "Topaz," the laid-back groove of "Dry County," and the outer space jam title track. "Channel Z" is where it all began for me, which started getting a lot of airplay on MTV the summer before my 8th grade year. Although they were making some small waves with that song, once "Love Shack" was released, everything blew up! I couldn't believe this quirky little band that I thought I had discovered was suddenly on the cover of Rolling Stone and all over the radio! My classmates were finally into a band that I was into! It was a really fun time for me as a fan, and it only got better as I got to explore their back catalogue, which seemed so vast and interesting to a 12 year old! "Roam" was a huge hit right at the beginning of 1991, which was a huge year for me as I graduated middle school and our family moved off our farm and into the "city" - this album was a soundtrack for all of that. It was probably the first album that I made sure to own on cassette and vinyl, and later, CD. I also collected all the cassette singles and anything else I could get my hands on: buttons, magazine covers... I even bought a couple of personalized note pads, one for "Kate" and one for "Cindy." I joined the fan club and exchanged letters with other fans all over the world. Highlight: "Channel Z" is still my favorite song on the album and reminds me of the first time I saw the video on MTV and fell in love with this band.