Top 10 Stevie Nicks Albums

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Our top 10 Stevie Nicks albums list looks at all the excellent, very powerful, passion-filled albums Stevie Nicks has released throughout her marvelous solo career. We love every single one of them, and it’s tough even to rank them. In many ways, we are not ranking them in order of quality; we are just listing them in order of our favorites. They are all fabulous albums, and we highly recommend every single one of them to anybody who’s never heard the albums before.

Stevie Nicks’ first solo album, entitled Bella Donna, was released in 1981. The album was a huge success. The follow-up album, The Wild Heart, was released two years later in 1983. Stevie Nicks has released eight solo studio albums, ending with 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault in 2014. Since then, she has continued releasing music, including the 2020 live album Live in Concert: The 24 Karat Gold Tour, the 2023 Complete Studio Albums & Rarities collection, and the 2024 single “The Lighthouse.” Nicks has also confirmed that she is working on another solo album, which she has nicknamed the “ghost record”; the project remains unreleased. And, of course, besides all these brilliant solo albums was her work with Fleetwood Mac, which this article does not explore.

This Top 10 Stevie Nicks albums article is all about her solo work. It mixes her eight studio records with a live album and an extraordinary compilation release. We hope you enjoy this great list, and check out any of these Stevie Nicks albums you are unfamiliar with.

# 10 – Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks

We open up our top 10 Stevie Nicks albums list in an unusual way compared to most of our other top 10 album lists. This is the first time we’ve put a greatest hits package on an artist’s top 10 albums list. There are two reasons for this. First is the point that Stevie Nicks has released eight solo studio albums. The other reason is that Timespace included three new songs: “Sometimes It’s a Bitch,” “Love’s a Hard Game to Play,” and “Desert Angel.” Furthermore, several tracks appeared in remixed or alternate forms. Even if you have every Stevie Nicks studio album, we still highly recommend this one because of the additional songs and mixes.

# 9 – Street Angel

Stevie Nicks’ Street Angel album was released in 1994. The album arrived during a troublesome period in Stevie Nicks’ life, and over the years she has spoken openly about her dissatisfaction with portions of the recording process. Nonetheless, it’s still a Stevie Nicks album and one that we have really enjoyed over the years. The standout track has always been the great song “Blue Denim.”

# 8 – Trouble in Shangri-La

Continuing with our list of top 10 Stevie Nicks albums, we turn to the album Trouble in Shangri-La. The record featured one of our all-time favorite Stevie Nicks album covers. Trouble in Shangri-La was released in 2001. “Candlebright,” originally known as “Nomad,” dated back to the Buckingham Nicks era and had been considered for Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 album before being newly recorded for this record. “Sorcerer” also dated back to the Buckingham Nicks years. Stevie recorded a version during the sessions for The Wild Heart, but it remained unreleased at the time. Marilyn Martin later recorded “Sorcerer” for the Streets of Fire soundtrack with Stevie Nicks singing backing vocals before Nicks finally released her own finished version on Trouble in Shangri-La.

Stevie Nicks’ friendship at the time with Sheryl Crow led Stevie Nicks to record a Sheryl Crow song on the record called “It’s Only Love.” Sheryl Crow played guitar and bass and performed backing vocals on the record. Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench from the Heartbreakers were also on board. Other rock star guest appearances included Lindsey Buckingham, Macy Gray, and Sarah McLachlan.

# 7 – In Your Dreams

In 2011, Stevie Nicks released the album In Your Dreams. It was her first new solo studio album in ten years. It’s hard to believe that Stevie Nicks took ten years between her solo studio albums, but then again, she became deeply involved once again with Fleetwood Mac during that period. The album was produced by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, who had also worked with artists including Ringo Starr. The album was also produced by Glen Ballard, the celebrated producer and songwriter known for his work with Alanis Morissette on Jagged Little Pill.

# 6 – The Other Side of the Mirror

Another great album, another great cover, and another record full of passionate vocals and performances by Stevie Nicks. The album The Other Side Of The Mirror was released in 1989. Four singles were issued from the album in various territories, including “Rooms on Fire,” “Long Way to Go,” “Two Kinds of Love,” and “Whole Lotta Trouble.”

# 5 – The Soundstage Sessions

Although it is unfair to rank a live album among an artist’s studio albums because it can also serve as a greatest hits package, The Soundstage Sessions CD is just too good not to rank this high. The performance was recorded in Chicago on October 25, 2007, and the album was released in 2009. The CD combines Stevie Nicks’ live performance with additional studio work, including orchestral overdubs, creating a particularly rich sound on the ballads. Stevie Nicks lit the room on fire that October evening, and this CD captures the magic beautifully.

# 4 – Rock a Little

I always loved this album in a sort of separate way from Bella Donna and The Wild Heart. It was a departure from her first two solo albums regarding production and arrangements. Part of the reason for the change in sound was the departure of Stevie Nicks’ longtime producer Jimmy Iovine before the project was completed, although he remained producer on several songs. Yet, of course, the album retained that mystical Stevie Nicks spirit. The album’s title track, “Rock A Little,” is especially addicting and perhaps the most underrated song on the album. Probably because it stood in the shadows of some of the album’s big hit singles like “Talk To Me” and “I Can’t Wait.” The album also presented Stevie Nicks fans with one of the most beautiful ballads of her career, the wonderful song “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?”

The album featured an all-star cast of musicians, as usual, with members of the bands Little Feat and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers performing on the record. Former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Les Dudek also played on the album and co-wrote one of the songs. Four separate drummers played on the album, including Steve Jordan, Russ Kunkel, Andy Newmark, and Denny Carmassi. The same went for guitarists and bass players. Marilyn Martin sang background vocals on the record. Martin would release solo albums and score a hit with “Night Moves,” while her duet with Phil Collins, “Separate Lives,” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

# 3 – 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault

Stevie Nicks’ album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault was an unexpected surprise for Stevie Nicks fans. The album featured newly recorded versions of songs that Stevie Nicks had originally demoed primarily between 1969 and 1987, along with a small amount of later material. The album did not simply present those original demos; Nicks returned to the songs and recorded fresh versions for the 2014 release.

Some fans had heard some of the songs because bootleg versions circulated over the years. Nonetheless, Stevie Nicks’ newly recorded versions of these songs were fabulous. The songs also defined the many changes Stevie Nicks’ songwriting had gone through over the years. Yet, despite any stylistic changes, the one constant apparent in this material was the magical soulfulness and mystical qualities that have always been inherent in her music. Don’t miss this one!

# 2 – Bella Donna

Stevie Nicks’ Bella Donna album was the legendary artist’s first solo record. The closest Stevie Nicks had ever come to a solo record during her career was the duet album she made with Lindsey Buckingham entitled Buckingham Nicks, which was released before the two joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975. Nonetheless, Stevie Nicks fans were thrilled to finally receive a full album of Stevie Nicks songs instead of Fleetwood Mac records that usually contained only a handful of her compositions and lead vocals. Some were worried that maybe an entire album of Stevie Nicks songs and Stevie Nicks lead vocals would lessen the effect of her music when compared with the limited number of her songs on Fleetwood Mac albums. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bella Donna was further proof of the sheer talent and brilliance in the soul of that Stevie Nicks heart. It was a brilliant debut album that exceeded expectations.

The Bella Donna album featured some pretty big hits. The Bella Donna record was released during the summer of 1981. Four singles were released from the album. The album’s first single, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” was written by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell. The song was a smash success, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. Its video, featuring Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty, was the 25th video played on MTV when the channel launched on August 1, 1981. The second single released from the album was the duet Stevie Nicks sang with Eagles drummer and singer Don Henley entitled “Leather and Lace.” It was a gorgeous song that melted the hearts of so many Stevie Nicks fans.

After releasing two singles recorded as duets, Stevie Nicks released the rocker “Edge of Seventeen” as the album’s third single, featuring herself on lead vocals. The album’s fourth single was another ballad entitled “After the Glitter Fades.” Over time, Stevie Nicks’ album Bella Donna became the biggest-selling album of her solo career.

# 1 – The Wild Heart

While Stevie Nicks’ debut album Bella Donna was welcomed with open arms by Stevie Nicks fans, it was the follow-up album entitled The Wild Heart that would be the record we had all been waiting for. Hands down, The Wild Heart is Stevie Nicks’ masterpiece. It is a compelling, heartwarming, brilliant record in which every track is a work of genius. But it was not so much the album’s brilliance that Stevie Nicks fans found so gripping; it was the album’s emotional core that felt so genuine. It began instantly on the title track “Wild Heart.” Anyone who ever suffered through a relationship that ended badly or just ended could relate to the song so dearly. It hurt, yet it healed. It made you feel like your pain was not just yours alone.

The Wild Heart was another album filled with guest appearances by some of the most talented musicians and artists in the business. Tom Petty and members of the Heartbreakers were on board again for the great song “I Will Run To You.” Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac played drums on the track “Sable on Blond.” Steve Lukather, one of the great studio guitarists of his generation and a founding member of Toto, also played on the record. The album’s biggest hit, “Stand Back,” also featured an uncredited synthesizer contribution from Prince, adding another remarkable name to the album’s history.

Updated August 8, 2026.