Top 10 Deep Purple Albums

Photo: Warner Bros. Records / Public domain via Creative Commons

Our top 10 Deep Purple Albums list takes a look at one of the most legendary rock and roll bands in classic rock history. Deep Purple became one of the pioneering bands in the heavy metal genre. Along with groups like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple changed the sound of rock and roll taking it away from the genres of 1960s psychedelic and progressive rock to a harder and sometimes darker sound that fit with the changing times. Deep Purple went through multiple lineup changes throughout the band’s history.

Deep Purple has been releasing albums for over 50 years. Their first album, Deep Purple, was released in 1968. Their most recent album,=1 was released in 2024.

Our top 10 Deep Purple albums list examines what we believe are the 10 best Deep Purple albums the band has released throughout its career. We rank them in the order of our favorites. Of course, it’s all subjective, but it’s a lot of fun to do in the end.

# 10 – Infinite

We open up our Top 10 Deep Purple Albums list with the band’s twentieth album entitled Infinite released on April 7, 2017. The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, with renowned producer Bob Ezrin, who had also worked with the band on their previous album, Now What?!. Ezrin’s touch is noticeable in the album’s polished production, blending Deep Purple’s classic sound with modern rock elements while maintaining the band’s signature organ-heavy sound, tight guitar work, and dynamic rhythm section.

The lineup on Infinite features the core members of Deep Purple that fans have come to know and love: Ian Gillan on vocals, Steve Morse on guitar, Roger Glover on bass, Ian Paice on drums, and Don Airey on keyboards. This configuration of the band shows impressive cohesion and creativity, particularly considering that most of the band members were well into their sixties and seventies during the album’s recording. The chemistry between them is unmistakable, and their performances on Infinite reflect their decades of experience together.

The album was well-received by both fans and critics. It charted in multiple countries, debuting at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart and reaching the top 10 in several other countries, including Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. The critical consensus praised Deep Purple for their ability to evolve without straying too far from their classic rock roots. Songs like “Time for Bedlam” and “The Surprising” have drawn attention for their strong instrumentation and engaging songwriting, while the band’s cover of “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors added a fun and unexpected twist to the record.

Don Airey‘s organ work on this record is incredible and pays many respects to the legend of Jon Lord. If you haven’t heard this record, stop what you’re doing and check it out. This is truly a great Deep Purple record and the best thing the band had released since Perfect Strangers.

# 9 – The Book of Taliesyn

One of the goals of any top 10 albums list by any band is to present music from all the periods the band released albums. Of course, there are exceptions, and that is not always possible. However, Deep Purple is one of the longest-running bands in Rock and Roll history. Yes, of course, they have produced many different lineups over time, but it still is Deep Purple. We could not compose a top 10 Deep Purple albums list without including at least one of the first three albums from the 1960s. Our favorite of the three has always been, The Book of Taliesyn.

The Book of Taliesyn is Deep Purple’s second studio album, released in October 1968, just a few months after their debut Shades of Deep Purple. Recorded between August 11 and 13, 1968, at De Lane Lea Studios in London, the album marks an important transitional period for the band, showcasing their evolving sound as they began blending psychedelic rock with classical music influences, foreshadowing the hard rock and proto-metal style they would become known for in the 1970s.

Produced by Derek Lawrence, The Book of Taliesyn continues the lineup featuring Rod Evans on vocals, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Jon Lord on keyboards, Nick Simper on bass, and Ian Paice on drums. While this lineup was still rooted in the late ’60s psychedelic and progressive rock scene, the album features early hints of the heavier sound that Deep Purple would fully embrace with their Mark II lineup in the coming years.

The album includes a mix of original compositions and a few bold cover versions. Highlights include “Wring That Neck,” an instrumental that became a live staple for the band, showing off the impressive musicianship of Blackmore and Lord. “Shield” and “Anthem” are more progressive tracks that feature Lord’s classical influences. Meanwhile, their cover of “Kentucky Woman” (written by Neil Diamond) brought the band commercial success, reaching number 38 on the US charts. The closing track, a reimagined version of The Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out,” demonstrates the band’s ability to reinterpret and expand on contemporary hits.

# 8 – Stormbringer

Stormbringer is Deep Purple’s ninth studio album, released in November 1974, and it marks the second and final album of the band’s Mark III lineup, which included David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals, alongside core members Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Jon Lord (keyboards), and Ian Paice (drums). This album represents a significant shift in Deep Purple’s sound, blending their signature hard rock style with elements of funk, soul, and blues, a direction that would later influence the band’s Mark IV era.

Recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, and produced by Deep Purple with Martin Birch as the engineer, Stormbringer takes its name from a mythical character that appears in the fantasy novels by Michael Moorcock. The album’s title track, “Stormbringer,” is a powerful hard rock anthem that opens the record with one of Ritchie Blackmore’s most recognizable riffs. This track exemplifies the tension between Blackmore’s heavier rock roots and the funkier direction driven by Coverdale and Hughes, leading to Blackmore’s eventual departure from the band after the album’s tour.

While tracks like “Stormbringer” and “Lady Double Dealer” offer classic Purple hard rock, songs such as “Holy Man” and “Hold On” showcase a softer, more soulful sound, highlighting Glenn Hughes’ contributions to the album. Hughes’ bass playing and vocals added a funk groove that was quite different from the band’s earlier, heavier material. Coverdale’s deep, bluesy vocals, meanwhile, established him as a strong presence in the band, setting the stage for his future success with Whitesnake.

# 7 – Who Do We Think We Are

We continue our Top 10 Deep Purple Albums list with the great Deep Purple album Who Do We Think We Are. The album was released in 1973. It would be the final album released by the team of Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan and Glover in the nineteen seventies. That classic line-up would later reunite on the Perfect Stranger album that was released over ten years later in 1984. Nonetheless, the Who Do We Think We Are album turned out to be a huge selling album for the band. Those sales were fueled by the massive success of the single “Woman From Tokyo.”

# 6 – Perfect Strangers

Speaking of the Perfect Strangers album….. This fabulous album was the last great Deep Purple album released up until the band’s recent record Infinite in 2017. The album proved to be extremely successful for the band at least from a commercial point of view. It wound up being the second biggest selling album of their career behind Machine Head. Two singles were released from the album including the title track and the album opener “Knocking at Your backdoor.” The latter being a killer seven minute album opener that recalled Deep Purple’s glory days.

# 5 – Burn

Continuing with our top 10 Deep Purple albums list we turn to the legendary album entitled Burn. Deep Purple’s Burn album was released in 1974. This was the first album to feature the lineup of David Coverdale on vocals, Ritchie Blackmore on guitars, Jon Lord on keys, Glenn Hughes on bass and Ian Paice on drums. The band seemed to have something to prove with this album. The record opened with the unbelievable smoking dynamic track “Burn.” I remember buying this album when it first came out and not knowing what to expect because of the changes in the band. I was completely floored at what I heard. I played this album every day until the next one came out.

# 4 -Fireball

The Deep Purple album Fireball was released in 1971. It served as the follow up to their incredible record Deep Purple in Rock. A tough album to follow. Many of the band members were not happy with the record because they felt they were rushed to put it out. Constant touring did not allow for a lot of time to write and record an album the way they wanted to. Nonetheless, fans loved the record. It has stood the test of time as being one of their best. It was the band’s second album released with their MKII lineup.

# 3 – Deep Purple in Rock

As we close in on the number one spot on our top 10 Deep Purple albums list, we turn to the album that many Deep Purple fans and critics would argue was the band’s best studio record. The classic album Deep Purple in Rock was released in 1970. It was the first album to feature the lineup of Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan and Glover. The band’s sound changed dramatically on this record from their first three albums which were bathed more in progressivism and psychedelic Rock when compared to the more heavy metal aspects of this one. The album was huge in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom. It was not as popular initially in the United States as it was on the western side of the Atlantic. These top three Deep Purple albums are pretty much interchangeable in order. They are all amazing rock and roll records.

# 2 – Machine Head

If you were a rock and roll fan growing up in the 1970s, we would say the chances that you had Deep Purple’s Machine Head album in your collection were pretty high. The Machine Head album was released in 1972. It would become the band’s most successful album of all time selling more units than any other Deep Purple record in the band’s entire history. Fueling the success of the album were the songs “Smoke On The Water,” which would become the first song every enthusiastic amateur guitar player would learn, plus the great tracks, “Space Trucking, Lazy and Highway Star.”

# 1 – Live In Japan

Landing in the number one spot on our Top 10 Deep Purple Albums list is one of the greatest live albums of all time. Its rare that we even list a live album on a band’s top 10 albums list, but Deep Purple’s Made In Japan is just so good. There was never was any doubt in our minds that Made In Japan would be our number one pick. Made In Japan was released in 1973 which would stand as one of the greatest years in rock and roll history. Made In Japan was a two record set that contained only seven songs. But oh man! they were seven pretty freaking great live versions of what would become legendary Deep Purple songs.

The album opened up with “Highway Star,” and “Child in Time,” on side one. “Smoke On The Water,” and “The Mule,” on side two. “Strange Kind Of Woman,” and “Lazy,” on side three with the twenty minute “Space Trucking,” filling up the entire fourth side of the album. The band lit it up on every track on this amazing record. In the end, Made In Japan defined the best of Deep Purple in the 1970s representing the best lineup the group ever put forth under the Deep Purple name.

Updated September 28, 2024