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Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart, known professionally as Fiona Apple, began her recording career in the mid-1990s and quickly established herself as one of the most distinctive singer-songwriters of her generation. Born on September 13, 1977, in Manhattan, New York, Apple combined an expressive contralto voice, highly personal songwriting, and piano-centered arrangements with influences drawn from alternative rock, jazz, pop, and singer-songwriter traditions. Her 1996 debut album, Tidal, introduced her to a wide audience and included “Criminal,” which won the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
As of 2026, Fiona Apple’s studio discography consists of five albums: Tidal (1996), When the Pawn… (1999), Extraordinary Machine (2005), The Idler Wheel… (2012), and Fetch the Bolt Cutters (2020). The long spaces between those releases have become part of her story, but she has continued recording individual songs and collaborations. In 2025 she released “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home),” her first new original song in five years, and in 2026 she released “Horns of a Bull” for the Apple TV miniseries Lucky. Neither release has yet been followed by a sixth studio album.
Apple has won three Grammy Awards. “Criminal” earned her first in 1998, while Fetch the Bolt Cutters won Best Alternative Music Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards and “Shameika” won Best Rock Performance. Her catalog remains relatively small compared with many artists who began recording in the 1990s, but each album represents a distinct stage in her development as a songwriter, pianist, vocalist, arranger, and producer.
Tidal
Released: July 23, 1996
Tidal, Fiona Apple’s debut studio album, was released on July 23, 1996, and introduced her combination of piano-driven alternative pop, jazz-influenced phrasing, and intensely personal songwriting. Produced by Andrew Slater and recorded at studios including Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood and Sony Music Studios in New York, the album reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA. Songs including “Sleep to Dream,” “Shadowboxer,” and “Criminal” established Apple as a major new voice, with “Criminal” earning her the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
CD Track Listings:
- “Sleep to Dream” – 4:08
- “Sullen Girl” – 3:54
- “Shadowboxer” – 5:24
- “Criminal” – 5:41
- “Slow Like Honey” – 5:56
- “The First Taste” – 4:45
- “Never Is a Promise” – 5:54
- “The Child Is Gone” – 4:14
- “Pale September” – 5:50
- “Carrion” – 5:43
When the Pawn…
Released: November 9, 1999
When the Pawn…, Fiona Apple’s second studio album, was released on November 9, 1999, with a full title taken from a lengthy poem Apple had written. Produced by Jon Brion, the record moved beyond the comparatively restrained sound of Tidal into denser arrangements, sharper rhythmic shifts, and more confrontational songwriting. The album debuted and peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and later earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. “Fast as You Can,” “Paper Bag,” “Limp,” and “I Know” remain among the album’s best-known tracks and demonstrate the increasing confidence and complexity of Apple’s writing.
CD Track Listings:
- “On the Bound” – 5:23
- “To Your Love” – 3:40
- “Limp” – 3:31
- “Love Ridden” – 3:22
- “Paper Bag” – 3:40
- “A Mistake” – 4:58
- “Fast as You Can” – 4:40
- “The Way Things Are” – 4:18
- “Get Gone” – 4:10
- “I Know” – 4:57
Extraordinary Machine
Released: October 4, 2005
Extraordinary Machine, released on October 4, 2005, became one of the most discussed albums of Fiona Apple’s career before listeners even heard the finished version. Initial sessions were produced by Jon Brion, but Apple later reworked much of the material with producer Mike Elizondo, creating the commercially released album after an unusually long and complicated production process. The finished record debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, Apple’s first Top 10 album, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. The title track, “O’ Sailor,” “Parting Gift,” and “Not About Love” combine rhythmic experimentation with some of Apple’s most direct and playful writing.
CD Track Listings:
- “Extraordinary Machine” – 3:44
- “Get Him Back” – 5:26
- “O’ Sailor” – 5:37
- “Better Version of Me” – 3:01
- “Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)” – 4:05
- “Parting Gift” – 3:36
- “Window” – 5:33
- “Oh Well” – 3:42
- “Please Please Please” – 3:35
- “Red Red Red” – 4:08
- “Not About Love” – 4:21
- “Waltz (Better Than Fine)” – 3:46
The Idler Wheel…
Released: June 19, 2012
The Idler Wheel…, formally titled The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, was released on June 19, 2012, and found Fiona Apple stripping her music down to piano, percussion, unusual textures, and increasingly raw vocal performances. Apple co-produced the album with drummer and percussionist Charley Drayton, giving songs such as “Every Single Night,” “Werewolf,” “Regret,” and “Hot Knife” an intimate and sometimes deliberately abrasive sound. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the highest chart position of her career, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.
CD Track Listings:
- “Every Single Night” – 3:33
- “Daredevil” – 3:28
- “Valentine” – 3:32
- “Jonathan” – 5:04
- “Left Alone” – 4:50
- “Werewolf” – 3:12
- “Periphery” – 4:58
- “Regret” – 5:17
- “Anything We Want” – 4:40
- “Hot Knife” – 4:02
Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Released: April 17, 2020
Fetch the Bolt Cutters, released on April 17, 2020, is Fiona Apple’s fifth studio album and her most self-directed recording to date. Much of the album was created in and around her Venice, California, home, with Apple using piano, household sounds, layered voices, handclaps, percussion, and unconventional recording techniques alongside musicians including Amy Aileen Wood, Sebastian Steinberg, and DavĆd Garza. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, while “Shameika” won Best Rock Performance. Songs including “I Want You to Love Me,” “Shameika,” “Under the Table,” and the title track pushed Apple’s music further into rhythmic experimentation without sacrificing the directness of her songwriting.
CD Track Listings:
- “I Want You to Love Me” – 3:57
- “Shameika” – 4:08
- “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” – 4:58
- “Under the Table” – 3:21
- “Relay” – 4:49
- “Rack of His” – 3:42
- “Newspaper” – 5:32
- “Ladies” – 5:25
- “Heavy Balloon” – 3:26
- “Cosmonauts” – 3:59
- “For Her” – 2:43
- “Drumset” – 2:40
- “On I Go” – 3:09
Read More: Top 10 Fiona Apple Songs
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Complete List Of Fiona Apple Albums And Songs article published on ClassicRockHistory.com Ā© 2026
Updated September 6, 2026.



























