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Our Sleater-Kinney Albums Ranked list takes a look at some of the best rock albums released in the past twenty years by the great band Sleater-Kinney. Hands down Sleater-Kinney is easily one of our favorite rock groups of the modern era of 21st century rock and roll. Their music crosses many genres from punk to pop to straight ahead rock filled with addictive guitar licks, mind blowing lyrics and vocals to die for. The band released their first album in 1995 and have continued to release album after album of brilliant rock and roll while always presenting something new and fresh on each album without ever really repeating themselves. As of 2021, the group Sleater-Kinney has released ten studio albums. Their most recent release entitled Path Of Wellness was just issued in June of 2021. Our Sleater-Kinney Albums ranked list takes a look at their wonderful catalog of albums and puts them in order of our favorites.
# 10 – All Hands On The Bad One
We open up our Sleater-Kinney albums ranked list with the album entitled All Hands On The Bad One. Consistency has been one of the hallmarks that has defined the Sleater-Kinney album catalog. Hands down, this is one of their most consistent albums. Every song on this record is just simply fabulous. We could have put this one in the number one spot as well as the number 10 spot, it’s just that good. The album was released in 2000.
# 9 – Sleater-Kinney
In the number nine spot on our Sleater-Kinney albums list we turn to the band’s debut album entitled Sleater-Kinney. This great rock and roll record was released in 1995. While production values on this one may be a bit low, the song structures, performances and overall collection of songs are as high as they get.
# 8 – Path To Wellness
In the number eight spot we jump from the previous selection that was the band’s debut album to their most recent record released in 2021 entitled Path of Wellness. This album is simply astonishing. The music, just like on every other album they have released is still fueled by brilliant pop melodies, intense guitar licks, emotional hardcore singing and great drumming.
# 7 – The Hot Rock
There are many Sleater-Kinney fans that choose The Hit Roc as their favorite Sleater-Kinney album. Songs like “God Is A Number,” “Hot Rock,” and “Banned from the End of the World” defined a new level of songwriting from the band. This album was not as heavy and as punk as previous albums as the group turned to a different style of songwriting on this brilliant album. The album was released in 1999. It would become the first Sleater-Kinney album to make it onto any of the Billboard music charts.
# 6 – Dig Me Out
In the number six position on our Sleater-Kinney albums list is the great record Dig Me Out. The Dig Me Out album was the band’s third album release. The record was released in 1997. The band’s sound changed on this because it was the first album to feature the group’s new drummer called Janet Weiss.The addition of Janet Weiss brought more of a thunderous rock and roll sound to the group which is quite evident on this great rock and roll album.
# 5 – One Beat
At the halfway point on our Sleater-Kinney albums list is the band’s sixth album entitled One Beat. The album was released in August of 2002. The release date is significant in the release of this album as it was released a little less than one year after the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. It made for the band’s most political album of their career. It would also become the band’s highest charting album of their career at that point as it peaked all the way to the number two position on the Billboard Indie Albums Charts.
# 4 – The Center Won’t Hold
The Center Won’t Hold is the album in which Sleater-Kinney meets St.Vincent. It’s female power times 100 on this one. Two of the greatest female acts of the 21st century came together in the form of Sleater-Kinney the artist and St.Vincent the producer. The results were stunning. Sleater-Kinney’s formula of power punk rock meets pop was taking to new heights with the slick production values that St.Vincent knows how to layout on vinyl. Standout tracks on this one included the songs “Hurry On Home” and
“Can I Go On.”
# 3 – No Cities to Love
If there’s one album you need to make sure you have in your Sleater-Kinney albums collection it’s this fantastic record entitled No Cities To Love. The album was released in 2015. It was the band’s first album in 10 years and man did they come roaring back. This was a collection of punk rock songs all around 3 minutes long that just defined perfection in the recording studio. For many fans and critics,No Cities To Love just may be the best Sleater-Kinney album ever released. I wouldn’t argue with them, it’s that good. It’s like Hole meets The Bangles meets The Runaways.
# 2 – Call The Doctor
In the number two spot on our Sleater-Kinney albums ranked list is the the great album entitled Call The Doctor. The album was released in 1996. What we love about this album was the record’s spontaneity. The album was actually recorded in just a couple of days and you can hear it in the way the girls just banged out these tunes in the way they sound so alive and fresh. What’s interesting about this album is the lack of a bass player which gives it a very unique and loose feel as the guitars and drums light it up in all directions. This is one of the best rock and roll albums released during the decade of the 1990s.
# 1 – The Woods
In the number one spot on our Sleater-Kinney albums list is our favorite Sleater-Kinney album called The Woods. This great rock and roll record was released in the spring of 2005. The Woods would become the band’s first album released on the legendary grunge label Sub Pop. Every single song on this record was just fabulous. The album was highlighted by the first two singles released from the album entitled “Entertain,” and “Jumpers.” These were two songs that easily made our top 10 Sleater-Kinney songs list that we did just a weeks ago. The Woods album broke into the Billboard top 200 charts peaking at number 80. It went all the way to number two on the independent album charts. This was easily the band’s greatest album they ever released.
Sleater-Kinney Albums Ranked article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2021
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