The Who's Best Song On Each Of Their Studio Albums

Feature Photo: ChrisJamesRyanPhotography / Shutterstock.com

Our presentation of The Who’s Best Song on Each Of Their Studio Albums looks at the studio album catalog of a band considered one of the greatest rock bands of all time. The Who released their first album in 1965, entitled My Generation. Since their debut, they have only released twelve studio albums in sixty years. What is even more interesting is that ten out of those twelve albums were released between 1965 and 1982. After the two Kenny Jones albums, the band rarely released new music, with only two new releases in forty years. However, they have continued to tour, and in 2024, Roger and Pete are still out on the road playing concerts. Here are our picks for the best song on each of their studio albums. This should be fun.

My Generation – “The Kids Are Alright”

My Generation was The Who’s debut studio album, released in 1965. It performed well in the United Kingdom but poorly in the United States. Of course, that would change later when The Who became one of the biggest bands in the world. While the song “My Generation” became the big hit and transformed into a theme song for a generation, we have always thought the best song on the album was another soon-to-be classic, “The Kids Are Alright.”

A Quick One – “A Quick One, While He’s Away”

The Who’s second studio album, A Quick One, was released in 1966. Once again, the album was a big hit in the United Kingdom but had limited success initially in the United States. One of our favorite songs on the album was John Entwistle’s “Boris the Spider.” However, we could not ignore the epic nine-minute closing track written by Pete Townshend called “A Quick One, While He’s Away.”

The Who Sell Out – “Tattoo”

Released 1967

In 1967, The Who released their third studio album entitled The Who Sell Out. The album featured their massive hit single “I Can See for Miles,” which peaked at number thirteen in the UK and number forty-eight in the US. Nonetheless, our favorite tracks on this album were the opening cut “Armenia City in the Sky” and the pick here, the slow-moving, wonderfully harmonious killer tune “Tattoo.” I always loved the line ” My Wife is Tattoed two.” This just may be their most underrated album.

Tommy – “We’re Not Gonna Take It”

And now it’s going to start to get really tough. The Who’s Tommy, released in 1969, marked the first time a Who album charted higher in the United States than in the United Kingdom, as Tommy peaked at number four in the UK and number two in the US. There are so many great songs on this album. However, in having to pick only one, I think we just can’t go wrong with the album’s closing track “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” The ending of this epic seven-minute-plus track is just so epic. This music is just so timeless; it sounds just as good and exciting in 2024 as it did when I first heard it in 1974.

Who’s Next – “Baba O’Riley”

This one was like Tyson vs. Holyfield, Louis vs. Marciano, Ali vs. Frazier. An album that featured two of the most influential and greatest rock songs in classic rock history. The Who’s Who’s Next could also be considered the greatest rock album ever released, or at least in the top five. Nonetheless, this was all about picking the best song on the album, and this one was definitely a heavyweight fight. In the end, it came down, of course, between “Baba O’Riley” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Oh boy. Well, we had to go with the album opener “Baba O’Riley,” but we will take the abuse from those who would scream and shout that it should have been “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

Quadrophenia – “Love, Reign O’er Me”

You might have thought one rock opera was enough, but Pete Townshend is a pretty creative man, and many argue that Quadrophenia was even stronger than Tommy. Quadrophenia was released in 1973. For the first time, a Who album found the exact same success on the charts in both the UK and US, where it peaked at number two on both sides of the Atlantic. Once again, so many great songs to choose from, but if we were allowed to take only one away with us to our deserted island, it would have to be the album closer “Love, Reign O’er Me.”

The Who by Numbers – “How Many Friends”

You had to feel a little bad for The Who, especially Pete Townshend. I mean, how in the world do you follow up two albums like Who’s Next and Quadrophenia? How could you have anything left? The Who by Numbers was the follow-up, and while it’s a decent album, it is far removed from the brilliance of Who’s Next and Quadrophenia. It was still a very successful album for The Who, as it reached the top 10 in both the US and UK. The pick here is a song that was an instant favorite the first time we ever heard the album: “How Many Friends.”

Who Are You – “Guitar and Pen”

You have to hand it to Pete Townshend and the boys. After the release of the mediocre The Who by Numbers, The Who came roaring back with a fantastic album that stands as the last great Who album. Obviously, all Who fans know that Who Are You is the last album to feature Keith Moon, who is pictured on the cover sitting in a chair that said “Not to be taken away.” I will never forget staring at that cover over and over again, thinking how ironic it was.

The album’s opening single was “Had Enough,” but of course, the song that became really famous was the title track “Who Are You.” Nonetheless, we always thought the best song on this album was one of the most interesting in Pete Townshend’s brilliant song “Guitar and Pen.”

Face Dances – “Another Tricky Day”

Face Dances was released in 1981, just two years after Keith Moon had passed away. Everyone was shocked at the choice of Kenny Jones to replace Moon because he was such a different drummer, but perhaps that was what they wanted. The album received a lot of airplay on the radio and MTV, because, of course, it was The Who. It’s not the same Who we all loved, but hey, it was still great to have a new album and to know that the band was not going to call it quits. The pick here is the closing track “Another Tricky Day,” pretty much by default. I love this video, though, as it’s so telling in so many wasy about what the group was all about at this point in their career.

It’s Hard

Released 1982

It’s Hard would be the last Who studio album for another twenty-four years. Over that time, Pete Townshend focused on writing music for his solo albums. Although I always thought it would have been cool to hear “Rough Boys” recorded by The Who. The pick here was between “Eminence Front” and “Athena,” with the latter getting the pick. It was interesting, though, how Kenny Jones sounded a little like Keith Moon on certain parts of this song.

Endless Wire – “Mirror Door”

Released 2006

We all thought we would never get another Who album again. It was a surprise when Endless Wire was released in 2006. The world welcomed them back as the album became a top 10 hit in both the United Kingdom and the United States. This would be the first Who album ever released without John Entwistle, as he had passed away a few years earlier. For most of the album, Pete Townshend played all the instruments, although on some of the tracks, Zak Starkey played drums and Pino Palladino played bass, but for the most part, it’s all Pete Townshend and, of course, Roger Daltrey. The pick here is “Mirror Door” from the mini rock opera Wire & Glass that makes up half of the album.

Who – “I Don’t Wanna Get Wise”

Well, I guess 13 years is better than 24 years. I wonder if this is the final Who album as time is getting on. Another question is, I wonder how many people actually know this album exists. It was released without much fanfare, although there must have been many who did know because it hit number two in the US and number three in the UK. This was a hard one to pick from because honestly, I haven’t listened to it that much; it’s not something that we’ve grown up with, it’s not an album that has got a lot of spins. So, the one song that kind of stood out on limited plays has to be “I Don’t Wanna Get Wise.”