Best Radiohead Albums

The Top Ten
1 OK Computer

A great album. Themes: technology and alienation. The album title is predictive - it's like you are talking to a machine (Hey Siri / OK Computer). "No Surprises" is their best track and hasn't aged a single day.

This album is one of few which features hit songs yet is still adored by critics. In creating this album, it's as if Thom and co. gazed into an orb to predict the future that is the early 21st Century. Harking a story of automation and its discontents, this album truly has no weak links in terms of songs - every song is unique, captivating and worth listening to. OK Computer, often dubbed as Radiohead's best album, propelled Radiohead into music stardom and they have never looked back since. When songs like Polyethylene and I promise are the b-side tracks from the band's recording, you know the album is something special.

Easily Radiohead's most cohesive album, although they have become masters of soundscapes and mood. Taking the listener from the madness of technology overload and contemporary schizophrenia to an unsettled love and reconciliation in 55 minutes. Interestingly, the band's three best albums (The Bends, OK Computer, and In Rainbows) end on a hopeful note, even though the last songs are desperately sad.

What really makes OK Computer the biggest of masterpieces is the complexity and endlessly many layers while still being so listening friendly. No other album that I can think of is able to satisfy both die hard fans as well as newcomers at the same time. That's the main reason for why it deserves my vote for the benefit of Kid A.

2 Kid A

This album is legendary! There isn't a single bad song on it. It all flows together perfectly to create a dark, dystopian and at times creepy atmosphere. This is the album that welcomed us to the 21st century, and will be relevant for eternity. No matter how music changes, no matter how advance our technology gets, Kid A will never go out of style. I remember when I first listened to Ok Computer, I liked it very much, but there was something missing from it. When I listened to Kid A, it made Ok Computer look bad. It made everything good about it better and felt whole. There is nothing I would do to edit Kid A if I had the opportunity. This is not only the best Radiohead album but the best album in the century. A truly incredible album.

Kid A is by far and without a doubt the best album ever made. It is a masterpiece that is so brilliant that not even Radiohead, the greatest band ever, can reproduce something as amazing as it ever again. This album literally changed my life as well as the person that I am. Nothing as good as it will ever happen again. Coming from someone that invests his entire life into being a nerdy music critic, this album leaves me no choice but to use the one word that no critic should ever use: perfect.

Kid A is a gamechanging record, no doubt. All in all, it's my 4th favorite after OK, Bends and In Rainbows. I feel as though it is slightly overrated. First off, it is not a masterpiece in my opinion, as it contains two tracks of which I feel as though bring the album down: Morning Bell and In Limbo. Second, it is plagued by repetition. Almost every track has the same beat going through the whole time, with minor changes here and there. Idioteque
,which I find is the most overrated track on the album,has this problem and drags on 2 minutes longer than it should have. Overall, masterpieces such as Motion Picture Soundtrack and Optimistic keeps this album above Hail and Amnesiac, but slip-ups throughout keep it from the top 3. 9/10.

Kid A doesn't only tell a story, but it also gives an insight into this new millenium we, in 2000 (at its release), were just entering with caution. This album shows the balls of Radiohead and how they can adopt any subgenre of rock and play it with greatest of ease and make it sound like their own. This is honestly tied with OkC for me but def a defining album for the new millenium and has much more importance in the shaping of the music we listen to today. Best song is either Idioteque or How to Disappear Completely...

3 In Rainbows

This is by far the best Radiohead album. It's not as light as OK computer, and it leaves you hanging between reality and some parallel universe. Some of my best memories have had this album as their background music (as weird as this may look). Nude is my absolute favorite, along with Jigsaw Falling Into Place and House of Cards. I can barely keep attention to what's happening around when I put my headphones in and play one these songs. Then again, All I Need, Reckoner, Videotape... All so divine and extraordinary. Honestly, the only thing I can say about this album is that it's impeccable

I'm undecided on the best album: either OK Computer or In Rainbows. I am definitely decided on the best album after OK Computer: In Rainbows over Kid A.

12 years removed we should be able to put Kid A in perspective. Radiohead was riding a high wave of acclaim after OK Computer. Kid A is much anticipated, and it delivered, like a bolt from the blue, an experimental departure with great merit. But this can distort a musical assessment of Kid A. As a "Pitchfork" reviewer observes: "our tireless and self-conscious canonization of OKC and Kid A have undone some of their magic; when I listen to those records now, I hear our own projections and cultural ghosts just as loudly as I hear the music. In Rainbows, though, remains... An architectural marvel with requisite balances between light/dark, simple/complicated and utilitarian/vanguard intact. "

In Rainbows brings the experimental departure and Radiohead's earlier musical artistry together in a more coherent and masterful way ...more

I own a copy of this albums and have listened to all of Radiohead's, and In Rainbows is my favorite album of theirs.
This album is fueled with emotion, and because of its more easygoing feel and also because it is more stripped back and uses less electronic elements which are used quite a lot in Kid A and parts of Ok Computer, the album feels more personal to the listener and gives the listener a more intimate feeling towards this album. Songs such as Nude, Videotape, Weird fishes and Reckoner prove my case that this album is Radiohead's most personal and in my opinion, best work

It's hard to describe why I really love this album as my favorite Radiohead album. The overall feel just really connects. It wasn't trying too hard, It wasn't just a quick release, It was just that, In Rainbows. The songs are a perfect balance between the artistic creative side of Radiohead on albums like Amnesiac and The King of Limbs, while also retaining the grunge-filled emotional development and rock traditions of albums like OK Computer and The Bends.

4 The Bends

First album I ever bought, and I knew nearly nothing about the band as I was fairly new to music at the age of 14. It served as a great introduction to Radiohead and their unique style. A lot of times, I think if I hadn't started with this album, I would've had a much harder time understanding their later, more "daring" records (see: King of Limbs). These songs are definitely Radiohead songs, but they're much easier to listen to, to me, anyway. When I listen to this album, I hear a coming-of-age story, and it was definitely there for me when I was enduring my own coming-of-age story.

OK Computer is undoubtedly their best album, but I think The Bends is unfairly rated because many fans are a bit disagreeable about their early sound. In Rainbows was not nearly as good as people say it is. Reckoner and Nude are good, but House of Cards is overrated. It just sounds like the generic Radiohead song, therefore having no experimentation, and it's not catchy either. Many songs on The Bends thwart these problems.

As much as I like all of Radiohead's music, this should be #2 behind OK Computer. Kid A should be ahead of In Rainbows as well. The Bends is just a fantastic piece of work, with all kinds of emotion to be found. Kid A is a fantastic listen and more atmospheric than In Rainbows. Best when listened to in a good set of headphones. Nothing against In Rainbows, it's a great piece of work itself, just not quite up to Kid A.

A benchmark of Radiohead's career as they settled into stardom. While not quite the same caliber as OK Computer I find The Bands to be one of my favorite albums of all time, and my favorite Radiohead album. Just before they abandoned the three guitar set up and at the end of their more grunge sound and tune. Not as outlandish as Pablo Honey in that matter, yet vastly improving upon it.
Best song: My Iron Lung

5 A Moon Shaped Pool

For the record, Kid A is my personal choice. However, I voted for A Moon Shaped Pool purely because it is Radiohead's newest studio album, and I want to talk about it. For starters, I would seriously place this in 2nd place on this list if I could. I really like it that much. It feels very similar to Kid A, In Rainbows and The King of Limbs. I feel that the themes and topics that it touches, which are quite dark, are reminiscent of Kid A, it has the artistic sound of In Rainbows, and also has whispers of the experimentation sound that was brought to us with The King of Limbs. All the while, it is still totally different to all of the other mentioned albums because it has its own spiritual feel to it. It explores and touches different areas of rhythm and meaning never before ventured by previous Radiohead albums, forever pushing the band's boundaries further. Some of my personal favorites, that I think I most noteworthy, are, of course, "Burn the Witch" and ...more

Their latest album may just go down as one of their best albums. It's haunting, it's depressing, yet it's not like their earlier works. It's got everything. It has some easy listening tunes such as "The Numbers" or "Desert Island Disk", but the music is heavily orchestra-based, which makes the album all the more haunting. It definitely an amazing album, and certainly one of the best albums of the decade.

Such a natural album which shows the humanity behind radiohead rather than their weird side on albums like TKOL. Such a beautiful album with a variety of sounds, whether it's the soft guitar ballad of songs like Desert Island Disk, the sinister orchestral piece of Burn The Witch or the beauty of the piano ballads like Glass Eyes. Definitely up there with albums like Kid A, OK Computer and In Rainbows.

Part of triumvirate (with Kid A and In Rainbows) that rules over the rest. But it's the most coherent of the lot, with a diverse selection of songs drawn together by the arrangements. It also has the most interestingly confessional lyrics of any Radiohead album; not purely angsty or angry or abstract but instead with a revealing sense of vulnerability that, ultimately, for me, brings more hope.

6 Amnesiac

Unashamedly different from its predecessors, Amnesiac combines radical fusions of rock, electronic and jazz to create an album entirely original and separate from the homogeneous nature of current modern contemporary music. At a first glance, this album seems almost unnecessarily verbose and confusing with 'Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors' sparking criticism from even the most die-hard of Radiohead fans. And yet once finally understood, Amnesiac breathes a fresh spark creativity and ingenuity that is unlikely to be heard again any time soon. Fans might dismiss this album as a mere blotch on the record of a band who has produced radio-happy tracks from The Bends and OK Computer. They're wrong however. This is the best thing they've ever done.

How can an album like this be ignored? This is one of the most haunting albums radiohead has ever created. Every song has its own feel, and the Album itself is very dark, almost without hope. As you hit songs like Morning bell and Knives out you can feel the progressiveness of the album, almost like its doubting itself.

Its not their best work, but its deffinitely something out of this world, and the only reason its underrated is the 3 albums (The Bends, Ok Computer and Kid A) before it were masterpieces.

A very dreamy album, closing your eyes as you go down the list of songs on Amnesiac one by one will take you places you never thought of before. Its deffinitely something special.

This album is a true masterpiece. Not as accessible as its predecessor albums, and it takes time to learn to appreciate the brilliance that lies hidden in the complex musical layers.

A song may feel weird at first: the sounds are distorted, the rhythms feels off, they musical layers disconnected, and York's vocals... same thing. But take your time, and listen over again (and again) and notice how it all beautifully comes together.

Favorite songs: packt like sardines in a crushd tin box, pyramid song, you and whose army, I might be wrong, like spinning plates, life in a glasshouse. Oh well... the whole album basically.

This album was more towards the calm side, but don't get me wrong, this album was very well made. My favorite songs on it where pyramid song, you and whose army, I might be wrong, Knives out, and dollars and cents. Furthermore, this album had a dreamy feel to it, such as you and whose army, and life in a glasshouse. I don't mean to be mean but, pulk/pull revolving doors, that song was just WEIRD. I like it but, his voice sounded weird. Overall, this is a great album, I recommend you buying it.

7 Hail to the Thief

I understand that ok computer, kid a, etc. are very well written albums and have some very dreamy feel to them unlike no other band. But this album was a excellent album! There was some cursing now and then, but ALL of these songs were good. Scatterbrain was a very dreamy emotinial song, while where I end you begin was a very emotional rock song. But don't get me wrong about the other albums, THOSE ARE GREAT. Have you ever looked on iTunes and saw that the popularity on the songs was a 1 out of 10? I DO NOT believe this about the songs, there are songs on that that are better then 5 out of 10 songs. Other bands you should pick from are Coldplay and U2, these are good to. I used to listen to these bands all the time when I was a kid, such as, Coldplay, U2, Radiohead, The Beatles, The Eagles, and Jack Johnson. This is what you call quality music, not "JAY Z." You probobly think of me as a slacker eating chips all day and not getting outside often, but I am a really smart guy who makes ...more

Hail to the Thief is the best all around album that radiohead has put out! It has everything you can look for. Rock, electronica, lyrically amazing and oh so much more! Where I end and you begin could be their best track ever if motion picture soundtrack wasn't so good. But, let me say every album is outstanding! Ok Computer and Kid A are 2 3 with In Rainbows following. The greatest band of all time without question!

First Radiohead album I ever listened to, and remains in my top 3. This doesn't deserve to be 6th! Hail To The Thief showcases all Radiohead's talents, with the slower tempo in I Will, to the faster paced 2 2=5, and There There is just incredible. The guitar solos in Go To Sleep are mind blowing and A Wolf At The Door is so powerful. Mere words do not allow me to sufficiently give this album the credit it deserves!

As Radiohead forged into a new era, Hail To The Thief bloomed with more rock sounds. It seemed as if the mystique of the Kid A era couldn't last. But this isn't the rock utopian destruction of OK Computer, neither. This is more straightforward rock, the kind that they hadn't released since The Bends.

Favorite song: There, There

8 The King of Limbs

With the exception of Feral, which I'd rate 3/5, and Morning Mr. Magpie, which I'd rate 4/5, all of these songs are top quality, five-star songs. Some of the songs take several listens to, because they are so dense. Bloom is a surprising piece because it utilizes such a delicate base line to form an intricate melody. Morning Mr. Magpie might sound slow and meandering compared to the live performances, but it certainly has an interesting, visceral element that induces paranoia. Little By Little is interesting in another way -- it seems more complicated than it actually is. Feral was the only song I wasn't wild about, but the live performances of the song are really good. Lotus Flower is subtly complex and drives itself through its compelling baseline and beat. Codex is a simply beautiful, artfully crafted song that manages to musically simulate water. Give Up The Ghost, while at first underwhelming, became my favorite Radiohead song of all time. It creates a beautiful contrast to the ...more

At first I wasnt actually sure I downloaded the right album, this album will grow on you, and when it does you will not get enough of it, the first half is nothing special, good quality music but nothing that screams best of radiohead.

Then you get to the last half of the album, from here the energy, emotion, and structure Radiohead pours into this album really shows, Codex is a depressing song with an amazing progression, then the acoustic give up the ghost is eerie and haunting, then seperators well rounded engineering and structure pulls the album together. You have to listen to the last half of the album over and over and once everything starts to click, you cannot get enough.

A really fantastic attempt from a band that has been everywhere and done everything. They really managed to squeeze a hell of a lot of musicality into their shortest album thus far, with amazing tracks like Codex and Lotus Flower. The first four tracks are a bit more mellow and dreamy, leading into a very artistic and concrete second half. From Bloom to Separator this album is a triumph, capable of rivaling everything from Kid A to The Bends to even OK Computer.

"This album is really the most unique album Radiohead ever released. The looping gimmick is really something different that created songs I didn't expect to enjoy - and it stitches this half together with a more conventional sounding back-half. It isn't the the overbloated record that Hail to the Thief was, and it never drags in places like Amnesiac does. It's the best mixture of what something like The Bends and Kid A could be.

9 Pablo Honey

Does it belong at the bottom of the 8? Yeah, I'd say so. But I'm gonna vote for it just to say my piece.

I'm listening to this right now for about the millionth time (I always joke that, on YouTube, the view counter for Radiohead videos is broken because it's only showing my views).

This really is a fantastic album from start to finish. Radiohead have never done wrong and this is no exception. While perhaps my least favourite tracks are on here, they're still excellent songs. And then some of the best stuff they've ever done (looking at you, Lurgee and Blow Out) can also be found here.

Really one of the best albums ever made. Yes, it's the "worst" Radiohead album. But that's like saying the first season of Breaking Bad is the "worst" season of Breaking Bad. It just doesn't make sense.

I know this album has become a joke to many Radiohead fans, but that doesn't mean that it isn't an enjoyable experience. I love it front to back. AND there are WAY better songs on here than Creep like I Can't and Prove Yourself. If you are a real Radiohead fan, then you really shouldn't skip it. Sure this is probably one of Radiohead's weaker albums but this only shows how many great albums Radiohead has to offer.

Sure, it might not be RADIOHEAD'S best album, but in comparison with every other band ever, this album is absolutely fantastic. The first Radiohead album I listened to, and I was thoroughly impressed without having listened to any of the other albums.
Some really great songs on here, but my favourite has got to be Stop Whispering. That song is, in contrast to Creep, actually uplifting!

Ah, the debut album. This album is underrated, I agree, but it certainly isn't their best. In my opinion, it's their worst. But 'Creep' is one of the most depressing songs ever written. A sign of things to come, perhaps?

Favorite song: Creep

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