Best John Frusciante Albums

Very dark. He was high out of his mind when he made this, obviously. This was the album that introduced me to John's solo music. There is just something about his artistic expression in the songs from this album that sticks with you, even though some of the singing is kind of eccentric.

I've been an RHCP fan for a while now and knew John had an amazing solo career. So I listened to this album and WOW. To this day, it remains my favorite John Frusciante solo album, and it's among my top 10 favorite albums of all time. It's dark, yes, but the fact that Frusciante wrote it while deep in depression and drug addiction is just, wow. It makes you feel sad, but also open and imaginative. And that's what most of these songs are.

They aren't accessible to just any Chili Peppers fan, or even a fan of John's later work. Once you know the backstory of this album, which I consider to be just as important as the album itself, this one speaks to you deeper. If you're depressed or just in a bad mood and put this on, you'll feel heard, if not better. It's like grunge, or rock as a whole, in that way. The lack of raunchy guitars or much distortion is a great choice on John's part, and his broken, depressing vocals are one of the best parts of this album.

Niandra Lades houses all my favorite songs from John, including My Smile Is a Rifle, Untitled #2, Untitled #6 and #7, Your P*ssy's Glued to a Building on Fire, and my personal favorite, Mascara. I will never grow tired of this masterpiece. F John's later work (not really). If it came down to it, I'd pick Niandra Lades every time.

A calm, relaxing album that still proves to be fun, The Will to Death fully deserves its spot at #2. The title track is a holy masterpiece, The Days Have Turned is a quiet tune, and An Exercise is underappreciated. Go to bed listening to this album. It will put your mind at rest.

A very chill album still capturing his guitar skills, certainly less electronic. A very pleasant listen for the longest time. The most RHCP-ish, I think. Almost at the level of "Inside of Emptiness."

Sadly, his last guitar-driven album, The Empyrean, to me, captures Frusciante at his absolute peak. Every song is composed intricately and yet remains focused musically. John manages to create such strong and vibrant moods that his lyrics on this album, though cryptic and often infused with high-brow metaphysical themes, are nothing short of visionary.

I am usually a sucker for quotations. With The Empyrean, quoting lyrics proves tricky: taken out of context, they might seem weird or even hokey at times. But within the context of the songs, they are among the most beautiful and touching pieces of writing I've come across in recent years. The Empyrean is definitely Frusciante's best and most accomplished album, hands down.

This album has had a profound impact on my outlook on life, living, and dying. Frusciante's mind-bending and time-bending lyrics remind me of poems from American writer and poet Khalil Gibran. They are accompanied by rich, warm sounds and guitar solos masterfully crafted for reverse looping (Time Goes Back), creating a timeless place that leaves nothing but love and hope. Reverence.

When someone you love passes away or you are having an existential crisis, I direct you to Shadows Collide With People for comfort. This is one of the many Frusciante albums I will have my children and my children's children grow up listening to.

This album deserves its place among the greatest acoustic albums of all time.

"It was just me sitting on a pillow, on my living room floor, with my back leaning against the couch." An awesome acoustic album, meaningful and emotionally in parallel with every song. This is amazingly expressive and underrated.

A brilliant mix of his electronic music abilities and guitar skills.

A few good tracks. My favorites are Going Inside, Murderers, and Ramparts. Definitely deserves to be higher.

Fabulous, nothing quite like it.

A very commendable set of tunes! The instrumentals are great, and his music directly expresses an effective objectification of 'eeriness.' Nice interpretation of emotion through guitars and lyrics.

A beautiful experimental album that showcases the pure musical talents of John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer.

If people had good taste, this would be up there with Niandra Lades. Yes, he released it for drug money. Does that make the songs any less amazing? Tracks like Femininity, the title track, I Can't See Until I See Your Eyes, and I'm Always are constantly overshadowed by the bigger hits.

Experimental, bluesy, and electro. A very interesting listen.

Only an EP, but I love it from start to finish.