Rate Rush Albums 0-10

[rushgoober]

I actually already did this thread once before, but it was back in 2006. I figure enough time has passed to do it newly, especially as my (and I imagine anyone else who was around back then) numbers have changed a bit since then.

 

Here's a simple way to rate Rush albums on a 0-10 scale. I've devised a simple meaning to the numbers, but you can use your own if you like:

 

 

10. Absolute perfection all the way through - a masterpiece.

9. Excellent, not one weak track and nearly perfect.

8. Great album, a must-own.

7. Very good album - well worth owning.

6. Not thier best, but still pretty darn good.

5. I don't listen that often, but it's a good album.

4. It's not bad, some weaker material.

3 - It's alright, I'll listen and enjoy it occasionally, but will often skip some tracks.

2 - There are a couple of good or great tracks, but generally fairly weak.

1 - Barely listenable, for completists only, only one or two even halfway-decent tracks.

0 - Just really bad, no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

 

_________________________________________________

 

 

I'm leaving out live albums and Feedback, choosing only to focus on studio albums of original material:

 

 

Rush - 8.5

Fly By Night - 7.5

Caress of Steel - 6.5

2112 - 8.5

A Farewell To Kings - 8.5

Hemispheres - 10

Permanent Waves - 9.5

Moving Pictures - 9.5

Signals - 10

Grace Under Pressure - 9

Power Windows - 8

Hold Your Fire - 8.5

Presto - 4

Roll The Bones - 2.5

Counterparts - 7.5

Test For Echo - 2

Vapor Trails - 0.5

Snakes & Arrows - 6.5

 

*Edited in to say that it's been so long since I did this thread, that I didn't even have S&A listed! I had to edit the thread to add that one in!

Edited May 24, 2012 by rushgoober

[rushgoober]

Interestingly, in the 5 years since I did this previously, almost all the Rush albums that were higher than 5 went up, and almost all the Rush albums that were lower than 5 went down. I guess my general trend has been that the albums I like or love have only grown in esteem, and the ones I dislike or hate have gone down in esteem, probably mostly because I almost never want to listen to those anymore.

[Snaked]

RUSH - 5

Fly By Night - 5

Caress of Steel - 6

2112 - 7

A Farewell To Kings - 8

Hemispheres - 10

Permanent Waves - 9

Moving Pictures - 9

Signals - 9

P/g! - 10

Power Windows - 10

Hold Your Fire - 8

Presto - 7

Roll The Bones - 6

Counterparts - 8

Test For Echo - 6

Vapor Trails - 9 for the songs - 1 for the production

Snakes and Arrows - 6

Clockwork Angels - ???

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Snaked @ May 24 2012, 03:31 PM)

Clockwork Angels - ???

Part of me was tempted to wait till CA came out to do this thread, but I really think people need a few months, and more realistically 1 or 2 years before they can accurately assess a rating on an album. IMHO it takes a long while for an album to really settle in, to get over the newness of it and to be able to carefully determine where it truly ranks among a group's discography.

[Snaked]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 24 2012, 06:35 PM)

QUOTE (Snaked @ May 24 2012, 03:31 PM) Clockwork Angels - ??? Part of me was tempted to wait till CA came out to do this thread, but I really think people need a few months, and more realistically 1 or 2 years before they can accurately assess a rating on an album. IMHO it takes a long while for an album to really settle in, to get over the newness of it and to be able to carefully determine where it truly ranks among a group's discography. wow. we agree on something. go figger

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Snaked @ May 24 2012, 03:36 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 24 2012, 06:35 PM) QUOTE (Snaked @ May 24 2012, 03:31 PM) Clockwork Angels - ??? Part of me was tempted to wait till CA came out to do this thread, but I really think people need a few months, and more realistically 1 or 2 years before they can accurately assess a rating on an album. IMHO it takes a long while for an album to really settle in, to get over the newness of it and to be able to carefully determine where it truly ranks among a group's discography. wow. we agree on something. go figger       it was bound to happen sooner or later.

[Deckiller]

Rush - 6

Fly By Night - 7

Caress of Steel - 4.5

2112 - 8

A Farewell to Kings - 7.5

Hemispheres - 9

Permanent Waves - 9.5

Moving Pictures - 10

Signals - 8.5

Grace Under Pressure - 8

Power Windows - 10

Hold Your Fire - 9

Presto - 5.5

Roll the Bones - 5.5

Counterparts - 8.5

Test for Echo - 3

Vapor Trails - 2.5

Feedback - 3.5

Snakes and Arrows - 7

Edited May 24, 2012 by Deckiller

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Deckiller @ May 24 2012, 04:28 PM)

Rush - 6 Fly By Night - 7 Caress of Steel - 4.5 2112 - 8 A Farewell to Kings - 7.5 Hemispheres - 9 Permanent Waves - 9.5 Moving Pictures - 10 Signals - 8.5 Grace Under Pressure - 8 Power Windows - 10 Hold Your Fire - 9 Presto - 5.5 Roll the Bones - 5.5 Counterparts - 8.5 Test for Echo - 3 Vapor Trails - 2.5 Feedback - 3.5 Snakes and Arrows - 7

Your ratings are actually fairly similar to mine - our numbers differ a bit, but you seem to echo the same general weak points and strong points as I do in their discography; COS definitely being the weakest link in 1974-1987, but still really good, a dip for presto-rtb, a spike for CP, a dip for t4e-VT and another spike for S&A!

[Deckiller]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 24 2012, 06:38 PM)

QUOTE (Deckiller @ May 24 2012, 04:28 PM) Rush - 6 Fly By Night - 7 Caress of Steel - 4.5 2112 - 8 A Farewell to Kings - 7.5 Hemispheres - 9 Permanent Waves - 9.5 Moving Pictures - 10 Signals - 8.5 Grace Under Pressure - 8 Power Windows - 10 Hold Your Fire - 9 Presto - 5.5 Roll the Bones - 5.5 Counterparts - 8.5 Test for Echo - 3 Vapor Trails - 2.5 Feedback - 3.5 Snakes and Arrows - 7 Your ratings are actually fairly similar to mine - our numbers differ a bit, but you seem to echo the same general weak points and strong points as I do in their discography; COS definitely being the weakest link in 1974-1987, but still really good, a dip for presto-rtb, a spike for CP, a dip for t4e-VT and another spike for S&A! Indeed! If I recall from the 156 song ranking thread, we agreed on most points except for a few (Lakeside Park, etc.). I'll be finishing that thread right before CA is released. (There's no truth to the rumor that I delayed finishing that thread to mock Rush's delaying of CA...no truth at all!)

Edited May 24, 2012 by Deckiller

[Cyclonus X-1]

Rush - 8

Fly By Night - 7

Caress of Steel - 10

2112 - 7

A Farewell to Kings - 7

Hemispheres - 8

Permanent Waves - 9

Moving Pictures - 10

Signals - 9

Grace Under Pressure - 8

Power Windows - 5

Hold Your Fire - 7

Presto - 7

Roll the Bones - 6

Counterparts - 9

Test for Echo - 7

Vapor Trails - 6

Snakes & Arrows - 8

[Shreddy Lee]

Using Goobs' number meanings:

 

Rush - 4.5

Fly By Night - 9

Caress of Steel - 7

2112 - 8

A Farewell to Kings - 8

Hemispheres - 9

Permanent Waves - 7

Moving Pictures - 8

Signals - 6

Grace Under Pressure - 7

Power Windows - 1

Hold Your Fire - 1

Presto - 1

Roll the Bones - 2

Counterparts - 2

Test for Echo - 1

Vapor Trails - 7

Snakes & Arrows - 4.5

[SchemingDemon]

QUOTE (Shreddy Lee @ May 24 2012, 07:49 PM)

Using Goobs' number meanings: Rush - 4.5 Fly By Night - 9 Caress of Steel - 7 2112 - 8 A Farewell to Kings - 8 Hemispheres - 9 Permanent Waves - 7 Moving Pictures - 8 Signals - 6 Grace Under Pressure - 7 Power Windows - 1 Hold Your Fire - 1 Presto - 1 Roll the Bones - 2 Counterparts - 2 Test for Echo - 1 Vapor Trails - 7 Snakes & Arrows - 4.5

[Gedneil Alpeart]

Rush - 5

Fly By Night - 6.5

Caress of Steel - 4

2112 - 7.5

A Farewell To Kings - 8.5

Hemispheres - 9

Permanent Waves - 9.5

Moving Pictures - 9.5

Signals - 9

Grace Under Pressure - 8

Power Windows - 8.5

Hold Your Fire - 8

Presto - 7

Roll The Bones - 4

Counterparts - 8

Test For Echo - 3

Vapor Trails - 4

Snakes & Arrows - 6

[SchemingDemon]

Goob's system:

 

Rush: 5

Fly By Night: 7

Caress of Steel: 6

2112: 8

A Farewell to Kings: 9

Hemispheres: 10

Permanent Waves: 9.5

Moving Pictures: 10

Signals: 8

Grace Under Pressure: 9

Power Windows: 8

Hold Your Fire: 6

Presto: 5

Roll the Bones: 6

Counterparts: 7

Test for Echo: 6

Vapor Trails: 1 for the production, 5 for the songs

Feedback: 2 (I'm not a fan of covers)

Snakes and Arrows: 7

 

Basically 2112-Power Windows are a must-own

Edited May 25, 2012 by SchemingDemon

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Shreddy Lee @ May 24 2012, 05:49 PM)

Using Goobs' number meanings: Rush - 4.5 Fly By Night - 9 Caress of Steel - 7 2112 - 8 A Farewell to Kings - 8 Hemispheres - 9 Permanent Waves - 7 Moving Pictures - 8 Signals - 6 Grace Under Pressure - 7 Power Windows - 1 Hold Your Fire - 1 Presto - 1 Roll the Bones - 2 Counterparts - 2 Test for Echo - 1 Vapor Trails - 7 Snakes & Arrows - 4.5

Wow! And I thought I'd be the only one with 4 albums below 6, but you have 8, including 4 at 1, and 2 at 2!

 

How does anyone give Power Windows & Hold Your Fire a 1, Counterparts a 2, and then Vapor Trails a 7?

 

Edited May 25, 2012 by rushgoober

[SchemingDemon]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 24 2012, 08:14 PM)

QUOTE (Shreddy Lee @ May 24 2012, 05:49 PM) Using Goobs' number meanings: Rush - 4.5 Fly By Night - 9 Caress of Steel - 7 2112 - 8 A Farewell to Kings - 8 Hemispheres - 9 Permanent Waves - 7 Moving Pictures - 8 Signals - 6 Grace Under Pressure - 7 Power Windows - 1 Hold Your Fire - 1 Presto - 1 Roll the Bones - 2 Counterparts - 2 Test for Echo - 1 Vapor Trails - 7 Snakes & Arrows - 4.5 Wow! And I thought I'd be the only one with 4 albums below 6, but you have 8, including 4 at 1, and 2 at 2!   How does anyone give Power Windows & Hold Your Fire a 1, Counterparts a 2, and then Vapor Trails a 7?   That's what I was thinking!

[Shreddy Lee]

Well the way I thought about it was that the numbers I assigned literally translated to the descriptions that Goobs gave. So, "barely listenable, for completists only, only one or two even halfway-decent tracks" and "there are a couple of good or great tracks, but generally fairly weak" is how I feel about everything from Power Windows through Test for Echo. With most other bands, having six albums I feel that way about would mean that's a band I don't really like. But luckily with Rush, there are still twelve other albums I can enjoy, which is why they can still be my favorite band.

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Shreddy Lee @ May 24 2012, 06:26 PM)

Well the way I thought about it was that the numbers I assigned literally translated to the descriptions that Goobs gave. So, "barely listenable, for completists only, only one or two even halfway-decent tracks" and "there are a couple of good or great tracks, but generally fairly weak" is how I feel about everything from Power Windows through Test for Echo. With most other bands, having six albums I feel that way about would mean that's a band I don't really like. But luckily with Rush, there are still twelve other albums I can enjoy, which is why they can still be my favorite band.

Hey man, it's all good! I'm just used to being the black sheep of Rush fandom, so it's cool for me to have someone dislike even more Rush albums than I do!

 

And I completely get that you're still a big-time fan! Contrary to some popular opinion, one can be a huge Rush fan AND not like a few of their albums!

[ReRushed]

Rush - 5

Fly By Night - 5.5

Caress of Steel - 4

2112 - 7

A Farewell To Kings - 8.5

Hemispheres - 9.5

Permanent Waves - 9.5

Moving Pictures - 10

Signals - 8

Grace Under Pressure - 7

Power Windows - 8

Hold Your Fire - 8

Presto - 5

Roll The Bones - 4

Counterparts - 6

Test For Echo - 5.5

Vapor Trails - 5

Snakes & Arrows - 6.5

[rushgoober]

Two things I've noticed so far (and the thread is really still just a baby ):

 

1. So far no one has rated their debut as highly as I have!

 

2. No one has yet given a perfect 10 to more than 2 albums!

[Snaked]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 24 2012, 10:15 PM)

2. No one has yet given a perfect 10 to more than 2 albums!

You need to learn how to count son.

[Cyclonus X-1]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 24 2012, 09:15 PM)

So far no one has rated their debut as highly as I have!

I came close though! Love that record. Sometimes in these rank/rate threads I think about giving it a 9, but that would be mostly sentimentality speaking and wouldn't quite reflect how I feel it compares with the other albums.

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Snaked @ May 24 2012, 07:20 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 24 2012, 10:15 PM) 2. No one has yet given a perfect 10 to more than 2 albums! You need to learn how to count son.   Your P/G 10 was indented so much that I missed it!

[laughedatbytime]

Rush - 7

Fly By Night - 8

Caress of Steel - 4

2112 - 9.5

A Farewell To Kings - 10

Hemispheres - 10

Permanent Waves - 10

Moving Pictures - 10

Signals - 8

Grace Under Pressure - 8.5

Power Windows - 6

Hold Your Fire - 2.5

Presto - 3

Roll The Bones - 2.5

Counterparts - 4

Test For Echo - 4

Vapor Trails - 4

Snakes & Arrows - 2.5

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Cyclonus X-1 @ May 24 2012, 07:21 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ May 24 2012, 09:15 PM) So far no one has rated their debut as highly as I have! I came close though! Love that record. Sometimes in these rank/rate threads I think about giving it a 9, but that would be mostly sentimentality speaking and wouldn't quite reflect how I feel it compares with the other albums. That's why I came up with my rating system - it makes it easier to avoid sentimentality and give more accurate comparative ratings. I'm tempted to give their debut a 9 too, but it would mean I was rating it more highly than my other 8.5's, which wouldn't be accurate.   At least we both agree that it's a seriously underrated album that rocks hard!