Ranking every album by The Strokes from worst to best
The Strokes’ sleek arrival at the start of the millennium sent shockwaves through the musical world. The group, bursting out of New York City, quickly became figureheads for a scene that brought about a new dawn in music and put rock ‘n’ roll back on the menu.
The band couldn’t have timed their debut single any better, and the building blocks were perfectly placed for The Strokes to take over. Julian Casablancas and his bandmates were on hand to change the trajectory of the musical landscape with their debut album, Is This It, which became a far bigger hit than they ever imagined. The record had no right to become a mainstream success, and the release single-handedly changed the parameters of popular culture.
Britain was the first country to take The Strokes to their hearts, given that the mundane sounds of Coldplay, Embrace and Travis were dominating the musical landscape. Thankfully, five New Yorkers showed that popular guitar music didn’t need to be vanilla and inspired a generation of bands, including Arctic Monkeys. Alex Turner told NME in 2011: “I remember I used to play that first album [Is This It] in college all the time, when our band was first starting. Loads of people were into them, so loads of bands coming out sounded like them. I remember consciously trying not to sound like The Strokes, deliberately taking bits out of songs that sounded too much like them, but I still loved that album.”
Turner wasn’t the only person to be touched by Strokes fever, a sweeping momentum which sent Britain into delirium. At the beginning of 2001, The Strokes first announced themselves in the UK when they released the three-track EP, The Modern Age, through legendary British label Rough Trade. Once the EP was released, The Strokes were on an unstoppable path to superstardom.
Their full-length debut, Is This It, arrived shortly afterwards on RCA, earning The Stokes both worldwide commercial success and yet more critical acclaim. The band followed their iconic debut impressively with 2003’s Room on Fire which preceded First Impressions Of Earth.
However, personal problems among the band led to them taking a hiatus before finally returning to a very different musical landscape in 2011 with Angles. They were no longer the cool, new kids on the block, and they then spent the next few years in the wilderness for The Strokes.
The Strokes finally returned in 2011 with Angles, which was met with a mixed response. Two years later, they surprised fans with Comedown Machine, which marked their final album until 2020. During this period, the band regularly toured the festival circuit during this time and almost fell into the whole of becoming strictly nostalgic. However, the Rick Rubin-produced project The New Abnormal arrived in 2020 and reminded the world that The Strokes still meant business. Furthermore, it was also crowned ‘Best Rock Album’ at the Grammys in 2021.
The Strokes albums ranked from worst to best:
6) Comedown Machine (2013)
While Comedown Machine isn’t unlistenable, it is the poorest in The Strokes’ back catalogue. Although tracks like ‘One Way Trigger’ and ‘Tap Out’ help redeem the record, neither of the songs would make their way onto a Strokes best of compilation.
On the other hand, Comedown Machine allowed The Strokes to separate themselves from their signature garage rock sound and start a new chapter. The retro-pop elements of the LP have continued to infiltrate their material, and it’s a craft they’ve improved upon since the lacklustre Comedown Machine.
5) Angles (2011)
After five years without a record, Angles was hotly-anticipated and was designed to mark their grand comeback after half a decade without any new material. Ultimately, the release didn’t meet the intense expectations of fans and largely left many with a lingering feeling of being underwhelmed.
The process of creating Angles was a tumultuous experience for all involved. Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. was suffering from addiction problems, and Casablancas reportedly recorded his vocals separately from the rest of the band. Unfortunately, that lack of cohesion and being on different pages translated to the finished product. Bassist Nick Valensi said during the press run: “I won’t do the next album like this. No way. It was awful – just awful. Working in a fractured way, not having a singer there.”
Even though it was made amid testing circumstances, ‘Taken For A Fool’ and ‘Undercover of Darkness’ are strong components of the band’s discography. In fact, the whole first half of the record captures The Strokes in their pomp, but as the songs go on, the album gradually fades into monotony.
4) First Impressions Of Earth (2006)
First Impressions Of Earth is the darkest record in The Strokes’ collection, a time in which they found a new dimension on their third album. Instead of attempting to replicate the success of their first two records, the New Yorkers switched it up, and their decision reaped fine rewards.
‘You Only Live Once’ and ‘Juicebox’ are two of The Strokes’ greatest efforts, which epitomise the intense personality of First Impressions Of Earth. The record is an aggressive body of work that allowed The Strokes to exhilaratingly take the shackles off and experiment.
3) The New Abnormal (2020)
Ahead of The New Abnormal, it had been seven years since The Strokes had produced a full-length LP, and the expectations of fans had dramatically fallen from where they once were. For the first time in their career, the release of an album by The Strokes wasn’t an event, but to much surprise, The New Abnormal was a revelation.
The Strokes recruited legendary producer Rick Rubin for the project, who guided the band to create their most cohesive piece of work for close to 20 years. Whilst the record is only nine songs long, there’s not one piece of filler on the whole LP, and the material flows together delightfully.
‘The Adults Are Talking’ is a mighty album opener and begins a 40-minute showcase that laughs in the face of those who wrote them off.
2) Room On Fire (2003)
Following Is This It was a tough ask, considering the album brought rock ‘n’ roll back from the ashes. However, Room On Fire proved The Strokes weren’t a one-album wonder and acted as a second chapter to their seminal debut. Perhaps the only complaint about the record is the strong similarities to Is This It and the group shying away from reinvention, but that’s not necessarily bad.
Room On Fire showed no band on the planet more vital than The Strokes in 2003. Their debut caught the whole world’s attention, and their sophomore albums showed plenty more of those rugged anthems were in the band’s tank. ‘Under Control’, ‘You Talk Way Too Much’, and ‘Reptilia’ represent The Strokes at the peak of their powers, which made every other band green with envy.
1) Is This It (2001)
The Strokes’ best album is Is This It, and there is no debate on the matter. The timeless debut isn’t just the New Yorkers’ finest piece of output but, potentially, the highlight of the decade. These 11 songs, hand-crafted by The Strokes, collectively changed the future of guitar music and made the world a better place with their presence.
From the moment the first line from the titular opener kicks in, Is This It takes the listener on a life-affirming ride. Although ‘Last Nite’ and ‘Someday’ are the headline stealers from the album, the whole record is a masterpiece which still sounds as vital now as it was at the turn of the century.
