Every They Might Be Giants Album Ranked from Worst to Best || Mikaela Thorn 

every tmbg fan is either just my mom or a random trans person and it's wonderful

In an interview, I once asked Flans if they'd ever do "Here Comes History!" and he just responded something to the tune of "I don't think parents would take well to my pinko manifesto". Funniest shit ever, I wanna hear it.

I really appreciate you not dismissing the childrens music albums, so many people discount them on principle alone but they have a lot of merit, especially No!

NOOO HERE COMES SCIENCE WAS MY FAVORITE THING AS A KID 😭 I genuinely love it and relistening to it made me love it even more, but to each their own! I also have a very personal connection to the album, so I guess I do view it through a different lens!

You have 100% sold me on TMBG and convinced me to listen to them more. Thank you!

Regardless of our opinions of the albums, this band must be seen live. I've seen them many times in the last 30 years, and they never fail to please, and surprise the audience. I saw them a few days ago, and they played one of their songs from "Flood" (I won't say the title in case this is now a regular thing) BACKWARDS! After intermission, they played the video of that performance backward, which was forward, and pretty accurate.

I would put The Else up higher, I love the aggressive and crisp sound throughout most of the album

Honestly, I'm not sure if it's just me, but I've found TMBG has a shocking level of consistency in sound across albums relative to a lot of other bands- each album definitely has its own sound (especially John Henry imo) but pretty much every song works really well in its own, to the point that my current preferred way of listening is just a massive playlist of my favorite songs across the entire discography set to shuffle. I can't think of a lot of other bands where you can have a song from 1986 lead into a song from 2018 while still feeling totally natural, all without really feeling like their sound has stagnated or failed to evolve over the years. Really fun experience, highly recommend. Also, I'm pleasantly surprised to see how much you enjoyed Join Us, though I guess I'm still in a minority for thinking that Flood is my least favorite of the first five albums, I'd probably rank them Self Titled/Pink->Apollo->Lincoln->John Henry->Flood (not that it's saying much, I still love all five) Your outfit rocks, by the way

Birdhouse in your soul will always be stuck in my head .

I found TMBG through Lemon Demon and the newest album at the time was The Else. Your rankings are pretty similar to my own, except I have John Henry and The Spine at the top :p But ranking the albums is *really* hard because most of my favourite songs are from different albums. They are remarkably consistent :)

Gonna cry. A Trans woman is now in the TMBG fandom, not just old men.

I’ve been listening to about an album a week from the band since the middle of last year and just finished up BOOK. This was a great guide for what I had to look forward to and I always enjoyed going back to rewatch each entry afterwards. Excellent video.

As a fellow trans person whose favourite band is They Might Be Giants, this video is right up my alley. Really fun to watch and I appreciate Venue Songs being included despite it not fitting in with the rest of their discography. I'm also glad to see Mink Car made it so high :)

I can't believe your ranking on Here Comes Science. I think it is a strong contender for possibly their best record. It genuinely moves me to tears at points.

I don't think I completely agree with the ranking but I certainly enjoyed the breakdown. Thanks for the content on one of my favorite bands!

As a lapsed TMBG fan (they were my first band, I grew up with them and stopped buying their albums after Mink Car), I really appreciated how you covered the past two decades of their work. I may have to revisit them!

As someone else who discovered TMBG between Mink Car and The Spine, a lot of these takes resonate with me. It's refreshing to hear someone not just dismiss those albums entirely.

Started watching this with skepticism but I gotta say, as a fan since I heard their debut at 12 years old, you absolutely nailed it. Can't fault anything you said and I even learned a thing or two.

How does this only have 10k views? Extremely well done video, TMBG is bae. Cant wait to watch the rest of your videos!

you are such an eloquent writer and speaker. i would love to hear you talk about more music miss

Cheers for this. I have owned Lincoln and Flood on vinyl since i was a kid but have always found the idea of trawling through the entire back catalogue somewhat daunting. Great to have the cheat codes! Top work

I've been a big fan since 1991. Saw them several times throughout the 90's. At one show in Boston in 1992, they played their entire first album for the first half of their show! It was crazy! When they played '32 footsteps' from that album, towards the end, they started playing off key, different notes, and eventually just stopped, not finishing the song, and John L. said, laughing, "We just can't play that song tonight!" Everybody loved it and laughed along with them. So gracious, down-to-earth, and just..human! I met John F. in Boston when they put on a free outdoor concert. Great Guy! Got an autograph from him, but I lost it! (I never forgave myself) Lost track of them in recent years, but never forgot them. But I can always catch up. Thank you for doing this! I'll see ya!

This was an excellent ranking video. The short but sweet song reviews along with your overall critique of each album was extremely insightful and I agree with pretty much everything you said (Don't Let's Start is my favorite song of all time too, but Brontosaurus is also up there as I relate more than I could ever explain in words), with the exception of Mink Car. I found your analysis so thoughtful and well-explained. I'm definitely here for any and all of your ranking videos in the future.

What an insanely well done video! Thank you for sharing.

Love this!!! You explain your points so clearly and yet swiftly, it's super impressive. Always heartwarming to see someone with such an understanding and appreciation for TMBG!!! 💖

I love videos by small creators that are well-edited, and you've combined this amazing editing with a subject that I will literally die for. Congratulations on an awesome video.

I'm a bit disappointed that you ranked John Henry kinda low on the list, but ultimately I understand why. I never really put two-and-two together before about it being a more grungy 90s album, as in my mind I personally think it has that early 2000s rock spark in it. Then again, I am pretty biased since it was my first ever TMBG album, and "Snail Shell" was the inspiration behind my username "SnailQueen" lol

We can agree to disagree about The Else. Great video! Can't wait to see your rankings of all the podcast episodes (:P) Oh! Shoutout to the Long Winters' cover of Pet Name.

oh my GOD thank you for the factory showroom and mink car appreciation

great vid! when musicians have huge decade spanning discogs, it's always interesting to see where people rank their favourites. I'm looking forward to the Beck ranking!

I admit I kind of hated "Phone Power." Besides "I Love You for Psychological Reasons," it really felt to me like they were trying too hard. I'm going to have to go back and give it another listen after hearing you speak so glowingly about it. I do 100% agree with you that "The Spine" is underrated.

*patiently waits through all the albums ranked lower than here comes the abcs* thank you for sharing! you've given me a lot of songs to relisten to :)

This video was absolutely amazing, I love making videos about weird short topics and putting them on private and just showing them to my friends, but this video is absolutely my type of style and it’s super funny and awesome great job

honored to share the name with someone so fantastic!

As a fellow fan I think you’re deep dive is great to hear, you’re definitely a bigger fan then me lol I hope you continue to make great in depth videos

Honestly I think I started loving Nanobots after getting it on vinyl The bloated nature of the album kinda lessens once you have that short break in the middle to flip over the record, but if that's what got me into the album more then the issue of it being a little bloated is still there

Thanks for this fantastic video on TMBG music!

I learned so much - not just about TMBG, but about the production of music in general. Thank you!

It's funny that I never actually listened to They Might be Giants but I've came across their music so many times. Like I heard their Courage the Cowardly Dog song, and their songs on Tiny Toons which I didn't know they were on the same album. The theme song for Malcolm in the Middle, and I only heard Birdhouse in your Soul from when Little Kuriboh used it for the short lived Yu-Gi-Oh abridged season 0. But I'm gonna definitely start checking out Then The Early Years.

Oh my god how am I finding this now this has been my number one band since middle school AHHHHHHHH

This was an entertaining, informed, and educational watch. Thanks for taking the time to put it together. I am an "OG" TMBG fan - I got on board with their debut album (I was 19 yrs old), and saw them when they toured said debut. As I've gotten older, the time I have to devote to new album releases (by any band) has become more and more limited, and therefore, I've never been able to give their latter day releases their due (marriage, home ownership, and kids put an awful crimp in being able to sit alone with my headphones on, reading liner notes and lyric sheets. Although, "No!" and "ABCs" were a true family affair, and my kids, now in their early 20s, love the band to this day). If I could define what "latter day" means in my case, I'd say anything after "The Else". Your insights have given me the push to go back and spend more time with the later stuff. So, while I'm too old to quibble about the subjective rankings of one person vs my own, it shouldn't surprise you that all my faves come from the mid-aughts and prior - for now, anyway! And while I'd have a hard time choosing my #3 (it's between Flood, Factory, and Mink), my #1 would be Lincoln and #2 would be TMBG. Oh - and while they do indeed do a great cover of "Starry Eyes", nobody can top The Records' original (single or album version)! 😉😄 I am now going to begin re-aquainting myself with the later TMBG stuff. And I'm sure I'll be referring back to your vid to revisit your thoughts and comments on each. Be well!

i enjoyed this video so much, and learned a lot from it too ^^ wonderful work!! it also reminded me of some albums i forgot to listen to when they came out! have to go listen to those now!

I can't believe I just watched some nerd goth chick talk about they might be giants for over an hour Except thats a lie i absolutely can believe i just watched some nerd goth chick talk about they might be giants for over an hour

A note about "Fingertips" from _Apollo 18_ : in addition to making things more interesting when the CD was played on shuffle, it might also have been a bit of an homage to the multiple short songs at the end of the 2nd side of _Abbey Road_ by the Beatles

Impressive, entertaining, informative. I can now confidently seek out and acquire GLEAN, PHONE POWER and I LIKE FUN to join the others in the Top Ten we share. FLOOD will forever be my fave (you never forget your first time) but I agree that the creativity and consistency of TMBG are remarkable. (I tried in vain to convince friends that JOIN US was one of their best.) Thanks for the care and time you put into this project. Looking forward to more. Cheers!

I fell in love with TMBG on the release of their first album. I remember reading an article about it and going into my local independent record store and asking for the "The Might Be Giants" album. It was only then that I realized I had misread the name of the band. Still, "Don't Let Start" is right up there with "Birdhouse in My Soul" for favorite songs of All Time.

"Join Us" is underrated on other TMBG rankings. It's great, so I'm glad to see it up there on your list.

You're awesome for this video. They are my favorite band of all time too :) Always will be!

My ranking would be quite a bit different but I totally appreciate how you articulate your reasoning and all the thought you've put into this. I do strongly believe that if you're a fan you'll find at least a couple songs on every album that are pop masterpieces, or at least unforgettable bangers.

This is great! One of my earliest memories is of my mom taking me to a TMBG concert when I was quite small. I think it must have been the 1996 show at Hatch Shell in Boston (thanks TMBW!). I've loved them ever since, although like a lot of people who became fans in the 90's, my listening until recently was mostly limited to their first four albums. For a long time their stuff as a band didn't do a lot for me until I Like Fun came out. That album and BOOK kind of got me back into the band, and this list also prompted me to take a second listen to some of the stuff I'd dismissed previously. In particular, I've come around to really liking Join Us, thanks to the very interesting things you said about it. I definitely agree that it feels like the product of them figuring out what they really want to sound like in a way that I still think wasn't quite as clear in the years prior. Personally, I would rank BOOK substantially higher. The rhythmic motifs in Linnell's vocals stuck out to me too when I first listened, but I suspect it's on purpose. Similar syncopated rhythms appear in the instrumentation even on some of Flans' tracks. If it wasn't planned that way, I think it still might have been a factor in which songs they chose for the album. To me it kind of makes it feel like there are some musical themes that carry through the different songs and make the album feel more like a whole. I'm also a drummer so I'm a sucker for syncopation. I'd actually say that BOOK is probably my favorite album since Apollo 18. It's all obviously subjective though! Either way it's awesome that they're still putting out great songs after nearly four decades.

My first TMBG album was their first, even though I came to it just prior to the release of Flood, so, as a long-time TMBG fan, I enjoyed this video immensely! Thank you for making it!

Kudos! Holy fuck, that was thorough and perfectly explained! Not another random click-baity top ten without any depth or criticism. TMBG was the soundtrack of my teenage years and if this make sense, their discography "deserved" an in-depth look like yours. To this day, out of the blue I'll start singing the whole friggin Fingertips. Thank God for RU-vid's AI that suggested your video. Now I'm off to listen to Sapphire Bullets in reverse!

Saying TMBG peaked at their first album is the wrong way to look at putting their first album as #1. I don't think the video draws that conclusion either. Listening to Mikaela's explanation, it seems the Pink album was chosen as #1 because it is the most They Might Be Giant-ist sounding album, likely because of how raw it is. It's not what I would recommend to a new listener, though. No one could make a convincing argument TMBG peaked at any point without being arbitrary or completely subjective. TMBG's output quality has never declined. A major thing l like about this video is how it demonstrates the band's consistency throughout the years. TMBG have remained consistently odd, which is why I love them. My album ranking would look different, of course. I would have put The Escape Team much higher. Why? would have been dead last. I think every fan's ranking would be different. This video made a solid case for each album's rank, though. I enjoyed watching it. This video also helped me see why I never cared much for their children's albums. Children's albums should be evaluated along with the rest. Being a children's album by itself shouldn't make it less appealing. For me it did, though. I never understood why until now. Maybe I need a little darkness and death in my TMBG mix, and those albums naturally run short on those subjects.

Wow, thank you for the whirlwind tour. For me, "I Like Fun" is number one. I like it darker. "You Don't Like Me" and "Climbing the Walls" which you didn't like much, are superb, could even be poems that stand on their own without the music. I love the use of short lines, and the contast with the discursive but hung-together bridge in "You Don't Like Me". Anyway, thanks again, especially for bringing out the goodness in a bunch of songs that I probably haven't given enough slack.

Was a big fan at the beginning and have all of their albums up to Showroom. Moved overseas two years after the release of said-album and had been out of the TMBG loop until just a few days ago-something inside of me simply piqued my curiosity as to what they had been up to since 1996 and I all I can say is that I am floored and flabbergasted at their output, hence this comment! In the last few days, I have purchased Mink Car and Book. I am so glad I came here for your worst to best and I already know what the next few titles I'll be purchasing will be. Many thanks for the heads-up and excellent review-it's really helped a lot. Cheers!

Another compilation I would suggest for the honorable mentions at the end is _Cast Your Pod to the Wind_ . Lots of great stuff on that one.

That I don’t remember the exact date I first heard TMBG is a personal travesty (it was on a hay ride in October 1988). They instantly changed my life and my musical tastes forever, and they have remained my favorite band since. This was a fantastic, well thought out and fair ranking and analysis that I actually think the Johns would appreciate. How does so much of the world go on not knowing about this band?????

Thank you for this. This was the best hour I've spent on the internet in a long time

I think I will have to compile a list of the songs you liked from TMBG into a playlist, it will be really cool to see why you like them (I know you described the reasons here, but I think i've only heard a couple of songs from TMBG so I dont really have a baseline reference for their music). So lemme just *breaks out my binder to take notes* *also puts on my binder*

Never in a hundred years would I be entertained by an over 1 hour video ranking the nigh entire discography of a band that played some songs that was in some kid's shows. I didn't even know they had other more adult aimed music until this vid. You've made some really entertaining videos and I hope you're able to make more!

I actually really like the first six tracks on Here Comes Science, the rest is spotty, but still some good tracks like Cells. Agreed re: Black Ops -- I think the Alternative version of Black Ops def has more meat and potatoes to it.

I love that you weren' afraid to put 1, 2, and 3 as the top 3. It may seem cliche, but it is absolutely accurate. Would love to see Costello albums ranked. It could very easily be the same case of the first three being the top three.

one of my favorite things about TMBG, I don't remember where I heard or read it (some interview or something, I don't know) but apparently each of the Johns thinks the other one is the powerhouse songwriter that is carrying the other and the band would fail without him, and in a way I think that's both right and wrong, like the music would sure be different but I think they'd both have been successful apart (even though I'm glad they did join up, the music they have made together has been phenomenal)

This was epic thank you!!!

This video helped me become a full blown TMBG fan. Thank you. ❤

Can’t wait to hear what you have to say in that Sparks album ranking video if you ever decide to do one. They’re like they come from an alternate universe where there was no They Might Be Giants but they fill the same niche. Though how Ron Mael managed to get away with that mustache for so long is beyond me.

48:52 still happier than the demo version where he strangles himself to death and graphically describes their vision fading.

Mikaela, thank you! I've been a fan for 20+ years, and have been severely sleeping on "I Like Fun".

Great video! funny how we had very similar takes - yet also incredibly different. (and makes me want to remake my ranking video bc i regret some of my takes and low video quality) - great work though!

The top two were a tough call, but I'll accept it. Thanks so much for ranking my favorite band! The urge to listen to the whole discography is sooo string now.

Props to you for having Join Us and Mink Car so high, they are hella underrated. However, having John Henry this low should be a crime. Personally, I'd put it above Flood and Lincoln, so having it come before ABCs and the Spine is just so wrong.

Was really surprised you didn’t mention “The Greatest (Full-Length Mix)” when talking about my murdered remains It was one of the tracks that immediately stood out to me on first listen. The the slowly building instrumental is just instantly hypnotizing and the vocals adds this uneasiness and dreadful feeling, that i just love. The lyrics are also just wonderfully bleak and simple The music video for the song is great too. Nick offerman did a great job!

Just saw them live in June 2024 and was blown away with how good they still are. Hadn’t seen them since the Flood tour in 1991.

I just found this channel and love this video and can't wait for Sparks and EC, two more of my favorite artists! Saw Sparks in Chicago earlier this year and it was awesome 😀

gosh, what a wonderful video Mikaela !! perfect balance of fair, sober criticism and earnest personal affection. bravo to you.

You brought up Kraftwerk in a TMBG video and I...I have to subscribe.

I’ve had flood and Lincoln back to back for a week now I’m ready for the first album! Great guide!

Its always super interesting to see people talk about their favorite tmbg albums! I personally would put Join Us and The Else at the bottom, not for their tracklists but because of how overproduced they feel. Book went from the bottom half to the top half for me after seeing them live recently, Flansburgh really sold me on a few of his tracks that night. I generally waffle between Apollo 18, John Henry, and The Spine as being my favorites

I would actually argue that Black Ops is enhanced by the minimalist instrumentation, not held back by it. It blends in with the story told in the lyrics perfectly. The track is almost silent throughout, emphasizing on how the narrator is almost invisibly traveling through a war zone with the exception to this rule being the two short climaxes signaled by a sharp snare fill: his weapon being fired. That’s how I imagine it anyway. Also on a separate note Moonbeam Rays despite being released so recently is quickly becoming one of my favorite tracks from the group. It’s the song I played after landing in my new home, finally successfully leaving my home state after a literal decade of trying. It’s still satisfying to listen to every time I put it on.

Great video!

I know nothing else about your channel except that you like TMBG but that was enough to get me to sub.

"There's always that album they release next that ends up being a favorite." That's me and The Else.

Enjoyed the video. Well done. Just to be the completionist, Tippecanoe and Tyler Too was recorded for the Future Soundtrack For America to attempt to get rid of Bush.

forever my favorite group I may never be able to escape them.

My friends and I have tickets to see them in October, can't wait! I think the first time I saw them was early 90s... huge part of my life.

In case you want time skips for #2 and #1 (which for some reason are not listed in her video's chapters) #2 - 1:01:06 #1 - 1:06:15

Canajoharie is actually my favorite song from Join Us lol. Loved the video btw.

I randomly came across your video and was surprised by the end. I was actually at that same Sacramento concert in 2007, and that venue was NOT that large... small world!

Great video, I'm new to the channel and just subscribed!

Never listened to them, thought I've heard them mentioned around, so I'm quietly interested

I'm never not ready to suddenly start singing Dinner Bell

I'm glad I've gone down the TMBG rabbit hole

My issue with everything post-Nanobots is that, with the exception of about 3 or 4 songs, all the albums sound interchangeable. You don't have a definitive "sound" that serves as a through-line the way that John Henry has a distinct crunch, Mink Car has a clear disco vibe, Join Us focuses hard on storytelling, etc. You could rotate Unpronounceable, I Love You For Psychological Reasons, Let's Get This Over With, and Part of You Wants To Believe Me out into each other's records and not appreciably change the feel the album.

awesome video, i've been wanting someone to make a worst to best ranking for tmbg for a while now. your insight to the albums was pretty nice, even though i disagreed fairly often all your opinions are well thought out and reasonable on top of being explained nicely. i'm really surprised to see their self-titled as #1 though, maybe it's just me but i always found that album to be a bit annoying and boring outside of its truly great hits (which there are a good number of). love the video though, a worst to best of sparks would be awesome to see (even if it would be a huge undertaking)!

i might add more opinions as i'm watching to this comment but i actually really like edith head on long tall weekend--i first listened to it completely isolated from the rest of the album and i think that helped grow my love for it. i do agree that the instrument side of the track is a bit weak but flansburgh GOES OFF in the track and i just love it so much more than the version off of mink car edit 1: i love your writing so much! the juxtaposition of your description of "four of two" and "no!" made me audibly cackle that was fantastic edit 2: i would also like to add that john henry is one of my personal favorite TMBG albums (within my top 5) but you are totally right that it sounds like it could have only been released in 1994. for me though that's a great thing as i love the sounds of that time and i consequently love the album (maybe a bit too much lol) edit 3: it's so hard for me to rank their first four albums and it honestly changes day to day but i 100% agree with your opinions, and i still have yet to get around to join us and am now super excited to listen to it for the first time. this is the last thing that i will add to this comment so i just would like to say this video was such a great watch!

This is a great ranking, and even though I don't always agree, I appreciate your explanations. I love that Factory Showroom and No made your top 10. I personally would put Book and The Else much higher than you did, and The Spine would be near the bottom of my list. My top 10 would probably include (in no particular order) Lincoln, Flood, Apollo 18, John Henry, Factory Showroom, Book, The Else, Join Us, I Like Fun, and their self titled album..

I’m glad to hear someone else share my feelings about Hotel Detective’s single mix. That bass clarinet could rip me and I’d THANK IT.

I was 20 when "Flood" came out and bought it because a friend said it was really good. I hated it and the CD sat on the shelf. Two years later, something told me to give it another try and then two months on, it forced my roommate to beg for me to play that album only once per day. "Please". Yeah, "Flood" was virtually nonstop in the CD player up to that point. I almost got prompted to stop playing "Apollo 18" too, but by then I'd diversified my listening with other albums. I pretty much checked out of the TMBG camp after Factory Showroom. Long live John and John.

Would have put flood as number one because that's usually everyone's introduction to TMBG (not to mention BHIYS).. but I agree with your number one pick...and you're right, the johns have never made an album like that since. The simplicity and minimalist genius is so awesome in their debut. anyway, great vid

So glad flood made it so far up the list. ❤