Guided By Voices studio albums: Worst to Best 

Alien Lanes at #20? Really?

Lost me at Alien Lanes. It's their White Album. Whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You need every bit. It also sounds great.

Insane you rate some of the 2010s records above Alien Lanes - it's offensive

I love Mag Earwhig! Learning to Hunt is easily a top 10 GBV song and brings tears to my eyes. Bulldog Skin rocks.

Great list! Earthquake Glue is my absolute favorite. Every song is so incredible, containing daring sonic palettes with strange, muddy marimbas and soaring synthesizers, and song structures I've never heard before or since. I notice something new and beautiful every single time I listen to it. I don't know what Bob was going through at the time, but I feel like everything I perceived as a non-sequitur on first listen ended up being a glimpse into an incredibly worried but productive mind, and it's all very relatable and touching.

Just found your videos and really enjoyed your rundown of all these records. I especially appreciated your reasoning, not just of the music but the artwork as well. Thanks!

Thank you very much for putting together the podcast and these videos. I can't begin to describe what GbV means to me , so discovering your podcast during this shutdown is a real treat! Thanks again and take care.

THIS IS AMAZING. bought the book a few weeks back and absolutely love it. thanks so much for this!!! im a newer fan so this is super helpful to navigate their discography

1. Bee Thousand 2. Alien Lanes 3. Under the Bushes 4. Vampire on Titus (Honestly if it wasn't for "What About It" this would probably be #1) 5. The Bears for Lunch (I hate this album because it was so surprisingly good that now I feel obligated to listen to their whole discography) 6. Propeller 7. Universal Truths 8. Mag Earwhig 9-30 They have way too many goddamn albums

It’s an impossible task choosing a favourite song but if I absolutely had to there’s a good chance it would be “Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox”

Jeff, I just wanted to say how much I’ve enjoyed your taking us all on this GBV journey with you; it’s revived my interest in the band after I had burned myself out on the glut of Pollard product in the early ‘00s (I still think the discography suffers from an over abundance of stuff and a lack of quality control, but that’s for another discussion). I really enjoy the newer albums a lot. One sign of a band’s long-term greatness is when fans wildly disagree over what the best albums are. I suppose that’s a nice way of saying that I’m kind of hurt that anyone would rank Alien Lanes so low on a GBV list. It’s almost painful as that record means everything to me. However, I do agree wholeheartedly with your pick for the best GBV song of all time. ROCKNROLLLLL!

One of the really difficult things for me about ranking these albums is the fact that I was 21 or 22 when I was really into the “early stuff“ like be thousand and alien lanes, and now that I am like 47 and really into the new stuff, I feel like I’m kind of a different person at this point. It’s awesome that GBV has been a part of my life for so long, and there was even a time in the middle where I really kind of lost touch with the band. I didn’t even listen to universal truths, earthquake glue, or half smiles until about 2015. I sort of rediscovered them after forgetting about them for a long time after class clown came out. So my personal experience with the band is sort of scatter shot, and I love the new stuff, but it’s hard for me to say it’s better than Bee Thousand or Alien Lanes (which is actually my #1) although I love love love this newest incarnation of the band and am more into them than I ever have been. If I were pushed to do so, I would say that my top three is Lanes, Bee, and Bushes, but the “older” part of me likes the new stuff. It’s kind of like those Frosted Mini Wheats commercials “one side for the kid in you and one side for your grown up self” - it’s sort of like that.

Very reasonable and well explained rankings here, though as others have noted, I'd place Alien Lanes higher, certainly in the top five somewhere. Even if we throw out the short fragments/pieces of songs, we still have Game of Pricks, Watch Me Jumpstart, Closer You Are, My Valuable Hunting Knife, Good Flying Bird, Striped White Jets, Salty Salute--all very good, classic GBV songs.

I still come back to this. Thanks so much 🙂

Didn’t expect to stick around for the entire video/. Well done… I just got into the band and decided to start with alien lanes as the first.. now I’m excited to get to some of the other stuff in their discography.

There are no filler songs on _Alien Lanes_.

Great rundown. I'm familiar with half a dozen of their albums, though this makes me want to try to listen to them all. Have seen them live in '02 and '22, in S.F. Always an entertaining show. I sort of love the lo-fi early stuff most. And, not surprisingly, my introduction to them, Bee Thousand and I am a Scientist EP.

I enjoyed this! Funnily enough my favorite Pollard album is probably his first "solo" album. Maggie Turns to Flies, John Strange School and King of Arthur Ave are 3 of my favorite songs of all time. Good video!!

How can you discuss "Same Place the Fly Got Smashed" without mentioning "The Hard Way"? Even though I disagreed with most of your choices, I did like hearing your thoughts.

I love this channel and your podcast and I love that I disagree with so many of your picks! You know a band is great when there are so many differing opinions amongst fans. Please Be Honest is criminally underrated! Yes, I will die on this hill

I have always felt that Do The Collapse was super underrated. It's definitely top 5 for me.

#1 will always be Vampire on Titus for me.

Such a great learning experience listening to this. I have a LOT of catching up to do on the more recent releases as I have been out of the loop for awhile. Could not agree more re: Alien Lanes being a poor recording. The first GBV cd I ever bought was 'Jellyfish Reflector' and I became an instant fan and was blown away by the intensity of the songs. When I went back to listen to tracks like Striped White Jets on 'Alien Lanes' they sounded like half baked demos - great songs that were frequently better either live or on other releases. Curious to see what you think of 'Get Out of My Stations' as this is my all time favourite release from the band and IMO has the definitive version of Motor Away...and great psychedelia with Dusty Bushworms. 'King Shit and the Golden Boys' is really really great too and would be my #2. Thanks for sharing!

Excellent video! Appreciate you sharing your thoughts and opinions, even if I disagree at times. It’s funny, the stuff you say about the “mishmash” feel of some of those matador albums is exactly what I love about them. Makes the listen interesting when you never know what the next song is going to sound like. Could be a pristine studio recording with the whole band or a lofi acoustic guitar or some random noises. Great stuff. The main takeaway for me from this video is I need to give the newer stuff more of a chance!

I enjoyed this breakdown. I liked that you placed August By Cake so high since I think that album is quite underrated, and I agree that it greatly benefits from the songwriting contributions from the rest of the band. I would have put it closer to the top ten, but I relate to the low placement of Alien Lanes as well. What really kills that album for me is the weaker version of "Game Of Pricks" that is on there. Your assessment of UTBUTS (my personal fave) is interesting as well. I think the sprawling nature of that one works great, but I agree that it could be considered by many more fans to be their best album if it had been a bit more streamlined with Deal at the helm for the entire process. If that album had come out in 1995 instead of Alien Lanes it seems like it could have had a huge impact. It probably didn't have a single as strong as "Motor Away" though. Also, even by '96 the sun seemed to be setting on the alternative boom of the 90s. UTBUTS is incredible as is, but it arrived a bit too late. Last but not least, I would place Warp and Woof in the top five. My favorite release by the band in years. Such a fun album.

Bob's voice shines brightest on Keene Brothers - BLUES AND BOOGIE SHOES

Love this and all your GBV podcast stuff Jeff! Here's my list (including the three that were released after you made this): 33. Let's Go Eat The Factory 32. Devil Between My Toes 31. Please Be Honest 30. English Little League 29. Sandbox 28. Motivational Jumpsuit 27. Surrender Your Poppy Field 26. Class Clown Spots A UFO 25. Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia 24. Cool Planet 23. Styles We Paid For 22. Mirrored Aztec 21. Earthquake Glue 20. August By Cake 19. Half Smiles Of The Decomposed 18. Warp And Woof 17. Earth Man Blues 16. The Bears for Lunch 15. It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! 14. Space Gun 13. Do The Collapse 12. Sweating The Plague 11. Vampire On Titus 10. Mag Earwhig! 9. Universal Truths And Cycles 8. How Do You Spell Heaven 7. Propeller 6. Alien Lanes 5. Same Place The Fly Got Smashed 4. Bee Thousand 3. Zeppelin Over China 2. Under The Bushes Under The Stars 1. Isolation Drills

Under the Bushes, Under the Stars, Bee Thousand, Mag Earwig, Do the Collapse, Alien Lanes, Isolation Drills immediately spring to mind. I don't relate as much to the band post-Half Smiles of the Decomposed. I last saw them on that 'farewell' tour, made my peace with it and moved on. But oh how I do love that music.

I was so nerding out to this. Can’t really agree with some of your picks though. My top 10. 10.Universal Truths And Cycles 9.Do The Collapse 8.Earthquake Glue 7.Devil Between My Toes 6.Mag Earwhig! 5.Vampire On Titus 4.Under The Bushes, Under The Stars 3.Propeller 2.Bee Thousand 1.Alien Lanes

This is really fun to listen to and critique! I think you got your ass on backwards when it comes to Alien Lanes; gee whiz, that album was the thrill of my life at the time. I come back to that, B1000, and Isolation Drills as pivotal.

Great job, Jeff. The high placement of August By Cake was a head-scratcher. I hear lots of half-baked ideas on that album. But I agree that English Little League is a stinker. Keep up the great work- I look forward to listening to your podcast after every new release.

the best thing about all of the GBV albums is that this list became out of date as soon as it was uploaded!!!!

Killer list. It would be cool if you did a follow up with all the solo and side projects and newer albums, rank them or just go over them - call it a 'supplmental' 🎉

Pollard's Coast to Coast Carpet of Love is a phenomenal album as well. But getting into all of the solo, side projects, etc would take a 10 hour video.

Love same place the fly got smashed

This video was awesome. As a newer fan of the band, I really appreciate the detail you went into. "Over the Neptune..." is also my fav GBV song; I just ordered the Propeller reissue on blue vinyl, stoked! I still haven't gone through the whole discography, especially the newer stuff... so I'll definitely start with "August by Cake". Personal quick top 5: 1. Propeller 2. Bee thousand 3.DAREDEVIL STAMP COLLECTOR ( i know it's a b-sides collection...but it's bloody brilliant.) 4. Alien Lanes 5. Under the Bushes

Jeff, you're missing the greatest release of all!! King Shit & The Golden Boys ~ I know it's a comp. album, but it should certainly get a mention as it is full LP sized and is chalk full of GEMS!! Postal Blowfish, Greenface, Sopor Joe, Scissors (my fav. Tobin track all time), Crocker's fav. song.....all gold on this release!

That was fun. Thanks! I'd say my top 10 are not too far off: 1. Alien Lanes. 2. Bee Thousand. 3. Propeller. 4. Warp and Woof. 5. Under the Bushes. 6. Isolation Drills 7. Class Clown. 8. Bears for Lunch. 9. Space Gun 10. Please Be Honest (yes, I know i know..but I love that album because it felt like that was the time when Bob stopped segregating... here we had GBV , Pollard solo, Circus Devils weirdness... everything kinda tossed in.) Of course, this list could change in an hour. :)

Just want to say I enjoyed this video a lot, and respect your informed opinion. Will note I friggin love Alien Lanes and saw them play on that tour with Chavez. I remember when they got on stage I was like whoa this is what Guided By Voices looks like and Pollard was completely loaded. Would love to hear your thoughts on their latest album. cheers.

I have a hard time separating some of the albums with what was going on in my life at the time. Like, Mag Earwhig came out the same month I graduated from high school, which means I have really fond memories of that time in my life, and the (admittedly imperfect) was on in the background for much of that. Nobody's list is going to be the same, and I appreciate your ranking.

I don’t think Alien Lanes should be marked down because there’s too much brown on the album sleeve! It’s their Magnum Opus. Every song is crammed with more melodies than half a dozen Beatles tracks and they never overstay their welcome. GBV are lo fi and don’t do 3-4 minute songs on a 12 track album.

i love how weird your takes on this band's discog are. a lot of commenters have said this already but these sorts of disagreements really are a testament to the band's strength. plus you've got me reconsidering some of my own opinions now! think i'll go back and give do the collapse another shot...

I'm a simple man. I see a video of someone ranking GBV albums, and I immediately like and subscribe.

Great list! Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox is also my favorite GBV song

Interesting results here: Bee Thousand, Propeller and Under the Bushes right up there, but Alien Lanes and Vampire on Titus so low on list?? (My first purchase was Vampire/Propeller too. Then, The Grand Hour, which is GBV's Watery Domestic!)

Imagine being a Guided By Voices superfan and your major gripe with recording artists is too many songs. I mean, cmon. WTF. _That's_ one of the things that makes GBV great. It's a trademark. Imagine if GBV only had 12 studio albums with 12 tracks each. No one would even know who they are. A surplus of tracks takes nothing from an album, especially these days. I would argue it never has.

My biggest disagreements are Alien Lanes and August by Cake. I love a lot of the recent records (Mirrored Aztec, Zeppelin Over China and Space Gun especially), but I think August is a few miles below the 7 that followed. I think I would rank August at 29 (above Devil Between My Toes). And Alien Lanes....I love it. It's a singular work of genius that has an incredible flow from start to finish. For me that would be number 2 (behind Universal Truths and Cycles). Fun to watch though!

Sel-Inflicted Ariel Nostalgia is what got me into Guided By Voices. An Earful Of Wax, White Whale and Liars Tale are amazing pure GBV tracks. Surprised you didn't mention them. You need to re-listen to this because it's no way at all where you ranked it.

Great video, disagreed with most of the list (not a bad thing at all). What are your thoughts on Tonics and Twisted Chasers?

The most utterly subjective facet of GBV you've covered on this channel and except for Bee Thousand as top, I disagree with every choice you made here!

Being a casual fan in the 90’s of GBV and then rediscovering them last year this type of list is really helpful. Ive heard most of the albums but I would put AL at the top. Im a huge Smiths fan and would have loved if they would of put out half of what GBV has put out. GBV makes it fun again to discover new songs and hunt for the vinyl like I did with the Smiths in the 80’s and 90’s. Great video as usual.

Good reviews mate. For me top 3 is Lanes, Bushes and Earwig. Bee maybe 4th

I've got Alien Lanes as my personal #2, but your list is fine by me.

Alien Lanes at #20. 🤦‍♂️

Alien Lanes is my favorite so crazy to have it listed far down but I liked that Do the Collapse is higher up there. I really like that album.

There are four of their albums that keep changing places, depending on which one I'm listening to at the time: Propeller Bee Thousand Alien Lanes Under the Bushes Under the Stars

Thank you; this is going to be helpful as I investigate GBV (via the Airport 5). Is it just me or are they the closest thing the US has to the The Fall?

I just bought your zeppelin over Dayton book!

Interesting ranking. I would rate Earthquake Glue and Mag Earwhig! much higher, probably in the Top 5 GBV albums. How Do You Spell Heaven is also probably my favorite of the recent albums but opposite of you, I haven't listened to August By Cake much (or the albums after that one) but it's their most consistent album in a very long time. Do the Collapse, Isolation Drills and Bears For Lunch rank pretty low for me. And as much as I adore Bee Thousand, I don't understand why it's always #1 on these lists. Bee Thousand contains some of their best, but also has a few songs that are just merely ok and on top of that, the sound quality does get in the way to some extent. What I would have given for them to trim that album down by about 4 or 5 tracks and to record it with the upgraded (yet not still super Hi-Fi) sound quality of Under the Bushes Under the Stars which in my opinion is a much stronger album and probably my #1.

You've got some interesting ideas. 1) Self Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia - I think you rate this one criminally low. It's my favorite early GBV album. Perhaps as good as, if not better than, Propeller. 2) Mag Earwhig - oof. I would have rated this much higher. 3) Alien Lanes - I know I'd get as much garbage thrown at me as thrown at you on this...I think you've got a point. This album is forgiven/loved/adored because there are a good 10+ absolute gems. But the other half or so...not so much. I'm not sure where it would rank among all 30, but I think you're on to something. 4) Universal Truths & Cycles - I guess I say you underrate this one because this is my favorite Guided By Voices album. Perhaps it could lose a song or two, but not many. 5) I am going to listen to several of these other, newer albums now. Hard to believe they're any better than Isolation Drills or Universal Truths & Cycles. I hope you're right.

awesome!!! '

Love the love for Class Clown! I did some work on that one.

It just struck me: "Do the Collapse" looks like a compressed Minion robot.

Could someone write out the list of the 30 album?

I've only listened up to Alien Lanes so far. My favorites are Sandbox and Same Place the Fly Got Smashed. Least favorite is Vampire on TItus. I've listened in chronological order as I always do.

I LOVE your work... just happen to disagree on Alien Lanes. My all-time favorite GBV album, which puts it above Bee Thousand... which... yeah... opinions.

Theres no way you can get hardcore GBV fans to agree on this kind of deal. I wouldnt have ranked it as high, but Im also a fan of August by Cake. That one has tons of great stuff on it.

Just because you can do this doesn't mean you should. I don't know any fans who agree with you and I've been a fan since 94.

Agree with many of your favourite song choices - Space Gun is an incredible track. But I really don’t understand the dislike you and others have for Bulldog Skin. It’s produced well, really catchy, great guitar solo, universal themes, interesting lyrics. What’s not to like? Should also add - Bee Thousand is the best. People can disagree. But they’re wrong. As a piece of work it holds together objectively on so many levels.

You win points for I, Jonathan in front of your collection... :-)

I am in the minority with you as well regarding Alien Lanes. The “transistor radio” sound bothers me, as does the fact that if he had further developed some of the wonderful ideas on that record {musical shorthand to my ears}, it could have been so much better. In my opinion, the kind of Who-ish power pop they specialize in benefits immeasurably from better production, like an F-16 versus a Cessna. My favorite is Under The Bushes Under The Stars, followed by probably Universal Truths And Cycles. Thanks for the video!! GBV 🤘

Happy to see high praise for Zeppelin over China. Some of the songs are a bit flat, but the middle section is loaded with really incredible tracks. Einstein's Angel is a front runner for top 5 GBV. You Own the Night is not far behind.

I have to say your list is dramatically different than what mine would be. Their earlier material, especially Self Inflicted, should be way higher on the list. Do the Collapse is underrated but its definitely not one of their best.

Shocked you rated Mag that low

My top 4 are almost interchangeable. Ask me tomorrow and it could be flipped. Next 4 could be flipped too. I really need to spend more time with pre-Vampire stuff. 1. Bee Thousand 2. Under The Bushes 3. Alien Lanes 4. Propeller 5. Isolation Drills 6. Mag Earwhig 7. Earthquake Glue 8. Do The Collapse 9. Half Smiles of the Decomposed 10. Vampire For Titus 11. Bears For Lunch 12. Universal Truths and Cycles 13. Class Clown Spots A UFO After the third record or so of their reunited classic lineup, I haven't kept up. Not because of a lack of interest, just a lack of time.

Yikes. I listened to Alien Lanes recently after several years and I absolutely loved it. And I think Propeller is Pollard's 'Meddle'.

shocked you put alien lanes so low on the list. whats your music background? musician? collector? whats your fav bands other than gbv need some context to make sense of this opinion

From 1995-2004 about 90% of the music I listened to was GBV to the point where I finally got a bit burned out. I've only dipped into Pollard's "Act 2" discography (mostly Space Gun) over the last decade, so this video was very fun to watch, not only to see your rankings but more importantly because it's renewed my interest in the band after so many years away and given me some good places to start with their newer albums. Like many are no doubt going to say, Alien Lanes is in my top three if not #1 (I still think the trifecta of Bee Thousand/Alien Lanes/Under the Bushes will never be topped in indie rock) but overall I respect your rankings. Thanks for the marathon session!

Best overall album is the Ric Ocasek produced Do The Collapse.

29. english little league 28. jumpsuit 27. please be honest 26. sandbox 25. poppy field 24. devil 23. collapse 22. universal 21. cool planet 20. factory 19. bears 18. heaven 17. earthquake 16. plague 15. mag earwhig 14. self inflicted 13. class clown 12. august by cake 11. warp & woof 10. half smiles 9. same place 8. vampire on titus 7. zeppelin over china 6. isolation drills 5. space gun 4. under the bushes 3. propeller 2. bee thousand 1. alien lanes havent heard mirrored aztec yet so can’t include it

I definitely got some laughs out of "The Grasshopper Eaters" cuz of the "clang!" noise every second. I don't think that was Bob's intention, but at least it served *some* purpose for me 🤣

I'm not a GBV fan whatsoever, but this is a great video.

Last few years have been really strong for GBV - and the new album is only ten songs! What's next a prog Album like Yes with five songs? 😅

I think you underrate Devil Between My Toes. The Great Songs here are quite primally GbV.

15:03 I think there would have been benefits to GBV releasing 4-6 albums from their second reunion to the present instead of 12.

I enjoyed your video, but I think you're in the minority with your opinion on Alien Lanes, but your argument is compelling. Alien Lanes was my introduction to GBV, so its my favourite album anyway with the timeline aspect. I know Bee Thousand is the better of the two, but Alien Lanes edges it for me. I'm surprised that the recording quality of some albums bothers you. If you don't like the Lo-Fi aesthetic, I'm surprised that you like Pollards stuff so much.

estoy bravo, super de acuerdo en que el peor es English Little League (con su fenomenal amargura en la mayoría de los tracks Burning Glass very funny) y no DTC como perezosamente colocan en la mayoría de los worst to best/tops pero Alien Lanes y Mag Earwhig! tan pa' abajo? sin duda cuestionablísimo

There are no worst GBV albums.

He's pretty spot-on about Class Clown Spots a UFO.

Under The Bushes Under The Stars is the last great GBV album. All the stuff before that was great too. Dude puts Alien Lanes at bottom of list. Gimme a break.

I don't know the new stuff well enough to comment. Don't have all of them. I would rate "Alien Lanes" and especially "Mag Earwhig", a lot higher. Top ten for both. "Under The Bushes", "Bee Thousand" and "Propeller", would be top three. I am working on completing the new stuff. I think I have about half of them...

Lots of new albums have some out! Where’s the reviews?!?!

I agree with you on #28, Let's Go Eat the Factory. I gave it a chance.

My top 3: 1. Alien Lanes. The good songs on this album are exceptionally good, timeless classics in my opinion and although the recorded sound is horrible. the guitar sound/tone itself is great. 2. Do the Collapse. Great songs, but I don't like the sound of the guitars, it is ugly, almost 'commercial' sounding and I hate Hold on Hope :-). 3. Mag Earwhig! Some excellent songs, but it is all over the place. like it's a compilation album. I don't care much for Bee Thousand and Under the Bushes, under the Stars. The other albums I must revisit, but at the time they didn't click with me at all.

Really interesting thanks. I am sure English Little League wouldn't so far down on most peoples ratings if it wasnt for the last 3 or 4 tracks being so awful, I quite enjoyed the rest of it though hardly blown away.

Listen to the song Liar’s Tale!

Alien Lanes at number 20. Yeah, right. I really don't think you like Guided by Voices at all. I really don't. "I don't mind songs that are badly-produced". What are you talking about, dude? That album sounds AWSOME! If you had put it in the first ten, even in 9 or 10, I would have thought it a bit ridiculous, but I would have respect for you. But this is just imbecile. "Motor Away", "Game of Pricks", "King and Caroline", "A Salty Salute", "Watch Me Jumpstart", "Auditorium", "My Valuable Hunting Knife", "My Son Cool", "Little Whirl"... those are the best GBV songs ever. And you have August by Cake at 4, but you don't like filler!! Go listen to f-----g Oasis.

Great video Jeff, I enjoy the podcast. It's really hard to rank these 1 to 30, so I won't. But I will break them down into tiers: Tier 1 (Mount Rushmore): Propeller, B1000, Alien Lanes, UTBUTS Tier 2 (Stone Cold Classics): Isolation, Collapse, Earthquake, Class Clown, Bears, August, Space Gun Tier 3 (Average - for GBV - but still great): Fly, Vampire, UT&C, HSOTD, Jumpsuit, HDYSH, W&W, Aztec Tier 4 (Meh...I've tried to get into these, but can't): Devil, Mag, Cool Planet, Zeppelin, Plague, Poppy Tier 5 (Dayton Little League): Sandbox, Nostalgia, Factory, ELL, PBH

I will never understand the dislike of Sandbox.

Alien Lanes is their best album, so it’s really hard to take this list seriously.