How do you rank the studio albums?

[cherrybomb]

THB
RTF
EMG
TIMTTMY
JFPL
GATS
KYE
GT
PFAYM
LB
F
SATT

[A boy called Rita]

1. The Holy Bible
2. Journal for Plague Lovers
3. Send Away the Tigers
4. Everything Must Go
5. Know Your Enemy
6. Generation Terrorists
7. Gold Against the Soul
8. This is my Truth
9. Lifeblood
10. Futurology
11. Postcards
12. Rewind the Film

[beautifuldistortion]

At the moment!

THB
LB
FUTUROLOGY
TIMTTMY
EMG
JFPL
GT
KYE
GATS
RTF
SATT
PFAYM

[Geranium Terrorists]

1. THB
2. EMG
3. KYE
4. GT
5. RTF
6. GATS
7. LB
8. TIMITTMY
9. JFPL
10. F
11. SATT
12. PFAYM

[The Holy Bum-Bum]

Try as hard as I might, I can't rank them.

All I know is the THB is my favourite, and PFAYM is the opposite.

[gracie]

Finally ready to do this properly. Had to give a couple of the albums intense listens to list my top fifty for 'New Chart Riot' so thought I'd do this too. Get ready. I wrote a little paragraph about each because I'm annoying. Enjoy:

1. Generation Terrorists: It fits me to a T, it's pleasing to the ear because the epic riffs and the legendary intro to Slash N Burn feels as if all my teenage angst has been soaked up and distilled into one album. Every song is either a 'I'm fifteen and I have a fucking opinion on everything, I'm bordering adulthood, stressed, don't fuck with me.' or 'I'm fucking uncomfortable with myself right now, I'm out of proportion and hate the world, glitter and leopard print all the way'. There's something about it. Love it.

2. The Holy Bible: Every song means something to me, and it's one of those albums where you finish listening to it after reciting every word and feel damn pleased with yourself. It's a messy, dirty, catchy, controversial masterpiece, a legacy and has 'cunt' in the first line. Only song I hate is 4st 7lbs because it reminds me of what everyone around me thinks about me and it makes me cringe. Very livejournal.

3: Gold Against The SOOOUUUUULLLLL: (Sorry, I had to ) - I believe GATS isn't actually that bad. I can sing along to every song, just as fiercely as with GT. Some of the best singles have come from it, simply because it is so commercially friendly (although not successful). I'm one of the Manics fans who doesn't hate GATS. I'm cool.

4. Journal For Plague Lovers: I find it an even deeper and much more dark album than THB, but there's some cracking songs on there. Actually, they all made my top fifty songs list, there's no getting away from it. Not much to say, but cracking album.

5. Know Your Enemy: Like the boys said, it seems unfinished. It should had the same effect as GT to be honest, because I feel as if it's a slighter older and wiser, toned down answer to it. Really versatile (Miss Europa, love it). Epicentre is underrated and so are many other songs on there.

6. Everything Must Go: Start of a new era for the Manics, and people may say it's a 'sympathy vote' album, but I think it's beautiful. It's still got quite a deep Richey twinge on it. (haha. Richey twinge.) like The Girl Who Wanted to be God and obviously Small Black Flowers, and I feel like some songs that weren't from his lyrics still had a Richey feel. Nice car album in my opinion.

7. Send Away The Tigers: I'm putting it at seven simply because I can sing along to the entire thing. Compared to a lot of Manics albums, even compared to GATS, it's a bit shit but it's success single wise makes me quite happy. Also YLAINE - corker of a song. SATT's high point in my opinion.

8. Futurology: Nothing to say really. It took me about a month to get into it, first few songs on the record are the best in my opinion, and although Walk Me To The Bridge 'isn't about Richey', it so fucking is. Seriously it is so relevant.

9. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours: I've ranked this at nine because I know every song. That's why. And I have all the singles and remixes on every format because it was the first album I heard (and the first I started collecting from), and it was part of the mix CD my Stepfather played in his car like three years ago that introduced me to the Manics.

10. Lifeblood: It's rated at ten because of the sympathy vote. Makes me sad it flopped kinda because I liked the imagery. I like a couple of songs on it. So It's at ten.

11. Postcards From A Young Man: Only reason this isn't last is because when I first got into the Manics, I chose the Postcards side as opposed to the Tigers side because of the singles. Now the only song I really like is Billion Balconies. So it's 11th. Definitely not a good last attempt as mass communication or whatever the fuck the quote was.

12. Rewind The Film: Shit. Maybe I'll appreciate it more when I get old and reflect. Or when my life flashes before my eyes when I die. Presumably in a gnarly motorcycle accident at 17. Sometimes I think I'd 'get it' if I were Welsh. But sometimes I think 'naaah.' I just need to be old-er.

[Marconi Delorian]

Writing your reasons for the placing is a lot more interesting than a boring ranking! Nice one, wish I was young enough to feel the same about Rewind The Film, but I'm getting old now!

[gracie]

Thank you!!!

& I'm sure I'll soon be old enough. Time goes too fast. Need to grab it before it slips through my fingers. Sigh.

[slop101]

1. The Holy Bible - Every song hits, hits hard, and they work together as an album should. A classic and timeless rock album in every sense of the words, and one of the greatest albums of all time, by the Manics or anyone else.

2. Everything Must Go - Same as above, but different enough; not quite as strong, but a band growing and moving on.

3. Send Away the Tigers - A personal favorite. The songs are just alright, but the sound, aesthetically, is my favorite SOUNDING Manics album, with some of my favorite guitar work from JDB.

4. This is my Truth - A rich tapestry of everything MSP does well on one album for the first time and since. A bit hit & miss, but flows nicely.

5. Lifeblood - Unjustly maligned. Only criticism would be that it lacks a sense of urgency typical to MSP. Otherwise, some of the best, most mature music and lyrics the Manics have created. It has aged really well, both sonically and thematically. (the 3 songs from God Save The Manics EP should've been on the album, and would've put this a few notches higher for me)

6. Know Your Enemy - A hodgepodge. A collection of decent songs that almost sounds like a compilation. Doesn't flow too well, but it's a generous package. Would've been a more memorable album had they cut it by a third.

7. Futurology - Half of it is fantastic, the other half, meh.

8. Journal for Plague Lovers - feels like b-sides from Holy Bible and, beside a couple songs, not in a good way.

9. Gold Against the Soul - Nice riff-rock. Songs and production are a bit hit & miss.

10. Generation Terrorists - Great songs, but the sound/production kills it for me. The fake drums sound like a spork hitting mashed potatoes. Guitars, while played well, don't sound much better. Had this sounded like SAtT, it would be top-3. Would love for them to re-record it now.

11. Rewind the Film - Some nice songs, but feels like a B-side collection, a weak one at that, as Lipstick Traces* destroys this.

12. Postcards - Over-produced tripe. I like some of the melodies and a few of the songs, but this is the album where the band's own criticism of Lifeblood fits instead, as it sounds like a band overcompensating for lack of meaning and direction

*speaking of LT, if I were to throw that in, I'd put it between 5 & 6.

[Slideling]

1. Journal for Plague Lovers

2. This Is My Truth, Tell My Yours

3. The Holy Bible

4. Generation Terrorists

5. Lifeblood

6. Know Your Enemy

7. Rewind The Film

8. Postcards From A Young Man

9. Futurology

10. Gold Against The Soul

11. Send Away The Tigers

12. Everything Must Go

[y2kyle16]

My latest review of this:

1.Journal For Plague Lovers
2.The Holy Bible
3. Lifeblood
4.Futurology
5.Everything Must Go
6. Postcards From A Young Man
7. Rewind The Film
8. Send Away The Tigers
9. Know Your Enemy
10. Generation Terrorists
11. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
12. Gold Against The Soul

[TheSilentMan]

(Good stuff)
1. The Holy Bible
2. Gold Against the Soul
3. Generation Terrorists
4. Everything Must Go
5. Futurology
6. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
7. Journal For Plague Lovers
8. Know Your Enemy
(mostly very mediocre stuff below)
9. Lifeblood
10. Send Away The Tigers
11. Rewind The Film
12. Postcards From a Young Man

[UrbanMongoose]

Changes a lot but right now;

1. The Holy Bible
2. This is My Truth Tell Me Yours
3. Everything Must Go
4. Rewind The Film
5. Journal For Plague Lovers
6. Know Your Enemy
7. Futurology
8. Generation Terrorists
9. Lifeblood
10. Postcards From A Young Man
11. Gold Against The Soul
12. Send Away The Tigers

[Geranium Terrorists]

Another revision!
1. THB (same position)
2. EMG (same position)
3. KYE (same position)

4. GT (prev. position 5)
5. GATS (prev. position 7)
6. LB (same position)
7. RTF (prev. position 4)

8. TIMT (same position)

9. JFPL (prev. position 10)
10. F (prev. position 9)

11. SATT (same position)
12. PFAYM (same position)

[Marat Sar]

1. Lifeblood. Well aged, flawless quality, sonically gorgeous. Becomes more and more topical each year (regretfully). The warm vein that pulses through my experience of reality. Popular music doesn't get more complete than Lifeblood.

2. Futurology. Heroic, interesting. Few works of art celebrate art itself in such a mature and honest, yet entirely optimistic manner. (If any.) A thoroughly believable ode to the act of creation, from three people who've proven extraordinarily capable at it.

3. This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours Glorious, hard to listen to. The first five songs are unbearably historicist, the rest a tattered ghost. If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next is the greatest hit single ever recorded, an embodiment of the possibilities of mass culture, an inside out and upside down Nuremberg Rally.

4. Know Your Enemy. Manic Street Preachers. A lot of Manic Street Preachers. An entire box-full of them. Don't leave home without it, take the Manic Street Preachers with you when you go out. Who cares if some of it is gaff, it's the Manic Street Preachers.

5. The Holy Bible. Fun, bad ass extremist statement in favor of extinction. Over-rated, but sometimes when the album rises to the level of it's insane prestige, a truly special feeling. Like I have something unexplainable that cannot be taken away from me. Something that is not pride and smells like spring snow.

6. Everything Must Go. What a story! What a great, horrible story. At what cost the context for "No Surface All Feeling"! A true, grand narrative, with horrendous production. Really, really should be mixed again. (With drums this time, please).

7. Rewind The Film. Pretty, miserable defeatism, like Lifeblood without the sparkle and wisdom, like This Is My Truth without the glory. Beautiful analog sound. Benefits greatly from the adventurous sequencing also heard on superior Futurology. Interesting and uneven. Some heartbreaking moments in there.

8. Gold Against The Soul. Stupid soft metal album. Has way more atmosphere than it ought to - mostly thanks to the endearingly dated sound. Amazingly elastic shouty vocals from JDB, true perfection on the mic. Cool singles, really weak filler.

9. Generation Terrorists. Sound not so endearingly dated. Motorcycle Emptiness is youth itself, pure, sad and free. Saves the album and then some. Some of the other stuff manages to be interesting. Generally trash though. From here on (and GT included) I could compile over five b-sides compilations that are better than the bottom-most albums. (And so could you!)

10. Send Away The Tigers. Blargh. Began the hat trick of failures that almost made me give up on them. The concept was naff, but I understand now. Better to have a work ethic and plough through the uninspired years with some half-decent radio play, than "split - reform - dissappoint". We wouldn't have gotten the Rewind/Futurology renaissance had they started hibernating. Better to stay in shape and stay together for the kids.

11. Journal For Plague Lovers. I just don't get it. Makes me feel a bit stupid when I see people place it 1st or 2nd. Must be more than Richey-fanaticism at work there, but I don't feel a thing when I listen to Journal. I understand the concept, but for me the music just isn't there and neither are the texts.

12. Postcards From a Young Man Daytime soap opera. Dryness. Nuisance. A really bad SATT. Pity about the production and unnecessary dueting on Some Kind Of Nothingness, though. Closer observation of the lyrics and melody indicate an absolutely gigantic anthem underneath the shit-sheet.