I will be ranking all Gorillaz albums and giving my personal opinion on all of them. This is all opinion based, so it might be different from others, but hear my reasoning. If you didn’t know, Gorillaz is a British virtual band formed in 1998. The band consists of four fictional members: 2D (vocals, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (electric guitar, vocals), and Russel Hobbs (drums). There are two real-life members. Damon Albarn, the former singer and front man for the British band Blur, who does all the vocals and music. The only other member is Jamie Hewlett. The co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl, he does illustrations. The band has a long story of complicated lore that comes with each phase/album. The lore is told/given through music videos, interviews, social media posts, comic strips, and many more. The band has made several very well-known songs such as Feel Good Inc, Clint Eastwood, On Melancholy Hill, Rhinestone Eyes, and DARE. That’s all the basics you should know, so let’s get onto the rankings.
Gorillaz (self-titled debut) – 8.5/10
This album is a masterpiece, it has so many bangers on it. The art on the cover is so cool, and very recognizable. I love Slow Country, Punk, 5/4, Re-Hash, 19-2000, Tomorrow Comes Today, Left Hand Suzuki Method, Clint Eastwood, M1 A1 and so many more. The only reason it doesn’t get a 10/10 is for some of the other tracks that I’m not a huge fan of. They all have good parts in them but I don’t really vibe with all of them. Also because this type of genre isn’t something I always listen to, but I really enjoy how this was created.
G-Sides – 5/10
I can say this album does have some classics, like 12D3 and Faust (my favorites). Most of the album was either remixes of some of the songs on the debut album. The other songs though were… fine. I don’t have much else to say besides that I do like the album cover.
Demon Days – 9/10
I can’t go on without giving this absolute god of an album a good rating. It is godly. The album cover is so iconic and cool. I love every song on this album, even the Intro. I love El Mañana, Kids with Guns, White Light, Feel Good Inc, Last Living Souls and literally everything. Everyone should listen to this album and I know they won’t regret it.
D-Sides – 7/10
This album is super cool. The last half is remixes, but the first half is perfect. I love Rockit, Murdoc is God, and Hong Kong the most. A lot of these songs are such fun songs and make me happy to listen to, or if I want to relax and sleep. Definitely a solid album.
Plastic Beach – 8.9/10
The only reason this doesn’t get a 9, like Demon Days, is because there are a couple songs I’m iffy about. But other than that I absolutely love this album more than anything. Oh my lord, like actually I love it so much. There are a whole bunch of songs on here that make me so happy and go feral. I love To Binge, Empire Ants, Superfast Jellyfish, Broken, Pirate Jet, On Melancholy Hill, Rhinestone Eyes and so much more. The whole aesthetic of this album is actually so perfect. All the songs transition so well into each other and give you goosebumps. Plus, the album cover is super cool and this album had so much lore.
The Fall – 6.5/10
This album really is cool, as it was all made and recorded on an iPad during the Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour. I love Revolving Doors, Amarillo, and California & The Slipping of the Sun are songs on the album. Some of the other songs are pretty good, but a bit different from my usual taste. I do appreciate the album cover since I love a bit of 2D every once in a while. It’s a good album to listen to while working.
Humanz – 7.8/10
This album is actually pretty good and way too hated. I didn’t give it a full 8 because it’s obviously not as good as the debut. I like Ascension, Saturnz Barz, Momentz, Charger, Andromeda, Busted and Blue, Let Me Out, She’s My Collar, Out of Body, Ticker Tape, and The Apprentice. They all look really cool on the album cover. This album is very solid though and I like the transitions.
The Now Now – 9.9/10
I might be biased because I’m a sad person, but this is my number one Gorillaz album. It is phenomenal. The only reason it didn’t get a full ten is because I don’t really like Hollywood, Sorcererz or Lake Zurich. And I apologize for that, but otherwise everything else is perfect. I also love how it’s 2D being without Murdoc and how sad he is. It sounds like a day at the beach, but you’re too sad to enjoy it. My top three are Souk Eye, One Percent (underrated), Magic City, Idaho and Fire Flies and Tranz. The art style too is so cool.
Song Machine – 8/10
This album is a classic. I absolutely love the way it sounds. There are a couple songs I’m meh about, but the rest of them are so fun! I love the music videos so much, Désolé and The Lost Chord completely broke me. I like Chalk Tablet Towers, Pac-Man, Aries, Momentary Bliss, and The Valley of The Pagans. But overall it’s super good. Also, this albums art style is my #1 favorite art style and how the music videos are.
Meanwhile EP – 4/10
This was a random release and it was… good. I only liked Jimmy Jimmy, the others were.. okay. I thought it was fine and it’s always forgotten about. There was like no new artwork at all for it. Which makes it even more boring. It was like a mix of Cracker Island and Song Machine, which sounds like it’d be good, but to be honest it wasn’t.
Cracker Island – 7.9/10
I gave this a .1 point higher than Humanz because this, unfortunately, is the only album I’ve seen released while being a fan. Plus, I like almost every song on here. The album cover and art style is so cool and amazing. I like Oil, Cracker Island, The Tired Influencer, Skinny Ape, Possession Island and Captain Chicken. I do think this album got way too much hate. Yes, it’s their “pop” album, yes, it sounds different from the normal Gorillaz style. Do I still absolutely love it? Of course. People act like they aren’t allowed to experiment and try different things. But it’s really a great album.
Conclusion
Now, you may or may not have been angry or agree with my opinion. Still, I stand by what I have said and no one can tell me otherwise. Gorillaz is my #1 band of all time and I know so much about it and its music, its lore, and its background. I don’t know everything though, and I’m aware of that. I’m also a new fan, since I became a fan in November 2022. I have plenty of merch, vinyls, cds and what-not, but I’m still praying that one day I can go to a Gorillaz concert.
I love this band so much and it does deserve more popularity in this day and time. It was huge in the early 2000s but they’re not as big anymore. I have been actively obsessed since I started listening to them. Who knows when my phase will end? They bring such an accent to the music industry. No one will ever compare to what they’ve created.
I know I won’t ever stop liking them or really ever leave my phase, but I will rise and fall with how obsessed I am with it. I love these albums, characters and people so so so much. They’ve actually changed my life, all for the better. Thank you Damon, Jamie, 2D, Murdoc, Russel, Noodle, all the collaborators, and anyone who has played or worked with Gorillaz. I couldn’t be happier and more grateful for how this band turned out.
