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The Results:
Place: 1st
Album: Ten
Total Votes: 80
All Music's take: no matter how cathartic Ten's tersely titled songs got, they were never abrasive enough to affect the album's accessibility. Ten also benefited from a long gestation period, during which the band honed the material into this tightly focused form; the result is a flawlessly crafted hard rock masterpiece.
Place: 2nd
Album: Vs.
Total Votes: 76
All Music's take: a few songs here are just plain underdeveloped, with supporting frameworks that don't feel very sturdy. But, of everything that does work, the rockers are often frightening in their intensity, and the more reflective songs are mesmerizing. Vs. may not reach the majestic heights of Ten, but at least half the record stands with Pearl Jam's best work.
Place: 3rd
Album: Yield
Total Votes: 72
All Music's take: It's hard to view Yield as a disaster, since Pearl Jam's conviction still rings true, but it's frustrating that journeyman tendencies have replaced the desperate, searching confusion that was the most appealing element of the band's music.
Place: 4th
Album: Vitalogy
Total Votes: 51
All Music's take: But that black cloud works to Pearl Jam's advantage, injecting a nervous tension to brittle rockers like "Last Exit" and "Not for You," and especially introspective ballads like "Corduroy" and "Better Man." In between the straight rock numbers and the searching slow songs, Pearl Jam contribute their strangest music -- the mantrafunk of "Aye Davanita," the sub-Tom Waits accordion romp of "Bugs," and the chilling sonic collage "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me." Pearl Jam are at their best when they're fighting, whether it's Ticketmaster, fame, or their own personal demons.
Place: 5th
Album: No code
Total Votes: 47
All Music's take: While a bit incoherent, No Code is Pearl Jam's richest and most rewarding album to date, as well as their most human. They might be maturing in a fairly conventional method, but they still find new ways to state old truths.
Place: 6th
Album: Self-Titled/Avocado
Total Votes: 33
All Music's take: And the thing that makes the record work exceptionally well is that Pearl Jam has embraced everything they do well, whether it's their classicist hard rock or heart-on-sleeve humanitarianism. In doing so, they seem kind of old fashioned, reaffirming that they are now thoroughly outside of the mainstream -- spending well over a decade galloping away from any trace of popularity will inevitably make you an outsider -- but on their own terms, Pearl Jam hasn't sounded as alive or engaging as they do here since at least Vitalogy, if not longer.
Place: 7th
Album: Binaural
Total Votes: 28
All Music's take: the difference is focus -- though Pearl Jam is trying a lot of different styles, certainly more so than on Yield, they pull it all off better. The songs are sharper, the production is layered, and the performances are as compassionate as ever, resulting in their finest album since Vitalogy.
Place: 8th
Album: Riot Act
Total Votes: 27
All Music's take: the production is the best in nearly a decade -- a warm, burnished sound filled with details that enhance the basic song instead of overwhelming them (in other words, it's not No Code, nor is it the Spartan Yield). Again, these are subtle shifts in sound, but they are notable and, given several plays, this does indeed seem like the richest record Pearl Jam has made in a long time.
Place: 9th
Album: Lightning Bolt
Total Votes: 24
All Music's take: On Lightning Bolt, they've grown into that classic rock mantle, accentuating the big riffs and bigger emotions, crafting songs without a worry as to whether they're hip or not and, most importantly, enjoying the deep-rooted, nervy arena rock that is uniquely their own.
Place: 10th
Album: Gigaton
Total Votes: 23
All Music's take: the band's sonic departures hit even harder, with the arty soundscape of "Alright" sounding as bracing as the new wave-disco of "Dance of the Clairvoyants." The aural adventure adds a nice counterpoint to protests and pleas offered up by Pearl Jam, and helps Gigaton feel vivid, alive, and just a shade hopeful.
Place: 11th
Album: Backspacer
Total Votes: 16th
All Music's take: all things considered, Backspacer is a party record for Pearl Jam -- a party that might consist of nothing but philosophical debates till the wee hours, but a party nonetheless -- and if 18 years is a long, long wait for a band to finally throw a party, it's also true that, prior to Backspacer, Pearl Jam wouldn't or couldn't have made music this unfettered, unapologetically assured, casual, and, yes, fun.
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