My Manic Street Preachers Albums (+ Solo Things) Ranking :3

19. resistance is futile (2018)

there is nothing on here i like that much, international blue and sequels of forgotten wars are pretty good but i would never choose to listen to them over like. nearly any other manics song. all the rest i do not remember at all. the b side soundtrack to complete withdrawal is my favourite from this era because it is actually kinda interesting

favourite song: sequels of forgotten wars

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18. rewind the film (2013)

same sort of thing as resistance is futile except this one has builder of routines and 30 year war which are fun and as holy as the soil which is so so beautiful. other than that it's kinda just there

favourite song: as holy as the soil (that buries your skin)

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17. postcards from a young man (2010)

yep this sure is another 2010s manics album. entire decade of mid i am sorta glad i got into them after they snapped out of it and did the ultra vivid lament lmao. but i like postcards from a young man a bit more because the mid songs are a bit more fun than those from the previous two i feel like

favourite song: a billion balconies facing the sun

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16. even in exile (james solo, 2020)

to be honest i have not listened to this album (or any of james' solo stuff) enough to form much of an opinion on it - but from a couple of listens it's pretty nice but not all that memorable, the concept is cool though

favourite song: recuerda

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15. futurology (2014)

waow the first one i would actually call good. walk me to the bridge is an absolute banger and definitely lifts this a few rankings but i also love the weirdness of let's go to war, dreaming a city and mayakovsky.  not like amazing but they are beating the generic indie dad rock allegations with this one

favourite song: mayakovsky or walk me to the bridge

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14. the ultra vivid lament (2021)

they could never make me hate you the ultra vivid lament!! far from my favourite but definitely not bad, a lot of the songs especially complicated illusions, into the waves of love and orwellian are really fun when you don't have a bitch in your ear telling you good recent music doesn't exist any more - at the very least it's a massive step up from resistance is futile!! diapause is sooo pretty as well

favourite song: orwellian

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13. the great western (james solo, 2006)

lot of bangers on this. maybe we're back to the generic indie dad rock allegations again but that genre has its diamonds in the rough and this is a particularly shiny one. i don't listen to this nearly as much as it deserves!!

favourite song: on saturday morning we will rule the world

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12. lifeblood (2004)

underrated as fuck ngl, i understand it did not do well commercially (releasing the love of richard nixon as a single sure was a choice) but maybe commercially has no taste. to repel ghosts is beautifulllllll. my favourite set of b sides from any album too - everything will be, askew road, antarctic and the soulmates are insane to be left off the album

favourite song: to repel ghosts

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11. send away the tigers (2007)

also underrated as fuck, or at least the less popular songs are. your love alone is not enough and indian summer are glorious but i really like rendition and i'm just a patsy as well. nicky really wrote such a cute love song and also made it about lee harvey oswald i love him. anorexic rodin is also one of my favourite b sides they have done

favourite song: indian summer

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10. critical thinking (2025)

i might be biased here seeing as this is the first manics album i witnessed the release of... i distinctly remember walking around college in my shadow the hedgehog halloween costume with hiding in plain sight on loop the day that came out. the title track and b side johatsu are absolutely insane, onemanmilitia lights up all the "omg manics reference" centres in my brain and being baptised is just gorgeous

favourite song: hiding in plain sight

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9. intimism (nicky solo, 2023)

indie dad meets weird!! at last!! i feel like i already talk about this album too much but i do really love it. saudade and keeper of the flame are my go-tos when i have like six minutes left of my walk home and whatever i was listening to earlier finished (oddly common situation)

favourite song: keeper of the flame

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8. i killed the zeitgeist (nicky solo, 2006)

controversial putting this ahead of intimism maybe but i've already said how much i love a bit of weird in my albums so here we are. it's somehow both crunchy and cosy and i love that, i think break my heart slowly, you will always be my home and the title track do that best. also the b side daydreamer eyes makes my brain melt

favourite song: (nicky wire's) last

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7. gold against the soul (1993)

and here we are into the meat of most peoples' rankings. well apart from the odd person or music journalist who puts gold against the soul last, literally what is wrong with it!! it does feel like the bridge between generation terrorists and the holy bible but i love both of those so a mix of the two could never be a bad thing. and sleepflower and from despair to where are more iconic than anything they did in the 2010s put together lmao

favourite song: sleepflower or nostalgic pushead

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6. know your enemy (2001)

yeah i'm a know your enemy head fight me. i used to haaate this album but i have warmed to it and now i love the whole mess. intravenous agnostic is probably top 10 manics songs and miss europa disco dancer really has no right to be that good

favourite song: intravenous agnostic

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5. this is my truth tell me yours (1998)

i don't listen to this nearly as much as i should (last.fm says it's my 10th most played, below lipstick traces!!) mostly because half the songs on it make me more than a little emotional... but that's hardly a problem, it's so beautiful and of course if you tolerate this your children will be next and you stole the sun from my heart are legendary

favourite song: born a girl

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4. everything must go (1996)

another case of "ow my heart" but kinda more exciting?? to me this is the more aggressive sounding this is my truth tell me yours and i love that. real nice nighttime cry session listening. probably one of their most important albums as well so i gotta respect that

favourite song: enola/alone

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3. journal for plague lovers (2009)

we're officially in the top three and i struggled here because journal for plague lovers is so insanely peak. it is like the holy bible's slightly more confusing cousin and i love it for that!! secret track bag lady is easily top 10 manics songs as well

favourite song: this is so hard actually. all is vanity but it will change within 5 minutes

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2. generation terrorists (1992)

aw hell yeah woke guns n roses. i grew up with guns n roses playing all the time around me so of course i would like the version of them with the most beautiful lyrics to decipher. and the entire energy around this era is so fun to read about. used to agree with the idea that it's way too long and half the tracks are mid filler but now i love the mid filler (so dead and born to end are fire actually.) lmao. and of course the 'actually good tracks' are ridiculously good. motorcycle emptiness live is a highlight of my entire life

favourite song: don't do this to me?? you love us or stay beautiful

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1. the holy bible (1994)

born to be a generation terrorists freak forced to be a holy bible relater. even ignoring the greatest lyrics ever written it's an absolutely perfect example of 90s alternative rock my beloved. 10/10 the only album ever

favourite song: faster

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