Rush were Canadian musical revolutionaries. They created bold, out-there music that transcended boundaries for over 40 years, and even created the “deeply loyal, but insanely cultish and annoying” fanbase that every prog band since has tried to replicate to varying degrees of success. Starting out in the late ’60s in Willowdale, Ontario, and from the mid-’70s, onwards, consisting of Drum Master/Acceptable Lyricist Neil Peart, Guitar Auteur Alex Lifeson, and gerbil-voiced multi-instrumentalist and Bass King Geddy Lee, Rush consistently released albums up until 2015, and unfortunately, the world has gotten much worse since they disbanded (especially post 2020, RIP Neil Peart, fuck you brain cancer).
So to honor their legendary career, we will rank every Rush album from least to most awesome!
19. Test For Echo (1996)
Rush’s attempt at post-grunge leaves much to be desired, with lackluster songs, and for the first time in their career, no “Rush” to be delivered with the music. But any band with a forty-year career will tell you that there is at least one clunker of an album to be had. And in a forty-year career, only one truly bad album out of nineteen is a pretty sweet batting average, so swing for the fences y’all.
Play It Again: “Driven”
Skip It: The Rest (Particularly “Totem”)
18. Rush (1974)
The only album to be recorded with original drummer John Rutsey (RIP), Rush was still “finding their way” with this album, and it often sounds more like a bunch of teenagers creating songs that sound more like cheap Zeppelin rip offs then it does an actual Rush album. But hey, we all have to start somewhere, and this album is pretty decent all things considered, so the band were in no “rush” to find their sound. (We apologize for the pun, please keep reading.)
Play It Again: “Working Man”
Skip It: “In the Mood”
17. Caress of Steel (1975)
Marijuana. Harmless they said? Well, this meandering, pretentious album would beg to differ, being the boy’s first attempt at crafting true prog rock epics gets bogged down in a pile of heavy, hashy smoke. What was even worse, was that they toured with Ted Nudget to promote this album, to mediocre financial returns, the tour being dubbed the “down the tubes tour,” due to its poor financial performance. Which is a shame, because those tubes could have been put to better use creating smoking apparatuses. Be warned dear reader, get woke before you go up in smoke.
Play It Again: Bastille Day
Skip It: I Think I’m Going Bald
16. Power Windows (1985)
Yet another look into the future, the very concept of “Power Windows” is a fantastic concept, especially for the mid ’80s. Unfortunately, as an album, there is very little power to this window into the future, full of forgettable songs and suffocating synths that would define this mid decade slump. Fortunately there are some solid songs in the first half of this album, so feel free to skip the second half to get straight to the ’90s, flannel and all…
Play It Again: “The Big Money”
Skip It: The second half
15. Roll the Bones (1991)
…but unfortunately the band made a “Rushed” (again so sorry for the pun) attempt to segue into the ’90s with this middle of the road album, which didn’t entirely abandon those synthy sounds of the ’80s. But hey, “Nevermind” was only weeks away, so we can forgive this lack of imagination by calling it the last breath of the ’80s, right before the glorious rise of grunge, sweeping away the excesses of the ’80s permanently.
Play It Again: “Dreamline”
Skip It: “Face UP”
14. Snakes and Arrows (2007)
Named for an old board game (Snakes and Ladders), Snakes and Arrows goes in a wide variety of musical directions, sometimes finding their way and hitting a dead end at others. But when they do find their way on this album, it’s just as good as any of their albums (no such thing as a bad Rush album except for Test for Echo). But any band 30 years into their career, still producing relatively good albums deserves all the praise they can get, all things considered.
Play It Again: “Far Cry” and “Armor and the Sword”
Skip It: “We Hold On”
13. Fly By Night (1975)
The first album to feature possibly the best Rock’n’Roll drummer of all time in the form of Neil Peart, it’s also the first album to feature him on lyrics, drifting from traditional macho man lyrics of the time towards more literature and fantasy oriented lyrics. This album saw Rush truly come as they were, embracing their brainier side, even if such songs were misguided by their youth (a whole song inspired by Objectivism, get the fuck outta here), but it laid the groundwork for future experiments.
Play It Again: “Fly By Night”
Skip It: “Anthem” (ain’t nobody got time for Ayn Rand promotion)
12. Presto (1989)
Closing off the 80s by providing a happy compromise between Geddy Lee’s increased appetite for synths and Alex Lifeson’s desire to return to a more guitar oriented sound led to this magical album. Look no further than the cover to see multiple rabbits pulled out of this hat, which we assume is symbolic of how much songwriting talent Rush has. Plus they are THE nerdy dudes of Rock’n’Roll, so we assume that they can pull off tricks like that just by waving their magic wands, in the studio and reality. More bunnies!
Play It Again: “Presto”
Skip It: “Available Light”
11. Counterparts (1993)
Many of your “cool” bands from the ’70s and ’80s had difficulties adapting to the ’90s, with the rise in grunge and fall of previously popular forms of rock music. But thankfully Rush were never one of the cool kids, and despite being boomers, never fell victim to the “back in my day” bullshit, instead embracing the musical trends of the ’90s to varying degrees of success, setting them apart from many of their older counterparts, proving that they were truly new world men.
Play It Again: “Nobody’s Hero”
Skip It: “Double Agent”
10. Vapor Trails (2002)
Hardcore Rush nerds will most certainly file a class action Lawsuit against the Hard Times for ranking this album so highly, but to them we give a noogie of knowledge and a wedgie of wisdom, by ranking this underrated masterpiece where it belongs. Yeah, the production on the original may be wonky, but just listen to the remaster, and what you will find is an absolute masterpiece meditation on healing, redemption, and reignition, written after the untimely death of Neil Peart’s wife and teenage daughter sent him into a deep depression and a motorcycle trip spanning the entire continent, before he decided to settle down in California. This journey was documented both in his book “Ghost Rider” (not to be confused with the marvel property), and this stellar album, remastered to perfection, no further words.
Play It Again: “One Little Victory through Earthshine”
Skip It: “Nocturne”
9. Permanent Waves (1980)
By the ’80s, everyone in the progressive rock scene had gotten sick of long songs and masturbatory meandering, and for some reason, decided that perms would be an acceptable hairstyle. The dudes in Rush took notice, and ditched the twenty minute suites for more compact songwriting, some of the best of their career, and not only changed their hairstyles, but named an entire album after this strange concept in esthetics, crafting what would be the shape of ’80s rock to come.
Play It Again: The Spirit of Radio, Freewill, and Jacob’s Ladder
Skip It: Different Strings
8. Hold Your Fire (1987)
The only reason that this album is ranked in the top 10 is that “Time Stand Still” is an absolute tear jerker, especially since Neil Peart died. Yeah, “Force Ten” may be a 9/10 song, but it doesn’t have the same timeless appeal to make us stand still and hold each sensation a little bit stronger, and the other songs are filler. But you heard the man, make each moment a little bit longer, at least that’s what I heard.
Play It Again: “Time Stand Still”
Skip It: “Tai Shan”
7. Grace Under Pressure (1984)
An album about holding your own under immense pressure is aptly titled, since Rush were at the peak of their commercial popularity at this point, but still had so much more to say. Especially with “Red Sector A,” which Neil Peart took influence from Geddy Lee’s parents’ survival of the Holocaust to write one of the most chilling songs on the subject. For a more informed account of this tale of survival, check out the chapter in Geddy’s autobiography for a historical account of how hate unchecked can lead to atrocities, but through it all, the human spirit can retain “Grace Under Pressure.”
Play It Again: “Distant Early Warnings” and “Red Sector A”
Skip It: “The Body Electric”
6. Signals (1982)
The beginning of the infamously famous synth-period, Rush embraced the new musical technology, and used it to craft one of the best albums of all time. Kicking things off with the best song about teenage isolation in the form of “Subdivisions,” the rest of the album is just as good, and honestly, there is very little else to say except this album rules, so no more to say.
Play It Again: Subdivisions and New World Man
Skip It: Losing It (still a winner in our books)
5. Hemispheres (1978)
Peak Prog Rush, groundbreaking and at times drawn out songs, high concept for high minds, containing two epics along with working class rallying cry in the form of the Trees. This was the end of an era, described by great Canadian thinker Ricky LaFleur as having songs “about the two sides of your brain,” claiming that bands should focus more on simple rock anthems. Even more amazingly, this message was transmitted back through time somehow, and the band dialed things back with “Permanent Waves.”
Play It Again: “La Villa Strangiato”
Skip It: “Circumstances” (since its worst by default)
4. 2112 (1976)
After the financial, critical and general disaster that was “Caress of Steel,” the boys in Rush were under immense pressure from their record label to write catchy, upbeat tunes over their longer and more pretentious songs. So what did the band do? They wrote the best damn twenty minute suite ever recorded, about a lone warrior bringing music back to a dystopian world, a defiant “fuck you” to their record label. The album was so financially successful, that the band didn’t have to return to dreary day jobs, and the record label decided to let them do whatever they wanted going forward. A true Rock’n’Roll success story, Rush owes their entire career post 1976 to this masterpiece.
Play It Again: The Title Track (all 20 minutes of it)
Skip It: “Lessons and Tears”
3. A Farewell to Kings (1977)
Following up “2112” would be an insurmountable task to most bands, but to the boys in Rush, it was just another day of the week, and they produced one of their career best, containing both crowd pleaser “Closer to the Heart” and prog rock masterpiece “Xanadu,” which was a crossover event for Olivia Newton John fans, confusing the normies of the time, who dined on honeydew and drank the milk of paradise, and would have certainly left a 10/10 yelp review of this feast.
Play It Again: “Closer to the Heart” and “Xanadu”
Skip It: “Cinderella Man”
2. Moving Pictures (1981)
The band, fan and presumably record label favourite, since it was a multi-platinum selling success that catapulted the band to arena heights. No song a skip, this album is essentially a starter pack meme for 80s music made before starter pack memes and even internet memes were a thing to begin with, its both ahead of and of its time, not to mention one of the best uses of wordplay in the 20th century, a masterpiece on so many levels that no one can deny its greatness.
Play It Again: “Tom Sawyer” (right after “Vital Signs” closes the album)
Skip It: Nah bahd
1. Clockwork Angels (2012)
“Clockwork Angels,” spread their arms and sing! Bow your heads so graceful, so that we may crown our kings. The final album from Rush was a forty year career on full display, of a band at the height of their prowess, both in the studio and live, and as such, the band crafted their finest work. A concept album set in a steampunk world lit only by the fire that is this record, containing all the best elements of every previous Rush record, sending the band off with a bang, a pinnacle in prog, and mighty sendoff for this Willowdale three-piece rock orchestra, truly the best band to come out of Canada (sorry Nomeanso, you come in at a very close second though).
Play It Again: Always
Skip It: Never