The Black Crowes have rarely strayed from form since their 1990 debut, Shake Your Money Maker, introduced them as one of rock’s best revivalist bands of the last decade of the century.
And while band turnaround and turmoil often threatened to derail their story, they’ve persevered to create some of the best unrestrained rock ‘n’ roll music of the era, as you’ll see in the list below of The Black Crowes Albums Ranked.
Brothers Chris (vocals) and Rich (guitar) Robinson’s frequent public spats have threatened to shift the spotlight away from what matters most. But their tumultuous relationship has also fueled their best records, from that explosive debut to their ’20s’ reunion albums.
READ MORE: The Black Crowes, ‘Happiness Bastards’ Album Review
Whether drawing inspiration from (and comparisons to) ’70s giants like the Rolling Stones and Faces (as well as the Allman Brothers Band and Led Zeppelin) or making a later turn toward more stage-bound exploratory pieces, the Black Crowes have lined up a set of records that often stand with the best of their reference points. (Their second album, 1992’s The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, sounds like a great lost Stones album from the mid-’70s.)
The list below doesn’t include the live album they made with Jimmy Page in 2000 or the reworking of their back catalog on 2010’s acoustic Croweology, but you will find the stage recording Before the Frost … , a 2009 LP of new songs performed in front of an audience. Through it all, the Black Crowes never abandoned their Southern roots or status as torch-bearers of an earlier era.
The Black Crowes Albums Ranked
From their lightning-bolt introduction to their reunion LP more than three decades later, they’ve rarely strayed from form.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
