INXS Albums Ranked

Like many bands that came of age during new wave’s peak years, INXS didn’t stick around in one place for too long.

As you’ll see in the below list of INXS Albums Ranked, the group spent half a decade before it finally settled on the glossy mix of pop, rock and dance music that made them one of the world’s biggest bands by the end of the ’80s.

While it took some time to get there, the Australian sextet had some of the pieces in place almost from the start, like singer Michael Hutchence‘s swaggering Mick Jagger vocal style and the Farriss brothers’ classic rock ‘n’ roll crunch filtered through more modern styles.

READ MORE: When INXS Embraced a New Direction on ‘Welcome to Wherever You Are’

By the time they nailed down the bigger, splashier productions that were hallmarks of their best records, INXS was already a tight-performing unit. All they needed was someone to guide them, and with producers Nile Rodgers and, especially, Chris Thomas, they made a series of hit albums that helped define their sound in the latter part of the ’80s.

Once they reached their stride, they stuck around in similar territory for an album or two before stripping back to meet the demands of the burgeoning alternative nation. They eventually returned to their classic sound – groove-stuffed pop music seasoned with rock guitars and dance rhythms – in the mid-’90s. But in November 1997, Hutchence took his own life, effectively ending INXS’ run.

Even though they made one more record with a new singer, the band never recovered from the death of its magnetic frontman. But they briefly carved out a little corner of the music world with some of the era’s most distinctive records.