This is a complete guide. Thank you, Scot! I only knew selected songs like the hits and some random ones I love like “Song For You”. Following your reviews, I started listening to “Dialogue” now. Great song!!! I’m gonna dive into the discography because of you 😄
Chicago is my dad's favorite band, so I grew up listening to them. After their debut though, to save money, he only bought their even numbered albums while his best friend bought the odd numbers, so he only had CTA, II, IV, and VI (along with Night & Day on CD, which I listened to a little bit as a kid). I only really spent a lot of time with CTA and II, but especially II. Picked up X at a thrift store as a teen but never actually listened to it. I definitely need to go back and give some of the others some attention!
Excellent video. I am not familiar with Chicago after "Saturdays in the Park" so my ranking is very limited. We recently saw Chicago and they played Chicago II from start to finish. It was great. The crowd was an AARP crowd. LOL. I love live albums so my limited list includes one. Top --. Chicago II , III , I, VII and finally IV. Terry Kath was a super guitarist and musician. My much better half really liked the Taylor Swift video. Coloring outside of the lines is OK
Great countdown ! Initially Chicago was my 2nd favorite love when I was about 10 or 11. I have my oldest sister to thank for that when she bought their legendary sophomore album in 1970. And Ive always had a devil of a time deciding between their first 2. But over the years I’ve discovered that debut album to be my #1. It’s SO raw and hard core for those guys. Terry Kath was just blistering mad on the guitar and “ Liberation “ is just an epic badass. However, I lost interest in Chicago after the untimely passing of Terry. It reminded me of losing Jim Croce. Should have never happened.
Such great stuff during their early heyday! It was good to hear you like Chicago VIII. That album tends to get overlooked. My interest dropped off with their 80s material unfortunately, when they changed their style. It seems Pankow and Lamm could never recover that magic and chemistry from the early days after Cetera left and Kath passed. I’ll admit I haven’t heard their latest so I’ll check it out. Fun video Scot!
awesome list man! I myself can't do a full ranking because I only have CTA thru 14. (I also own Stone of Sissophus, however it's spelled!) But I still think the CTA is the best. with 2 and 7 and 5 following it.
I loved Chicago back in 1970, ever since I first heard "Make Me Smile" on the radio, then later on with "25 or 6 to 4". I got a paper route when I was 15 in 1975, and I finally had money of my own. I bought Chicago VIII and loved it. "Hideaway" is probably the heaviest song they ever did. Then I dove into the back catalogue. Bought CTA, II, III, V, VI & VII all in quick succession. My ranking would be II, CTA, V, VIII, III, VII, VI, XI, X & Hot Streets.
Hey Scot! My home sweet home. CHICAGO!!! This vid will be awesome! I think the first 7 albums are all masterpieces. Just an incredible band. Growing up in the Windy City if you weren't a fan they kicked you out of the city! Lol! 🌬❄️🌨☃️😎
I grew up listening Chicago from their fisrt album on 1969. Those seven guys will be always in my heart. My ranking: 2,6,7,1, then put whatever you want!
My Favorite Chicago's albums CTA(crossover from hard rock to jazz rock) II(focused on prog rock and classical music) V(complete style of rock'n roll with horns) VII(costrast between jazz side and pop side) 17(high quality pop songs) VI(mild and deep songs) III(mixup...jazz,hard rock,country,classical) 16 X XI
This band firing all cylinders since the start up till late 70's, then things change. what a band! What a band, man! Great list you got there! Awesome!
Scot, I am *so happy* to see this video here today! I'm a *huge* fan of the Terry Kath era of Chicago, and I do like some things that they recorded after his tragic demise too, especially the "Hot Streets" album, and the next one, from 1980, with the "fingerprint" album cover. That one didn't sell well at all, but it had some proggy moments, and some hard-rocking moments. The "CTA" through "7" albums were *definitely* proggy and rocking! 🙂
I've yet to hear Chicago's whole discography, but so far my favorite is probably Chcago VII (with the "gold engraving" cover.) Great mix of proggy/extended suites and poppier stuff, and Terry Kath's two contributions (Byblos and Song of the Evergreens) are stellar. And of course, Mongonucleosis is great to break out at midnight on New Year's Day.
The first song that I learned on bass was "Colour My World." I was 10 years old. Like you, my tastes started to change after Chicago 8. Thanks for a fine and thorough ranking of their catalog.
We're on the same wavelength. When I saw the video notification about the Taylor Swift ranking, the thought "Will Scot ever rank Chicago" popped into my head. They're progressive for sure especially those early albums. Tough to beat the Terry Kath era.
Thanks a lot for ranking the Chicago Albums. They were my favourite band in the mid- seventies and personally I think No. 5 is the best album and Feeling Stronger fom No.6 the best song they did. Wonderful band!
Prior to my Hard Rock daze (1972-1975), Chicago, BS&T, Rare Earth, and Edgar Winter's White Trash were big for me. They were all over AM Radio at the time.
Great job man. I think the ranking fits good. I love the Steven Wilson Mixes of the first 2 Albums. They sounds great. Greetings from Hannover, Germany🇩🇪. Take care🖖
Honestly didn't realise they'd had so many albums ! Those 80's singles remind me of the last song of the night (you get my meaning 😉) , not too sure their popularity was matched here in the UK , but their earlier material is so cool....25 or 6 to 4 !! Wow !!! Groovy as hell..... will check out more of their albums. Cheers Scot ! 😍
You’re gaining many subscribers for any one that leaves. Great content as always Scott. I’m 66 and like you discovered Chicago an early age. Love the first nine albums to death. Gotta check out Stone of Sisyphus.
Wonderful vid, again an incredible ranking - my (it's flip flopping from time to time) ranking: 2,7,1,3,5,8,6 and of course, live at carnegie hall (no. 4) - greetings from Munich, Germany. Let's prog the world ....
Fantastic ranking, Chicago is my all time favourite band.I know that a lot of fans/criticts hate Hot Streets, 13 & XIV but I’ve always liked those albums as they still had that classic Chicago sound. The last two albums that Peter Cetera did were ok but all of that seventies stuff is amazing. Tough to decided which is my favourite as there’s so many to choose from. Here’s my rankining: 1) VII (1974) 2) CTA (1969) 3) X (1976) 4) XI (1977) 5) III (1971) 6) XIV (1980) 7) II (1970) 8) V (1972) 9) 13 (1979) 10) VI (1973) 11) VIII (1975) 12) Hot Streets (1978) 13) 16 (1982) 14) 17 (1984)
OK, confession time; I don't have any albums by Chicago! My guess is that they were not that big in UK ? That's not unusual though, is it? Bands who were and are huge over here completely failed to crack the US market, and vice versa (that could be an interesting vid for you Scot). Sorry about my ignorance, but again, you are educating me.
STONE OF SISYPHUS deserves a deep dive, Scot! It was (IMHO) an ambitious project for them at the time (with the horn section returning to prominence within the dynamic) that got shelved and then released by Rhino as a 'lost' album many years later. It was widely bootlegged and traded around...also lots of mythology about different reasons why it did not get put out as planned.
After VII, I lost interest. VII was their peak of creativity because of the scope of diverse composition. However, Chicago III is the best production because it sounds LIVE! It is a visceral in your face recording and doesn't have that smooth "polished" veneer the other GREAT Chicago albums have. I was fortunate to have seen the band eight times from 1970-1975. Those concerts that included CTA-VII were stellar. BTW, I love your Gentle Giant stocking hat. That band is the most talented rock band of all time. Hands down.
I always thought that Chicago 3 deserved much more praise than it received. To me it was their most "organic" album and incredibly diverse (as all their double albums were). I have a theory that because that when they were making a double album they would stretch out more and cover so many styles which for me, was the power and beauty of the band.
I absolutely love Chicago. Early Chicago especially but also their later incarnation. Saw them live in London in 2012, and wish they'd come back. I rate Hot Streets and Twenty1 much higher than you. Hot Streets has some fantastic songs, even outside Alive Again: the title track, Gone long gone, Love was new, No tell lover... Twenty1 has some great tunes, and some great funky tracks. Better than 18 for sure. My top 10 favourites: 10. VIII - the weakest of their classic period but still a 3 1/2 star album 9, XI - the last of the classic era, Mississippi Delta City Blues rocks! 8, X - If you leave me now is a great song, as well as many others, like Mama mama and Once or Twice 7, VI - a bit uneven but has some great tracks, especially Feelin' Stronger Everyday 6, 17 - love their commercial stuff as well and this has so many great songs 5, V - pound for pound their best. Now that you have gone is amazing! 4, III - jazz, hard rock, country, pop, and has a beautiful rawness to it 3, VII - their jazziest 2, II - nearly as good as their debut 1, CTA - the best debut album ever!
Love this one Scot! As a 15 yr old waay back when, Chicago was my band too. The first 8 albums are all classics, with plenty of decent tracks to be found between 10 and 14. No use for Bill Champlin and his crappy 80's tinkling piano, the David Foster years and so on. CTA my fave, with 7 in second place. I loved an interview I read with Lee Loughnane who was talking about touring for 7 and they were playing free jazz in 11/7 time and people were getting up and leaving LOL hell I'd be parked in the front row! I would rank Hot Streets higher on the strength of the great title track, but that's just my taste. Cheers!
Dude You Do What You Do!! Me Too With Chicago!! I Remember My Junior Year Of High School...1970!!! ME and A Buddy Wore Out Chicago 2 And Then Went Back And Wore Out Chicago Transit Authority!!! Man Those Were The Days My Friend!!!!
Steven Wilson didn't remaster the second album, he REMIXED it which means he went back to all of the individual raw tracks and rebuilt every song from the drums on up. You can hear things on that mix that you couldn't on the original mix. For as great as C2 is musically it suffered some sonic issues on the original mix, probably because the equipment wasn't as good as it is now . Steven Wilson, while staying true to the feel of the original mix, cleaned it up and brought it into the "21st century". I was awed when I first heard it and over the years I knew that album forward and backward, but when I heard the SW remix I was floored. A much cleaner and clearer sound of the album I've loved for 50 years.
Great job ranking the Chicago albums Scot.I like their early years more than their last albums.At least Chicago VI was on the list,one of my favorite albums.I like the band with Terry Kath he gave a more hard rock to the band.
The second album has been my favorite album by Chicago (or anybody else) for more than 50 years. There's something for everybody on that LP. Then CTA and then VII.
Chicago 19 is my favorite Chicago album. I feel like Chicago XIV is kinda underrated. Got way too much hate. It was ok. And I liked Hot Streets too. I am more familiar with their post 78 stuff but I’ve been trying to get into their older stuff and I actually really enjoyed Chicago III & VIII “Sing a Mean Tune Kid” on III is really funky.
Pronounce Guercio like it rhymes with Nursio. Respect your rankings. I would put V at the top spot followed by VII, II, CTA, III, VI, VIII, XI, X. Saw them 5 times with Terry, most underrated guitarist ever. Also my first favorite band. Don't apologize for Taylor. She's a genius. BTW she's got to be a little prog to co-write with the Queen of ElectroProgPop, Imogen Heap.
I just checked on Wiki, and perhaps Chigago may have outsold the Beach Boys, but there are a dozen US bands that have sold way more records than Chicago. Bands like The Eagles, Aerosmith, Maroon 5, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, Linkin Park, Guns and Roses, Back Street Boys, Journey, Santana, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Doors.
Chicago have sold more than 150 million albums world wide and they are the 10th most successful Billboard charting act of all time (In terms of BOTH singles and albums).
Well, NO and Yes.They are in the top 10 of most successful Billboard charting act of all time ( 9th actually in the Billboard top 200), BUT Wiki says they have only sold about 44 million records- less than a third of what you said. Check out the all-time top 10 Billboard 200 Artists below. 1. The Beatles 2. The Rolling Stones 3. Barbra Streisand 4. Garth Brooks 5. Elton John 6. Mariah Carey 7. Herb Alpert 8. Taylor Swift 9. Chicago 10. Michael Jackson @@JimmyPlato1
Beginning in 1997 the media was stating that Chicago has sold well in excess of 120 million albums (units) world wide. On the "Behind The Music" Chicago show in the year 2000 it said the same thing - "more than 120 million albums sold world wide". Are you going to believe an entry on Wiki?@@phillipanderson7398
@@phillipanderson7398, Wiki is a joke. I was never allowed to use them as a source for college research work because stuff on Wiki gets changed a lot.
I'm picking before I watch #1CTA #2 Chicago 7 #3 Chicago (2nd album) 3 completely different brilliant double albums #6, #3, #5, #8, #11 and 10 in order after that. Just the T.Kath years for me.
I Loved the early albums with Kath through the '70s, great stuff, but then abandoned them in the eighties after they went all soft and ballady. I think those albums really hurt their credibility as a rock band, and thus now don't get the respect they deserve as one of the all-time greats.
🎯🎯🎯🎯! Damage was definitely done! I just hope people hear the early stuff and realize how special they were! My good friend Alan, a punk rocker and damn good drummer, idolizes Danny for his awesome drum skill!
@@TheProgCorner OH yeah I go up yo about 21 which I love. After that finding them in stores in the U.K was impossible. Now with the internet I shall have a look . You never know Black Friday may throw up a bargain. I did manage to see them live back in the 90's on one of their rare visits over here. GSTK.
@@TheProgCorner You have done me again. Just bought II the Steven Wilson mix and a box set of the first ten albums on CD I have some on vinyl second hand from many years ago. But for £26 for ten I thought was a bargain.
I absolutely hate those Christmas albums. I am surprised you hate Hot Streets so much, I actually really liked it, especially Alive Again. My favorite album by them is probably Chicago V, but I love VI and VII as much, my favorite song by them is In Terms Of Two. Love the entire run from the Debut to 16!
I began with Chicago Transit Authority in 1969, one of the first three LPs I ever bought along with the Who Live at Leeds and Insideoutside by Blue Cheer. Loved them up til the terrible loss of Terry Kath. It All went downhill from there. Terry Kath, the most underappreciated guitarist in rock history.
I always thought Chicago could have taken the Toto route and did sessions. Maybe it would have lit a fire in them in their musical ambitions to write some more challenging music again later on.
@@TheProgCorner yep. Here in Northeast Ohio I probably saw them 5 or 6 times with either the Doobies or the Beach Beach Boys at Blossom Music Center Amphitheatre. Amazing concerts.
I actually love that you did the Taylor Swift rankings yesterday, even though I don’t care for her music. You do you. And the haters do get exposed for who they are - snobs. Reinforces my notion about prog fans in general, the most friendly and snobbish people around.
That's right! You do what you wanna do! I don't know why these people could just not watch the video rather than unsubscribing. Their loss. I really enjoy Chicago but have never really been sure about which ones are their good albums besides Transit Authority, II, III and VII (I think I got all those right). My dad was into them so I listened to them when i was a little kid. I was really shocked hearing stuff like "WIll You Still Love me". What happened to all the horns?!? When I was little I thought I wanted to play a "horn sectioN"....yes, the whole thing, all at once! I didn't realise it was several horn-players playing together. SO funny now that I think about it.
Their debut is a desert island album for me. "Introduction"?!?! That's the way for a new band to open its debut! A later live disc XXVI, IIRC, has a killer version of "Just You 'n' Me". The jam/solo section is pretty bad ass. Love their Xmas albums...especially tge 1st one. Anecdotes - My original copy of Carnegie Hall, a Xmas gift from my parents, pristine condition since 1970? 2020, our pittie puppy ate the box. High School dance, 1975, a cover band absolutely nailed "Brand New Love Affair, Parts 1 & 2" from CHICAGO VIII. Ran out & bought the album soon after.
More on their debut...the free piano intro segues into "Does Anybody Reallt Know..." Great! Couple of maybe lesser known jams- "Listen" and "Poem 58". On fire...
Great ranking Scot thanks! You made a great job🎉 Mostly agree with the ranking, mine would be: 1)CTA 2)III 3)II 4)V 5)VII 6)XI 7)VIII 8)VI 9)X 10)13 11)16 12)XIV 13)Hot Streets 14)Stone of.. 15)Night and Day 16)17 17)19 18)XXX 19)18 20)Twenty 1 Cheers!
@@TheProgCorner well, we all have seen the documentary, maybe i wron, but i guess its jimmy pankow, he eems to be not a nice person when business is subject
My Chicago top 10 albums: #1. The Chicago Transit Authority #2. Chicago 2 #3. Chicago 7 #4. Chicago 5 #5. Hot Streets #6. Chicago 6 #7. Chicago 8 #8. Chicago 10 #9. Chicago 3 #10. Chicago 11
I went through them all and it made me appreciate pop a lot more. These guys know how to make music, the other pop groups just tried to copy them. The later stuff and the early stuff i like a lot. Late 80s and early 90s I think is just not that great. Like one or two good songs per album around then
I like that idea!!! A lot. I was getting a little fatigued by their sound and then Graveyard Star made me reevaluate their recent output. Such a great band.
How they went from the greatest jazz/ rock band in the US to a ballad pop band was a huge disappointment. They were so eclectic. Sing a Mean Tune Kid and A Hit by Varese spoke about bands becoming predictable and somehow Chicago fell into the trap. If you want to revisit the power the band had, listen to the remixed version of Chicago at Carnegie Hall. The whole week’s performances are on there and the biggest takeaways are that they never played the song the same way twice and Terry Kath had no equal.
Terry Kath(RIP) era Chicago and one album post-Kath, Hot Streets(Scot didn't like it?!) are superb. After that...degradation to pop drivel...Weirdly similiar to Genesis, if you think about it.
13 and 14 are DEFINITELY their most under albums. I was actually shocked at how well they have aged. For different reasons too!!! Thanks for making me do this ranking…
You know your Chicago! What they achieved in their prime makes them one of my favorite bands. My ranking of the 70's albums: 10. X 9. Hot Streets (I prefer it to all the post-Kath albums, at least until Stone of Sisyphus anyway) 8. XI 7. VI 6. III 5. VII 4. VIII 3. V 2. CTA 1. II Honorable Mention: The underrated 13. Street Player was sampled by The Bucketheads for "The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)", a 1995 hit. Not forgetting Live at Tanglewood 1970, Live in Japan, and Live in '75.
Maybe more of a general process question, but for bands that have MASSIVE discographies like this, do you re-listen to all of the albums or go more or less from memory?
For this video i relistened to about half of them!!! Some I hadn’t heard in years. The other half I know by heart!!! So it’s usually a combination of both with the big catalogs. 👍👍👍
I think it's pretty good. The cover is a bit cheesy and the only one I know not to use the Chicago logo on it. I believe it was the first album made after Terry Kath's death.
Hot Streets is not a great LP but so much better than any of the stuff they put out in the 80's. Just the song Alive Again should place it above any of those wimpy sell out albums.
The reason Free Form Guitar is so bad, is that Terry Kath was such a great guitar player and was actually given a long solo spot on the first album and just wastes the time and opportunity. The solo contains nothing to show off or demonstrate his talent or imagination. I now have even more respect for you, after the Taylor Swift episode. Don't even know why people found it upsetting. So many people hate her and claim she has no talent and they have even made an effort to listen to her music.
Holy shit look what we have here🙃🙃🙃😱😱🫣🫣 As if three were not enough Chicago has fresh off the presses releasing Chicago greatest Christmas hits Which now gives you four yes that's right for to choose from when it comes to Christmas music from Chicago. I'm not good with Roman numerals so I guess what would this be considered Chicago XXXXVVVVIIIIXXXIIIIXXXXXXX
Chicago is definitely one of my favorite bands. All albums with Terry Kath are great.
He was amazing!!!
This is a complete guide. Thank you, Scot! I only knew selected songs like the hits and some random ones I love like “Song For You”. Following your reviews, I started listening to “Dialogue” now. Great song!!! I’m gonna dive into the discography because of you 😄
That’s awesome!!!! Such a unique band.
I like Chicago in many of its forms the early stuff very Prog/jazz. I love the David Foster years too.
Me too!!! Great band!!! My first love!!!!
Chicago is my dad's favorite band, so I grew up listening to them. After their debut though, to save money, he only bought their even numbered albums while his best friend bought the odd numbers, so he only had CTA, II, IV, and VI (along with Night & Day on CD, which I listened to a little bit as a kid). I only really spent a lot of time with CTA and II, but especially II. Picked up X at a thrift store as a teen but never actually listened to it. I definitely need to go back and give some of the others some attention!
Such a great band!!!
Excellent video. I am not familiar with Chicago after "Saturdays in the Park" so my ranking is very limited. We recently saw Chicago and they played Chicago II from start to finish. It was great. The crowd was an AARP crowd. LOL.
I love live albums so my limited list includes one.
Top --. Chicago II , III , I, VII and finally IV. Terry Kath was a super guitarist and musician.
My much better half really liked the Taylor Swift video. Coloring outside of the lines is OK
Kath was a MONSTER!!!!
Thanks for this ranking, love the Kath era of Chicago! Those first 3 and probably the 7th one are very progy!)
Yes they are!!!
I agree . I have the Group Portrait 4 CD box set and their early work with Terry Kath is the best in my opinion
Great countdown ! Initially Chicago was my 2nd favorite love when I was about 10 or 11. I have my oldest sister to thank for that when she bought their legendary sophomore album in 1970. And Ive always had a devil of a time deciding between their first 2. But over the years I’ve discovered that debut album to be my #1. It’s SO raw and hard core for those guys. Terry Kath was just blistering mad on the guitar and “ Liberation “ is just an epic badass. However, I lost interest in Chicago after the untimely passing of Terry. It reminded me of losing Jim Croce. Should have never happened.
So sad. So tragic.
Such great stuff during their early heyday! It was good to hear you like Chicago VIII. That album tends to get overlooked. My interest dropped off with their 80s material unfortunately, when they changed their style. It seems Pankow and Lamm could never recover that magic and chemistry from the early days after Cetera left and Kath passed. I’ll admit I haven’t heard their latest so I’ll check it out. Fun video Scot!
Thank you!!!!
awesome list man! I myself can't do a full ranking because I only have CTA thru 14. (I also own Stone of Sissophus, however it's spelled!) But I still think the CTA is the best. with 2 and 7 and 5 following it.
Absolutely!!!!!! And I love 3 and 6 too!!!
@@TheProgCorner3 and 6 would next in line! 😀 then either XI or 8
I loved Chicago back in 1970, ever since I first heard "Make Me Smile" on the radio, then later on with "25 or 6 to 4". I got a paper route when I was 15 in 1975, and I finally had money of my own. I bought Chicago VIII and loved it. "Hideaway" is probably the heaviest song they ever did. Then I dove into the back catalogue. Bought CTA, II, III, V, VI & VII all in quick succession. My ranking would be II, CTA, V, VIII, III, VII, VI, XI, X & Hot Streets.
Wow!!! Nice to see C8 that high!!!
Terry Kath's Hendrix tribute on VIII is great.
Doesn't get much better than "Brand New Love Affair"...
Nope. It does not.
Hey Scot! My home sweet home. CHICAGO!!! This vid will be awesome! I think the first 7 albums are all masterpieces. Just an incredible band. Growing up in the Windy City if you weren't a fan they kicked you out of the city! Lol! 🌬❄️🌨☃️😎
As they should have!!!!
@@TheProgCornerIncredible band!☮️😎
I grew up listening Chicago from their fisrt album on 1969. Those seven guys will be always in my heart.
My ranking: 2,6,7,1, then put whatever you want!
Nice!!!!!
My Favorite Chicago's albums
CTA(crossover from hard rock to jazz rock)
II(focused on prog rock and classical music)
V(complete style of rock'n roll with horns)
VII(costrast between jazz side and pop side)
17(high quality pop songs)
VI(mild and deep songs)
III(mixup...jazz,hard rock,country,classical)
16
X
XI
I’m happy to see VI get some love!!!
Hot Streets is NOT Terrible. Are you kidding me. It shows their diversity of music.
I was wrong about Hot Streets. I admit it. I went back and listened to it again and it’s a good album. My bad!!!!
Hot Streets is an amazing album!
Crikey, that's another massive endeavor, great work! Chicago certainly deserve a top billing, those top 5 albums are as good as it gets.
Absolutely agree!!!!
This band firing all cylinders since the start up till late 70's, then things change. what a band! What a band, man! Great list you got there! Awesome!
I’m 100% with them up until Danny got fired after C19…
Scot, I am *so happy* to see this video here today! I'm a *huge* fan of the Terry Kath era of Chicago, and I do like some things that they recorded after his tragic demise too, especially the "Hot Streets" album, and the next one, from 1980, with the "fingerprint" album cover. That one didn't sell well at all, but it had some proggy moments, and some hard-rocking moments. The "CTA" through "7" albums were *definitely* proggy and rocking! 🙂
Amazing records!!!!
I've yet to hear Chicago's whole discography, but so far my favorite is probably Chcago VII (with the "gold engraving" cover.) Great mix of proggy/extended suites and poppier stuff, and Terry Kath's two contributions (Byblos and Song of the Evergreens) are stellar. And of course, Mongonucleosis is great to break out at midnight on New Year's Day.
C7!!! Just wonderful stuff!!!
The first song that I learned on bass was "Colour My World." I was 10 years old. Like you, my tastes started to change after Chicago 8.
Thanks for a fine and thorough ranking of their catalog.
I discovered Yes and ELP in 1975 - right after Chicago VIII came out!!!
For me, Yes and ELP happened in 1972. It took me years to understand what an effect Chicago had on my move to prog!
I hear ya!!!!
Cool...10 years old and playing in 3.
:-)
We're on the same wavelength. When I saw the video notification about the Taylor Swift ranking, the thought "Will Scot ever rank Chicago" popped into my head. They're progressive for sure especially those early albums. Tough to beat the Terry Kath era.
Can’t beat them 1-7. Just incredible!!!
Thanks a lot for ranking the Chicago Albums. They were my favourite band in the mid- seventies and personally I think No. 5 is the best album and Feeling Stronger
fom No.6 the best song they did. Wonderful band!
They were my first favorite band!!!
Prior to my Hard Rock daze (1972-1975), Chicago, BS&T, Rare Earth, and Edgar Winter's White Trash were big for me. They were all over AM Radio at the time.
That sound of 1970. Man oh man. Hard to beat!!!
Great job man. I think the ranking fits good. I love the Steven Wilson Mixes of the first 2 Albums. They sounds great. Greetings from Hannover, Germany🇩🇪. Take care🖖
Thank you!!!! 🇩🇪🇺🇸🇩🇪🇺🇸
Chicago, what a band! Never tired of those songs, greatness all over
Fabulous stuff.
Great band great records (when Kath was here) and a great show Thanks Scot!
Thank you, Howard!!!
Honestly didn't realise they'd had so many albums ! Those 80's singles remind me of the last song of the night (you get my meaning 😉) , not too sure their popularity was matched here in the UK , but their earlier material is so cool....25 or 6 to 4 !! Wow !!! Groovy as hell..... will check out more of their albums. Cheers Scot ! 😍
Their first two albums did well in the UK but interest in the band seemed to fall off a cliff over there!!!
Can't get enough of 70's Chicago. Even the cheesy stuff somehow enjoyable.
I love them!!!!!! Even the cheese!!!!
You’re gaining many subscribers for any one that leaves. Great content as always Scott. I’m 66 and like you discovered Chicago an early age. Love the first nine albums to death. Gotta check out Stone of Sisyphus.
Those seventies Chicago albums are so great!!! They still mean a lot to me.
Love the early albums, unique band fantastic bombastic, trippy, bluesy sounds of Chicago rock on!
They were so unique.
Wonderful vid, again an incredible ranking - my (it's flip flopping from time to time) ranking: 2,7,1,3,5,8,6 and of course, live at carnegie hall (no. 4) - greetings from Munich, Germany. Let's prog the world ....
Yes sir!!! 🇩🇪🇺🇸🇩🇪🇺🇸
Fantastic ranking, Chicago is my all time favourite band.I know that a lot of fans/criticts hate Hot Streets, 13 & XIV but I’ve always liked those albums as they still had that classic Chicago sound. The last two albums that Peter Cetera did were ok but all of that seventies stuff is amazing. Tough to decided which is my favourite as there’s so many to choose from. Here’s my rankining:
1) VII (1974)
2) CTA (1969)
3) X (1976)
4) XI (1977)
5) III (1971)
6) XIV (1980)
7) II (1970)
8) V (1972)
9) 13 (1979)
10) VI (1973)
11) VIII (1975)
12) Hot Streets (1978)
13) 16 (1982)
14) 17 (1984)
Chicago 3!!!!! Sing a mean tune, kid.
Great video 🎉
Thank you!!!! Chicago was my first love.
OK, confession time; I don't have any albums by Chicago!
My guess is that they were not that big in UK ? That's not unusual though, is it? Bands who were and are huge over here completely failed to crack the US market, and vice versa (that could be an interesting vid for you Scot).
Sorry about my ignorance, but again, you are educating me.
Not big over there at all. The first two did well but after that the UK collectively ignored the band!!!
STONE OF SISYPHUS deserves a deep dive, Scot! It was (IMHO) an ambitious project for them at the time (with the horn section returning to prominence within the dynamic) that got shelved and then released by Rhino as a 'lost' album many years later. It was widely bootlegged and traded around...also lots of mythology about different reasons why it did not get put out as planned.
I love it!!!!
Only one problem. Dawayne Bailey's Get On This is missing. Great song.
After VII, I lost interest. VII was their peak of creativity because of the scope of diverse composition. However, Chicago III is the best production because it sounds LIVE! It is a visceral in your face recording and doesn't have that smooth "polished" veneer the other GREAT Chicago albums have. I was fortunate to have seen the band eight times from 1970-1975. Those concerts that included CTA-VII were stellar. BTW, I love your Gentle Giant stocking hat. That band is the most talented rock band of all time. Hands down.
So great!!!! I lost interest after VIII. But retroactively I have gained appreciation of some of the other records too.
I always thought that Chicago 3 deserved much more praise than it received. To me it was their most "organic" album and incredibly diverse (as all their double albums were). I have a theory that because that when they were making a double album they would stretch out more and cover so many styles which for me, was the power and beauty of the band.
I love C3!!!
I absolutely love Chicago. Early Chicago especially but also their later incarnation. Saw them live in London in 2012, and wish they'd come back.
I rate Hot Streets and Twenty1 much higher than you. Hot Streets has some fantastic songs, even outside Alive Again: the title track, Gone long gone, Love was new, No tell lover... Twenty1 has some great tunes, and some great funky tracks. Better than 18 for sure. My top 10 favourites:
10. VIII - the weakest of their classic period but still a 3 1/2 star album
9, XI - the last of the classic era, Mississippi Delta City Blues rocks!
8, X - If you leave me now is a great song, as well as many others, like Mama mama and Once or Twice
7, VI - a bit uneven but has some great tracks, especially Feelin' Stronger Everyday
6, 17 - love their commercial stuff as well and this has so many great songs
5, V - pound for pound their best. Now that you have gone is amazing!
4, III - jazz, hard rock, country, pop, and has a beautiful rawness to it
3, VII - their jazziest
2, II - nearly as good as their debut
1, CTA - the best debut album ever!
Outstanding!!!
Another great band from the 70s! Love Chicago!🤩
Me too.
love everything from CTA to 14
Sounds about right!!! Plus Sisyphus…
On Mad About You, Cousin Ira mentions that his band will play Color My World. Ira was played by John Pankow, James Pankow's younger brother.
That’s cool.
Love this one Scot! As a 15 yr old waay back when, Chicago was my band too. The first 8 albums are all classics, with plenty of decent tracks to be found between 10 and 14. No use for Bill Champlin and his crappy 80's tinkling piano, the David Foster years and so on. CTA my fave, with 7 in second place. I loved an interview I read with Lee Loughnane who was talking about touring for 7 and they were playing free jazz in 11/7 time and people were getting up and leaving LOL hell I'd be parked in the front row! I would rank Hot Streets higher on the strength of the great title track, but that's just my taste. Cheers!
So good!!!
Dude You Do What You Do!! Me Too With Chicago!! I Remember My Junior Year Of High School...1970!!! ME and A Buddy Wore Out Chicago 2 And Then Went Back And Wore Out Chicago Transit Authority!!! Man Those Were The Days My Friend!!!!
What a time for music!!! Just amazing memories.
Yeah!! I Think We Played " Freeform Guitar" About 10 Times In A Row, Until My Mom Banged On The Door Demanding Something Else!!!!!
Can you blame her?
@@TheProgCorner Ha!! True That Buddy!!!!
Just got the first 11 LPs on your recommendation.
Awesome!!!!!!!!
Steven Wilson didn't remaster the second album, he REMIXED it which means he went back to all of the individual raw tracks and rebuilt every song from the drums on up. You can hear things on that mix that you couldn't on the original mix. For as great as C2 is musically it suffered some sonic issues on the original mix, probably because the equipment wasn't as good as it is now . Steven Wilson, while staying true to the feel of the original mix, cleaned it up and brought it into the "21st century". I was awed when I first heard it and over the years I knew that album forward and backward, but when I heard the SW remix I was floored. A much cleaner and clearer sound of the album I've loved for 50 years.
SW did a great job with my beloved Chicago!!!
Great job ranking the Chicago albums Scot.I like their early years more than their last albums.At least Chicago VI was on the list,one of my favorite albums.I like the band with Terry Kath he gave a more hard rock to the band.
Kath was the man. What a hero!!!!
@@TheProgCorner I agree Scot.✌
Chicago vi what’s this world coming to is outstanding. They are all locked in from beginning to the end.
I love Chicago VI. Critic’s Choice kills me.
@@TheProgCorner
That could have been sung by Freddie Mercury and Queen.
The second album has been my favorite album by Chicago (or anybody else) for more than 50 years. There's something for everybody on that LP. Then CTA and then VII.
Nice!!!!!👍
Chicago 19 is my favorite Chicago album.
I feel like Chicago XIV is kinda underrated. Got way too much hate. It was ok.
And I liked Hot Streets too.
I am more familiar with their post 78 stuff but I’ve been trying to get into their older stuff and I actually really enjoyed Chicago III & VIII
“Sing a Mean Tune Kid” on III is really funky.
If ever there's a band made to play big band music, Chicago is it.
Yes indeed.
Pronounce Guercio like it rhymes with Nursio. Respect your rankings. I would put V at the top spot followed by VII, II, CTA, III, VI, VIII, XI, X. Saw them 5 times with Terry, most underrated guitarist ever. Also my first favorite band. Don't apologize for Taylor. She's a genius. BTW she's got to be a little prog to co-write with the Queen of ElectroProgPop, Imogen Heap.
Chicago, Swift and Imogen Heap. Okay by me!!!
I just checked on Wiki, and perhaps Chigago may have outsold the Beach Boys, but there are a dozen US bands that have sold way more records than Chicago. Bands like The Eagles, Aerosmith, Maroon 5, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, Linkin Park, Guns and Roses, Back Street Boys, Journey, Santana, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Doors.
Sales figures are notoriously difficult to come by and they are often inaccurate so you are probably right.
Chicago have sold more than 150 million albums world wide and they are the 10th most successful Billboard charting act of all time (In terms of BOTH singles and albums).
Well, NO and Yes.They are in the top 10 of most successful Billboard charting act of all time ( 9th actually in the Billboard top 200), BUT Wiki says they have only sold about 44 million records- less than a third of what you said.
Check out the all-time top 10 Billboard 200 Artists below.
1. The Beatles
2. The Rolling Stones
3. Barbra Streisand
4. Garth Brooks
5. Elton John
6. Mariah Carey
7. Herb Alpert
8. Taylor Swift
9. Chicago
10. Michael Jackson
@@JimmyPlato1
Beginning in 1997 the media was stating that Chicago has sold well in excess of 120 million albums (units) world wide. On the "Behind The Music" Chicago show in the year 2000 it said the same thing - "more than 120 million albums sold world wide". Are you going to believe an entry on Wiki?@@phillipanderson7398
@@phillipanderson7398, Wiki is a joke. I was never allowed to use them as a source for college research work because stuff on Wiki gets changed a lot.
I'm picking before I watch
#1CTA
#2 Chicago 7
#3 Chicago (2nd album)
3 completely different brilliant double albums
#6, #3, #5, #8, #11 and 10 in order after that. Just the T.Kath years for me.
Kath was the best!!!
Love that shirt!
I Loved the early albums with Kath through the '70s, great stuff, but then abandoned them in the eighties after they went all soft and ballady. I think those albums really hurt their credibility as a rock band, and thus now don't get the respect they deserve as one of the all-time greats.
Exactly. Some people don’t even know how good they once were!!!!
🎯🎯🎯🎯! Damage was definitely done! I just hope people hear the early stuff and realize how special they were! My good friend Alan, a punk rocker and damn good drummer, idolizes Danny for his awesome drum skill!
Danny was awesome!!!!
I need to go back and listen to these I have over half need to buy a few more..
There’s some good stuff hiding in their later discography.
@@TheProgCorner OH yeah I go up yo about 21 which I love. After that finding them in stores in the U.K was impossible. Now with the internet I shall have a look . You never know Black Friday may throw up a bargain. I did manage to see them live back in the 90's on one of their rare visits over here. GSTK.
I’ve seen them three times: once in the seventies, once in the eighties and then a few years ago. Still great!!!
@@TheProgCorner You have done me again. Just bought II the Steven Wilson mix and a box set of the first ten albums on CD I have some on vinyl second hand from many years ago. But for £26 for ten I thought was a bargain.
That’s a great deal!!!!!!
I absolutely hate those Christmas albums. I am surprised you hate Hot Streets so much, I actually really liked it, especially Alive Again. My favorite album by them is probably Chicago V, but I love VI and VII as much, my favorite song by them is In Terms Of Two. Love the entire run from the Debut to 16!
Alive Again is AWESOME!!!!!! And In Terms Of Two. Just wow. So great.
Hot Streets is the one where they brought the Bee Gees in on a cut isn't it?
And in terms of two is the only Chicago to have a harmonica I think...
@@truckerkevthepaidtourist yes, the bee gees were on little miss lovin. I love the bee gees
Right when you think Gabriel had too many self titled albums...
👍👍👍
Chicago ll, V, and Vll, my top 3
Nice!!!! Man I love those early Chicago records!!!!
I began with Chicago Transit Authority in 1969, one of the first three LPs I ever bought along with the Who Live at Leeds and Insideoutside by Blue Cheer. Loved them up til the terrible loss of Terry Kath. It All went downhill from there. Terry Kath, the most underappreciated guitarist in rock history.
For sure!!!! And I love his voice too!!!!
...and Kath's rhythm guitar-ing is intact.
Master of the wah-wah, too.
I always thought Chicago could have taken the Toto route and did sessions. Maybe it would have lit a fire in them in their musical ambitions to write some more challenging music again later on.
The legacy band summer concert circuit…
TOTO is soooo goooood ❤️
@@TheProgCorner yep. Here in Northeast Ohio I probably saw them 5 or 6 times with either the Doobies or the Beach Beach Boys at Blossom Music Center Amphitheatre. Amazing concerts.
Let’s see: once in Milwaukee, second time was Miami/Ft Lauderdale and then a couple years back in Dayton!!!
@@TheProgCorner still a great live band???
1969 To 1977 Are My Favorites...Maybe Hot Streets...
I want more of Chicago VII and XI😢
Fabulous records!!!
Definitely more to that band than the hit songs. Totally agree with your top five (I'd maybe rank VII higher) .
I’m a big fan of C3 so…I couldn’t go higher than fourth place but we are splitting hairs!!!
Happy bday Charles. 🤴
👑👑👑👑👑👑
Love Stone of Sisyphus except one thing - Get On This was not on there. Dawayne Bailey wrote a great tune.
👍👍👍
I actually love that you did the Taylor Swift rankings yesterday, even though I don’t care for her music. You do you. And the haters do get exposed for who they are - snobs. Reinforces my notion about prog fans in general, the most friendly and snobbish people around.
We can be snobs!!! Myself included. So I get it.
i have a vinyl Chicago album from the early 70s which still sounds great . they were long form back then
Yes indeed!!!!
That's right! You do what you wanna do! I don't know why these people could just not watch the video rather than unsubscribing. Their loss.
I really enjoy Chicago but have never really been sure about which ones are their good albums besides Transit Authority, II, III and VII (I think I got all those right). My dad was into them so I listened to them when i was a little kid. I was really shocked hearing stuff like "WIll You Still Love me". What happened to all the horns?!? When I was little I thought I wanted to play a "horn sectioN"....yes, the whole thing, all at once! I didn't realise it was several horn-players playing together. SO funny now that I think about it.
What happened to the horns!!?? Exactly. But 16 and 17 sold so well that no one in the band cared.
So sad. Gotta have those nice cars and houses 'n' things.
There were tons of horns on 16 and even 17!?!?!?
There were some.
Their debut is a desert island album for me. "Introduction"?!?! That's the way for a new band to open its debut!
A later live disc XXVI, IIRC, has a killer version of "Just You 'n' Me". The jam/solo section is pretty bad ass.
Love their Xmas albums...especially tge 1st one.
Anecdotes - My original copy of Carnegie Hall, a Xmas gift from my parents, pristine condition since 1970?
2020, our pittie puppy ate the box.
High School dance, 1975, a cover band absolutely nailed "Brand New Love Affair, Parts 1 & 2" from CHICAGO VIII.
Ran out & bought the album soon after.
Nice!!! The dog ate it.
More on their debut...the free piano intro segues into "Does Anybody Reallt Know..." Great!
Couple of maybe lesser known jams-
"Listen" and "Poem 58". On fire...
@@TheProgCorner My fault. Had it displayed on the floor. We kept him isloated in my music room when he was a puppy.
Thank you for getting back on track, love Chicago I-III
So great!!!
"Sing A Mean Tune Kid" from CHICAGO III (& Carnegie Hall, Live In Japan) is killer!
Great ranking Scot thanks! You made a great job🎉 Mostly agree with the ranking, mine would be:
1)CTA
2)III
3)II
4)V
5)VII
6)XI
7)VIII
8)VI
9)X
10)13
11)16
12)XIV
13)Hot Streets
14)Stone of..
15)Night and Day
16)17
17)19
18)XXX
19)18
20)Twenty 1
Cheers!
Awesome list!!! Happy to see C3 so high!!!
I preferred their political songs. Chicago and Chicago lll are my favorite albums.
The Terry Kath era is my favorite era top 5 are viii, Chicago transit authority, Chicago, v, and iii honorable mentions for 14, 13 and 16
13 and 14 are great!!!! Who knew??!!
@@TheProgCorner they really surprised me to and the albums that took the longest to grow on me
terry kath, died to early, very underrated guitarist
Very underrated!!!! 👍👍👍
@@TheProgCorner i still dont understand why the kicked danny out, he is a outstanding drummer, listen to tanglewood
He is an AMAZING drummer!!!
@@TheProgCorner well, we all have seen the documentary, maybe i wron, but i guess its jimmy pankow, he eems to be not a nice person when business is subject
You want to learn Roman Numerals? Watch Super Bowls and buy Chicago albums.
That’s right!!!!
My Chicago top 10 albums:
#1. The Chicago Transit Authority
#2. Chicago 2
#3. Chicago 7
#4. Chicago 5
#5. Hot Streets
#6. Chicago 6
#7. Chicago 8
#8. Chicago 10
#9. Chicago 3
#10. Chicago 11
Nice list!!!!
Thank you! And thank you posting your cool video!
@@TheProgCorner
I went through them all and it made me appreciate pop a lot more. These guys know how to make music, the other pop groups just tried to copy them. The later stuff and the early stuff i like a lot. Late 80s and early 90s I think is just not that great. Like one or two good songs per album around then
That’s about right!!!
How about ranking Mostly Autumn Scot?
I like that idea!!! A lot. I was getting a little fatigued by their sound and then Graveyard Star made me reevaluate their recent output. Such a great band.
How about a Grateful Dead ranking?
I could see that happening….
Very easy: they got numbers
top 10 er for me broski! Not alot to not like!
Agreed!!!!
How they went from the greatest jazz/ rock band in the US to a ballad pop band was a huge disappointment.
They were so eclectic.
Sing a Mean Tune Kid and A Hit by Varese spoke about bands becoming predictable and somehow Chicago fell into the trap.
If you want to revisit the power the band had, listen to the remixed version of Chicago at Carnegie Hall.
The whole week’s performances are on there and the biggest takeaways are that they never played the song the same way twice and Terry Kath had no equal.
Terry Kath. What a loss to humanity…
Terry Kath(RIP) era Chicago and one album post-Kath, Hot Streets(Scot didn't like it?!) are superb. After that...degradation to pop drivel...Weirdly similiar to Genesis, if you think about it.
Very similar!!!!
Up to 17, my dogs are 6 and 11.
And 16 was better than 17.
I like VI…a lot. It’s weird.
Chicago 13 is very underrated in fact it is a great album and XIV isn't bad at all. XIV is better than 1984-1991 albums anyway imho.🎉
13 and 14 are DEFINITELY their most under albums. I was actually shocked at how well they have aged. For different reasons too!!! Thanks for making me do this ranking…
Are you on twitter?
I am!!! twitter.com/TheProgCorner
You know your Chicago! What they achieved in their prime makes them one of my favorite bands.
My ranking of the 70's albums:
10. X
9. Hot Streets (I prefer it to all the post-Kath albums, at least until Stone of Sisyphus anyway)
8. XI
7. VI
6. III
5. VII
4. VIII
3. V
2. CTA
1. II
Honorable Mention: The underrated 13. Street Player was sampled by The Bucketheads for "The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)", a 1995 hit.
Not forgetting Live at Tanglewood 1970, Live in Japan, and Live in '75.
Yeah!!! 13!!!
Maybe more of a general process question, but for bands that have MASSIVE discographies like this, do you re-listen to all of the albums or go more or less from memory?
For this video i relistened to about half of them!!! Some I hadn’t heard in years. The other half I know by heart!!! So it’s usually a combination of both with the big catalogs. 👍👍👍
There is a good argument that Chicago was a jazz band.
Definitely!!!
Hot Streets is at the bottom? 😂
I never connected with it.
I think it's pretty good. The cover is a bit cheesy and the only one I know not to use the Chicago logo on it. I believe it was the first album made after Terry Kath's death.
1,2,7 and....3. The rest is bs.
Nah, there’s some good stuff hidden away…
C'mon dude, Hot streets wasn't that bad and certainly better than 21,13,14 and some of the others
I just listened to it again and it has a few really great songs on it!!!! I WAS WRONG!!!! (Nothing new there!!!)
I love Lamm on that album.
Lol since when is Chicago prog. when you leave me now😂😂😂😂
The early stuff qualifies. Most of the later stuff - not so much!!!
It's hard for me to say I'm sorry but you are right.
Up thru Chicago 7 they were. Then they went the pop route.
You lost me at 1:00 and change…too much intro talking
You can, of course, skip all that. Or you can just complain.
no come on scott from taylor swift ranking it was just an occasion for joking you can do ...mmm.... miley cyrus next time ;-)))
No Miley. I promise.
Hot Streets is not a great LP but so much better than any of the stuff they put out in the 80's. Just the song Alive Again should place it above any of those wimpy sell out albums.
Alive Again is awesome.
The reason Free Form Guitar is so bad, is that Terry Kath was such a great guitar player and was actually given a long solo spot on the first album and just wastes the time and opportunity. The solo contains nothing to show off or demonstrate his talent or imagination.
I now have even more respect for you, after the Taylor Swift episode. Don't even know why people found it upsetting.
So many people hate her and claim she has no talent and they have even made an effort to listen to her music.
My thoughts exactly!!!! Thank you!!! Kath was a monster…
I love from 16 and on. Not much before
I prefer the Cetera and David Foster sound
Also Cetera’s solo albums are great too I love everything Pete did
The Cetera albums are great!!! 👍👍👍
After #5, I liked Steely Dan and Gino Vannelli better.
Way better.
You like Taylor Swift? wtf
I do!!! I’m a weirdo!!!!!
His name is Walter Parazaider,not Paradaizer. You mispronounced Guercio.They never released a triple album.You have no credibility
And you have no class.
Holy shit look what we have here🙃🙃🙃😱😱🫣🫣
As if three were not enough
Chicago has fresh off the presses releasing Chicago greatest Christmas hits
Which now gives you four yes that's right for to choose from when it comes to Christmas music from Chicago.
I'm not good with Roman numerals so I guess what would this be considered Chicago XXXXVVVVIIIIXXXIIIIXXXXXXX
Oh no!!!!!