Great video, Brendon ! I’ve loved the band since I was 14, and have seen the thirty times (at least once on every tour). Despite their ups and downs and throughout all the inner turmoil, they’ve remained a constant presence in my day to day life. Every one of these discs brings back memories of a particular time in my life and no other band can match that level of importance. My dad brought me to a show in ‘78, and he still talks about it. I’ve brought many friends to shows, as well as girlfriends, my wife (not at the same time) and my kids. I always felt that you needed to see them to truly understand the obsession. In the process, they turned me on to many great bands as opening acts (Cheap Trick, Accept, Motley Crue among others). Their influence continues to reverberate throughout the music industry and has made many acts better for our benefit as fans. I look forward to all of your content and this one was especially good. Thanks !
Hotter than Hell is my fav. I love its heaviness and the riffs are huge! In my Top 5: rock 'n' Roll over, Kiss, Creatures & the Elder...At least for today. I love anything from the debut up to Lick it Up, then there's a drop but starting with Revenge, it's very good again. And I think Ace Frehley's solo album is one of the best albums ever! Cool show. Cheers!
I wish HTH was recorded better. The mix is awful. Songs great but it sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. Coming Home, Got To Choose, All The Way, Parasite😎
Hotter Than Hell is Kiss best album. I think the crunchy sound the album has is what makes it so great. It may not be produced as well as Destroyer or Love Gun but that it is why it is so great. Its raw and powerful.
No I’ve seen lots of people who love it. Just not the sound of Kiss that I prefer. But it’s not a bad album. Could stand a little bit of editing. Some of the songs drone on for too long IMO. Would have made for a better sound with some editing.
Nope. I like and appreciate it more now than 1997. I eventually got a vinyl version of it when it was titled "Head". Recorded around 1995. More sounding like rough versions of the tracks and missing at least 1 from the official release
I consider that the tightest KISS group since the first 3 albums striving to make it. I followed the bands VHS’ and the ALIVE3/revenge tour era made them look like a REAL rock band. They wanted the grunge and they achieved the grunge, but yeah, that is a good follow up to Revenge.
Kiss are 1of my favourite bands of all time. My favourite album is Alive II, but as we aren’t including live albums, here’s my top 10: 1. Creatures of the Night 2. Dynasty 3. Destroyer 4. Crazy Nights 5. Love Gun 6. Dressed to Kill 7. Unmasked 8. Debut 9. Lick it Up 10. Sonic Boom
1. Destroyer 2. Hotter Than Hell 3. KISS '74 4. Dressed to Kill 5. Rock and Roll Over 6. Creatures of The Night 7. Dynasty 8. Music from The Elder 9. Love Gun 10. Lick It Up 11. Psycho Circus 12. Carnival of Souls 13. Revenge 14. Animalize 15. Asylum 16. Unmasked 17. Monster 18. Sonic Boom 19. Hot In The Shade 20. Crazy Nights
Great review Brandon, thanks. I liked your high placing of Dynasty and Unmasked. I love both of these and it was good to see them achieve a higher ranking than usual. To my mind the disco opener to Dynasty and the poppy production and arrangements of Unmasked add variety and a different spin on the Kiss sound. Also, they are full of dynamite songs. For me the number one has to be Creatures of the Night (most Kiss fans would understand that choice) and a close runner up being... The Elder (most Kiss fans would leave the room). I get torn to shreds over liking this album but I always feel compelled to stand up and defend it. Under the Rose has to one of the darkest and heaviest sounding things I had ever heard at the time. The oath just rocks, Odyssey soars, Mr Blackwell sounds like Gene is coming to get you and World Without Heroes is just beautiful. Its not a party time Kiss record and it was never meant to be that but for me a good record it certainly is.
Great video and List Personal Ranking 1: Destroyer 2: Revenge 3: Creatures of the Night 4: Kiss 5: Love Gun 6: Rock and Roll Over 7: Hotter Than Hell 8: Lick it up 9: Psycho Circus 10: Dressed to Kill 11: Dynasty 12: Unmasked 13: Asylum 14: Crazy Nights 15: Animalize 16: Hot in the Shade 17: Music from The Elder 18: Monster 19: Sonic Boom 20: Carnival of Souls
KISS rankings vary so much from one person to the other and that's a sign that they have made a lot of good albums. For myself, their rankings change on a regular basis. 1. KISS 2. Dressed to Kill (always been a favorite of mine, but i can't stand RARAN anymore) 3. Hotter than Hell 4. Destroyer 5. Rock N Roll Over 6. Dynasty (start the album at track 2) 7. Unmasked 8. Creatures of the night 9. Lick it up 10. Love Gun (everyone rates this higher but i see too many fillers here) 11. Animalize 12. Crazy Nights 13. Asylum 14. Hot in the Shade 15. Revenge (another i rate much lower than everyone) 16. Psycho Circus 17. Music from the Elder 18. Carnival of souls 19. Sonic Boom 20. Monster
Nice to see Dynasty and Unmasked high on your list despite other ones being lower. But like you said, we all hear these albums differently showing what a great band they are.
Great episode. I’m a lover of ranking albums especially KISS related, so this list was great fun. Naturally I disagree with where you put certain albums, but music is a personal experience so it’s all good. Really love your channel!
Solid ranking. Destroyer number one for me. I appreciated the fact you had Dynasty up high. People who call it a Disco album always made me laugh. There are some great Rock tracks on that one. Creatures would rank quite high for me too. I also agree thatLick It Up is a great KISS record.
Another Great Video,Creatures of the Night was my first Kiss album and my favourite,I would personally rate Music from the Elder higher than some of the later albums,nice to see Unmasked getting some deserved appreciation
Nice video man, and great arguments to justify your rankings. However my list would be the inverse of yours in some ways - goes to show the breadth and scope of the band’s appeal; one man’s Love Gun is another man’s Hot in the Shade! 1. Revenge 2. Hot in the shade 3. Creatures of the night 4. Love gun 5. Destroyer
I'm going to do something I haven't done before .... I'm going to reveal my top 10 ranking from one year ago prior to ranking their discography, as a whole and revisiting those that I don't have in my collection. 1. Dynasty (1979) 2. music from the Elder (1981) 3. Rock And Roll Over (1976) 4. KISS (1974) 5. Dress To Kill (1975) 6. Destroyer (1976) 7. Love Gun (1977) 8. Sonic Boom (2009) 9. Revenge (1992) 10. Hotter Than Hell (1975) 11. Creatures Of The Night (1982) 12. Animalize (1984) (these are the 12 albums that I actually have in my collection) I did have Pyscho Circus and Hot In The Shade, at one point. Some of these albums might flop, or shift up or down a few spots? The problem with the rest is that each has perhaps one stand out track, which I wouldn't mind having on a compilation best of a sort, but I wouldn't go out and purchase the studio album. This would explain the main reason I purchased KISS the box set.
Revisiting each of their albums: ranking might shift up or down, as I listen to each track. 20. Carnival of Souls (1997) I'm not a grudge fan, but that being said - the best track is Hate 19. Monster (2012) most listenable track is Wall Of Sound - on the other tracks, the guitar riffs sounds redundant 18. Sonic Boom (2009) my favorite songs are Modern Day Delilah and Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect) listenable tracks: All For The Glory and Say Yeah
@@BrendonSnyder Rock And Roll All Nite (1975) Detroit Rock City (1976) was the first songs I heard; KISS Alive and KISS Alive II were may first KISS albums that I purchased. Then, I got the four solo albums, and I purchased the single I Was Made For Lovin' You (1979) - but I found out that I even liked the b/side more Hard Times. It wasn't till after 1982 before I got around to purchasing Dynasty. The Elder was the only studio album I purchased when it came out. I had Double Platinum in 1978; Destroyer, Love Gun, & Rock And Roll Over I got sometimes between 1978-1982. In the late 90s is when I got around to get their albums in CD: Smashes, Thrashes, and Hits was my first CD. Beth has always been my favorite song by KISS. I agree that Dynasty is a very underrated album. I think that people just set aside I Was Made For Lovin' You, that they might realize how good the rest the album is.
It's been a while since I done a ranking ... but I going to rank my favorite track from each album: 20. Hate - Carnival of Souls (1997) 19. Wall of Sound - Monster (2012) 18. Psycho Circus - Psycho Circus (1998) 17. Good Girls Gone Bad - Crazy Night (1987) 16. Any Way You Slice It - Asylum (1985) 15. Modern Day Delilah - Sonic Boom (2009) 14. Every Time I Look At You - Revenge (1994) 13. Rise To It - Hot In The Shade (1989) - this song ranked around #11 favorite for the year - 12. Shandi - Unmasked (1980) 11. Lick It Up - Lick It Up (1983) 10. Heaven's On Fire - Animalize (1984) 9. Creatures Of The Night - Creatures Of The Night (1982) 8. Strange Ways - Hotter Than Hell (1974) 7. Rock And Roll All Nite - Dress To Kill (1974) 6. Deuce - KISS (1974) 5. A World Without Heroes - The Elder (1981) 4. Hard Times - Dynasty (1979) 3. Love Gun - Love Gun (1977) 2. Hard Luck Woman - Rock And Roll Over (1976) 1. Beth - Destroyer (1976)
Great ranking sir! I was impressed with where u had unmasked. I felt that was just a fun album to listen too. Lick it up deserves its ranking ( my opinion). That album brought me back to kiss.
20 - Music from the elder 19 - Crazy Nights 18 - Sonic Boom 17 - Hot in the shade 16 - Animalize 15 - Carnival of Souls 14 - Monster 13 - Revenge 12 - Unmasked 11 - Asylum 10 - Destroyer 9 - Kiss 8 - Psycho circus 7 - Lick it up 6 - Hotter than hell 5 - Creatures of the night 4 - Dressed to kill 3 - Rock and roll over 2 - Dynasty 1 - Love Gun
My top three: 1- Rock n’ Roll Over (never gets old) 2- Hotter than Hell (I love the darkness) 3- Kiss S/T debut- minus Kissing Time Bold choice with Unmasked so high I actually always enjoyed it sort of Kiss meets the Bay City Rollers lol
@@BrendonSnyder yes. It’s usually way at the bottom actually :-). Ps: congratulations for your review of the Blondie boxset. It’s under my Christmas tree
Anyone that has Unmasked in the top 5 I know has good taste lol. Love Gun is the best as well. If you look at their library (up until Crazy Nights, not going into the 90's) they evolved quite a bit so if you like the band for the sound of a certain era (I like from Destroyer to Unmasked) then the others will be hit and miss. Many like the heavy dark sound of some of the first 3 albums (which there are some greats) then to Destroyer with its big production and a bit more hook oriented Pop sound (Gene did say he wanted to be heavy metal - Beatles) that might pi$$ off the audience that initially liked them. Add that to the late 70's and the thinner production and therefore radio friendly and some people probably said not thanks and onto the next best thing (which in the early 80's would've been Judas Priest for sure!) Anyway, good list my friend.
Kiss have so many different sounds and styles over the years that my favorites change all the time depending on my mood. But there are some that I always rank high. Revenge, Hotter Than Hell, Creatures, Crazy Nights and Love Gun are probably the ones getting the most play. Regarding Hotter Than Hell, I think the muddy production works in its favor. It creates such a dirty, grungy atmosphere. And the album was heavy! I think Ace really peaked on that album with creative song writing and creative playing.
Great ranking, Brendon! I agree totally with H.I.T.S. being far too long with too much filler. It's actually my least favorite in their catalog. And very happy to see some love for Unmasked. Just an incredible album! Didn't have the classic KISS sound, but a fantastic pop record, IMO. Enjoy your videos, as always.
If you wish to listen to HITS, I would ask you to ignore the printed tracklist - here's the actual one: Rise To It Betrayed Forever The Street Giveth Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell Little Ceasar Boomerang Now I've taken out the garbage (including obvious ripoffs of ABBA, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi - are you kidding me?), please feel free to carry on.
Yeah but honestly they should have made a lot more albums. There have been two different decade long stretches where they didn’t record a single album. 20 years of not recording, image what they could have done in that time.
Glad to see Lick It Up and Dynasty ranked in your top 5! I always loved those albums. I agree with your rankings but I do love Destroyer a little more.
I was a big kiss fan when I was a kid in the 70s I moved away shortly after from them. But my favorites to this day are alive. Rock and Roll over, hotter than hell and creatures of the night.
My favorite three Kiss studio works: 3 - Animalize (I got into a lot of the deep cuts), 2 - Lick It Up (most consistent of their non-makeup era), and 1 - Creatures of the Night; it's their heaviest and has no filler at all; it eventually went gold, but should've received more love than it did at the time.
Your ranking is exactly where i would put them... Brendon's rankings are usually interesting as to where he places things...usually way off the mark but I do enjoy seeing where others rank them..🙂
I love how you placed Unmasked and Dynasty so high up, those two are in my top five as well! The title track on Love Gun is my all-time favorite KISS song and that record is very enjoyable though it's a bit uneven song material wise, but still, love how you had it at number one, I don't see that very often.. The Elder at #19 is exactly where it belongs, lol, and I probably dislike Just A Boy more than you even! Also, I'm a weirdo, I don't enjoy Rock And Roll Over apart from maybe two songs - I find it a really tedious listen. My top five would be rounded up by Hotter Than Hell ( the production doesn't hamper my enjoyment, the songs are great ), Dress To Kill and either Creatures or Love Gun... I love/like half of the band's catalog and the other half ( the late eighties to present PLUS Rock And Roll Over ) I just don't care about at all so couldn't really rank the entire catalog in any meaningful way but... Top five today: 1. Dynasty 2. Dressed To Kill 3. Hotter Than Hell 4. Unmasked 5. Creatures Of The Night
It seems that both Unmasked and Dynasty have been gaining popularity over the last so many years. I’m hearing from lots of people how much they like these 2 albums which is good. They deserve recognition.
I have a new love for Unmasked/Dynasty/The Elder era so they are higher now (For now that is 😁) 1. Rock And Roll Over 2. Love Gun 3. Dressed To Kill 4. Kiss 5. Destroyer 6. Lick It Up 7. Hotter Than Hell 8. Unmasked 9. Creatures Of The NIght 10. Music From 'The Elder 11. Dynasty 12. Psycho Circus 13. Revenge 14. Sonic Boom 15. Asylum 16. Animalize 17. Monster 18. Crazy Nights 19. Hot In The Shade 20. Carnival Of Souls
This video excites me. I’m currently building my CD collection and I’m working on the Kiss Discog right now. Just received Music from the Elder with Creatures of the Night on order. So I think I’m half way their. I’m also currently listening to these albums back to back to figure out what my favorites are. Only made it to Dressed to Kill though…. I’m hoping it gets better but the first 2 tracks keep me from wanting to go forward.
IMO their best albums are after Destroyer starting with Rock And Roll Over and forward. The early stuff is very raw and like demo quality. Understandable for the time it was released but the later albums have far better production. Jump ahead to Love Gun, and Lick It….two great albums. Creatures is another excellent album.
My list: 1. Rock And Roll Over 2. Lick It Up 3. Hotter Than Hell 4. Asylum 5. Creatures Of The Night 6. Carnival of Souls 7. Destroyer 8. KISS 9. Love Gun 10. Revenge 11. (Music From) The Elder 12. Animalize 13. Unmasked 14. Dressed To Kill 15. Hot In The Shade 16. Crazy Nights 17. Monster 18. Sonic Boom 19. Dynasty 20. Psycho Circus
KISS has always been a band for the people, as they said before they wanted to be the band they never saw, and although everyone's top albums are different, it's always interesting to hear and discuss the music that a lot of us grew up listening to. Also Ace did not play on Creatures even though his picture was on the original cover, it was Vinnie Vincent, also the guitarist from Mr. Mister.
I’m aware Ace didn’t play on Creatures. I just said it was the last album to feature him meaning he was still a part of the band and took part in the photoshoot.
Good ranking! Even though my ranking is kinda different from yours, I like it when we have different opinions. Here’s my ranking: 1. Rock N Roll Over 2. Love Gun 3. Dresses To Kill 4. Hotter Than Hell (believe it or not, I actually don’t mind the production) 5. Dynasty 6. KISS 7. Lick It Up 8. Creatures Of The Night 9. Destroyer 10. Asylum 11. Music From “The Elder” 12. Psycho Circus 13. Monster (this one is ranked a little higher than SB cuz the Tommy Thayer solos don’t really sound like Ace’s) 14. Sonic Boom (this album is actually very a special to me cuz my dad would put this album on when went for a drive) 15. Animalize 16. Revenge (very underrated album. Bruce Kulick shines on this album) 17. Unmasked 18. Carnival of Souls 19. Hot in the Shade (it does have a hand full of songs I like but it has it’s fillers) 20. Crazy Nights (Only songs I like are No No No and Thief in the Night)
My top 15 are 1. Destroyer 2.. Dressed to Kill 3. Rock n Roll Over 4. Hotter than Hell (Would be #1 if it was mixed correctly) 6. Love Gun 7. Lick it up 8. Revenge 9, Debut 10. Creatures 11. Dynasty 12. Crazy Nights 13. Unmasked 14. Carnival of Souls 15. The Elder
20.Carnival Of Souls 19. Sonic Boom 18.The Elder 17. Physco Circus 16.Monster 15.Hot In The Shade 14.Unmasked 13. Crazy Nights 12.Animalize 11.Asylum 10.Dynasty 9. Lick It Up 8.Revenge 7.Love Gun 6.Dressed To Kill 5.Destroyer 4.Creatures of the Night 3.Kiss 2.Hotter Than Hell 1. Rock N' Roll Over Nice list ! A few surprising picks I must say. 🤘🏼
Unmasked was a big surprise on your list. My top album would be Creatures of the night (fantastic tunes overall) and those drums! Best compilation: Kiss 40.
Great vid! KISS is my favorite band of all time!! Too hard to rank the albums, as I love them all. Really wish the band wouldn't have taken such a long break between Psycho Circus & Sonic Boom & then stopping new albums after Monster. The current lineup is so solid & could put out some great quality tunes.
Thanks Brendon, finally someone who likes UNMASKED. I can understand that if you where a metal-fan at that time this album was not for you, but there's is no denying the album consist of great hooks and very catchy melodic tunes. Not only are Ace his songs on this album great tunes, the ones that Paul wrote where also catchy as hell: Is That You, Tommorow, Easy As It Seems. And it contains one of the best songs Gene has ever written: Naked City. Cheers from Belgium!
1) Rock and Roll Over 2) KISS 3) Dressed To Kill 4) Lick It Up 5) Hotter Than Hell 6) Dynasty 7) Asylum 8) Destroyer 9) Love Gun 10) Creatures of the Night 11) Monster 12) Unmasked 13) Animalize 14) Hot In The Shade 15) Revenge 16) Psycho Circus 17) Music From The Elder 18) Sonic Boom 19) Crazy Nights 20) Carnival of Souls
My opinion but I can't quite get into Dressed to kill. When it works it's magic but I only like about 50% of the songs. I like Love Gun but it's got a couple of songs that seem like filler that just make it short of a perfect album. As a fan of around 37 years I still can't pick a No.1 album!!! Depends what mood I'm in on the day!
Hello Brendon wanted to comment on this , not sure you will see this as just started watching and new subscriber , My favorite Kiss Album and my top 5 would be 1) Music From the Elder 2)Ace Frehley Solo Album 3) Kiss Alive II 4)Kiss Alive I 5)Unmasked w/Anton Fig on drums
@@BrendonSnyder I hated to see Peter Criss not on this as My album lists and research has Anton FIg on this one and a fan of his later with Frehley's Comet and saw that tour , and his play with Joe Bonamassa
52 Year old Aussie guy here. Got listening to Kiss when I was about 10 or 11 from 1979. This is probably why Dynasty and Unmasked rank high for me. Anyway, here's my Top 20; 1 KISS 2 Dynasty 3 Unmasked 4 Destroyer 5 Hotter Than Hell 6 Psycho Circus 7 Creatures of The Night 8 Rock and Roll Over 9 Crazy Nights 10 Dressed To Kill 11 Music from "The Elder" 12 Love Gun 13 Revenge 14 Hot in The Shade 15 Animalize 16 Lick It Up 17 Asylum 18 Monster 19 Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions 20 Sonic Boom ( I don't have this album so it may not be at 20, maybe a few spots up if I did have it. If only it was on iTunes!)
I can't stand it, but I love naked city. That's a tune with atmosphere for days and just a great feel to it. Shame I don't like or hate the others. (shandi is one of my worst, maybe tied with christeen sixteen hahaha)
Very cool that Dynasty and Unmasked rank in your top five. I personally have never actually sat down and tried to do a ranking of any kind although I love to watch other peoples ranking videos. When pressed, I will usually say Hotter than Hell and Rock and Roll Over are my two favorite KISS albums, but when the 2014 vinyl reissues came out, Dynasty and Unmasked were the first two albums I purchased. Go figure. Btw, have you pulled the trigger on the Destroyer 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe boxed set yet? I am pretty sure this will be my Christmas present to myself this year, but haven't ordered it yet. For my birthday, Lordi's "Lordiversity" box set. Seven albums of all new material. Can't wait!
Man, that’s so hard to rank all of the albums. I’ll list my top 5: 5. Dressed to Kill (my first ever album) 4. Love Gun 3. Creatures of the Night 2. Destroyer 1. Rock & Roll Over Creatures is just an underrated album of theirs! I’m just bummed that Ace didn’t play a single note on Creatures. And I agree with you on Carnival of Souls and Elder. Can you imagine what Eric Carr was thinking when he was making that album?
I never understood why they didn't have a reissue with vinnie on the cover in the makeup. I get why they lied originally but on reissues, it would be better I think.
@@lrn_news9171 yes of course, but in the 80s they replaced him with Bruce in the picture and in the 2000s they reverted back to the ace picture. Just seemed odd
My top ten: 1. Destroyer 2. Hotter than hell 3. Kiss 4. Love gun 5. Rock and roll over 6. Dressed to kill 7. Creatures of the night 8. Psycho Circus 9. Dynasty 10. Music from The Elder 6. Dressed
@@BrendonSnyder I bought sonic boom when it came out because of the bonus disc's. It came with a greatest hits compilation and a live in Buenes Aires DVD. I think I'm going to get me the Albums with the original line up first.
The placement of Dynasty and Unmasked surprised me. I think those two albums epitomize KISS struggling to find an identity. If I had to pick my top five, I'd say... without thinking about it too much... 5. Love Gun 4. KISS 3. Creatures of the Night 2. Lick it Up 1. Rock and Roll Over
Great list! My fav is Rock n Roll Over! I agree Bruce doesn’t get the credit he deserves! Super nice guy too! Met him several times! Fav non make up album is Lick it up!
First off..I enjoy listening to other music fans talk about music. Thank you. Creatures of the night.." last one to feature ace frehley" . Ace frehley doesn't play a single note on creatures. He had already left the band.
Hi Brendon, as always a pleasure and an interesting ranking. Kiss... i couldn't say, i'm a big fan but i always like them since "Dynasty". I saw them two times live here in germany; on their Reunion and the Psycho Circus tour. "The Elder" and "Psycho Circus" would be much higher in my personal ranking, Top 5 i think... love both albums. "Dynasty" and "Unmasked" would be in my Top 3 together with the "Paul Stanley" solo album... maybe a little bit controverse. All in all the 80's is my favorite era of Kiss. Hope to see you again soon... bye and take care.
I’ve now seen Kiss three time. Starting back in 1996 when they reunited. Then on their first farewell tour with all four original members and again in the last few years on a co-headline tour with Def Leppard. They always put on a great show.
1.kiss 2. Hotter than Hell 3. Destroyer 4. Dressed to kill 5. Rock n Roll Over 6. Lick it up 7. Love Gun 8. Dynasty 9. Creatures of the night 10 . Revenge 11. Animalize 12. Asylum 13. Unmasked 14. Sonic Boom 15. Monster 16. Psycho Circus 17. Crazy Nights 18 Hot in the shade 19. Elder 20. Carnival of souls.
Here is mine 24. Hot in the shade 23. Unmasked 22. Peter Chriss 21. Dynasty 20. Crazy nights 19. Animalize 18. Asylum 17. Rock and roll all over 16. Hotter than hell 15. Music from the elder 14. Paul Stanley 13. Lick it up 12. Sonic boom 11. Revenge 10. Destroyer 9. Monster 8. Carnival of souls 7. Gene Simmons 6. Creatures of the night 5. Gene Simmons 4. Kiss 3. Love gun 2. Dressed to kill 1. Ace frehley
Kiss is my favourite Band . My favourite era is the era without make Up My favourite Albums: Revenge Sonic Boom Destroyer Hot in the schade Creatures of the night
Interesting and nice succinct ranking! I agree with the your placing of a lot of the albums. I couldn't get into 'Monster' much, although it features some good songs, but 'Sonic Boom' was definitely better. And my feelings exactly about 'Hotter Than Hell' and the debut album; great songs, but they are let down slightly by the poor and muddy production. Some of my favorites are at the top of your list, too! Great video!
Glad Crazy nights wasn’t last. It always gets grief but I have to admit it’s my favourite. I wish there was a remaster/remix as you noted the production is weak. Why no deluxe editions for these classic 80s albums?
I don’t know why the band has overlooked their 80’s catalogue so much. Yes they were the most popular in the 70’s but lots of us grew up with them in the 80’s. It’s a missed opportunity.
Interesting ranking, unafraid to rank the modern albums higher, Sonic Boom was rather good. Whilst my ranking would differ it's always interesting to hear others takes on records. Saw them around 15 years ago, Paul was amazing, he really stole the show, dancing around on a levitating disc in platform shows staying mostly in tune. It was a truly a spectacle, glitter, flames, pyrotechnics & blood all set to memorable tunes. Enjoyed the ranking, keep up the good work Mr Snyder.
1. Love Gun 2. Dynasty 3. Destroyer 4. Rock and Roll over 5. Music from the Elder 6. Dressed to Kill 7. Hotter than Hell 8. Creatures of the Night 9. Unmasked 10. First Album „Kiss“ The 10 Best Albums ! 11. Animalized 12. Asylum 13. Psycho Circus Honored Mention‘s 14. Lick it up 15. Hot in the Shade 16. Crazy Nights 17. Revenge These have some good Tracks on it 18. Monster 19. Sonic Boom Worst , don’t need them at any Time
20. Unmasked 19. Hot In the Shade 18. Sonic Boom 17. Psycho Circus 16. Revenge 15. Carnival of Souls 14. Creatures of the Night 13. KISS 12. Crazy Nights 11. Music From the Elder 10. Rock N Roll Over 9. Monster 8. Dressed To Kill 7. Animalize 6. Asylum 5. Lick It Up 4.Dynasty 3. Love Gun 2. Hotter Than Hell 1. Destroyer
I’ve always felt Dynasty and Unmasked go hand in hand due to their similar sound, influences, song writing, and choice of producer. So I’m surprised to see them so far apart on your ranking.
@@BrendonSnyder even though i ranked it last, i don't hate unmasked, but I've always been a little underwhelmed by it. Dynasty on the other hand i love every song on
Hi Brendon!! cool ranking froma band, i'm not a big fan, but must agree they had a huge impact in rock music in the 70's specially in the USA, right now i only have Double Platinum (vinyl), Dynasty, Unplugged and Alive!! on cd. I'm trying to get the rest of their catalogue, at a fair price of course.... cheers and be well
20 - Carnival of Souls 19 - Monster 18 - Psycho Circus 17 - Sonic Boom 16 - Music from the Elder 15 - Hot in the Shade 14 - Dynasty 13 - Unmasked 12 - Dressed to kill 11 - Animalize 10 - Crazy Nights 9 - Hotter than Hell 8 - Revenge 7 - Asylum 6 - Destroyer 5 - Rock and Roll Over 4 - Love Gun 3 - Kiss 2 - Creatures of the Night 1 - Lick it up
Love Gun and Lick It Up are near the top for me as well. Well done. Hotter Than Hell is probably my favorite. I'm also a big fan of The Elder. I don't think it gets its due.
my kiss albums ranked: 1 - dressed to kill 2 - destroyer 3 - kiss 4 - rock n roll over 5 - hotter than hell 6 - love gun 7 - animalize 8 - asylum 9 - revenge 10 - unmasked 11 - dynasty 12 - creatures of the night 13 - hot in the shade 14 - crazy nights 15 - lick it up
Here is my list: 20. Unmasked 19. Carnival of Souls 18. Hot In The Shade 17. Animalize 16. Elder 15. Psycho Circus 14. Monster 13. Lick It Up 12. Sonic Boom 11. Asylum 10. Crazy Nights 9. Dressed To Kill 8. Dynasty 7. Love Gun 6. Hotter Than Hell 5. Destroyer 4. Creatures Of The Night 3. Revenge 2. Kiss 1. Rock And Roll Over
@@BrendonSnyder To me it captures their true sound better than any other studio release. Enjoyed your list. Our views on Unmasked are totally different but that's the beauty of music. No right, no wrong.
I applaud you for ranking Destroyer at #10. Good album but not their best by far. I’ve been a fan since the ‘70s. My go to albums are Rock n Roll Over and Lick It Up.
Tier 1 1. Dressed To Kill 2. Hotter Than Hell 3. Kiss 4. Love Gun 5. Destroyer 6. Rock & Roll Over Tier 2 7. Creatures Of The Night 8. Lick It Up 9. Animalize 10. Asylum 11. Revenge 12. Monster Tier 3 13. Dynasty 14. Unmasked 15. Crazy Nights 16. Hot In The Shade 17. Sonic Boom Tier 4 18. Carnival Of Souls 19. Psycho Circus 20. The Elder
Its great to see Lick It Up high because i would rank it quite high myself but my favourite would be Creatures Of The Night.I have a soft spot for Kiss because they were first band i saw in concert on Lick It Up tour.
My favorite KISS albums are: KISS(1974) Destroyer(1976) Rock And Roll Over(1976) Love Gun(1977) Creatures Of The Night(1982) Lick It Up(1983) Animalize(1984) Asylum(1985) Revenge(1992) Monster(2012)
1. Dressed to Kill 2. Hotter Than Hell 3. Kiss 4. Rock and Roll Over 5. Destroyer 6. Love Gun 7. Unmasked 8. Dynasty 9. Creatures of the Night 10. Crazy Nights 11. Psycho Circus 12. Animalize 13. Asylum 14. Music from the Elder 15. Revenge 16. Hot in the Shade 17. Lick It Up 18. Sonic Boom 19. Monster 20. Carnival of Souls (the only bad Kiss album) Actually 11-17 can be all 11.
Really enjoyed watching this ranking Brendon! My opinion on the 20 albums vary somewhat, but Monster is always rock bottom in my list. Lately Dynasty and Revenge have dropped like stones and I have them currently at 17 and 18. We also differ greatly on The Elder, which I feel is a great album and always in my top 5.
There are probably about 10 albums I love my them, 6 that I think are good/decent, and 4 bad ones. They tried different trends on some of them, and few of the times it worked. I definitely agree with Carnival Of Souls and Music From “The Elder” being ranked at the bottom. I have Animalize and Crazy Nights much higher in my opinion. Revenge is a solid album, along with Rock And Roll Over. I also think Hotter Than Hell is the worst classic era album to me. Good video though!
1. KISS Debut 2. Dressed to Kill 3. Rock and Roll Over 4. Destroyer 5. Lick It Up 6. Hotter Than Hell 7. Love Gun 8. Hot In The Shade 9. Creatures of The Night 10. Music from The Elder 11. Dynasty 12. Revenge 13. Asylum 14. Animalize 15. Crazy Nights 16. Unmasked 17. Psycho Circus 18. Monster 19. Sonic Boom 12. Carnival of Souls
Hey Brendon, this has nothing to do with today's video but: David Coverdale recently announced that although he's soon going to be stepping away from Whitesnake, he believes the band could continue without him. Who do you think could replace him, if anyone?
@@BrendonSnyder Thanks for your quick response. My husband & I have been trying to think since last night. I was thinking maybe Tom Keifer, but he's missing the British thing. I'm not really that familiar with Glenn Hughes, but i'll have do some listing. Can he do the low range stuff?
In general I’m not a fan of live albums. As for the Album Rankings, I don’t include them or Greatest Hits albums because they are just collections of material from other albums. So I stick to just studio albums.
Yes you’re correct….but to my point, Ace was still in the band so he was still part of Kiss so it was the last album that happened while he was a member. It’s just Symantecs.
"Music from the Elder" and "Carnival of Souls" for me are definitely better than "Animalize", "Crazy Nights", "Sonic Boom", "Psycho circus", "Hot in the shade", "Monster" and "Asylum".
1:48 - I LUV that album! It boggles my mind to see people always ranking this SO LOW!! Hell, even that band hate it! I met Gene at an in-store in 2003 and told him my high opinion of "The Elder"...DAMN!! You shouldda seen the dirty look he gave me! (And he wasn't even in his demon make-up!)
I don’t hate it but it hasn’t aged well IMO. It’s very dated. If I had grown up with it and had nostalgic feelings about it, it would probably rank better. But these lists are very subjective anyway.
Yes I’m a fan of INXS and have talked about them in other videos like my weekly episodes of What’s That You’re Listening To. I own their whole catalogue.
Great video, Brendon ! I’ve loved the band since I was 14, and have seen the thirty times (at least once on every tour). Despite their ups and downs and throughout all the inner turmoil, they’ve remained a constant presence in my day to day life. Every one of these discs brings back memories of a particular time in my life and no other band can match that level of importance. My dad brought me to a show in ‘78, and he still talks about it. I’ve brought many friends to shows, as well as girlfriends, my wife (not at the same time) and my kids. I always felt that you needed to see them to truly understand the obsession. In the process, they turned me on to many great bands as opening acts (Cheap Trick, Accept, Motley Crue among others). Their influence continues to reverberate throughout the music industry and has made many acts better for our benefit as fans. I look forward to all of your content and this one was especially good. Thanks !
Hotter than Hell is my fav. I love its heaviness and the riffs are huge! In my Top 5: rock 'n' Roll over, Kiss, Creatures & the Elder...At least for today. I love anything from the debut up to Lick it Up, then there's a drop but starting with Revenge, it's very good again. And I think Ace Frehley's solo album is one of the best albums ever! Cool show. Cheers!
HTH is favorite as well.
I wish HTH was recorded better. The mix is awful. Songs great but it sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. Coming Home, Got To Choose, All The Way, Parasite😎
@@flyingburritobro68 That album should use a remix.
Hotter Than Hell is Kiss best album. I think the crunchy sound the album has is what makes it so great. It may not be produced as well as Destroyer or Love Gun but that it is why it is so great. Its raw and powerful.
Agree about Hotter than Hell. Some great tracks but poor production.
I always enjoy listening to KISS fans album rankings because they’re so unpredictable. My top 3 are KISS S/T, Creatures, and RnR Over
All excellent choices!
Im the only one here who really dig Carnival of Souls???
No I’ve seen lots of people who love it. Just not the sound of Kiss that I prefer. But it’s not a bad album. Could stand a little bit of editing. Some of the songs drone on for too long IMO. Would have made for a better sound with some editing.
Nope. I like and appreciate it more now than 1997. I eventually got a vinyl version of it when it was titled "Head". Recorded around 1995. More sounding like rough versions of the tracks and missing at least 1 from the official release
Just heard it for the first time. I agree it slaps.
I consider that the tightest KISS group since the first 3 albums striving to make it. I followed the bands VHS’ and the ALIVE3/revenge tour era made them look like a REAL rock band. They wanted the grunge and they achieved the grunge, but yeah, that is a good follow up to Revenge.
Kiss are 1of my favourite bands of all time. My favourite album is Alive II, but as we aren’t including live albums, here’s my top 10:
1. Creatures of the Night
2. Dynasty
3. Destroyer
4. Crazy Nights
5. Love Gun
6. Dressed to Kill
7. Unmasked
8. Debut
9. Lick it Up
10. Sonic Boom
Nice to see Dynasty rank so high!!
Wow Crazy Nights at 4!
Don't see that every day.
Great video! My top 5 Kiss albums are:
1 - Destroyer
2 - Rock And Roll Over
3 - Love Gun
4 - Creatures Of The Night
5 - Lick It Up
all good albums in my book!
Love Gun the album that made me the Metal fan i am today.. First album i ever got back in 1977 at 11 years old...
1. Destroyer
2. Hotter Than Hell
3. KISS '74
4. Dressed to Kill
5. Rock and Roll Over
6. Creatures of The Night
7. Dynasty
8. Music from The Elder
9. Love Gun
10. Lick It Up
11. Psycho Circus
12. Carnival of Souls
13. Revenge
14. Animalize
15. Asylum
16. Unmasked
17. Monster
18. Sonic Boom
19. Hot In The Shade
20. Crazy Nights
Shocked to see Elder so high. But I know there are those that love the album. That’s like me and Dynasty.
Love your music discussion, thank you! Just subscribed. Here's my Top Five:
5. KISS '74
4. Hotter Than Hell
3. Love Gun
2. Destroyer
1. Dynasty
Thanks for subscribing! I’m glad to have you joining the fun. And I love seeing Dynasty at #1! 👍
Great review Brandon, thanks. I liked your high placing of Dynasty and Unmasked. I love both of these and it was good to see them achieve a higher ranking than usual. To my mind the disco opener to Dynasty and the poppy production and arrangements of Unmasked add variety and a different spin on the Kiss sound. Also, they are full of dynamite songs. For me the number one has to be Creatures of the Night (most Kiss fans would understand that choice) and a close runner up being...
The Elder (most Kiss fans would leave the room).
I get torn to shreds over liking this album but I always feel compelled to stand up and defend it. Under the Rose has to one of the darkest and heaviest sounding things I had ever heard at the time. The oath just rocks, Odyssey soars, Mr Blackwell sounds like Gene is coming to get you and World Without Heroes is just beautiful. Its not a party time Kiss record and it was never meant to be that but for me a good record it certainly is.
Great video and List
Personal Ranking
1: Destroyer
2: Revenge
3: Creatures of the Night
4: Kiss
5: Love Gun
6: Rock and Roll Over
7: Hotter Than Hell
8: Lick it up
9: Psycho Circus
10: Dressed to Kill
11: Dynasty
12: Unmasked
13: Asylum
14: Crazy Nights
15: Animalize
16: Hot in the Shade
17: Music from The Elder
18: Monster
19: Sonic Boom
20: Carnival of Souls
KISS rankings vary so much from one person to the other and that's a sign that they have made a lot of good albums. For myself, their rankings change on a regular basis.
1. KISS
2. Dressed to Kill (always been a favorite of mine, but i can't stand RARAN anymore)
3. Hotter than Hell
4. Destroyer
5. Rock N Roll Over
6. Dynasty (start the album at track 2)
7. Unmasked
8. Creatures of the night
9. Lick it up
10. Love Gun (everyone rates this higher but i see too many fillers here)
11. Animalize
12. Crazy Nights
13. Asylum
14. Hot in the Shade
15. Revenge (another i rate much lower than everyone)
16. Psycho Circus
17. Music from the Elder
18. Carnival of souls
19. Sonic Boom
20. Monster
Nice to see Dynasty and Unmasked high on your list despite other ones being lower. But like you said, we all hear these albums differently showing what a great band they are.
Great episode. I’m a lover of ranking albums especially KISS related, so this list was great fun. Naturally I disagree with where you put certain albums, but music is a personal experience so it’s all good. Really love your channel!
Finally a countdown with unmasked and dynasty in the top 5 easily two best albums crisp production awesome songs
Nice to meet someone else who respects those albums as much as I do! 🤘
Solid ranking. Destroyer number one for me. I appreciated the fact you had Dynasty up high. People who call it a Disco album always made me laugh. There are some great Rock tracks on that one. Creatures would rank quite high for me too. I also agree thatLick It Up is a great KISS record.
My mini ranking for the KISS 78 solo albums would be
1. Ace Frehley
2. Paul Stanley
3. Peter Criss
4. Gene Simmons
Another Great Video,Creatures of the Night was my first Kiss album and my favourite,I would personally rate Music from the Elder higher than some of the later albums,nice to see Unmasked getting some deserved appreciation
Nice video man, and great arguments to justify your rankings. However my list would be the inverse of yours in some ways - goes to show the breadth and scope of the band’s appeal; one man’s Love Gun is another man’s Hot in the Shade!
1. Revenge
2. Hot in the shade
3. Creatures of the night
4. Love gun
5. Destroyer
Isn’t that the truth! We all hear things differently. I’m glad you can enjoy Hot In The Shade to that degree.
Nice review, Brendon. I think your ranking was very fair and accurate. Myself, I think I only own about five or six of their studio records.
Thanks Marty. Ranking 20 albums was a task. I can’t imagine trying to rank someone like Neil Young who has over 40 albums.
Yeah I have ranked Alice cooper albums and it's a task!
I'm going to do something I haven't done before .... I'm going to reveal my top 10 ranking from one year ago prior to ranking their discography, as a whole and revisiting those that I don't have in my collection.
1. Dynasty (1979)
2. music from the Elder (1981)
3. Rock And Roll Over (1976)
4. KISS (1974)
5. Dress To Kill (1975)
6. Destroyer (1976)
7. Love Gun (1977)
8. Sonic Boom (2009)
9. Revenge (1992)
10. Hotter Than Hell (1975)
11. Creatures Of The Night (1982)
12. Animalize (1984)
(these are the 12 albums that I actually have in my collection) I did have Pyscho Circus and Hot In The Shade, at one point. Some of these albums might flop, or shift up or down a few spots?
The problem with the rest is that each has perhaps one stand out track, which I wouldn't mind having on a compilation best of a sort, but I wouldn't go out and purchase the studio album. This would explain the main reason I purchased KISS the box set.
Revisiting each of their albums: ranking might shift up or down, as I listen to each track.
20. Carnival of Souls (1997)
I'm not a grudge fan, but that being said - the best track is Hate
19. Monster (2012)
most listenable track is Wall Of Sound - on the other tracks, the guitar riffs sounds redundant
18. Sonic Boom (2009)
my favorite songs are Modern Day Delilah and Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)
listenable tracks: All For The Glory and Say Yeah
I love that Dynasty is your #1, it’s a highly underrated album. A personal favorite.
@@BrendonSnyder
Rock And Roll All Nite (1975) Detroit Rock City (1976) was the first songs I heard; KISS Alive and KISS Alive II were may first KISS albums that I purchased. Then, I got the four solo albums, and I purchased the single I Was Made For Lovin' You (1979) - but I found out that I even liked the b/side more Hard Times.
It wasn't till after 1982 before I got around to purchasing Dynasty. The Elder was the only studio album I purchased when it came out. I had Double Platinum in 1978; Destroyer, Love Gun, & Rock And Roll Over I got sometimes between 1978-1982. In the late 90s is when I got around to get their albums in CD: Smashes, Thrashes, and Hits was my first CD.
Beth has always been my favorite song by KISS. I agree that Dynasty is a very underrated album. I think that people just set aside I Was Made For Lovin' You, that they might realize how good the rest the album is.
It's been a while since I done a ranking ... but I going to rank my favorite track from each album:
20. Hate - Carnival of Souls (1997)
19. Wall of Sound - Monster (2012)
18. Psycho Circus - Psycho Circus (1998)
17. Good Girls Gone Bad - Crazy Night (1987)
16. Any Way You Slice It - Asylum (1985)
15. Modern Day Delilah - Sonic Boom (2009)
14. Every Time I Look At You - Revenge (1994)
13. Rise To It - Hot In The Shade (1989)
- this song ranked around #11 favorite for the year -
12. Shandi - Unmasked (1980)
11. Lick It Up - Lick It Up (1983)
10. Heaven's On Fire - Animalize (1984)
9. Creatures Of The Night - Creatures Of The Night (1982)
8. Strange Ways - Hotter Than Hell (1974)
7. Rock And Roll All Nite - Dress To Kill (1974)
6. Deuce - KISS (1974)
5. A World Without Heroes - The Elder (1981)
4. Hard Times - Dynasty (1979)
3. Love Gun - Love Gun (1977)
2. Hard Luck Woman - Rock And Roll Over (1976)
1. Beth - Destroyer (1976)
Great video! Love Unmasked, Dynasty, and Love Gun too!
Great ranking sir! I was impressed with where u had unmasked. I felt that was just a fun album to listen too. Lick it up deserves its ranking ( my opinion). That album brought me back to kiss.
20 - Music from the elder
19 - Crazy Nights
18 - Sonic Boom
17 - Hot in the shade
16 - Animalize
15 - Carnival of Souls
14 - Monster
13 - Revenge
12 - Unmasked
11 - Asylum
10 - Destroyer
9 - Kiss
8 - Psycho circus
7 - Lick it up
6 - Hotter than hell
5 - Creatures of the night
4 - Dressed to kill
3 - Rock and roll over
2 - Dynasty
1 - Love Gun
I have seen many lists that rank Hot in the Shade low. I really like that album. I would put it in the top ten.
My top three:
1- Rock n’ Roll Over (never gets old)
2- Hotter than Hell (I love the darkness)
3- Kiss S/T debut- minus Kissing Time
Bold choice with Unmasked so high I actually always enjoyed it sort of Kiss meets the Bay City Rollers lol
Agreed
Very interesting video. I was surprised you put “Unmasked” so high. That’s the album I started my KISS fandom with and I love it
I know it’s not on many people’s favorites list.
@@BrendonSnyder yes. It’s usually way at the bottom actually :-). Ps: congratulations for your review of the Blondie boxset. It’s under my Christmas tree
Anyone that has Unmasked in the top 5 I know has good taste lol. Love Gun is the best as well.
If you look at their library (up until Crazy Nights, not going into the 90's) they evolved quite a bit so if you like the band for the sound of a certain era (I like from Destroyer to Unmasked) then the others will be hit and miss. Many like the heavy dark sound of some of the first 3 albums (which there are some greats) then to Destroyer with its big production and a bit more hook oriented Pop sound (Gene did say he wanted to be heavy metal - Beatles) that might pi$$ off the audience that initially liked them. Add that to the late 70's and the thinner production and therefore radio friendly and some people probably said not thanks and onto the next best thing (which in the early 80's would've been Judas Priest for sure!)
Anyway, good list my friend.
KISS Dynasty ....Love it! LoveGun......I Agree!!!! I must hear what You hear!!!
Sounds like we do!
Thank you for this show n🎉
My pleasure David.
Kiss have so many different sounds and styles over the years that my favorites change all the time depending on my mood. But there are some that I always rank high. Revenge, Hotter Than Hell, Creatures, Crazy Nights and Love Gun are probably the ones getting the most play. Regarding Hotter Than Hell, I think the muddy production works in its favor. It creates such a dirty, grungy atmosphere. And the album was heavy! I think Ace really peaked on that album with creative song writing and creative playing.
Great ranking, Brendon! I agree totally with H.I.T.S. being far too long with too much filler. It's actually my least favorite in their catalog. And very happy to see some love for Unmasked. Just an incredible album! Didn't have the classic KISS sound, but a fantastic pop record, IMO. Enjoy your videos, as always.
Thank you Jeffrey, glad to hear you’re enjoying them.
If you wish to listen to HITS, I would ask you to ignore the printed tracklist - here's the actual one:
Rise To It
Betrayed
Forever
The Street Giveth
Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell
Little Ceasar
Boomerang
Now I've taken out the garbage (including obvious ripoffs of ABBA, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi - are you kidding me?), please feel free to carry on.
I must say i really like KISS. 20 albums? now that is an achievement . My fave is maybe , Destroyer. I like a lot of songs from KISS. Great video !
Yeah but honestly they should have made a lot more albums. There have been two different decade long stretches where they didn’t record a single album. 20 years of not recording, image what they could have done in that time.
Yeah Paul and to a less extent gene are just not interested (not enough money in it) and to be fair, I think creatively they are pretty bankrupt.
@@BrendonSnyder 20 years of none recording is a long time, yes, who knows what they could have come up with.
Glad to see Lick It Up and Dynasty ranked in your top 5! I always loved those albums. I agree with your rankings but I do love Destroyer a little more.
I was a big kiss fan when I was a kid in the 70s I moved away shortly after from them. But my favorites to this day are alive. Rock and Roll over, hotter than hell and creatures of the night.
My favorite three Kiss studio works: 3 - Animalize (I got into a lot of the deep cuts), 2 - Lick It Up (most consistent of their non-makeup era), and 1 - Creatures of the Night; it's their heaviest and has no filler at all; it eventually went gold, but should've received more love than it did at the time.
Your ranking is exactly where i would put them... Brendon's rankings are usually interesting as to where he places things...usually way off the mark but I do enjoy seeing where others rank them..🙂
Sorry man, remember it’s just my opinion!
I love how you placed Unmasked and Dynasty so high up, those two are in my top five as well! The title track on Love Gun is my all-time favorite KISS song and that record is very enjoyable though it's a bit uneven song material wise, but still, love how you had it at number one, I don't see that very often..
The Elder at #19 is exactly where it belongs, lol, and I probably dislike Just A Boy more than you even! Also, I'm a weirdo, I don't enjoy Rock And Roll Over apart from maybe two songs - I find it a really tedious listen. My top five would be rounded up by Hotter Than Hell ( the production doesn't hamper my enjoyment, the songs are great ), Dress To Kill and either Creatures or Love Gun... I love/like half of the band's catalog and the other half ( the late eighties to present PLUS Rock And Roll Over ) I just don't care about at all so couldn't really rank the entire catalog in any meaningful way but...
Top five today:
1. Dynasty
2. Dressed To Kill
3. Hotter Than Hell
4. Unmasked
5. Creatures Of The Night
It seems that both Unmasked and Dynasty have been gaining popularity over the last so many years. I’m hearing from lots of people how much they like these 2 albums which is good. They deserve recognition.
Top 5 in no order. Creatures of the Night, Dynasty, Rock and Roll Over, Dressed to Kill and Kiss.
love seeing Dynasty so high in your list.
I have a new love for Unmasked/Dynasty/The Elder era so they are higher now (For now that is 😁)
1. Rock And Roll Over
2. Love Gun
3. Dressed To Kill
4. Kiss
5. Destroyer
6. Lick It Up
7. Hotter Than Hell
8. Unmasked
9. Creatures Of The NIght
10. Music From 'The Elder
11. Dynasty
12. Psycho Circus
13. Revenge
14. Sonic Boom
15. Asylum
16. Animalize
17. Monster
18. Crazy Nights
19. Hot In The Shade
20. Carnival Of Souls
I think a lot of fans have grown to love Dynasty and Unmasked more than when they first came out. It’s nice to see those albums moving up in rankings.
This video excites me. I’m currently building my CD collection and I’m working on the Kiss Discog right now. Just received Music from the Elder with Creatures of the Night on order. So I think I’m half way their. I’m also currently listening to these albums back to back to figure out what my favorites are. Only made it to Dressed to Kill though…. I’m hoping it gets better but the first 2 tracks keep me from wanting to go forward.
IMO their best albums are after Destroyer starting with Rock And Roll Over and forward. The early stuff is very raw and like demo quality. Understandable for the time it was released but the later albums have far better production. Jump ahead to Love Gun, and Lick It….two great albums. Creatures is another excellent album.
My list:
1. Rock And Roll Over
2. Lick It Up
3. Hotter Than Hell
4. Asylum
5. Creatures Of The Night
6. Carnival of Souls
7. Destroyer
8. KISS
9. Love Gun
10. Revenge
11. (Music From) The Elder
12. Animalize
13. Unmasked
14. Dressed To Kill
15. Hot In The Shade
16. Crazy Nights
17. Monster
18. Sonic Boom
19. Dynasty
20. Psycho Circus
KISS has always been a band for the people, as they said before they wanted to be the band they never saw, and although everyone's top albums are different, it's always interesting to hear and discuss the music that a lot of us grew up listening to. Also Ace did not play on Creatures even though his picture was on the original cover, it was Vinnie Vincent, also the guitarist from Mr. Mister.
I’m aware Ace didn’t play on Creatures. I just said it was the last album to feature him meaning he was still a part of the band and took part in the photoshoot.
Good ranking! Even though my ranking is kinda different from yours, I like it when we have different opinions. Here’s my ranking:
1. Rock N Roll Over
2. Love Gun
3. Dresses To Kill
4. Hotter Than Hell (believe it or not, I actually don’t mind the production)
5. Dynasty
6. KISS
7. Lick It Up
8. Creatures Of The Night
9. Destroyer
10. Asylum
11. Music From “The Elder”
12. Psycho Circus
13. Monster (this one is ranked a little higher than SB cuz the Tommy Thayer solos don’t really sound like Ace’s)
14. Sonic Boom (this album is actually very a special to me cuz my dad would put this album on when went for a drive)
15. Animalize
16. Revenge (very underrated album. Bruce Kulick shines on this album)
17. Unmasked
18. Carnival of Souls
19. Hot in the Shade (it does have a hand full of songs I like but it has it’s fillers)
20. Crazy Nights (Only songs I like are No No No and Thief in the Night)
My top 15 are
1. Destroyer
2.. Dressed to Kill
3. Rock n Roll Over
4. Hotter than Hell (Would be #1 if it was mixed correctly)
6. Love Gun
7. Lick it up
8. Revenge
9, Debut
10. Creatures
11. Dynasty
12. Crazy Nights
13. Unmasked
14. Carnival of Souls
15. The Elder
20.Carnival Of Souls
19. Sonic Boom
18.The Elder
17. Physco Circus
16.Monster
15.Hot In The Shade
14.Unmasked
13. Crazy Nights
12.Animalize
11.Asylum
10.Dynasty
9. Lick It Up
8.Revenge
7.Love Gun
6.Dressed To Kill
5.Destroyer
4.Creatures of the Night
3.Kiss
2.Hotter Than Hell
1. Rock N' Roll Over
Nice list ! A few surprising picks I must say. 🤘🏼
Unmasked was a big surprise on your list.
My top album would be Creatures of the night (fantastic tunes overall) and those drums!
Best compilation: Kiss 40.
Those drums are HUGH aren’t they!! I love them too. And I agree regarding best compilation being Kiss 40. I hope they do anything for Kiss 50.
Great vid! KISS is my favorite band of all time!! Too hard to rank the albums, as I love them all. Really wish the band wouldn't have taken such a long break between Psycho Circus & Sonic Boom & then stopping new albums after Monster. The current lineup is so solid & could put out some great quality tunes.
Thanks Brendon, finally someone who likes UNMASKED.
I can understand that if you where a metal-fan at that time this album was not for you, but there's is no denying the album consist of great hooks and very catchy melodic tunes. Not only are Ace his songs on this album great tunes, the ones that Paul wrote where also catchy as hell: Is That You, Tommorow, Easy As It Seems. And it contains one of the best songs Gene has ever written: Naked City.
Cheers from Belgium!
Great ranking!
Thanks Joe!
Kiss!!! My fave band!!! Keep on doing rankings!!! 🤘
Good list Brendon. Creatures of the Night will always be my personal favourite! 👍
It’s definitely one of their best. I feel like it doesn’t get enough praise though.
1) Rock and Roll Over
2) KISS
3) Dressed To Kill
4) Lick It Up
5) Hotter Than Hell
6) Dynasty
7) Asylum
8) Destroyer
9) Love Gun
10) Creatures of the Night
11) Monster
12) Unmasked
13) Animalize
14) Hot In The Shade
15) Revenge
16) Psycho Circus
17) Music From The Elder
18) Sonic Boom
19) Crazy Nights
20) Carnival of Souls
Nice list 👍
My opinion but I can't quite get into Dressed to kill. When it works it's magic but I only like about 50% of the songs. I like Love Gun but it's got a couple of songs that seem like filler that just make it short of a perfect album. As a fan of around 37 years I still can't pick a No.1 album!!! Depends what mood I'm in on the day!
Im the same way, ask me on a different day and I might have a different opinion.
Hello Brendon wanted to comment on this , not sure you will see this as just started watching and new subscriber , My favorite Kiss Album and my top 5 would be
1) Music From the Elder
2)Ace Frehley Solo Album
3) Kiss Alive II
4)Kiss Alive I
5)Unmasked w/Anton Fig on drums
Thanks for subscribing, glad to have you joining the fun. Nice to see Unmasked so high!
@@BrendonSnyder I hated to see Peter Criss not on this as My album lists and research has Anton FIg on this one and a fan of his later with Frehley's Comet and saw that tour , and his play with Joe Bonamassa
52 Year old Aussie guy here. Got listening to Kiss when I was about 10 or 11 from 1979. This is probably why Dynasty and Unmasked rank high for me. Anyway, here's my Top 20;
1 KISS
2 Dynasty
3 Unmasked
4 Destroyer
5 Hotter Than Hell
6 Psycho Circus
7 Creatures of The Night
8 Rock and Roll Over
9 Crazy Nights
10 Dressed To Kill
11 Music from "The Elder"
12 Love Gun
13 Revenge
14 Hot in The Shade
15 Animalize
16 Lick It Up
17 Asylum
18 Monster
19 Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions
20 Sonic Boom ( I don't have this album so it may not be at 20, maybe a few spots up if I did have it. If only it was on iTunes!)
Great to see Unmasked ranked so high. I think it is a great album. 🙂
Recently it seems to be getting much more praise than it used to. I’m glad to see more fans are enjoying it.
I can't stand it, but I love naked city. That's a tune with atmosphere for days and just a great feel to it. Shame I don't like or hate the others. (shandi is one of my worst, maybe tied with christeen sixteen hahaha)
Very cool that Dynasty and Unmasked rank in your top five. I personally have never actually sat down and tried to do a ranking of any kind although I love to watch other peoples ranking videos. When pressed, I will usually say Hotter than Hell and Rock and Roll Over are my two favorite KISS albums, but when the 2014 vinyl reissues came out, Dynasty and Unmasked were the first two albums I purchased. Go figure.
Btw, have you pulled the trigger on the Destroyer 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe boxed set yet? I am pretty sure this will be my Christmas present to myself this year, but haven't ordered it yet. For my birthday, Lordi's "Lordiversity" box set. Seven albums of all new material. Can't wait!
Yes I did pre-order the boxset. Very much looking forward to it for the demos disc even if it’s way over priced for just 4 discs.
Man, that’s so hard to rank all of the albums. I’ll list my top 5:
5. Dressed to Kill (my first ever album)
4. Love Gun
3. Creatures of the Night
2. Destroyer
1. Rock & Roll Over
Creatures is just an underrated album of theirs! I’m just bummed that Ace didn’t play a single note on Creatures.
And I agree with you on Carnival of Souls and Elder. Can you imagine what Eric Carr was thinking when he was making that album?
Ace Frehley didn't play on creatures of the night, Vinnie Vincent co wrote and played on many songs on this album
I didn’t say he played on it. I just said it featured him as he was still in the band and took part in the photo session.
I never understood why they didn't have a reissue with vinnie on the cover in the makeup. I get why they lied originally but on reissues, it would be better I think.
@@sbi168 Weren't the reissues done after Vinnie was long gone though?
@@lrn_news9171 yes of course, but in the 80s they replaced him with Bruce in the picture and in the 2000s they reverted back to the ace picture. Just seemed odd
My top ten:
1. Destroyer
2. Hotter than hell
3. Kiss
4. Love gun
5. Rock and roll over
6. Dressed to kill
7. Creatures of the night
8. Psycho Circus
9. Dynasty
10. Music from The Elder
6. Dressed
Hot in the shade was my first Kiss LP then my folk gave me a Walkman for Christmas with Hot in the shade on tape!!
I only have Sonic Boom and Alive IV in my collection. So I'm not in the position to rank them, but this two I really like.
Glad you’ve got some of the newer era stuff. But you should go back and pick up a couple of the classic era album. Those deep album cuts are great.
@@BrendonSnyder I bought sonic boom when it came out because of the bonus disc's. It came with a greatest hits compilation and a live in Buenes Aires DVD. I think I'm going to get me the Albums with the original line up first.
The placement of Dynasty and Unmasked surprised me. I think those two albums epitomize KISS struggling to find an identity. If I had to pick my top five, I'd say... without thinking about it too much...
5. Love Gun
4. KISS
3. Creatures of the Night
2. Lick it Up
1. Rock and Roll Over
I would agree that Kiss was definitely trying to modernize and grow with the changing music scene. But I also think it worked really well.
Great list! My fav is Rock n Roll Over! I agree Bruce doesn’t get the credit he deserves! Super nice guy too! Met him several times! Fav non make up album is Lick it up!
I love Lick It Up too!
The Elder and Destroyer! I love all their albums though.
First off..I enjoy listening to other music fans talk about music. Thank you. Creatures of the night.." last one to feature ace frehley" . Ace frehley doesn't play a single note on creatures. He had already left the band.
I didn’t say he played on it but he was still considered part of the band and partook in the album cover photo session.
Hi Brendon, as always a pleasure and an interesting ranking. Kiss... i couldn't say, i'm a big fan but i always like them since "Dynasty". I saw them two times live here in germany; on their Reunion and the Psycho Circus tour. "The Elder" and "Psycho Circus" would be much higher in my personal ranking, Top 5 i think... love both albums. "Dynasty" and "Unmasked" would be in my Top 3 together with the "Paul Stanley" solo album... maybe a little bit controverse. All in all the 80's is my favorite era of Kiss. Hope to see you again soon... bye and take care.
I’ve now seen Kiss three time. Starting back in 1996 when they reunited. Then on their first farewell tour with all four original members and again in the last few years on a co-headline tour with Def Leppard. They always put on a great show.
@@BrendonSnyder Great package with Def Leppard 🙂
1.kiss
2. Hotter than Hell
3. Destroyer
4. Dressed to kill
5. Rock n Roll Over
6. Lick it up
7. Love Gun
8. Dynasty
9. Creatures of the night
10 . Revenge
11. Animalize
12. Asylum
13. Unmasked
14. Sonic Boom
15. Monster
16. Psycho Circus
17. Crazy Nights
18 Hot in the shade
19. Elder
20. Carnival of souls.
Here is mine
24. Hot in the shade
23. Unmasked
22. Peter Chriss
21. Dynasty
20. Crazy nights
19. Animalize
18. Asylum
17. Rock and roll all over
16. Hotter than hell
15. Music from the elder
14. Paul Stanley
13. Lick it up
12. Sonic boom
11. Revenge
10. Destroyer
9. Monster
8. Carnival of souls
7. Gene Simmons
6. Creatures of the night
5. Gene Simmons
4. Kiss
3. Love gun
2. Dressed to kill
1. Ace frehley
Kiss is my favourite Band .
My favourite era is the era without make Up
My favourite Albums:
Revenge
Sonic Boom
Destroyer
Hot in the schade
Creatures of the night
Interesting and nice succinct ranking! I agree with the your placing of a lot of the albums. I couldn't get into 'Monster' much, although it features some good songs, but 'Sonic Boom' was definitely better. And my feelings exactly about 'Hotter Than Hell' and the debut album; great songs, but they are let down slightly by the poor and muddy production. Some of my favorites are at the top of your list, too! Great video!
I’d love if Kiss would go back and remix those early albums and give them a better production with todays technology.
@@BrendonSnyder Yes, that'd be cool! The sound on 'Dressed to Kill' is raw in a good way, but the first two definitely need re-mastering!
Glad Crazy nights wasn’t last. It always gets grief but I have to admit it’s my favourite. I wish there was a remaster/remix as you noted the production is weak. Why no deluxe editions for these classic 80s albums?
I don’t know why the band has overlooked their 80’s catalogue so much. Yes they were the most popular in the 70’s but lots of us grew up with them in the 80’s. It’s a missed opportunity.
Interesting ranking, unafraid to rank the modern albums higher, Sonic Boom was rather good. Whilst my ranking would differ it's always interesting to hear others takes on records. Saw them around 15 years ago, Paul was amazing, he really stole the show, dancing around on a levitating disc in platform shows staying mostly in tune. It was a truly a spectacle, glitter, flames, pyrotechnics & blood all set to memorable tunes. Enjoyed the ranking, keep up the good work Mr Snyder.
Yeah Kiss never disappoints live. Even now with Paul’s voice not holding up, they still put on one heck of a show.
1. Love Gun
2. Dynasty
3. Destroyer
4. Rock and Roll over
5. Music from the Elder
6. Dressed to Kill
7. Hotter than Hell
8. Creatures of the Night
9. Unmasked
10. First Album „Kiss“
The 10 Best Albums !
11. Animalized
12. Asylum
13. Psycho Circus
Honored Mention‘s
14. Lick it up
15. Hot in the Shade
16. Crazy Nights
17. Revenge
These have some good Tracks on it
18. Monster
19. Sonic Boom
Worst , don’t need them at any Time
Totally agree. Wow this is literally the BEST top KISS album ranking of all time
20. Unmasked
19. Hot In the Shade
18. Sonic Boom
17. Psycho Circus
16. Revenge
15. Carnival of Souls
14. Creatures of the Night
13. KISS
12. Crazy Nights
11. Music From the Elder
10. Rock N Roll Over
9. Monster
8. Dressed To Kill
7. Animalize
6. Asylum
5. Lick It Up
4.Dynasty
3. Love Gun
2. Hotter Than Hell
1. Destroyer
I’ve always felt Dynasty and Unmasked go hand in hand due to their similar sound, influences, song writing, and choice of producer. So I’m surprised to see them so far apart on your ranking.
@@BrendonSnyder even though i ranked it last, i don't hate unmasked, but I've always been a little underwhelmed by it. Dynasty on the other hand i love every song on
Hi Brendon!! cool ranking froma band, i'm not a big fan, but must agree they had a huge impact in rock music in the 70's specially in the USA, right now i only have Double Platinum (vinyl), Dynasty, Unplugged and Alive!! on cd. I'm trying to get the rest of their catalogue, at a fair price of course.... cheers and be well
Have you ever ranked TNT band from Norway?
No, not yet at least.
20 - Carnival of Souls
19 - Monster
18 - Psycho Circus
17 - Sonic Boom
16 - Music from the Elder
15 - Hot in the Shade
14 - Dynasty
13 - Unmasked
12 - Dressed to kill
11 - Animalize
10 - Crazy Nights
9 - Hotter than Hell
8 - Revenge
7 - Asylum
6 - Destroyer
5 - Rock and Roll Over
4 - Love Gun
3 - Kiss
2 - Creatures of the Night
1 - Lick it up
Love Gun and Lick It Up are near the top for me as well. Well done. Hotter Than Hell is probably my favorite. I'm also a big fan of The Elder. I don't think it gets its due.
my kiss albums ranked:
1 - dressed to kill
2 - destroyer
3 - kiss
4 - rock n roll over
5 - hotter than hell
6 - love gun
7 - animalize
8 - asylum
9 - revenge
10 - unmasked
11 - dynasty
12 - creatures of the night
13 - hot in the shade
14 - crazy nights
15 - lick it up
Here is my list:
20. Unmasked
19. Carnival of Souls
18. Hot In The Shade
17. Animalize
16. Elder
15. Psycho Circus
14. Monster
13. Lick It Up
12. Sonic Boom
11. Asylum
10. Crazy Nights
9. Dressed To Kill
8. Dynasty
7. Love Gun
6. Hotter Than Hell
5. Destroyer
4. Creatures Of The Night
3. Revenge
2. Kiss
1. Rock And Roll Over
Rock And Roll Over is a great one!
@@BrendonSnyder To me it captures their true sound better than any other studio release. Enjoyed your list. Our views on Unmasked are totally different but that's the beauty of music. No right, no wrong.
I applaud you for ranking Destroyer at #10. Good album but not their best by far. I’ve been a fan since the ‘70s. My go to albums are Rock n Roll Over and Lick It Up.
I recently posted a video called Deconstructing Destroyer, see link if you’re interested ua-cam.com/video/MXBvFE5J8cU/v-deo.html
Tier 1
1. Dressed To Kill
2. Hotter Than Hell
3. Kiss
4. Love Gun
5. Destroyer
6. Rock & Roll Over
Tier 2
7. Creatures Of The Night
8. Lick It Up
9. Animalize
10. Asylum
11. Revenge
12. Monster
Tier 3
13. Dynasty
14. Unmasked
15. Crazy Nights
16. Hot In The Shade
17. Sonic Boom
Tier 4
18. Carnival Of Souls
19. Psycho Circus
20. The Elder
Its great to see Lick It Up high because i would rank it quite high myself but my favourite would be Creatures Of The Night.I have a soft spot for Kiss because they were first band i saw in concert on Lick It Up tour.
That would have been a great tour to see as well as first concert!
My favorite KISS albums are:
KISS(1974)
Destroyer(1976)
Rock And Roll Over(1976)
Love Gun(1977)
Creatures Of The Night(1982)
Lick It Up(1983)
Animalize(1984)
Asylum(1985)
Revenge(1992)
Monster(2012)
All good ones IMO!
1. Dressed to Kill
2. Hotter Than Hell
3. Kiss
4. Rock and Roll Over
5. Destroyer
6. Love Gun
7. Unmasked
8. Dynasty
9. Creatures of the Night
10. Crazy Nights
11. Psycho Circus
12. Animalize
13. Asylum
14. Music from the Elder
15. Revenge
16. Hot in the Shade
17. Lick It Up
18. Sonic Boom
19. Monster
20. Carnival of Souls (the only bad Kiss album)
Actually 11-17 can be all 11.
Really enjoyed watching this ranking Brendon! My opinion on the 20 albums vary somewhat, but Monster is always rock bottom in my list. Lately Dynasty and Revenge have dropped like stones and I have them currently at 17 and 18. We also differ greatly on The Elder, which I feel is a great album and always in my top 5.
There are probably about 10 albums I love my them, 6 that I think are good/decent, and 4 bad ones. They tried different trends on some of them, and few of the times it worked. I definitely agree with Carnival Of Souls and Music From “The Elder” being ranked at the bottom. I have Animalize and Crazy Nights much higher in my opinion. Revenge is a solid album, along with Rock And Roll Over. I also think Hotter Than Hell is the worst classic era album to me. Good video though!
Mine are 1st creatures of the night 2nd kiss alive 1. 3rd hotter than hell 🔥 great video
I think Lick It Up is one of the most underrated Kiss albums. For me it´s one of the best.
Check out the demo version of Not For The Innocent. I believe it was during Creatures sessions. Got some Paul vocals on it I believe.
I like you put Unmasked and Dinasty in the top 5, a lot of people tend to shit all over the "disco" era of the band or the 80s period.
1. KISS Debut
2. Dressed to Kill
3. Rock and Roll Over
4. Destroyer
5. Lick It Up
6. Hotter Than Hell
7. Love Gun
8. Hot In The Shade
9. Creatures of The Night
10. Music from The Elder
11. Dynasty
12. Revenge
13. Asylum
14. Animalize
15. Crazy Nights
16. Unmasked
17. Psycho Circus
18. Monster
19. Sonic Boom
12. Carnival of Souls
Hey Brendon, this has nothing to do with today's video but: David Coverdale recently announced that although he's soon going to be stepping away from Whitesnake, he believes the band could continue without him. Who do you think could replace him, if anyone?
Glenn Hughes would be my choice!
@@BrendonSnyder Thanks for your quick response. My husband & I have been trying to think since last night. I was thinking maybe Tom Keifer, but he's missing the British thing. I'm not really that familiar with Glenn Hughes, but i'll have do some listing. Can he do the low range stuff?
Where do the Alive albums rank for you Brendon?
In general I’m not a fan of live albums. As for the Album Rankings, I don’t include them or Greatest Hits albums because they are just collections of material from other albums. So I stick to just studio albums.
My top five Kiss go tos are (no particular order): s/t; Rock n Roll Over; Dressed to Kill; Hotter than Hell; Revenge.
I’m pretty sure that Ace Frehley was on the cover of creatures of the night but Vinnie Vincent actually played on the album.
Yes you’re correct….but to my point, Ace was still in the band so he was still part of Kiss so it was the last album that happened while he was a member. It’s just Symantecs.
"Music from the Elder" and "Carnival of Souls" for me are definitely better than "Animalize", "Crazy Nights", "Sonic Boom", "Psycho circus", "Hot in the shade", "Monster" and "Asylum".
Sadly, Ace didn't play a note on Creatures, although I'm sure his face on the cover sold a few copies!
1:48 - I LUV that album! It boggles my mind to see people always ranking this SO LOW!! Hell, even that band hate it! I met Gene at an in-store in 2003 and told him my high opinion of "The Elder"...DAMN!! You shouldda seen the dirty look he gave me! (And he wasn't even in his demon make-up!)
I don’t hate it but it hasn’t aged well IMO. It’s very dated. If I had grown up with it and had nostalgic feelings about it, it would probably rank better. But these lists are very subjective anyway.
Psycho Circus was my one and only Kiss concert, they came back to PR later but could not assist!!
hey brendon are you a fan of inxs do you own anything from them
Yes I’m a fan of INXS and have talked about them in other videos like my weekly episodes of What’s That You’re Listening To. I own their whole catalogue.
Music to my ears, "Love Gun" is their best one!