The AC/DC Albums Ranked

The narrative of AC/DC, one of the most important hard rock bands of all time, went from one of turbulence to one of, euphemistically, consistency and, negatively, complacency. But the group has always been defined by the two brothers at its core, Angus and Malcolm Young, and following Malcolm’s departure from the band and subsequent death, Angus is really the only one running the show. AC/DC has now survived the deaths of two of their key members even as it puts out their latest album, POWER UP. The first was much more of a blow, as singer and frontman Bon Scott succumbed to alcohol at the height of the band’s success. Although fans divide the band’s eras between Scott and current vocalist Brian Johnson, AC/DC as a group has now been defined for much longer by Johnson’s voice and tenure. I recently returned to AC/DC fandom after years thinking they were corny, and they kind of still are. But their now basic, but initially pioneering hard rock ’n’ roll still attracts me, even as a large group of their 16 albums ranked here, from across 44 years, sound very similar even. Omitted from this list are AC/DC’s first two Australia-only releases, HIGH VOLTAGE (1975) and T.N.T. (1975), as songs from both ended up on the international HIGH VOLTAGE record in 1976 and the EP ’74 JAILBREAK (1984, although that EP is also left off this list).

#16 — ROCK OR BUST (2014)

Favorite track: “Play Ball”

ROCK OR BUST was the first AC/DC album without rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, replaced as he was by nephew Stevie Young. I wouldn’t necessarily say the absence is felt on this, the band’s worst album, but I would say that time was certainly wearing on the group. ROCK OR BUST represents the absolute rut of really old guys trying to do what they always did (rock), and it doesn’t pay off (so it’s a bust). It’s funny, though, that there can’t really be any stylistic differences to attribute that to; it just feels like some of the energy is gone, and indeed there just aren’t that many great hooks on display here.

#15 — BLACK ICE (2008)

Favorite track: “Rock N Roll Train”

BLACK ICE was AC/DC’s long-awaited follow up after eight years out of the album game (their longest hiatus), and I actually remember when it came out. I have a vague association with Wal-Mart, and in hindsight, the record’s release plan represented the band’s increasingly unhip image in my eyes. Fighting against the dawning digital age as was heralded by iTunes (and the band honestly had some foresight), AC/DC opted for a physical-only release for BLACK ICE, and Wal-Mart would be the exclusive retailer in North America. It was a far cry from the dangerous image that was painted of the band 30 years earlier, and so is the album. BLACK ICE is marginally better than ROCK OR BUST because of an inkling of clever melodies, such as on “Rock N Roll Train.” This is perhaps a good time to mention, that at the depths of this list, even the worst AC/DC records don’t offend me; they just slip into a malaise, not helped by Johnson’s ever-present caterwauling.

#14 — FLY ON THE WALL (1985)

Favorite track: “Stand Up”

I get the impression that FLY ON THE WALL is oft-cited as AC/DC’s worst album. And I really do get the sentiment, especially in regards to the incredible mix (as in, it’s hard to believe) that really reduces Johnson’s already mostly intelligible screeches into a muddied mess behind the instrumentals. Those instrumentals also don’t match what AC/DC had been up to earlier in the decade, nor indeed what they would improve with in the coming ones. FLY ON THE WALL is yet another great example of my theory that a lot of great artists from the ’60s and ’70s really suffered in the mid-’80s.

#13 — STIFF UPPER LIP (2000)

Favorite track: “Safe in New York City”

AC/DC rang in the 21st century with an album that critics described as continuing the blues influence also present on their previous record, BALLBREAKER. It’s funny that there were some perceived differences on those records, because to me, they still fall into the mold AC/DC had created with BACK TO BLACK. But OK, I must admit, there is a little something bluesy to STIFF UPPER LIP, most prominently on the genuinely great “Safe in New York City.” Ironically, it’s the most menacing song AC/DC has made since some of their ’70s work, and it’s got a really great groove that sets it apart from the middling tracks that surround it on this album.

#12 — FLICK OF THE SWITCH (1983)

Favorite track: “Flick of the Switch”

FLICK OF THE SWITCH is seen as the album that changed AC/DC’s fortunes for the worse after two great albums with new vocalist Brian Johnson. And I think there’s something to that, as FLICK OF THE SWITCH was the first AC/DC record to that point that didn’t yield some great hard rock songs. The title track is the nominal favorite from the record, but as a whole, it was a clear step back from the band’s previous two albums. Without that context, even, FLICK OF THE SWITCH is just an OK AC/DC album.

#11 — BLOW UP YOUR VIDEO (1988)

Favorite track: “Two’s Up”

BLOW UP YOUR VIDEO was a comeback of sorts after AC/DC’s previous two albums (FLICK OF THE SWITCH and FLY ON THE WALL), poking fun at MTV popularity and yielding a great campy album cover as well. I was most impressed with “Two’s Up,” which showcases a sort of restraint that AC/DC hadn’t displayed in a while. The song has an atmospheric quality that is really endearing to me, and it’s not alone as the only track worth listening to from the album. I think the pop hooks the Youngs were able to employ, albeit in guitar rock style, were a little stronger on BLOW UP YOUR VIDEO, and the album set up the real “comeback” to come in two years.

#10 — THE RAZORS EDGE (1990)

Favorite track: “Moneytalks”

That comeback would be THE RAZORS EDGE, in my interpretation the greatest critical success AC/DC would have post-FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK. And it’s somewhat warranted, as those pop hooks I talked about propelled “Thunderstruck” and “Moneytalks” to great success; the latter is a better song, but only marginally. The rest of THE RAZORS EDGE supports the big hits pretty well too, with Johnson sounding more alive here than he would on most other albums he would sing on. THE RAZORS EDGE was a reminder to the critical world that AC/DC was still a potent force, only 14 years after they emerged on the world stage and only, oh, five or six years since they were seen as washed up. I think AC/DC went through an accelerated stardom process because of just how hard they went, but I suppose I’ll get to that.

#9 — BALLBREAKER (1995)

Favorite track: “The Furor”

But as revitalizing as THE RAZORS EDGE was, AC/DC’s follow up was just a bit better. It didn’t have the radio-friendly hit singles like its predecessor, but BALLBREAKER did embody something a little different than what AC/DC had been doing. That’s most evident on “The Furor,” a track I would compare to “Two’s Up” in that it kind of made feel something more than pure fun, itself a unique effect for an AC/DC song. The rest of BALLBREAKER doesn’t live up to “The Furor,” but there’s a somewhat indescribable quality to the production and songwriting that makes it a more potent effort than, well, obviously, anything before it on this list.

#8 — POWER UP (2020)

Favorite track: “Through the Mists of Time”

POWER UP was a great surprise. The first AC/DC album released after Malcolm Young’s death, and the second recorded without him, the band’s 16th and maybe final record is a great example of a “late career work.” Oh sure, POWER UP isn’t like Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN (2019) or something, not some kind of rumination on old age or mortality. Well, “Through the Mists of Time,” a tremendous song with some great backing vocal harmonies, could be interpreted that way. But no, POWER UP is just a group of old guys getting together, belting out some hard rock as they’ve done for literal decades. Somehow, it’s more compelling than the other albums of old guys belting out some hard rock as they’ve done for literal decades, and it may just be this crop of songwriting and production efforts. Whatever the reason, I think POWER UP is a great success this late in AC/DC’s career, an almost touching piece with Angus Young at its center.

#7 — LET THERE BE ROCK (1977)

Favorite track: “Let There Be Rock”

AC/DC made five (international) albums with the legendary Bon Scott before his sudden death, and with the exception of two Johnson-fronted albums, they were all better than what the band would make from the ’80s on. That’s partly because Scott was just a tremendously better, more theatrical vocalist, even while he hollered and screamed. That’s partly because the band was fresh, getting their great songs out there. And that’s partly because they were still young. I think a band or artist predicated on rowdiness or partying hard or general qualities attributed to youthfulness risk caricaturing themselves when they’re not so young, if they even survive until old age. That’s what happened with AC/DC, but before that came to pass, they rocked. LET THERE BE ROCK may be the least good of the Scott albums, but it’s a damn great rock record. “Let There Be Rock” is one of those indelible anthems, and even in setting the template we all know so well now, the album can still sound fresh.

#6 — POWERAGE (1978)

Favorite track: “Sin City”

POWERAGE, LET THERE BE ROCK’s follow up, takes this better spot, though, because its crop of supporting songs are superior. “Let There Be Rock” is a better song than “Sin City,” but POWERAGE is just a greater sum. “Up to My Neck in You” and “Kicked in the Teeth” are remarkable closers to an album that was on the precipice of the final word on AC/DC, with or without Bon Scott.

#5 — HIGH VOLTAGE (1976)

Favorite track: “T.N.T.”

AC/DC’s debut international album shared the same name as their Australian debut, but this HIGH VOLTAGE was much more defined by the twin-guitar dueling the band pioneered on the also Australian-only T.N.T. (1975). Fittingly, the title track on that album is the best one on 1976’s HIGH VOLTAGE, which is as incredible a statement as hard rock could get in the ’70s. Contemporary praise and criticism lumped AC/DC in with punk, which in retrospect is pretty ridiculous. HIGH VOLTAGE is the kind of music that would tragically lead to the hair metal of the ’80s, but here it is in all its crass, stupid, and wonderfully powerful glory.

#4 — FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK (WE SALUTE YOU)

Favorite track: “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”

AC/DC’s second album with Brian Johnson was nearly as great a statement as BACK TO BLACK. It’s big, loud, and full of the energy that sustained their previous release. If it’s lacking in comparison, it’s simply due to the lesser quantity of great songs. But c’mon, the title track is a classic, and “Let’s Get It Up” is silly fun, and “Inject the Venom” carries that AC/DC menace that was lacking in later years. Johnson’s voice had not yet been ground into a familiar groove, and his screams are brilliantly supported by the backing vocals. FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK (WE SALUTE YOU) is a great title, because sure, I’ll salute AC/DC for this one.

#3 — DIRTY DEEDS DONE DIRT CHEAP (1976)

Favorite track: “Big Balls”

As you can see, DIRTY DEEDS DONE DIRT CHEAP is nearly my favorite AC/DC album. No, but really, it’s a toss up between the top three. I like DIRTY DEEDS so much because, in reviewing all 16 of their albums, it has to be AC/DC’s most unique. Oh sure, it’s still that hard rock sound that would come to be familiar to all, but there’s a certain theatricality and ingenuity that isn’t matched in quite the same way on any other record by the band. That’s evident on “Big Balls;” OK, yes, I’m going to try to attribute some artfulness to a song called “Big Balls,” on which Bon Scott makes obvious innuendo through the lens of “balls” (dances). But his delivery is just so ridiculous and fun, and it’s representative of the sophomoric humor that Scott was not only able to write, but deliver with a really likable wink. I think that was lost with Johnson, who took the adolescent misogyny into less funny, more easily derided territory.

#2 — BACK IN BLACK (1980)

Favorite track: “You Shook Me All Night Long”

Even as I slander Johnson, I must praise him, at least by association. It’s pretty insane that BACK INBLACK was made so quickly after Scott’s death, in hindsight. It might have been crazy at the time. I always wonder about the decision to continue a band after a key member’s death, but in any event, AC/DC was able to accomplish the incredible feat of making their best albums just one year apart, after swapping out their vocalist due to his tragic death. BACK IN BLACK set the template for hard rock and metal in the ’80s; you can hear that especially on “You Shook Me All Night Long,” one of AC/DC’s poppiest songs, so of course one of my favorites. But the rest of the album is so great too. It’s all killer, no filler, and really one of the great rock album of the ’80s, and perhaps all time.

#1 — HIGHWAY TO HELL (1979)

Favorite track: “Touch Too Much”

And yet HIGHWAY TO HELL is better. The final AC/DC record with the great Bon Scott took on retrospective significance after his death, due to its title, its title track, and its cover. Divorced of events to come, though, the point in time that HIGHWAY TO HELL came from is represented so exquisitely by the record. On the eve of ’70s, HIGHWAY TO HELL rocked in a way that AC/DC could never touch again. “Touch Too Much” is a great archetype; its verses and guitar solos are emblematic of a harder influence, while its chorus carries the rousing poppiness that made numerous AC/DC hits anthems of an entire genre and generation. If Bon Scott indeed took the Highway to Hell, he’s probably still rocking down there with the energy with which he carried AC/DC into immortality.