Updated the rankings after going a bit more in-depth. Some interesting changes in my opinion. I love these four women.

lojzek91 wrote:Soooo... Final ranking (no tie separation) (updated November 24th, 2024)
01: Mirror (100%)

Mirror is perfection. I cannot stop listening to it.

It really is unbelievable. I understand how it doesn't have the immediate impact of most of the others, and that turns people off if they basically want Shunkan Sentimental and AMDKJ on repeat*. But Mirror is the most detailed and thoughtful album, and I think it's going to be the most timeless and age the best.

*I say that as someone who can't pick up a guitar without playing the opening of AMDKJ.

Time for a ranking now that LUMINOUS has been out and sitting on my shelf for a good long while, a fair competitor for album to be picked.

For context, my ranking for albums is based off the things I look out for when listening to music in general, so I rank based off various things, namely:
1. Tracks that I enjoy in the albums
2. Album ordering and listening experience
3. Would I pick this album to listen to, and also, how often?
4. As an amateur musician, do I want to play this album (or songs from this album)?


RANKING:

11. BABY ACTION
I really, really, really, love the stylistic experimentation in this album, but it's hurt by extremely questionable mastering (specifically calling out LOVE SURVIVE here as an example). Most of the tracks that I find myself thinking of when I look at this album cover (Pride, LOVE SURVIVE, Haruka) are on SCANDAL SHOW, so I end up listening to that instead. There are tracks here (Appletachi no Dengon, Tokyo Skyscraper) that always pleasantly surprise me though.

10. TEMPTATION BOX
This album is a weird combination of songs I really like and songs I don't care for listening to. Again, I found myself not listening to it very much because most of the songs I wanted to listen to were on SCANDAL SHOW, or had non-studio versions I preferred. This might be the most conventionally J-pop album in their repertoire.

9. STANDARD
Inconsistent mastering makes this awful to pull out to listen to as an album, despite a strong tracklist. This makes me sad, because Kagen no Tsuki and Namida yo Hikare are on my list of favourite songs to both listen and play along to, but the mastering is painful to the point where the non-studio versions are sometimes more comfortable to listen to. 

8. Queens are trumps
This is a mixed album for me. I like it in general, but there are some songs that are kind of forgettable and some that I don't care for. In particular, I really enjoy the album opening (QAT, which is an exceptionally fun song to jam along to) and ending (Right Here). Lots of drop tuning on this album.

7. MIRROR
I think this is a fantastic and cohesive album that actually makes it a point to progress somewhere. Musically however, I'm generally not sold on the arrangements. I feel like there was a missed opportunity somewhere to arrange some of these tracks to be a bit... more. As an album pick, it's a bit niche - it doesn't fit a lot of my music moods.

6. BEST★SCANDAL
A generally well-sorted album that I think of as 70s classic rock with distinctly pop melodies. Strong tracklist, but the middle songs can feel a little too indistinguishable. Surprisingly, this album doesn't get played a lot - it contests with other albums I have that fall into a similar category. I feel like it could stand out more if Kimi to Yoru to Namida was moved to end the album.

5. HONEY
It's a very consistent album... consistently compressed, that is. I like the genre (garage/pop/punk/rock) but the giant wall of sound just makes my ears disengage. I find myself thinking of listening to individual tracks from the album more than the album as a whole. Stellar instrumental work that has been marred by the mastering, in my opinion. Shoutout to the instrumental of Koisuru Universe for that beautiful outro.

4. YELLOW
I find myself pulling out this album a lot to listen to, despite there being a number of tracks I particularly don't care for much on this (Sisters, LOVE ME DO). I like the results of the genre/style experimentation on this album, they've aged well. The tracks here all have a lot of identity, I particularly enjoy the Morning sun - SUKI-SUKI sequence. I also think this is an album where the arrangements shine, it doesn't get tiring to listen to.

3. HELLO WORLD
In my head I classify this as a Britpop-inspired album, which happens to be a genre that I enjoy, and so I pull this album out quite a bit. The Onegai Navigation - Kan Biiru track sequence is perfect. On the whole, it's a very easy album to listen to. The arrangements aren't overly complex, just enough to be engaging to the point where it's not just background music. 

2. Kiss from the darkness
I think KFTD has a lot of things going for it, but it has the problem (if I had to find one) of not having a strong/central album theme and sound concept. The arrangements still aren't stale after all this time. This opinion is probably skewed from all the time I've spent listening to the bass tracks while trying to transcribe them; as they say, it's easy to love music you listen to a lot, and I've definitely listened to some of these tracks a lot. 

1. LUMINOUS
I genuinely think LUMINOUS is their finest work so far, and this opinion hasn't changed even after the "ooh, shiny new album!" feeling has worn off. To me, this album shows off all their main strengths as a band - interesting melodies and a very precise rhythm section. In particular, Rina and Tomomi both provide outstanding work on this album. There are some tracks I find a little forgettable melodically, but even so, the arrangements and mastering are good. Gunjo pleats, in particular, is a song that is totally irresistible to play along to; that bass track is spicy. 


FINAL THOUGHTS:

Overall, it kind of hurts that I ranked their 2010 - 2013 stuff so low, when I actually do really enjoy listening to those? Objectively, I think the other albums are stronger. I would absolutely buy all of their albums (again) if they ever released remastered editions. 

That said, some of my favourite tracks are Switch and BEAUTeen!! so my favourite album (or maybe second, but definitely contesting for top spot) might actually be SCANDAL SHOW.


Edit: Put it from good to best ordering now!