Had you been around at the time you would have found how fresh My Aim is True sounded at the time. It's one of the best debuts of all time.

Get Happy! the 1994 reissue with the 11 extra songs from the same recording session. Not only is it my favorite album by Costello, it is my favorite album of all time.

I don't know how a definitive list can be made from Costello's work. It's so varied that he hits the mark for just about anyone.

My number one favourite is Trust. It took me a long time to get into and truly appreciate that one. I think it stands out as a genuine and great piece of art. There's no other album like it. Nice to see you rank it so high.

King of America is astonishing. A masterpiece.

Great breakdown of EC records, many of which may not be too well known. One of the many charms of "Get Happy" is the rapid fire burst of almost 2 dozen songs, each punching and etching its way thru 3 minutes or less, leaving the listener less than a pause to regrip/recover between tracks. Its overall "advanced pub sound" lands it as one of my favorite, most influential records from 40+ years ago.

30. Out of our Idiot 29. Secret, profane and sugarcane 28. Il Sogno 27. Almost Blue 26. Kojack Variety 25. Taking Liberties 24. The Juliet Letters 23. National Ransom 22. Goodbye Cruel World 21. King of America 20. Rivers in Reverse 19. The Delivery Man 18. Armed Forces 17. North 16. Momofuku 15. Punch the Clock 14. Painted from Memory 13. When I was Cruel 12. My Aim is True 11. Look Now 10. This Year's Model 9. Wise Up Ghost 8. Imperial Bedroom 7. Get Happy!! 6. Spike 5. Mighty Like a Rose 4. Brutal Youth 3. Blood & Chocolate 2. All this Useless Beauty 1. Trust I'm a massive Elvis Costello fan, so underrated

Why does nobody rate Spike? Quality album...

Costello is one of those rare artists whose body of work is just so generous and rewarding. He seems to have a song for every mood. It’s hard to pick a favorite album. It feels to much like a betrayal to his others

You're very hard working, loving every minute.

Imperial Bedroom is my absolute go to album whenever I’m feeling down.

Thanks for reviewing one of my fav. artists - not an easy one to compile. You having Almost Blue so high up in the order did surprise me though

Thanks for ranking Trust #2 That is my #1 EC album.❤

I’m going through all his albums during covid19 lockdown. So many gr8 albums and still putting them out well into his sixties. Incredible!

I really like Brutal Youth, find it under-rated. I feel its Costello's last great album, with the possible exception of the follow up All This Useless Beauty. It's hard to argue with the time-honoured first 4 albums, but I feel Costello really hit his stride with Imperial Bedroom (that voice!). Blood and Chocolate and King of America are fantastic. The outlier in this era is Mighty Like a Rose, which sounds abrasive and bizarre. I also love When I Was Cruel, because it's quite a return to form, and a solid rock album. Perhaps weirdly, my favourite Costello song is You Bowed Down, which I find to be catchy as hell. I've seen him live a few times, and he's always put on a good show. I was delighted that he played The Element Within Her at one of those shows. I could on... Any chance you guys will do a Bob Mould list?

Not an easy task, but that was a sterling effort! Great to see ‘Blood and Chocolate’ where you had it and the video has inspired me to give some of those older albums another spin 👍🏻

I've been a massive fan since the release of My Aim Is True, seeing hm multiple times in Montreal from his first shows including the Stiff Records tour, and following hs career on and off since. I'm just as crazy about The Attractions, one of the greatest rock bands ever, made up of great individual talents. I dig your list, I just have to disagree with My Aim Is True's ranking, the songs are so insanely good and his performances so excellent that it should be ranked one of his best. This Year's Model deserves far better, too, it has at least 5 of his best songs and the whole album is a tour de force. It defines the best of The Attractions to me, as well.

New Lace Sleeves is my favourite EC song I’ve heard so far, but this video has reminded me I still have a number of albums to check out!

I first started listening to Elvis Costello in 1978 when a friend of mine loaned me his vinyl copy of This Years' Model. I liked it from the first few seconds. It is an extraordinarily great album with brilliant melodies, lyrics and attitude. It is also one of the the defining records of the of the "New Wave" era. I also loved Armed Forces and could never decide which album was better. I do like some of his other records, but have found a lot of his work since those 2 landmark albums quite bland to be honest. I appreciate that he has delved into other genres and has matured as a singer/songwriter with a wide taste in music, but nothing in my mind will capture the excitement, lyricism, melody and attitude of those 2 albums! Maybe it is the rebellious spirit in me, but if I feel he became a bit too middle-of-the-road in order to stay relevant. Does anyone agree? Great review by the way!

I loved Get Happy!!!! The title said it all! This was a very useful video!

I want to commend you on the ambition and thoughtfulness that you put into ranking the albums of the greatest singer/songwriter of all time. Other commenters have mentioned that it would be impossible for any two people to come up with the same rankings, this is of course, quite true. I admire the fact that you clearly put so much time and effort into thoroughly listening to and evaluating Costello's music. Keep up the good work, I look forward to watching your other videos.

Thank you for doing this list. With ec, I understand that there are likely not 2 people on the planet who would create this list in the same order,and that's OK. Thanks again, I enjoyed your comments!

Fascinating video thank you

Edited: I'm now through 24 albums chronologically, including a few you didn't cover. I'll spare you the ranked list (if you even bother reading through comments made 3 years later) and focus on some of the differences in our taste, in your order. - I found Juliet Letters to be something of a miss, but definitely a record I could listen to again. - I'm among those who care more for North than you do. I agree with the "monochromatic" comment but that makes for a rather pleasant experience and "Still" is in my Best Of songlist. - Spike was was the biggest positive surprise when going through the whole catalog again. I didn't like it so much at the time of release but now with hindsight, the ecclectic nature of it puts it into my favorites. - Painted from memory was one of the bigger disappointments, as I'm a fan of both but the sum of these geniuses didn't produce a whole. - Kojak Variety is at my very bottom (with For the Stars, which you didn't cover). I didn't see the point of doing these covers and thought he didn't do any of them any honor. - All this useless Beauty was very forgettable for me. Perhaps I should give it another try. - I really need to give Get Happy! another listen because it irritated me to the point where I wanted to turn it off. - I can see how pedal steel love puts Almost Blue so high, but yeah, I'm not with you. Not bad, not great, that's where I am. - Like you I like the mature 80s albums better than his punkrock 70s ones, which are great in their own right. My top 5 is King of America (an all time, all artist favorite), Imperial Bedroom, Blood & Chocolate, Spike and Trust. Happy to agree on #1 ! Of those you didn't cover, I recommend Out of our Idiot and Deep Dead Blue. The first one has a palpable pleasure to it, and more likeable than Get Happy for my taste. The second is one of his best collaborations, the echoed guitar of Bill Frisell blending well with his voice. I got 10 to go, Delivery Man being next up, so I may adapt this comment later on. Thanks for your hospitality. Incidentally, King of AMerica was his first album produced by T-Bone Burnett.

Thank you for your intelligence and not being miserly about it! Great, insightful remarks about the albums. A few differences I have: "Painted from Memory" gets better with each listen and maybe you haven't visited it enough. (It had little impression on me for the first ten listens but I stuck with it.) It's my most-played Elvis album. "Imperial Bedroom," if I were to do a video such as this, would earn the no. 1 slot. Oddly, I don't play it much. "King of America," which I absolutely adored when it came out, hasn't aged well in my opinion. But you made me want to pull it out of the stacks, along with "Goodbye Cruel World." Thanks again!

Thanks for a great list - massive undertaking in this case. I do think you're missing out on Juliet Letters. I get that the style might not be appealing to everyone and a few of the tracks are jarring but there are some devastatingly emotional songs on there. It requires close listening but it's really rewarding if you take time to reflect on the storylines and narrators' emotions - The Letter Home, First to Leave, I Almost Had a Weakness... Some of his finest stories. Otherwise, I really enjoyed your commentary.

Great analysis.... really like blood and chocolate bonus disc....great acoustic versions , and an old James carr song

Just got around to watching this. Well done. It is not an easy discography to get a handle on. I would have a different ranking but appreciated that you defended your choices. I hope you re-visit Elvis with the three-man Listography.

Saw Elvis November 2019. It was fantastic and he picked songs from many albums. Everyone had a great time and I believe he did as well.

I really enjoyed this video. It's certainly one of the very best album rankings I've seen. Your commentary on each album was excellent--so literate and concise. I'm just wondering where you would rank The Boy Named If. Thanks again for a great video.

Couldn't agree more, king of America is a stand alone classic. Very surprised that you chose it as I never hear it anywhere, bar when I'm playing it . Nice one

King of america is my favourite and I was surprised at the high placing of the mighty trust and often-underrated blood and chocolate. Shout outs for new lace sleeves and man out of time most welcome.possibly my own favourites. I'd place spike miles higher and Kojak variety and punch the clock much lower. Interesting and individual selection.cool

I think one of the reasons "Spike" seems unfocused is because he said he had ideas for about 5 different kinds of albums at the time and he tried to cram them all in there. It's not in my top 5 or so, but at least half of the album is classic-Costello. I think with a lot of artists, each album has its gems and the songs that are somewhat diminished because there are a hundred others that are better than them. This is what happens when artists like Elvis (or McCartney, or Neil Young) release so many albums worth of material. In that sense, albums like Brutal Youth and Spike might have come better off if pruned of a few tracks. I quite agree with your general placement of about 20 or so of his albums. I don't disagree that Almost Blue is one of, if not THE greatest covers album. Still, I wouldn't put it in front of Get Happy or This Year's Model. I especially love his version of "How Much I Lied."

I agree with the author’s assessment of the abysmal “Wise Up Ghost”, unlistenable dreck, even worse in concert. ..but “Spike” and “Brutal Youth” are brilliant. “Painted From Memory” is a modern masterpiece of songwriting and recording. “The Juliette Letters” was a fabulous experiment with some great recordings and some big misses.

Glad to see trust at number to my comment earlier was when you just got started and I had no idea

Yep……king of America and almost blue. You nailed it!!

Ya kno, giving the times and turmoil of the releases of these albums from 1977 to recent, Elvis Costello's anger and energy from non album releases before the recording of My Aim Is True, has shown his maturity of mellowness and more tamed temperament in his writings and musical creativity. Elvis has his roots in rock n roll and the foundation of it's fruition. Giving that other musical influences such as big band, blues, country and r&b, shows his direction of breaking away from post punk and new wave, giving way to his " middle of the road albums". Don't get me wrong but all of his album output are masterpieces. We all have our favorite(s).

Totally agree, king of America is a classic, every track is a gem .

Hopefully you'll have another go at this with the fellas! Elvis is such an important artist, I'm interested in the take of all of you

I love it, "North" is one of my favorites! So how can I lose!!!!! I wish he made South, East and West!!!!

All my favourites are in the top 10. I did go off him round about Spike & when he grew a beard! The first 5 album are his best, IMO.

I just rewached this video. I cant wait to see the 3 of you tackle it in the future. Taking Liberties was addressed in the beginning of the video. But those songs landed on the reissue CDs. IMO it bolsters My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, Armed Forces and Get Happy!!. As predictable as it sounds, I think those first 4 are his best, based on adding Taking Liberties tracks

This year's model. Hands down.

I disagree with most this, but that's O.K.

After Imperial Bedroom it becomes a matter of what time of year or my mood as to which albums I would choose to follow in a Top Five. Get Happy used to be there but it's been replaced by All This Useless Beauty. King Of America will always be there as will This Year's Model (not only my first Costello LP but my first punk/New Wave) leaving us with one. And that one is....how ever will feel any given day. Today it is......spin the wheel and I'll choose what ever it lands on.

Love your lists and commentary! (Even if I do disagree with the order sometimes). Would love to see more....How about Van Morrison? Peter Gabriel? Neil Finn/Crowded House/Split Enz?

Punch The Clock has to be up there because it includes one of his greatest songs, Shipbuilding.

Imperial Bedroom, Get Happy, Armed Forces, This Year's Model, Trust, all have to be in top six or seven. To put an album of covers before any of those is...bananas.

Again, interesting stuff, totally agree that Bruce Thomas was a key component to the "sound" of Elvis' best work. Also agree about "New Lace Sleeves". Opportunity is also strong.

I don’t hate this list… but not having My Aim is True in the top 2 or 3 is unforgivable… his best set of songs, and the only album that really ties him into the punk aesthetic that characterized his early career. It’s #1 for me and I’ve heard all of these albums multiple times (up to Profane and Sugarcane anyway). Can’t believe you have it 10… wow. Behind Punch the Clock? Behind the county covers record? Mind blown.

It's interesting to see how Costello tunneled his way out of his new wave character into so many different things. Joe Jackson was much the same in his tunneling out of the genre - except that he went the jazz route.

Armed forces always felt like it was the overlooked album. The red-headed stepchild of Elvis Costello's discography.

This Years Model and Get Happy are two of Costello's best. Blue Chair is my favorite on Jason's favorite Costello.

8-28-22 wen did Elvis Costello first appeared in what month& year did he first did the my aim is true came about? Whas it before or after Elvis Presley died?

Thanks for your hard work on this and for sharing the reasonings for your opinions. Your opinions frequently differ from mine but I appreciate them. I have huge respect for KoA, and while I wouldn't put it number one, I'm glad you did. The one thing I would criticize is your comment on the supposed obsolescence of CDs. In favor of Spotify and other streaming services? LOL. Obviously the best way to listen to most music is vinyl, but I don't have $60k in my back pocket to replace all of my CDs (and not have bonus material, etc.). The low byte-rates of most streaming services means that you're actually hearing the Cliff Notes version of a given track, most certainly not the track itself. To actually be listening to a piece of recorded music, you have to be listening at the minimal least to a lossless file, if not a CD, if not vinyl. I have about half of Costello's albums, and he's certainly a top 50 artist for me, but I only bother to go top six in ranking, because that's as deep as his classics go, IMHO: 6. Punch the Clock (your comments here are on point) 5. Imperial Bedroom 4. Get Happy!! 3. The King of America 2. Armed Forces 1. This Year's Model I have been listening to Trust for nearly 35 years and still don't get why so many rank it so high. I find the songwriting, production, arrangement, and performance to be very diffuse and wanting. I always hear it as a very unsuccessful dry run at Imperial Bedroom.

Good analysis. I'd put "This Years Model" at #1. While I do think "King of America" and "Trust" are excellent and underrated I wouldn't rank them at the top but still in the top 10. I've been a Costello fan since the beginning and have almost all his stuff through the 80s. Most of his 90s stuff and a couple of records from the early 2000s. Haven't really listened to anything he's put out in the last 20 years. When I do listen to Costello nowadays it's almost always his first 5 records ("My Aim is True" - "Trust") and occasionally "King of America" and "Blood & Chocolate". I sure miss the angry Elvis.

My first EC album was King of America at 16. How lucky was that?! I knew of “ Every Day I Write the Book”, and that one song probably propelled my quest to discover more of his brilliant lyrics and unexpectedly beautiful melodies. Then Blood and Chocolate. So these two are nostalgic favorites for me, and I know more of the lyrics from these than others. I actually didn’t get hold of the earlier records until after Mighty Like a Rose. I really like it too! I feel like I’m in a vacuum as NONE of these songs get any airplay. I like most every song on Spike-except’Veronica’ And IT is the only song of his I ever hear! Ugh. They only play it because of the collaboration with McCartney, in my opinion. I cannot keep up with his output, so I don’t have many of the more recent albums. Basically up to ‘Painted From Memory’ is where I left off so I really appreciate your appraisals on the later stuff. On the albums you mention that I’m familiar with, I think you are absolutely spot-on as far as notable tunes. I would rank “Juliet Letters higher because so many of these compositions provide an incredible showcase for his vocals., even though he collaborated with the Brodsky Quartet on the music. Still, these are very poignant and playful. I am not a pedal steel aficionado, so I would not have put “ Almost Blue” up there. I will be avoiding North, National Ransom and Wise up Ghost based upon your salient comments, which you deliver with great eloquence. EC is one of my heroes, not just musically, so it was a great pleasure to hear his oeuvre discussed so intelligently. Btw, on a final note, you might’ve mentioned “Tramp the Dirt Down” as one of his great protest songs. Love ‘Deep Dark Truthful Mirror “, also with Toussaint.

Wasn't King of America the first of his albums produced by T-Bone Burnett? As I jumped on his bandwagon when his first album came out, I have a soft spot for the earlier ones (with Get Happy my fav), but KOA is probably up there at number 6.

Hey long time fan here. Y’all should do Warren Zevon next. 🙏

Dude new lease leaves is like my third favorite Elvis song so glad we agree on so much

3) When I Was Cruel 2) The Juliet Letters (at the height of the "grunge" movement no less) 1) Spike

1 Imperial Bedroom 2 King of America 3 This Years Model 4 All this useless Beauty 5 the Delivery Man 6 Look Now 7 Spike 8 Blood & Chocolate 9 Brutal Youth 10 Painted from Memory 11 Almost Blue

King of America one of the greatest records ever made. I had it on repeat when I first bought it in 1986 and even more recently. At various times different songs have been my favourite track off the album and probably the weakest track is the cover of Eisenhower Blues. Thoroughly deserves to be ranked the no 1 Elvis Costello album. Spike had some of Elvis's greatest tracks, like Deep Dark Truthful Mirror. It is a bit patchy but would put in the top half of the list. This Years Model, is very pub rock but that gives it appeal. One greatest live songs he does is Lipstick Vogue. For me it is top 5 along with My Aim is True.

why isn’t When i was cruel available now?? not on itunes, only vinyl copies over £100! love that album

My favorite EC album is Trust. Glad to see it place at #2 here.

Thanks for the list. I can agree with the broad take-away message (that the 21st Century has not resulted in Elvis’ best music), but not the high placement of "My Aim is True" or "Almost Blue", but then for me adding a pedal steel guitar is almost suicidal for a record... Loved the analysis and highlighting of good songs within albums, especially those we may have overlooked.

Interesting, a lot of work to put this together. So much to choose from, impossible to make a list that even most, not to mention all, agree upon.

Brutal Youth at 22? I think your ears may be broken.

Interesting list. Would love to see this ‘remastered’. Unfortunately I’ve never been able to get into King Of America that much. Nothing really jumps out for me on it. Hard to rate this impeccable catalogue, but I think my Top 3 would go along the lines of this: 3. Armed Forces 2 & 1: My Aim Is True and Get Happy! battling it out. Also of note: 10 Bloody Marrys and 10 How’s Your Fathers (Taking Liberties for the US) sits right up there with his very best material. Probably the best outtakes collection ever. Out Of Our Idiot! is the great sequel to that.

I would love for you guys to do a ranking of Joe Jackson albums. Any chance ?

King of America tour was the first gig my daughter went to-aged 8. She loved the album and has been a fan and a musician ever since. Great selection and very difficult to rank. Would certainly rank Brutal Youth and Get happy higher, but what the hell.

Well thought out list! I've got Trust at #1 though...

I hate hate hate King of America- however love love love one song on it- Big Light. Also am one of those who would never rate his Almost Blue country cover album that high. Kudos for putting Punch the Clock toward the top and for putting Trust up there at number 2.....and yeah New Lace Sleeves I agree is possibly his best or one of them anyway... Very good job on the list! Thanks!

So glad you resisted the impulse to end every sentence with “in my opinion.”

My Top 12 would probably be: 1. King of America 2. Get Happy! 3. This Year's Model 4. Trust 5. Armed Forces (though I would say these top 5 are mostly interchangeable) 6. Blood And Chocolate 7. Almost Blue 8. Imperial Bedroom 9. All This Useless Beauty 10. Brutal Youth 11. Spike 12. When I Was Cruel After that, it's a little sketchy. Like most of my lists, it's pretty conventional. I suppose albums #6 thru #12 are pretty interchangeable as well. Each has incredible classic songs while none of them are perfect. If I had a top song ranking, that'd probably read something like this - chronologically - as I'm not sure how I could pare it down any further: 1. No Action 2. Pump It Up 3. Running Out of Angels (demo) 4. Big Boys (demo) 5. Busy Bodies 6. Love For Tender 7. Man Called Uncle 8. Riot Act 9. Girls Talk (EVERY version) 10. You'll Never Be A Man 11. Strict Time 12. How Much I Lied 13. Beyond Belief 14. Man Out of Time 15. Brilliant Mistake (might be my #1) 16. I Hope You're Happy Now 17. Crimes of Paris 18. Baby Plays Around 19. Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over) 20. London's Brilliant Parade 21. The Other End of the Telescope 22. Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)

What would be the least amount of albums an artist has for you to do a list?

This was brilliant! I more or less stopped paying attention to Elvis Costello after Brutal Youth. I did buy Kojak Variety, The Delivery Man and When I was Cruel when they came out but I don't think I managed to get through any of them, so it was really interesting to see some of his later albums quite high on your list. I must revisit those albums. My top 10 (no real surprises) would be, 1 Armed Forces 2 This Years Model 3 Get Happy! 4 Imperial Bedroom 5 Trust 6 King Of America 7 My Aim Is True 8 Blood and Chocolate 9 Goodbye Cruel World 10 Mighty Like A Rose Again, a brilliant video and I look forward to your Rolling Stones ranking. I have ranked Queen, David Bowie and T.Rex on my channel if you are interested in watching. I don't do the research and revisiting of the albums so it's all off the top of my head (mistakes and all).

Really surprised by the order of some of this list. I'd probably put Spike in my top three. I'd recommend watching the promotional special "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Spike", for some background on a lot of the songs and some incredible solo performances. Let Him Dangle, Tramp the Dirt Down and Deep Dark Truthful Mirror rank as some of my favourite Elvis Costello songs, and having seen him play some of these songs in concert, they stand up as some of his most powerful and passionate.

You guys should redo this discography as a group

Haven't heard anything newer than "Wise Up Ghost," but Couldn't let this go by without pointing out that you said "Secret, Profane and Sugarcane," is EC's first album produced by T-Bone Burnett. Um, check out the credits on King of America. T-Bone also joined EC on tour around '85-'86, and they released a single as The Coward Brothers.

"My Aim is True" is much much higher. And no way "Almost Blue" is that high. Very good with the rest of them although how you can mention "Imperial Bedroom" without mentioning "What would the Loved Ones Say" and its incredible piano is a mystery to me.

Would love to see a Kris Kristofferson ranking. By far my favourite classic country artist. Speaking of pedal steel, I would like to suggest the song "Fast Enough For You" by Phish.

My favorite is Get Happy. Simply Said is Simply Best..... Masterpiece. 👌

FOR ALL HIS ECLECTIC MUSICAL TRAVELS,FROM BASIC ROCK TO SOUL TO CLASSICAL TO SHOWTUNES,IT NEVER GOT BETTER THAN THE FIRST 3. MY AIM IS TRUE,THIS YEARS MODEL,ANDARMED FORCES. A ONE TWO THREE PUNCH. IF HE NEVER RECORDED AGAIN HIS LEGACY WAS SECURED. WHILE HE VENTURED OFF INTO MANY MUDSICAL STYLES AND COLLABORATIONS AFTER THIS,IT NEVER GOT BETTER.

I couldn't agree more with most of your rankings. Absolutely, King of America is his best album by far.

His worst is my favorite, I grew up with Goodbye Cruel World so I can't help it. I like Mighty Like A Rose a lot, one of his best for me. I love his version of What A Good Year For The Roses, I think the Almost Blue album is great. Trust is like Pauls Band On The Run, can't be anything but great. I have 10 of his original albums on CD in my collection. I used to have a few more but don't remember what happened to them.

For me Trust is #1 followed by This Years Model.

I think you miss the point about EC. Every album, every song is different, he is neither just new wave, rock, country, classical, story teller, EC is everything rolled into one. That's the beauty of his music. I understand what you are doing but disagree, as to me there are no "worse" albums. Depends on how your feeling and what you feel like listening to. "Elvis is King"

Mighty like a rose is superb and also All this Useless Beauty....just sublime.

Thanks for this but can’t agree with the critique of Get Happy. Sorry

Time to revisit this one was Jason & kramzer

Good list, need to try delivery man and momufuku

My top 5 Trust Mighty Like a Rose Imperial Bedroom When I Was Cruel Momofuku Brutal Youth And it changes sometimes♥

Although I can fairly agree with your list here, I think you have been very cruel in your analysis of his Mighty Like a Rose Album. I would place this album at a much higher number. I certainly believe as a solo album, it is one of the very best solo studio albums he has released in his career. The experimentation on a track, like Hurry Down Domesday( the bugs are taking over) is a REAL testament of that fact. You will not find many examples of electronic experimentation in his single album discography, as you find on this track. As a solo album, it’s one of his most mainstream albums that he has released in his career. The English Romanticism with a full orchestra on the track: All Grown Up, Melts my heart every time I hear it. The Other Side of Summer track( with the Beach Boys inspirations) was an Enormous hit for him. He wrote about aspects of Summer, up to that point, we had not really heard from a music artist writing about summer. On this track, he was writing from a completely different modern-contemporary stance, which was a very rewarding experience for the listener , when they listened to this incredible track. I find ALL the songs on Mighty Like a Rose album, an incredible listening experience, hence me listening to this particular album, more than others I have from him. I would also place Brutal Youth at a much higher placing as well. This album for Elvis Costello was him returning to his early punk dynamic of his earlier albums, and surprised not only listeners but also the music industry, because even though he was much older now when he released the Brutal Youth album, he had lost none of his punk angry dynamic on music tracks, and was just as powerful on this record, as he was in the 1970s.

This was a very difficult list to put together and one that no one will agree on compleatly. Haha. For me I simply like the angry skinny punk Elvis the best. My top 5 are 1)My Aim is True 2)Armed Forces 3)This Years Model 4)Punch the Clock 5)Trust 6)Blood and Chocolate 7)Imperial Bedroom 8)Get Happy 9)Taking Liberties 10) King of America It is beyond me how someone doesn't think My Aim Is True isn't his best. I'm glad you ranked Punch the Clock high. It is fantastic. I'm going to check out King of America again because of your list. I wasn't overly impressed when I bought it in 86 but my music tastes have mellowed some so I'm going to give it a try again. Also Blood and Chocolate is a hidden gim of his. I remember my friends and I being excited about his return to rock when it came out in 86 I think after King of America. Thanks again for your insight.

great analysis, i have no complaints...other than two artists should be a separate category

Haven’t yet watched this; will in a bit. But the top 3 are his first three, specifically: 1) This Year’s Model, 2) Armed Forces, and 3) My Aim Is True. Imperial Bedroom is up there, as is King of America and Get Happy! These are facts;) Now let’s see if this young whippersnapper has a clue …

Trust is my #1 EC album.

Thanks for the love for the much underrated punch the clock

I think you need to be British to fully appreciate Costello. My Aim Is True is raw sounding, which I love. You had to be a part of the British new wave to understand Costellos' unique style.