I think Electric Cafe will always be ranked higher by younger fans like us. It's actually one of my favourite Kraftwerk albums.

Man, didn't even know until now. RIP Florian Schneider.

Radioactivity was my introdiction to Kraftwerk and will always be one of my favorites. So cold & mechanical. The transition from Geiger Counter to the title track still gives me goosebumps!

This is the second guy to die after I got into his music. The first was Mark Hollis of Talk Talk.

3-D The Catalogue is amazing. They applied what they learned over the years to actually improve and update their music. It does a great job of representing today's Kraftwerk.

This was an amazing tribute video. To be honest, i don't know which Kraftwerk album is my favorite from them. I love everything from Autobahn to Tour De France Soundtracks (including The Mix), haven't heard the first three, but i'm excited to listen to those. Once Kraftwerk gets back to touring, i hope they'll play a track in tribute to Florian. RIP.

I AGREE that Ralf and Florian is underrated, it's a great album.

Your darn right Electric Café is the best engineered. It sounds amazing and in fact, Martin Gore of Depeche Mode liked how it sounded so much that they got Francois Kevorkian to help mix Violator a couple of years after that, which is also an amazingly engineered album.

I love your videos. My list would be... (1 being best, 10 being worst) 1. Computer World 2. The Man Machine 3. Trans Europe Express 4. Radioactivity 5. Autobahn 6. Tour de France Soundtracks 7. Electric Cafe 8. Ralf & Florian 9. Kraftwerk 2 10. Kraftwerk RIP Florian!

Thank you for this review. Love your stuff. Saw Kraftwerk last weekend (July 2022) and was utterly blown away. Cheers

This death knocked me on my ass. Godspeed, Florian Schneider. And thank you for another interesting list, The Wonky Angle

Thanks for making this video man. Kraftwerk are among on my favorite artists and of course pioneers in electronic music. The genre wouldn't be the same without them. My personal favorite albums from them are Radio-Activity, The Man Machine, and Electric Cafe/Techno Pop. RIP Florian Schneider.

Excellent review 😊 !

Thanks so much for doing this. I think I might be just a little bit older than you (I'm 30 now), but it seems that we might have been exposed to Kraftwerk during a similar time (my German teacher burned me a copy of Computerwelt when I was in 9th grade). Up until that point I had always been into music, but most of what I liked was sort of juvenile pop punk, and it was just something to listen to. When I heard Kraftwerk for the first time in my German class, my life changed forever. I hung around after class and talked Herr Suchomel's ear off about the song he had just played us, and when I put that burned CD in my discman and played it, I decided that was what I wanted to do. I got a job, saved up some money, and bought myself a MicroKorg. I started making my own electronic songs because of Kraftwerk, and here sixteen years later I'm still going. Kraftwerk is literally the place where my sense of self came from, and when I heard Florian had passed away I was devastated. His music will live forever.

Rest in peace, Florian Schneider

Very enjoyable watch and your honest review. Thanks

Kraftwerk were one of the first bands I knew by name when I was younger. My dad's CDs of Man Machine, Computer World, and Electric Cafe were constantly being played (in a CD player or in my head). With Florian Schneider's passing away, it is truly sad that we have lost a pioneer in the genre. But it is comforting to know that his influence and music has, and will live on into the foreseeable future.

Great video!

You're right: lots of people will not agree with your ranking. I don't. But I'm glad to see you have included the album Ralf und Florian in your top ten list. Lots of people leave it out which I think is a mistake, probably based on the fact that the music on this album is quite different from the better known, later Kraftwerk productions. I like it a lot, though.

His musical influence will live on forever

Well I appreciate your accolades for Kraftwerk and the respect you hold for these 10 albums. I am surprised you included the first 3. As for me, I first heard Kraftwerk 1 in 1972 and it blew my mind. It only got better after that. When I think of Kraftwerk Ruck Zuck and Autobahn are permanently etched in my brain. This band are so special, I appreciate your high respect for them. Thank you.

Good to see a tribute to Florian Schneider, my personal tribute involved playing Trans Europe Express, at a volume, I think the street really appreciated. I've been following your channel for a while, I do like your enthusiasm and if not for your reviews I wouldn't have discovered the likes of BT or Biosphere, so thank you for that. One thing I'm curious about though is that you've never covered Tangerine Dream, I know their output is varied and covers many, many albums but they are pioneers of electronic music. Their first album landed in 1970, actually recorded prior to Kraftwerks first album and some 4 years before Jean Michel Jarre. Just wondered if you considered looking at a select few albums. Finally, The Alan Parsons Project, glad to see your interest in them, they are, for me, one of the best bands ever and yet somewhat unappreciated or certainly under appreciated. Keep up the good work.

There is no worst, its Kraftwerk.

The self-titled début is actually pretty interesting from a historical perspective as it is not only the first Kraftwerk album, but the first album to feature Klaus Dinger of NEU! as the drummer on the final track. The other half of that duo, Michael Rother, was a live member of the group during the brief period when Ralf Hütter took a break from the project in 1971; after his return, they went off to form NEU! and Ralf and Florian recorded the next two Kraftwerk albums and the rest is history.

Thank you for doing this. Your pronounciation of Morgenspaziergang is adorable lol. For the correct way, you would maybe transcribe it for an English speaker like this: Morgan-shputs-eer-gung, a walk in the morning.

Excellent review of the kraftwerk albums 😊 !

A genuinely heart felt review! thanks Tommy, id put computer world first btw.

Nice to see some love for Electric Cafe and TTFS!

Man Machine is my favourite too, not a bad or even mediocre song on that album. They all serve the album perfectly but don't sound wrong out of context either.

I would have 'Computer World' higher than 'Tour De France', but apart from that, you've pretty much nailed it with this list. 'The Man Machine' is a gloriously flawless perfect album. There were many experimental electronic albums that preceded it, but you can hear all the elements of what was to come within it i.e. disco, house, edm, synthpop, darkwave and many many more. I also agree with your comment that it hasn't dated which is a rare thing for an electronic album. The only other album I could imagine this applying to is JMJ - 'Oxygene'. Very much enjoyed your list.

1. Computer World 2. The Man Machine 3. Trans Europe Express 4. Autobahn 5. Radio Activity 6. Ralf and Florian 7. Tour de France 8. Electric Cafe 9. Kraftwerk 10. Kraftwerk 2

Really like your listing here and do mostly agree with you. If you compare this list with similar rankings its characteristic that, apart from the groups very early efforts, people wildly disagree about the placement in terms of quality. It’s a good thing! It shows that every Kraftwerk album has its own identity and relevance, speaking to different people. Its art on a high level... I even disagree with myself, having one album as my favorite now and maybe another in 6 months😆👍

Hey have you ever thought of making a Vangelis worst to best?? Are you familiar with his discography??

Radio activity below electric cafe... no way!

Man, sucks that I'm only hearing about Florian's passing now. He really was part of what made the group so great. May he rest in peace.

Thanks for this

Personally, my list is: 1. Trans Europe Express 2. Radio-Activity 3. Computer World 4. Autobahn 5. Electric Cafe 6. Kraftwerk 7. The Man Machine 8. Ralf and Florian 9. Tour de France Soundtracks 10. Kraftwerk 2 Honestly, this was super hard to do! Either way, Florians passing also hit me very hard. I honestly couldn’t believe it at first. May he rest in peace

RIP in piece. I've only really listened to the Minimum Maximum live 2CD album which is awesome, and the occasional song when I was younger. I remember asking one of my best friends at the time to find The Robots and put it on a CD for me. Sadly he passed away a few years ago. And he put the "wrong" version of the robots on that cd :'-)

We miss you Florian. Thank you for all this years.

Great Channel thanks cheers from montreal

Solid list!! 👽👍

I came into this video, as an avid Kraftwerk fan, expecting to disagree on most of the listings. Surprisingly, while I can't say I agree with it 100%, your ranking makes a lot of sense. I definitely think Electric Cafe/Technopop needs more love. I find the "coldness" of it so interesting. The synth nerd in me would probably put it down to the growing sound palate of digital synths that Kraftwerk was embracing at the time. Their albums were embracing the "electronicness" of analog synthesisers, but analog just innately sounds warmer. Electric Cafe/Technopop sounds so "clean cut" unlike anything else as a result. Definitely agree with you saying that Autobahn hits different. It was the first thing I instinctively listened to after hearing about Florian. Lowkey bawled my eyes out to Kometenmelodie 2.

Mine would be: 1. Trans-Europe Express 2. The Man Machine 3. Computer World 4. Radioactivity 5. Tour de France 6. Autobahn 7. Electric Café 8. Ralf Und Florian 9. Kraftwerk 2 10. Kraftwerk

I personally find Electric Cafe second only to Computer World. I grew up with Kraftwerk, I was 14 in 1977.... Tour De France is fantastic. I was clubbing like crazy when this was new... Blue Monday and 3rd Depeche Album we’re new at the time also.

#1 Ralf and Florian - my personal favorite. RIP Florian Schneider

the saddest thing, man. rip

in some ways Florian and Ralf made best possible use of their social awkwardness

I actually really liked the list! Good on you for showing Electric Cafe some love. The music on that album is pure technotic goodness, some of the best beats in music history. That panning comb filtered snare on "Music Non Stop" is the stuff of legends. And the sampled string arrangements on Telephone Call and Sex Object have aged surprisingly well to my ears, very lush and powerful. It's a banger wall to wall. And I also agree that Man-Machine is #1! But also, how dare you speak blasphemy about Radioactivity and the song Showroom Dummies! I jest.

RIP Florian Schneider

For your fascination und edification, here are my worst to best of Kraftwerk: 10. Kraftwerk 2 9. Electric Cafe 8. Man Machine 7. Radio-Activity 6. Kraftwerk 1 5. Autobahn 4. Trans-Europe Express 3. Tour De France Soundtracks 2. Ralf & Florian 1. Computer World Thank you in advance.

FR: Content de voir "Electric Café" un peu plus haut dans un classement. =) EN: Happy to see "Electric Café" a bit higher in a ranking. =)

Wow didnt expect how this was ranked, especially Trans Europe. But I can see why and honestly I agree with it in some points. Trans Europe Express forever though

I've been ranking a bunch of obscure artists at random lately, but now I feel like ranking Kraftwerk cause there's a solid chance I won't be able to get my thoughts out there in the future now that I've finally heard all their albums (except for the two self-titled ones, the only thing that sounds interesting to me from either is Kling Klang). Here goes nothing lol insert debut and sophomore albums here, assuming this is where they'd fit 8. Tour de France Soundtracks 7. Radio-Activity (this is where I see myself returning to the albums, this is a good album) 6. Computer World 5. Techno Pop (instead of Electric Cafe because that extra track is pretty solid) 4. The Man Machine 3. Ralf und Florian (I liked this album way more than I expected to, idk what to say lol) 2. Trans-Europe Express (This is where the all-time favorites start) 1. Autobahn I'm not trying to make a hot take with Computer World, it just didn't as much for me as it does with everyone else ig. There's the ranking, I had fun making this one!

Kraftwerk albums are difficult to rank. For me the top four are: Autobahn, Trans-Europe Express, The Man-Machine, and Computer World - but in no particular order. These albums are all masterpieces for me. Electric Cafe is my least favourite Kraftwerk album - too heavy on the drum beats. The first three albums are very good but almost nonsensical to compare to the electro-pop albums. Radioactive is a bit tedious, but contains good ideas and material. Tour de France is a well crafted album but the sounds don't feel as distinct as on earlier albums.

i recommend the album "Achievement" by PilotRedSun. (it's his only album) and maybe do a series where you just search around his single songs and pick out some to explain them each episode (including his old DnB works when he used to be called "Bittertooth").

1. Ralf Und Florian 2. Trans Europe Express 3. Radioactivity 4. Computer World 5. Kraftwerk 1 6. Autobahn 7. The Man Machine 8. Kraftwerk 2 9. Electric Cafe 10. Tour De France

Another good list. I also rate Electric Cafe. Yes they’re not innovating as hard (art of noise had been doing this stuff for a while) but I’m a sucker for that sound. It’s top 4 for me.

Before i watch the video, the answer for top three best are: 1. The Man Machine 2. Trans Europe Express 3. Autobahn Artists to check out: Nitzer Ebb, Throbbing Gristle, Prurient (Bermuda Drain album)

RIP Florian

I am most thankful to Kraftwerk for ''Autobahn'' simply because they influenced the bands of 1974 and on (especially the New Wave period) to use more synthesizer. This to me is the sound of the future and it is good. An aside : I saw these technicians play in Waterloo Canada in 1974. Kinda' changed my musical views forever. Thanks for your intelligent input!

Glad to see Electric Cafe this high up, most people hate it - I think it's incredible, especially Musique Non Stop

So glad to see some Tour de France love, it's my personal favorite

Can you make a video about Remixes

Sadly, we lost two more legendary electronic musicians since, the great Vangelis, and Depeche Mode's Andrew Fletcher

This was very hard but my list would have to be 10. Kraftwerk 9. Kraftwerk 2 8. Ralf Und Florian 7. Radioactivity (Unfortunately I wish this album was higher because I love the title track but the rest of the album is not a favorite) 6. Autobahn 5. Trans Europe Express 4. The Man Machine 3. Tour De France Soundtracks 2. Computer World 1. Electric Cafe/Techno Pop

Kraftwerk are pioneers therefore they are outside of being ranked. Their discography will always be epic for me. 🖤

10. Kraftwerk 2 (fav track: Klingklang) 9. Kraftwerk (fav track: Ruckzuck) 8. Radio-Activity (fav track: Radio-Activity) 7. Autobahn (fav track: Autobahn) 6. Ralf & Florian (fav track: Kristallo) 5. Tour de France Soundtracks (fav track: Tour de France Suite (Stage 2 if we count them as separate tracks)) 4. Electric Cafe (fav track: The Telephone Call) 3. Trans-Europe Express (fav track: Europe Endless (fav Kraftwerk song)) 2. Computer World (fav track: Computer Love) 1. The Man Machine (fav track: Neon Lights)

Nice video. Agree with you on a lot of things (eg Ralf and Florian) although I would certainly rank Trans-Europe Express much higher, and TDF Soundtracks and Electric Café much lower. But they're all great. RIP Florian.

rip florian❤️

1. Computer World 2. The Man Machine 3. Techno Pop 4. Radioactivity 5. Tour de France Soundtracks 6. Trans Europe Express 7. Autobahn 8. Kraftwerk 2 9. Ralf and Florian 10. Kraftwerk

Well, before Schneider, Philippe Zdar from Cassius left us last year and that sucked for electronic music too (he was only 52 years old)

1) The Man Machine 2) Radioactivity 3) Trans Europe Express 4) Autobahn 5) Kraftwerk 6) Computer World 7) Kraftwerk 2 8) Tour de France 9) Ralf and Florian 10) Electric Café

A nice comparison. Autobahn was the first vynl lp I bought when I was 15. never looked back. Regards, U426.

RIP Florian. The Man Machine is my favorite album as well. Spacelab and Metropolis especially are what I'd call ideal electronic music.

R.I.P

1. Kraftwerk 2 2. Ralf Und Florian / Kohutek 7" (Early Komentenmelodie) 3. Computer Welt 4. Trans Europa Express 5. Die Mench Machine 6. Kraftwerk 7. Electric Cafe 8. Autobahn 9. Radioactivity 9. Tour de France Soundtracks 10. Der Katalogue 3D (BOX-SET, Live) 11. The Mix 12 .Minimum Maximum 13. Organisation - Tone Float Even if this is ranked, EVERY single album is fantastic, save a couple things on the last 5 ones here Noteworthy semi officials/bootlegs : Live In Germany 25 June 1971, Live In Croydon 1975, Live Paris 1976, Live Japan 1981 and the "Concert Classics" Live 1975

I really never liestened to kraftwerk, except for tour de france. Funny because it's the only album not in my Mother Tongue. I skipped trough Electric Cafe and it sounds Like it is the biggest influence to 808 States ex:el. I will really dig into them now. RIP Florian Schneider

I still can't believe he's dead, one of my biggest innspirations.

wow, when I first heard the death of Florian I also went to europe endless first! what a coincidence!

My beloved trinity of Kraftwerk is: 1-Trans Europa Express (LEAST minimalistic album so it's the truest rarity on catalogue) 2- Computerwelt (MOST musically and thematicly visionary album) 3- Electric Cafe (MOST minimalistic album, the one i would probably choose as a favourite)

We lost Andy Weatherall this year. He was a legend of electronic music too. Edit: someone from Harthouse / Rising High also passed, although cannot remember who.

Echoing pretty much everyone else in that I enjoy each album, but my personal ranking goes as follows: 10. Electric Cafe 9. Kraftwerk 2 8. Kraftwerk 7. Tour De France Soundtracks 6. Ralf und Florian 5. Trans Europe Express 4. Radio-Activity 3. Computer World 2. Autobahn 1. The Man-Machine

I would place them in a different order but that doesn’t matter. Kraftwerk is special.

Solid ranking! I would put Computerwelt at #1 because it´s such a monolith of time-transcending genius. There is nothing on that album that dated badly. We´re living 100% in this world today. Even throwaway lines such as "it´s more fun to compute" take on an eerie meaning in today´s world as it´s practically in imperative to "blend in and do as you´re told. You better compute or else..". The German lyrics are actually a bit more nuanced in some of their songs (Europa Endlos, Taschenrechner/Pocket Calculator). Instead of "I´m the operator with my pocket calculator" the German lines translates as "I´m the musician with pocket calculator at hand. I`m adding, substracting, controlling and composing". This line has the baffling double meaning that (future)-music is married to commercial sensibilities first and foremost. Note that "composing", the creative aspect comes last. Also: THE ALBUM IS FUNKY AS HELL! The opening bars of this album still sound like an electric shock to the system!

It’s really hard for me to rank these because I love them all pretty damn equally honestly. And YES that includes the first 3. I guess my favorite 3 are Ralf Und Florian, Trans Europe Express and Computer World

My list: Computer World, The Man Machine, Autobahn, Trans Europe Express, Tour De France, Techno Pop, Radio-Activity, Ralf und Florian, Kraftwerk 2, Kraftwerk 1.

Thanks for video. I love all Kraftwerk's albums, anyway my list: 8. The Mix 7. Techno Pop 6. Tour De France 5. Autobahn 4. Radioactivity 3. Computerwelt 2. Die Mensch Machine 1. Trans Europa Express. First 3 albums is not a real Kraftwerk. P.S. 3D Katalog is great. All albums in that box is like very big one conceptual album. It's Kraftwerk itself.

This is my favorite band so I have to make a comment. My favorite albums of originals: 1 - Trans Europe Express (Europe Endless is my favorite track from Kraftwerk) 2 - Autobahn 3 - Radio Activity 4 - Computer World 5 - The Man Machine 6 - Ralf & Florian 7 - Tour De France Soundtracks 8 - Electric Cafe 9 - Kraftwerk 1 10 - Kraftwerk 2

Nice. I Think Electric Cafe is underrated. The often repeated excuse is indeed that the 1980s "caught up with them" but I think they just went too far for those fans who grew up with Autobahn and TEE. RIP Florian Schneider.

"Electric Cafeeee" *AAAAAAAAAH*

My top 10 in order (as of right now) are: 1.) Radioactivity 2.) Computer World 3.) Trans Europe Express 4.) Autobahn 5.) The Man Machine 6.) Electric Cafe 7.) Tour De France Soundtracks (though I do think the original 83 single that bears the same name is better than any track off this one) aaannndddd i must confess i've not listened to Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2 and Ralf und Florian all the way through so can't rank them. Though from what ive heard of the first 2 especially I can understand why they dont want to reissue them)

Agree with your choice for #1.

RIP Florian!!! My Rank: 12. Organisation: Tone Float 11. Kraftwerk 2 10. Ralf and Florian 9. Kraftwerk 8. Tour de France Soundtracks 7. The Mix 6. Radio Activity 5. Computer World 4. Electric Cafe 3. Autobahn 2. The Man-Machine 1. Trans-Europe Express My Top-5 Favorite Tracks: 5. The Model 4. Autobahn 3. Trans-Europe Express 2. Techno Pop (1983 unreleased version) 1. It's more Fun to Compute

I love this band so much, they are probably my second favorite electronic act behind Daft Punk. Here is my ranking: 10. Kraftwerk (1970) 9. Kraftwerk 2 (1972) 8. Ralf und Florian (1973) 7. Tour de France Soundtracks (2003) 6. Radio-Activity (1975) 5. Electric Café (1986) 4. Autobahn (1974) 3. Computer World (1981) 2. Trans-Europe Express (1977) 1. The Man-Machine (1978) I have to give honorable mention to both The Mix (1991) and Minimum-Maximum (2005). These are both fantastic albums in their own right.

My list: Trans-Europe Express Radio-Activity Autobahn The Man-Machine Computer World Tour De France Soundtracks Ralf & Florian Electric Cafe Kraftwerk Kraftwerk 2

Man machine was my first experience it nearly 2 years of age in 1978

Was glad to see that Electric Cafe wasn't ranked the lowest as most people think it's their worst album but without Electric Cafe we wouldn't have the iconic: Boing Boom Tschak, Musique Non Stop, Techno Pop; even the words alone scream Kraftwerk!

17:13 what's a swan song?

i cant listen to computer love without getting sad now :(

The first one is a truly innovative album as no one sounded like that in 1970 apart from perhaps minimalist classical composers. Perhaps my appreciation for modern classical music leads me to appreciate their early work more than their later which seem soulless in comparison.