Lady Gaga is an artist who is not afraid of reinvention. Even before she had much of a career to reinvent, she was slashing expectations and stepping out as an artist who dared to be different – reinventing pop itself.
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Across her discography, Gaga has played with dance anthems, Americana, jazz standards, and more. Given how different each of her projects is, it’s hard to rank them from “worst” to “best.” But, we’re going to try. Find our ranking of eight of Gaga’s albums, below.
8. Love for Sale (with Tony Bennett)
Love for Sale is the second collaborative album from Gaga and Tony Bennett. There are some meritable renditions of jazz classics on this record, but it pales in comparison to their first joint album, Cheek to Cheek. Part of that comes from the shock factor the first record had upon its release. While Love for Sale is just as enticing vocal-wise, and their relationship is always heartwarming, it feels sort of old hat.
7. The Fame
Gaga launched into an unsuspecting music scene in 2008 with The Fame. While her idiosyncrasies were already well accounted for, the production has 2008 written all over it. There are some classic Gaga tracks on this record, but she hadn’t yet found a way to completely diverge from her pop peers. Switch out some of the lyrics and ad-libs and many other artists could’ve made The Fame. That is not the case for her subsequent work.
6. Cheek to Cheek (with Tony Bennett)
It’s hard to judge Cheek to Cheek. It’s an album full of jazz standards with no original tracks in sight. Because of that, we toyed with putting this record further down on the list. But, when you give this album a listen, you can’t deny it has something special about it. Few people would’ve expected Gaga to be able to pull off such a straight-forward record in 2014. She makes quick work of the vocal-heavy tracks alongside Bennett, who bolsters each song with his timeless voice. It just works – against all odds.
5. Joanne
Joanne is perhaps Gaga’s most diverting project. She shocked the world when she dipped her toe into Americana in 2016. Though Gaga’s New York background doesn’t exactly scream “wayfaring cowboy,” she manages to adopt the motif well enough to pass as a girl who grew up out West. For all the stunning cinematic and rural flares she employs in this album, it’s relatively simple in scope compared to her other projects – which is why we have to put it in the middle of the road.
4. Chromatica
On the surface, Chromatica might seem like Gaga’s most ambitious work. From the high-concept album cover to the elaborate stage show she created in tandem with the project, Gaga seemingly shoots for the stars with Chromatica. In actuality though, it’s one of Gaga’s most commercial albums to date. She sheds a lot of her quirks and puts quintessential ’90s club elements in their place. Not to say that Chromatica is a “bad” album by any means. We praise her ability to reign in her off-the-wall style for a moment of pure pop excellence.
3. The Fame Monster
Okay, so The Fame Monster is technically an EP but, to leave it off a list of Gaga’s definitive works would be criminal. Seldom has such a short work become so pivotal in a musician’s career. The EP was initially billed as a follow-up to her debut album, The Fame. While the same sonic direction is carried through from her debut to this EP, she blew past the mark she made for herself with The Fame Monster. The EP features tentpole Gaga songs like “Bad Romance,” “Alejandro,” and “Monster.” The Fame saw Gaga carving out her unique space in the pop world. In this EP, she’s burrowed in and getting cozy.
2. ARTPOP
This might be an unpopular opinion but, we’re giving ARTPOP the No. 2 spot. Though the project has received mixed reviews since its release in 2013, we believe it’s one of her strongest displays of mixing offbeat lyricism with infectious house beats. It’s a juxtaposition she’s employed throughout her entire career, but it’s especially honed here. Songs like “Venus,” “G.U.Y.” and “Sexxx Dreams” are dripping in the kind of sensuality that is a familiar facet of pop music but, because it’s Gaga, they also have an otherworldly sense about them. Nothing could better describe Gaga than a pop maven that seems to hail from another planet.
1. Born This Way
The top spot had to go to Born This Way. It’s Gaga’s manifesto of marginalized weirdness and uncompromising individuality. She stands up as the leader of the leaderless, bearing the brunt of the criticism the mainstream shells out. For all of Gaga’s truly stunning experimental turns in her music, it’s her cultural capital that has truly made her into the artist she is today. Gaga is more than a musician, she’s an emblem of hope for those on the fringes of society. She gives her stamp of approval to be exactly who you were born to be with this album.
Photo: Norbert Schoerner / Chuff Media
