Billy Brawl: What Is Billy Joel’s Best Album?

Billy Joel earned a reputation as one of the finest singles acts of his era. But you could also count on Billy Joel to give you albums that stood out as outstanding listens from start to finish. We narrowed his albums down to four that we believe are the finest. After taking a look at those, we’ll give you our decision on which one is the best.

Videos by American Songwriter

‘Turnstiles’ (1976)

No, there were no hits on the record. But Joel made many of these songs staples of his setlists, which gives away his own affinity for the LP. Turnstiles is in many ways a warts-and-all love letter to New York, as Joel had recently returned after years in LA. It’s also the first album where he feels less like a singer-songwriter and more the leader of a killer band. Songs like “Summer, Highland Falls”, “I’ve Loved These Days”, and “Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway” represent Joel’s writing at its absolute peak.

‘The Stranger’ (1977)

Joel found in Phil Ramone a producer who could help make Billy palatable to the masses without sanding down his lovable rough edges. Songs like “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” and “Only The Good Die Young” forefront the musical hooks but also contain the opinionated attitude to which his diehard fans had grown accustomed. Maybe “Just The Way You Are” is a bit too easy listening, but it served his purpose. Meanwhile, “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” ingeniously updates Abbey Road for a New York City audience. And “Vienna” just might be his all-time greatest non-single.

‘Glass Houses’ (1980)

Maybe Joel protested too much with “It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me”. Glass Houses was clearly influenced by New Wave whippersnappers like Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. No need to apologize for that, especially since Joel filtered those influences through his own chart-smart sensibilities. You need to go back and listen to this album for the deeper cuts if you haven’t in a while. Songs like “I Don’t Want To Be Alone Anymore” and “C’etait Toi (You Were The One)” find him at his most engagingly personal and vulnerable.

‘The Nylon Curtain’ (1982)

The Nylon Curtain found Joel indulging his Beatles fandom over a full album’s worth of material. Songs like the biting “Laura” and the dreamy “Scandinavian Skies” sound eerily like the Fab Four circa 1967. But Joel goes beyond mere mimicry thanks to the strength of the songs on the record. “Pressure” evokes the titular phenomenon to an almost harrowing degree with its words and music, while “Allentown” does heartland rock as well as any of his 80s peers. Points also for the touchingly melancholy closer “Where’s The Orchestra?”

This is such a tough call, and we went back and forth with our decision. Glass Houses, while consistent all the way through, comes up a bit short in terms of absolute classic tracks. The Nylon Curtain, after a flawless first side, peters out a bit on the second.

That leaves the two Billy Joel albums released a year apart from each other. The Stranger could have been sequenced better, as the last two songs leave us a bit cold. Turnstiles, the plucky underdog lacking any hits, gets the call as Joel’s best LP for both its thematic unity and the high number of spectacular songs.

Photo by Art Maillet/Sony Music Archives/HBO