Linda RonstadtBest Linda Ronstadt Albums Ranked

Heart Like a Wheel (2013 Remaster)

pitchfork

8.5

“Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today, we revisit a landmark of mainstream ’70s soft-rock, the peak of Linda Ronstadt’s power as a singer nonpareil.”

Linda Ronstadt

rollingstone

8.0

“Fair enough — with a couple of exceptions (schmaltzy duets with James Ingram and Aaron Neville), the twenty-one tracks here are among Linda Ronstadt’s very best. From "Different Drum," her still-affecting 1967 folk-rock hit with the Stone Poneys, to her wry rendering of Warren Zevon’s "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" and spry covers of chestnuts such […]”

We Ran

rollingstone

8.0

“In her Seventies country-rock heyday, Linda Ronstadt brought a lusciously formal approach to pop singing, which put all the money on song interpretation. Los Angeles ballads, singer/songwriter rarities, rock & roll chestnuts; North American regionals, Sinatra, opera — over the years, all became serious business indeed to Ronstadt, whose voice always seemed important enough to […]”

Feels Like Home

rollingstone

8.0

“Country siren Trisha Yearwood has made no secret of the fact that Linda Ronstadt is one of her primary influences. Indeed, the slick California-rock sound purveyed by Ronstadt during the ’70s has inspired a whole generation of country divas. Yet Yearwood’s fixation is particularly acute. Ronstadt’s backing band in the early ’70s included members of […]”

Winter Light

rollingstone

8.0

“Winter Light marks a turning point in Linda Ronstadt’s career: It’s the singer’s first pop album since Heart Like a Wheel (1974) not produced by longtime mentor Peter Asher. Instead, Ronstadt has chosen to produce the album herself, along with George Massenburg, and the result is the most personal disc the singer has ever done. […]”

Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind

rollingstone

8.0

“Like her friend Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt has, for most of this decade, recorded albums that explore diverse, distinctive styles. Because she’s an interpretive singer, this has meant different song periods, from pre-Beatles pop to Mexican mariachi tunes and country before the Nashville Sound. But the scattered Eighties have drawn to a close, and Ronstadt, […]”