Lou ReedBest Lou Reed Albums Ranked

The Blue Mask

rollingstone

10

“Lou Reed’s the Blue Mask is a great record, and its genius is at once so simple and unusual that the only appropriate reaction is wonder. Who expected anything like this from Reed at this late stage of the game? Even though the Velvet Underground, as critic Lester Bangs once remarked, "invented the Seventies," Reed […]”

The Blue Mask

pitchfork

9.2

“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 Lou Reed’s 1982 solo album, a strangely alluring comeback that made good on the promise of a lasting rock’n’roll icon.”

New York

pitchfork

8.7

“A new reissue highlights the ongoing relevance of Lou Reed’s opus about his hometown in the era of AIDS and Reaganism, a protest album unlike any other”

Metal Machine Music

pitchfork

8.7

“Lou Reed’s 1975 album has been called one of the worst albums ever made. The truth is it is the product of genuine love and passion, still exhilarating and bursting with possibility four decades on.”

Coney Island Baby

pitchfork

8.5

“RCA reissues the enigmatic rocker's heartfelt follow-up to electronic-noise experiment Metal Machine Music, complete with remastering work and six extra tracks.”

Hudson River Wind Meditations

pitchfork

8.4

“A new reissue of Lou Reed’s final solo album spotlights a side of the New York icon that few ever got to see: a quiet ambient composer.”