PortisheadBest Portishead Albums Ranked

Dummy

pitchfork

9.5

“Portishead’s 1994 debut is a masterwork of downbeat and desperation. They invented their own kind of virtuosity, one that encompassed musicianship, technology, and aura.”

Third

pitchfork

8.8

“As radical reinventions go, Third-- the first Portishead studio album since 1997-- is surprisingly natural. Darker and bleaker lyrically than their previous work, Third is a sort of re-debut-- the band's sound after it has excised every possible remnant of trip-hop from it.”

Dummy

rollingstone

8.0

“From tape loops and live strings, Fender Rhodes riffing and angelic singing, these English subversives construct très hip Gothic hip-hop. A junkie for smoky atmosphere, keyboardist Geoff Barrow selects offbeat samples (Johnny Ray, Lalo Schifrin, Wayne Shorter) while Beth Gibbons croons through the intentional murk, copping glamorous Astrud Gilberto attitude. Songs like "Roads," "Glory Box" […]”

Third

rollingstone

7.0

“It’s been ten years since the world last heard from Portishead, the U.K. trip-hop trio, and they do not sound like they’ve spent the past decade going to therapy, listening to new music or making friends. Actually, they sound like they spent it locked in a tea cupboard underwater off the coast of Bristol, with […]”

“This exceptional concert recording dramatizes how the musical goals that drive this Bristol, England, quartet eclipse anything as fleeting as trip-hop (that most stupid of Nineties pop coinages). Mostly recorded at New York’s Roseland Ballroom on July 24th, 1997, these songs find the group’s soprano center, Beth Gibbons, applying her featherweight gravity to subjects like […]”

Portishead

rollingstone

6.0

“Portishead’s mix of ’60s soundtrack music, hip-hop beats, dub and detached female vocals became an instant reference point when their first album, Dummy, came out, in 1994. Three years later, with the very first notes of Portishead, the group easily re-establishes its mastery of the genre now known as trip-hop. Instrumentalists Geoff Barrow and Adrian […]”

Dummy

Gunnar

10

“**💭 Thoughts:** The contrast between Beth Gibbons’s fragile and haunting vocals with the atmospheric, brooding, and ethereal trip-hop instrumentals is one of the greatest things that have ever grazed my ears. This album is definitely without a doubt in my top 10 of all time. **🎶 Tracklist Review** 1.) Mysterons 🟣 2.) Sour Times 🔵 3.) Strangers 🟣 4.) It Could Be Sweet 🟢 5.) Wandering Star 🔵 6.) It’s a Fire 🟢 7.) Numb 🔵 8.) Roads 🔵 9.) Pedestal 🟣 10.) Biscuit 🟣 11.) Glory Box 🔵 ──────────────────── **🤔 Track Rating Scale** 🟣 Favorites — My favorite song(s) on the album 🔵 Loved — Really enjoyed it and will revisit often 🟢 Liked — Enjoyed it, but it’s not one I’d revisit often 🟡 Mixed — Has some good moments, but also some bad, most likely won’t revisit 🟠 Disliked — Didn't enjoy it much, won’t be revisiting 🔴 Hated — Will skip every time ⚪️ Interlude, etc — Not rated as an actual song ──────────────────── **🏅 Ranking Scale** 10 — Perfect 9 — Exceptional 8 — Great 7 — Good 6 — Decent 5 — Average 4 — Below Average 3 — Poor 2 — Bad 1 — Awful 0 — Unlistenable”

Portishead

Gunnar

9.3

“**💭 Thoughts:** Portishead’s 1997 self-titled album brings the same level of complexity as their debut, *Dummy*, expanding on the band’s signature sound. This album is an incredible follow-up, filled with amazing songs, and I’ll definitely be coming back to it for a long time. **🎶 Tracklist Review** 1.) Cowboys 🟣 2.) All Mine 🔵 3.) Undenied 🔵 4.) Half Day Closing 🟢 5.) Over 🔵 6.) Humming 🔵 7.) Mourning Air 🟣 8.) Seven Months 🟣 9.) Only You 🟣 10.) Elysium 🔵 11.) Western Eyes 🟢 ──────────────────── **🤔 Track Rating Scale** 🟣 Favorites — My favorite song(s) on the album 🔵 Loved — Really enjoyed it and will revisit often 🟢 Liked — Enjoyed it, but it’s not one I’d revisit often 🟡 Mixed — Has some good moments, but also some bad, most likely won’t revisit 🟠 Disliked — Didn't enjoy it much, won’t be revisiting 🔴 Hated — Will skip every time ⚪️ Interlude, etc — Not rated as an actual song ──────────────────── **🏅 Ranking Scale** 10 — Perfect 9 — Exceptional 8 — Great 7 — Good 6 — Decent 5 — Average 4 — Below Average 3 — Poor 2 — Bad 1 — Awful 0 — Unlistenable”

Dummy

Edumsito

9.5

“Todas las canciones son un thriller psicológico con toques detectivescos hasta que llegamos a glory box que es el epitome de la sensualidad”