All Chris Cornell Stuido LP's Ranked

15. Scream (Solo):

I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve been able to listen to this mis-step into “popular” EDM for more than 30 minutes in total. You can argue it’s not really fair for me to grade an album for which I’ve only listened to half its run time. But if in its first 30 minutes an album has done everything in its power to repulse the listener, we can’t be blamed for ignoring the latter 30. Cornell’s dirty but mature rock legend voice is horribly suited for the tacky and cheap sounding electronic accompaniment. There is some decent melodic composition buried in here as evidenced by some of the successful acoustic adaptations. But alas, these tunes are better left buried, a small price to pay for keeping “Scream” far away from the music listening segment of humanity.

14. Carry On (Solo):

Noteworthy Tracks: Ghosts, Billie Jean (cover)

Cornell’s second solo album and first post-Audioslave foray into the studio is underwhelming. Drug abuse and poor vocal technique during the Audioslave years had taken their total on Cornell’s voice which had gone from dirty but strong to fatigued and flemy. Carry On was released before Cornell managed to rehabilitate resulting in an exhausting listening experience. Coupled with poor production choices and shoddy song writing, there is little reason to revisit this album.

12 & 13. Screaming Life/Fopp & Ultramega OK (Soundgarden)

Noteworthy Tracks: Nothing to Say, Hunted Down, Beyond the Wheel

Taken in their historical context, I get the appeal of these albums, or at least the underground scene of which they were a part. Popular rock in the 80’s had reached the zenith of Gen X debauchery with tacky over the top virtuoso rock musicians who, despite wearing lipstick and high heels themselves, still managed to serve up quite a bit of testosterone driven chauvinism. The the appeal of a group of grungy looking dudes who are obviously talented but don’t really care about the polish is obvious in this context. Sadly, these albums have not aged too well. The songs are not interesting and the production value is non-existent.

Still, there are hints of the greatness to come in these albums with some tracks showcasing those memorable sludgy riffs and soaring vocals that eventually became one of Soundgarden’s trademarks. Over all, the albums are worth listening to, not only for the few tracks that hold up but also to provide a foil to the greatness of later Soundgarden and Chris Cornell work.

11. Louder than Love (Soundgarden)

Noteworthy Tracks: Hands All Over, Get on the Snake, Gun

Louder than Love is the least accessible of any of Cornell’s albums. Its appeal to the die hard early Grunge fans of the era is obvious, though general music listeners, or even fans of Cornell’s work after this point, might not find many reasons to enjoy this wild sludge fest. Still, the record does constitute a marked improvement over the Ultramega OK and Screaming Life/Fopp with a clear evolution in the song writing and a few select tracks that can hold up as classics.

10. Out of Exile

Noteworthy Tracks: Out of Exile, Heaven’s Dead, #1 Zero

Audioslave’s second effort was somewhat disappointing. A surprising number of songs were lazily written (e.g. Doesn’t remind me, Dandelion) and just plain boring (e.g. Man or Animal, The Worm). Worst of all, Cornell’s voice quality had reached a trough. Even Rick Rubin’s production magic couldn't hide the cracking and weariness characteristic of Cornell’s worn voice during this period.

Despite all this, the record still manages to articulate a strong positive emotional center through both the heavier songs (e.g Out of Exile) and the ballads (e.g. Heaven’s dead). Taken as a whole, the record will still entertain you and perhaps even uplift your spirit in a way that, with the exception of Higher Truth, no other of Cornell’s albums can do.

9. King Animal (Soundgarden)

Noteworthy Tracks: A Thousand Days Before, Blood on the Valley Floor

Soundgarden’s only reunion release, the album is best described as “Down on the Upside Part II.” Despite a 16-year hiatus between 1996's Down on the Upside and King Animal, there is a clear stylistic continuum to these albums. And for the first 6 tracks on King Animal, it totally works. Trippy riffs, complex time signatures, and some signature Soundgarden chord progressions make for a nostalgic but also refreshing listening experience. Unfortunately, the tracks become less memorable as the album wears on. Still, the album is a worthy addition to the Soundgarden discography.

8. Higher Truth (Solo) Starter Tracks: Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart, Murderer of Blue Skies

The record is one of only two truly great records released by Chris as a solo artist. The album was released toward the end of his life after several years of “Songbook” tours. Having re-defined and invigorated his vocal powers in the post Audioslave years, Chris toured the world with just an acoustic guitar and nearly 30 years worth of beloved songs. The concerts were intimate and showcased just how much emotional power Cornell could muster with his matured and, by this point, trained voice. The tours’ success signaled that an album of similarly styled acoustic originals was the right career move for him at that point in time.

The music on this record is beautiful and the warm rock-legend vocals are better than anything Cornell recorded since Audioslave’s debut album. The album’s fatal flaw is its run time. Compositional repetition across several tracks (specifically tracks 4 through 6) and the occasional filler bring the record 15 to 20 minutes over time. This album is best enjoyed with a few skips.

7. Revelations (Audioslave)

Starter Tracks: Revelations, Nothing Left to Say but Goodbye

Revelations is arguably the most underappreciated album on this list. In Audioslave’s 3rd and final effort, the band develops a sound uniquely their own. Tom Morello’s riffs and chords have never been more colorful while the rhythm section turns up the Motown drives and grooves. The weakest part of the album is, admittedly, Cornell’s vocals which at this point lack the dynamism and range of his youth. However, unlike the previous album Out of Exile, Chris seems to have come to terms with his new vocal limitations and uses the artistic crutch to compose truly beautiful and inspired melodies.

6. Down on the Upside (Soundgarden)

Starter Tracks: Burden in My Head, Never the Machine Forever

This record is Soundgarden’s last album before their decade and a half break up and Chris Cornell’s stated personal favorite Soundgarden album. The release is characterized by a very sharp, almost jarring, stylistic division between the songs. Tracks alternate between alternative rock anthems with pyschadelic flourishes and throwback punk rock bangers. Despite this, the song writing is undoubtedly inspired and resulted in some of the band's most memorable tunes.

Unfortunately, the stylistic division that had been committed to record was in fact a reflection of opposing visions for the band's futures amongst band mates. The inability to effectively bridge this difference is what lead to the band's breakup only a year after the record's release.

5. Temple of the Dog (Temple of the Dog)

Starter Tracks: Say Hello 2 Heaven, Your Savior

Released after Louder than Love but before Badmotorfinger, this was the first album released to properly showcase Cornell’s songwriting abilities. The sludge and punk of Soundgarden up to that point were replaced with a lighter alt rock sound that, while classic rock inspired, laid the foundation for the unique sound of 90’s grunge and alternative.

Emotionally complex clean guitar ballads, grungy riffs, and jaw-drop-inducing wah pedal guitar solos abound in an album packed with iconic song after iconic song. Still, Say Hello 2 Heaven outshines them all with arguably Chris’ greatest recorded vocal performance of all time.

4. Euphoria Morning (Solo):

Starter Tracks: When I’m Down, Pillow of your Bones

This album features the most sophisticated song writing of Cornell’s career with arguably the best lyrical content. Unlike most of Cornell’s work, you will find few traces of any alternative metal riff rock. Rather, the album’s feel sits comfortably with the singer song writer pop and alternative rock that exploded in the mid 90’s. But unlike most of the acts in that genre, this album ditches the usual I-IV-V based chord progressions for truly inspired and genre breaking songwriting making the album something of a Prog Rock masterpiece. The songs will challenge your ear and bring your soul into a place of mindful melancholy.

3. Audioslave (Audioslave)

Starter Tracks: Show Me How to Live, Last Remaining Light

Every single track on this album is enjoyable, no skipping necessary. Experience Cornell, at the peak of his vocal powers, jam out with the greatest pentatonic riffing act of the 1990’s. The album is perfectly balanced between head banging riff based tracks, groovy effect heavy verses and detours, and acoustic and experimental forays into jazz inspired ballads.

On a personal level, this might be my favorite album. If you are looking for the best way to enjoy this album, gather some friends together, set out in your car about an hour before sunset on a coastal road, crank up the album and learn how to live right up to the sunset’s last remaining light.

2. Badmotorfinger (Soundgarden)

Starter Tracks: Outshined, Mind Riot

Badmotorfinger is an ear-bleed inducing balls to the wall heavy trip from start to finish. Cornell pushes his vocals to the absolute limit of their range and distortion abilities. Despite being the album that brought Soundgarden into the mainstream, the song writing is better than anything else they had done as a group until then. Specifically, this album has a unique way of utilizing Cornell’s vocal leads to resolve the dissonant riffs and accompaniment.

The album’s only downside was the dated production choices which negatively affects earphone listening. Fortunately, the remastered versions of the album seem to have resolved this issue.

1. Superunknown (Soundgarden)

This album needs no on introduction. If you haven’t listened to this album in its entirety already, get out from under your rock and treat your ears 70 minutes of rock perfection.

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