From the first time 12 year old me heard “Walk This Way” (the ’86 version), I was an Aerosmith die-hard. The singer and guitarist looked old (Steven Tyler was about 37, Joe Perry 35) but they were cool. So, anyway, they became my band and lots of kids of my generation latched on to them and they were reborn after a barren decade. Here’s a walkthrough each studio album release, from weakest to best in the view of, well, me. Which one am I going to spend the most time listening to in 2025? I don’t worry about reputation, I just write down what I think.

15. Music from Another Dimension | Year: 2012 | Running Time: 68m

Track listing: 1. Luv XXX; 2. Oh Yeah; 3. Beautiful; 4. Tell Me; 5. Out Go the Lights; 6. Legendary Child; 7. What Could Have Been Love; 8. Street Jesus; 9. Can’t Stop Lovin’ You; 10. Lover Alot; 11. We All Fall Down; 12. Freedom Fighter; 13 Closer; 14 Something; 15 Another Last Goodbye.

Their first album of original material in 11 years hit the charts in 2012, notably their last release with long-time record company, Columbia. And maybe it was more a case of closing out their commitments than a labour of love. It’s an over-long, unfocused, uneven collection of rockers, ballads and some weird country and pop moments. First, the good points. “Oh Yeah” is a catchy Stones-esque rocker with a tight rhythm (written by Perry), nice solo licks and fantastic backing vocals. “Beautiful” is a fun, part-rap rock jive, strident straight-on rocker “Lover Alot” grunts and groans brilliantly, and the 100% Diane Warren-penned “We All Fall Down” is a really strong ballad, much better than, yes, that “Armageddon” song.

Many fans were big in to “Out Go the Lights”, a near 7 minute groove akin to “Last Child”, and “Street Jesus”, which also clocks in at close to 7 minutes, and also apes a classic (“Toys in the Attic”). So if you don’t like modern Aerosmith, perhaps you enjoy these spirited rebirths of their most famous songs. Aside from that there’s a couple of perfectly fine glossy country-rock songs (“What Could Have Been Love”, “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”), mediocre rockers like “Luv XXX” and “Legendary Child” and kind of weird tracks like “Tell Me” and “Closer”, the latter giving Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer rare writing credits (which I do welcome). But when Perry writes three songs outright, doing lead vocals on two (“Something”, “Freedom Fighter”), you get the sense this was a somewhat chaotic project.

Play these: “Oh Yeah“, “Beautiful“, “We All Fall Down“

14. Done With Mirrors | Year: 1985 | Running Time: 35m 42s

Track listing: 1. Let the Music Do the Talking; 2. My Fist Your Face; 3. Shame on You; 4. The Reason a Dog; 5. Shela; 6. Gypsy Boots; 7. She’s on Fire; 8. The Hop; 9. Darkness

If you’re not very Aerosmith-informed, this was the first “comeback” record after the return of previously-departed guitarists Brad Whitford and Joe Perry (who had sat out the band’s prior LP). But despite the reunion, the old addiction issues had not gone away and the band stumbled their way through the writing and recording process, putting out a half-assed album which Perry himself called “unfinished”. The songs are mostly uninspired (with the exception of “My Fist Your Face” and “She’s on Fire”), and even a cover of Joe Perry’s solo hit, “Let the Music do the Talking”, falls flat with its lethargic tempo and Tyler’s strained vocal (Ralph Mormon did it better with the Joe Perry Project). The tacked-on “Darkness” (left off the vinyl release) is an interesting recording but, like multiple tracks here (“The Reason a Dog”, “Shame on You”), it does not quite reach its potential. Producer, Ted Templeman, has talked about how he got this one wrong: “I just didn’t do a good enough job with it. I let them down on that record. I just didn’t get it. I did Sammy’s [Hagar] ‘I Can’t Drive 55’ record up there, but I wasn’t very familiar with the studio. …I didn’t sleep well, I didn’t get the best drum sound for Joey [Kramer]. I didn’t get the best out of Steven [Tyler] at all. I mean, that record didn’t make it because of me.”

Play these: “She’s on Fire“, “My Fist Your Face“, “Let The Music do the Talking“

13. Honkin’ on Bobo | Year: 2004 | Running Time: 43m 57s

Track listing: 1. Road Runner; 2. Shame, Shame, Shame; 3. Eyesight to the Blind; 4. Baby, Please Don’t Go; 5. Never Loved a Girl; 6. Back Back Train; 7. You Gotta Move; 8. The Grind; 9. I’m Ready; 10. Temperature; 11. Stop Messin’ Around; 12 Jesus is on the Main Line

If you’ve been around long enough, you’re going to pad out your discography with a covers album and Aerosmith pulled the trigger on that in 2004, the subject being blues favourites of their formative years. And if you like blues music, maybe this is an album you love. I’m a bit less interested and so there’s very little on here that I could listen to more than handful of times. On the plus side it’s a polished collection, sounds great and has lots of energy. “Road Runner”, “Baby, Please Don’t Go”, “You Gotta Move” are a stomping good time. We have two real nice tunes featuring Tracy Bonham (“Back Back Train”, “Jesus is on the Main Line”) and, personally, I like the only original track, “The Grind”, a tranquilized but likeable power-balled, contorted effectively to fit it in to the album’s theme.

Play these: “Baby Please Don’t Go“, “You Gotta Move“, “Back Back Train“

12. Night in the Ruts | Year: 1979 | Running Time: 35m 41s

Track listing: 1. No Surprize; 2. Chiquita; 3. Remember (Walking in the Sand); 4. Cheese Cake; 5. Three Mile Smile; 6. Reffer Head Woman; 7. Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy); 8. Think About It; 9. Mia

Look, there’s 9 tracks, three of them are cover versions. By the late 70s, Aerosmith were a vending machine that had been kicked so many times, no matter how many coins were inserted, the wrong product kept coming out. It starts off with the two best tracks, the inspired autobiographical tune, “No Surprize” and the breezy, horn-flavoured hard rocker, “Chiquita”. Those two songs are fantastic – nothing else is. There’s some good moments on “Three Mile Smile”, “Bone to Bone” and I do like Tyler’s haunting ode to his new-born daughter (“Mia”), even if it’s nowhere near as good as album closers on “Rocks” or “Toys in the Attic”. To add to the challenges, Joe Perry did not finish the record as he left the band during the sessions, once he laid down all his guitar parts. He later went on to blame Steven Tyler’s drug addiction and lack of output for his frustration.

Play these: “No Surprize“, “Chiquita“, “Mia“

11. Just Push Play | Year: 2001 | Running Time: 48m 56s

Track listing: 1. Beyond Beautiful; 2. Just Push Play; 3. Jaded; 4. Fly Away From Here; 5. Trip Hoppin; 6. Sunshine; 7. Under My Skin; 8. Luv Lies; 9. Outta Your Head; 10. Drop Dead Gorgeous; 11. Light Inside; 12 Avant Garden

Ok, here it is! I know you “Just Push Play” haters were expecting to see it in the bottom two. I’m even conflicted about having it this low but, let’s see if I can justify it to myself. The first half of the album is diverse but hugely successful. I believe “Jaded” represents everything that fans of the 70s music dislike about modern Aerosmith, but for me it is one of the catchiest, best sounding pop-rock songs in the genre. “Beyond Beautiful” is a driving power-rock tune with great guitar dueling, “Just Push Play” is, yes, a lot of fun, despite the rapping and all that. “Sunshine” is another great melodic rocker, “Fly Away From Here” a standout ballad (once again better than the “Armageddon” song, but also from outside writers) and “Trip Hoppin’ is derivative of “Line Up” from “Get a Grip” but i like when Aerosmith mix the horns in with the guitars, personally. While they lose their way after that, I like Perry’s alt-rocker “Drop Dead Gorgeous” (his effect-laden vocal is on the verses, Tyler sings the choruses). And “Avant Garden” is a sweet pop number with a cool bass line. The entire record sounds fantastic and the band are kind of at peak performance here even if the music is not at the same level as 25 years prior.

Play these: “Beyond Beautiful“, “Sunshine“, “Fly Away From Here (album version)”

10. Permanent Vacation | Year: 1987 | Running Time: 51m 46s

Track listing: 1. Heart’s Done Time; 2. Magic Touch; 3. Rag Doll; 4. Simoriah; 5. Dude (Looks Like a Lady); 6. St John; 7. Hangman Jury; 8. Girl Keeps Coming Apart; 9. Angel; 10. Permanent Vacation; 11. I’m Down; 12. The Movie

So, about that second “comeback” album. Two years after “Done With Mirrors”, and after multiple rehab stints for all members of the band, “Permanent Vacation” was the first ‘clean’ album of their career. Buoyed by renewed exposure from the 1986 “Walk this Way” collab with Run DMC, Aerosmith returned to the big time with a string of hit singles that only tell part of the story. Yes, there are some generic rock songs on here that are forgettable. But the bluesy “Hangman Jury”, funk-infused “St John”, raucous hard rock of “Heart’s Done Time”, the super-fun “Girl Keeps Coming Apart” and moody instrumental “The Movie”, with its dark, eerie vibe, create a varied sonic palette, while not sounding like they were all born from a different place. Tonally it all ties together well, which is the opposite of what happened 25 years later on “Music from Another Dimension”.

Play these: “Hangman Jury“, “Girl Keeps Coming Apart“, “The Movie“

09. Get Your Wings | Year: 1974 | Running Time: 38m 04s

Track listing: 1. Same Old Song and Dance; 2. Lord of the Thighs; 3. Spaced; 4. Woman of the World; 5. S.O.S. (Too Bad); 6. Train Kept a Rollin’; 7. Seasons of Wither; 8. Pandora’s Box

Do you remember when there were 8 tracks on an album and you still felt you were getting your money’s worth because you would listen to every note intently? This is what people typically call a “sophomore” effort, a follow up to the unsuccessful self-titled debut released the year before. While none of the singles troubled the charts, “Same Old Song and Dance”, “Train Kept a Rollin'” and “Seasons of Wither” are fan favourites that remained on the setlist throughout the years. The sometimes overlooked “S.O.S. (Too Bad)” is another gem, “Lord of the Thighs” a unique, swaggering funk rocker, and psychedelic hard rocker “Spaced” has a simple but catchy hook. This is a very strong record but the couple of filler tracks drag it down a little.

Play these: “S.O.S. (Too Bad)“, “Seasons of Wither“, “Lord of the Thighs“

08. Get a Grip | Year: 1993 | Running Time: 62m 06s

Track listing: 1. Intro; 2. Eat the Rich; 3. Get a Grip; 4. Fever; 5. Livin’ on the Edge; 6. Flesh; 7. Walk on Down; 8. Shut Up and Dance; 9. Cryin’; 10. Gotta Love It; 11. Crazy; 12. Line Up; 13. Amazing; 14. Boogie Man

Commercially, this is peak Aerosmith. Going in to this eleventh studio album, they had become one of the biggest rock groups in the world, but the ‘best’ was yet to come – in terms of sales anyway. “Living on the Edge” was an interesting first single; a six minute rock song which did not confrom to the usual verse-chorus-bridge structure, lyrics about social disarray rather than sexual innuendo, a middle breakdown that shifted the tone, before swinging back to Joe Perry’s sharp lead, and the extended outro with descending chords to mirror the chaos of the world around us (hey, at least that’s not the case anym…never mind). Skipping over the Alicia Silverstone trilogy (overplayed, but good pop-rock songs), this album is just hugely entrtaining. The harmonica-fueled “Fever” was so cool, Garth Brooks covered it. “Flesh” is a sleazy hard rocker, the title track is a crazy rap-rocker, “Shut Up and Dance” is a tight foot tapper, “Eat the Rich” rides a fast tempo, “Line Up” brings the horns. This is just a good time and a very well sequenced record.

Play these: “LIvin’ on the Edge“, “Fever“, “Flesh“

07. Rock in a Hard Place | Year: 1982 | Running Time: 40m 16s

Track listing: 1. Jailbait; 2. Lightning Strikes; 3. Bitch’s Brew; 4. Bolivian Ragamuffin; 5. Cry me a River; 6. Prelude to Joanie; 7. Joanie’s Butterfly; 8. Rock in a Hard Place (Cheshire Cat); 9. Jig is Up; 10. Push Comes to Shove

Oh, wipe your eyes. It’s true. “Rock in a Hard Place” is in the top half of this list. If you look at the reviews linked on Wikipedia, this album appears to be marmite – it’s either loved or hated. This was a band who, on one hand, were running on fumes and coming off a sales decline in the late 70s. But on the other hand, there was fresh blood in the shape of two new guitarists, Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay (replacing Perry and Whitford). Crespo played a huge role on the record, co-writing seven of the 10 tracks. And from the blistering “Jailbait” to the smoky, harmonica-drenched bar-room blues of “Push Comes to Shove”, this is a monster album that really should be held up on a pedestal especially when compared to the half-assed “Night in the Ruts”. “Lightning Strikes” and “Bitch’s Brew” follow “Jailbait” to form what might be the most unholy trinity ever to kick off an Aerosmith album. After that you have the sleazy “Bolivian Ragamuffin” with a cool semi-rap verse from Tyler, the absolutely ridiculously infectious title track and cool funk-rocker “Jig is Up” which could have sat nicely on “Draw the Line” and was ultimately rehashed as “Shame on You” on the next record (but worse). The only cover on here is one of my favourites from the band – “Cry Me a River” follows a similar arrangement to the 1955 Julie London version, but with all the power that the band can muster (the song was also a hit in the early 70s for Joe Cocker with a different arrangement).

Play these: “Jailbait“, “Lightning Strikes“, “Bitch’s Brew“

06. Aerosmith | Year: 1973 | Running Time: 35m 48s

Track listing: 1. Make It; 2. Somebody; 3. Dream On; 4. One Way Street; 5. Mama Kin; 6. Write me a Letter; 7. Movin’ Out; 8. Walkin’ the Dog

It took a while for this one to get its flowers – it reached Billboard #166 on initial release but ultimately #21 in 1976 after the band became huge stars and the re-released “Dream On” became a top 10 hit in late 1975. Perhaps it is overshadowed by the mid 70s albums that launched the band to super-stardom, but despite the notably poor production (addressed by the band in multiple interviews through the years), there’s no duds here. “Mama Kin” remained a concert favourite through the decades, covered by Guns N Roses for their ‘fake’ live 1986 EP “Live Like a Suicide”. “Make It”, “Somebody, and “Movin’ Out” (the latter notable as being the first collaboration by Tyler and Perry) are proper blues-rock songs that have a rough charm in part maybe due to the low production values. And maybe more ignored than they should be, catchy blues-rocker “Write me a Letter” with its absolutely fantastic mid-section and seven minute classic, “One Way Street”. Sometimes I think I’d love to hear the band re-mix the record but the other part of me thinks that we should leave it as it is, warts and all. That’s how I fell in love with it after all.

Play these: “Write me a Letter“, “One Way Street“, “Dream On“

05. Nine Lives | Year: 1997 | Running Time: 62m 54s

Track listing: 1. Nine Lives; 2. Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees); 3. Hole in my Soul; 4. Taste of India; 5. Full Circle; 6. Something’s Gotta Give; 7. Ain’t That a Bitch; 8. The Farm; 9. Crash; 10. Kiss Your Past Goodbye; 11. Pink; 12. Attitude Adjustment; 13. Fallen Angels

If you like outside writers, this is the album for you. Not one song here was written just by the members of Aerosmith, with the likes of Marti Frederiksen, Glen Ballard, Desmond Child, Mark Hudson and Richard Supa lending their songwriting chops across the board. But Tyler and Perry do co-write everything (with the exception of the albums worst song, “Full Circle”, which is just Tyler and Taylor Rhodes). And despite this, I consider this the best Aerosmith album since “Pump”, and one that was probably not as appreciated at the time. “Falling in Love”, “Hole in my Soul” and “Pink” (which won a Grammy) were the hits, and all three are good songs (if you accept that Aerosmith are writing pop-rock songs now). But the more interesting stuff were ‘deep cuts’ – “The Farm” with its quirky “Wizard of Oz” intro and outro, a title track that apes the mid 70s rockers (albeit with a weak chorus), film-noir power ballad “Ain’t That a Bitch”, the punky “Crash”, soaring “Kiss Your Past Goodbye”, and breakneck psychotic rock “Something’s Gotta Give”, whose lyrical motif became the title of Tyler’s autobiography (‘Does the noise in my head bother you?‘). Although the influences and style jump around the map, unlike follow-up “Just Push Play”, this one sounds joined together.

Play these: “The Farm“, “Ain’t That a Bitch“, “Something’s Gotta Give“

04. Toys in the Attic | Year: 1975 | Running Time: 37m 08s

Track listing: 1. Toys in the Attic; 2. Unlce Salty; 3. Adam’s Apple; 4. Walk this Way; 5. Big Ten Inch Record; 6. Sweet Emotion; 7. No More No More; 8. Round and Round; 9. You See me Crying

I’m not quite as high on this album as others are, given that many fans probably consider this in the top two. It does have two classic rock hits (“Sweet Emotion and “Walk this Way”) and the famous title track (covered by R.E.M. in the mid 80s). Two other standouts are the complex orchestral ballad, “You See Me Crying” (a song that Tyler heard on the radio in 1984 and suggested to Perry that Aerosmith cover it – drugs are bad, kids) and “Adam’s Apple”, probably the grooviest song on the collection. “No More No More” is plenty fun with its piano throughline. “Round and Round” is the first writing credit for Brad Whitford (with Tyler), the antithesis of “No More…” with its grim, swirling, dark, dirgey chords. For completness, “Uncle Salty” has a first songwriting credit for Tom Hamilton, meaning that every band member had been credited on an album at this point.

Play these: “Adam’s Apple“, “You See me Crying“, “Round and Round“

03. Draw the Line | Year: 1977 | Running Time: 35m 14s

Track listing: 1. Draw the Line; 2. I Wanna Know Why; 3. Critical Mass; 4. Get it Up; 5. Bright Light Fright; 6. Kings and Queens; 7. The Hand that Feeds; 8. Sight for Sore Eyes; 9. Milk Cow Blues

An album of wild abandon, perhaps historically viewed as a love letter to the chaos among the band members at the time. Various interviews and biographies have outlined how stoned and disconnected Tyler and Perry were during the recording, the band leaders not really caring about the music anymore. But fortunately they had a rhythm section that stood in for them and dragged the album towards the finish line. Tom Hamilton co-wrote the punchy “Critical Mass”; he, Whitford and Kramer worked on the atmospheric, prog-ish “Kings and Queens” (#70 Billboard hit) and barbed rocker “The Hand that Feeds” (what a bassline and middle-eight). The Toxic Twins were awake long enough to write the classic title track, sassy, energetic rock and roll boogie, “I Wanna Know Why”, messy funk-rocker “Sight for Sore Eyes”, and the listenable but forgetable “Get it Up”. Even with a few filler tracks, this album is a total blast and, much like “Rock in a Hard Place”, is much better than its contemporary reputation.

Play these: “I Wanna Know Why“, “The Hand that Feeds“, “Critical Mass“

02. Pump | Year: 1989 | Running Time: 47m 44s

Track listing: 1. Young Lust; 2. F.I.N.E.; 3. Love in an Elevator; 4. Monkey on My Back; 5. Janie’s Got a Gun; 6. The Other Side; 7. My Girl; 8. Don’t Get Mad, Get Even; 9. Voodoo Medicine Man; 10. What it Takes

The album that cemented Aerosmith’s return in the late 80s. Maybe it was brave of the band to return to more of a hard rock sound than the pop polish of “Permanent Vacation”. Ultimately they land somewhere in the middle here with a contemporary rock album that had great hooks, but still made all the right noises for many who were still with them from the 70s. That it produced bona fide classics “Janie’s Got a Gun” (1990 Grammy) and “Love in an Elevator”, two other popular Billboard hits (“What it Takes”, “The Other Side”), fan favourites (“Young Lust”, “F.I.N.E.”, “Monkey on My Back”) and the remaining songs all succeed while each bringing something different. A special mention for “Voodoo Medicine Man” – it once again has a credit for Brad Whitford, bringing some of that dense menace from “Round and Round”. Just a great record.

Play these: “Monkey on My Back“, “F.I.N.E.“, “Don’t Get Mad, Get Even“

01. Rocks | Year: 1976 | Running Time: 47m 44s

Track listing: 1. Back in the Saddle; 2. Last Child; 3. Rats in the Cellar; 4. Combination; 5. Sick as a Dog; 6. Nobody’s Fault; 7. Get the Lead Out; 8. Lick and a Promise; 9. Home Tonight

Not exactly a hot take. It was probably 1993 when I first heard this one so it’s not like I was ‘there at the time’ and am grading it based on nostalgia. I knew as I listened to it that first time that it was epic. What’s interesting about “Rocks” is that it doesn’t really have songs that had the cultural impact of “Walk this Way”, “Dream On”, “Mama Kin” or “Sweet Emotion” yet it is something that is greater than the sum of its parts. And that’s not to say that “Back in the Saddle” or “Last Child” are not renowned, classic tracks – they sure are. But once you get past that opening pair, “Rats in the Cellar” is as dark and twisted as “Toys in the Attic” was gleefully energetic, “Combination” and “Sick as a Dog” are swaggering and danceable blues-rock numbers respectively, while “Nobody’s Fault” sees Brad Whitford produce yet another bruising riff as Tyler screeches about the collapse of modern society. “Get the Lead Out” and “Lick and a Promise” sound contemporary while being unmistakable odes to the early days of rock and roll. We close out with “Home Tonight”, an emotional ballad that allows us to release all the tension from the power and energy built up in the previous 40 minutes – and what a solo from Joe Perry in that one.

Play these: “Rats in the Cellar“, “Nobody’s Fault“, “Home Tonight“