Pixies was heard by very few people without leaving an impression. Nearly all of the important alternative-rock bands claimed them as an inspiration. The band’s best albums are still ranked highly. Pixies is the benchmark for an entire genre of music.

David Bowie called Pixies “the psychotic Beatles.” And he was spot on. Little of what Black Francis wrote was typical. But nearly all of it was undeniably stunning.

I love Pixies. Their albums have never disappointed me. And I believe their great work extends past their most famous two release. That’s why today I am ranking Pixies’ discography from their worst albums to their best.

Pixies Albums Ranked

9. “Indie Cindy” (2014)

Pixies broke up too soon to take advantage of the kind of popularity of the brand of alternative rock they’d helped create. Through their reunion, they try to make up for lost time.

This is not to say that Frank Black had stopped writing great songs. Or excellent solo albums, for that matter. (Check out “Teenager of the Year,” and you won’t be disappointed).

It’s just that without the “Pixies” moniker, solo records had less commercial appeal. With the logo on them and with a semi-reunited formula, the new songs all receive a bit too much scrutiny.

Because of this, the fact that the band sounds like it’s double-guessing itself becomes more obvious than it would’ve otherwise.

“What Goes Boom” and “Magdalena 318” are fine. It’s nice to see the gang back together, even if Kim Deal had been ejected from the project prior to recording the album.

8. “Head Carrier” (2016)

Frank Black puts together another good collection of songs for “Head Carrier,” but those expecting something to rival Pixies’ goldern-era might be disappointed.

Writing a large number of new, good songs is nothing new for Francis. He had released 19 studio albums since Pixies had first broken up.

“Head Carrier” is a more inspired set than its predecessor. The album’s sound pulls toward retro-rock in a more inventive way.

And Santiago, Lovering, and the new bass player Paz Lenchantin have a larger role on this.

“Oona” and “Um Chagga Lagga” are good songs with a characteristically dark-humor streak to them.

7. “Beneath The Eyrie” (2019)

It took Pixies a few years to find themselves as a band once again. They just about succeed on “Beneath The Eyrie.”

Yes, in this case, the measure of success is marginal. Some of the songs are better. The album sounds like a group effort. And the eerie vibe of the record feels more in line with Pixies’ best work.

“Silver Bullet” and “Long Rider” are good songs. And “On Graveyard Hill” and “Catfish Kate” feature the kind of song titles you’d expect from a Pixies tribute act.

6. “Doggerel” (2022)

In part, a worthwhile addition to the band’s discography, “Doggerel” allows Pixies to add new, retro influences to their sound.

The sound of Americana coming out of most songs helps create a kind of Western gothic feel for much of the record.

“There’s a Moon On” and “Human Crime” are tracks that slide in nicely within the band’s setlist, which is otherwise chock full of classics.

Not everything on the record works, but Pixies sound like an energized band once more. More impressively, Francis and Co. refuse to rely merely on old favorites to get them by.

5. “Trompe Le Monde” (1991)

“Trompe Le Monde” is the last album made by Pixies in their original incarnation. It’s their least cohesive band effort, but still, a mighty fine at-rock record.

Pixies was a great band! Yes, Black Francis’ songs were the focal point. But the dynamic that Kim Deal, Joey Santiago, and drummer David Lovering had was something that most other bands envied.

By the early 1990s, Frank Black was set on a solo career. Fellow Pixie, Kim Deal, had achieved success outside of the band with the band The Breeders.

This is why “Trompe Le Monde” allows Francis to take the lion’s share of control, and it’s noticeable from the playing, to choosing Gil Norton as producer and to giving Deal a much-reduced role in the group.

Thematically, the lyrics are still zany. This time around, there’s less focus on sex and guilt. Many of the songs are about UFOs instead.

“Trompe Le Monde” rocks harder than “Bossanova,” although reverb-soaked guitars are still preferred. The songs are just a little less good.

“U-Mass” is, by far, the album’s standout. The cover of the Jesus & Mary Chain‘s “Head On” is also excellent. And “Planet of Sound” and “Alec Eiffel” are good summations of the record’s direction.

Pixies would break up after this record, leaving Francis to pursue an excellent, albeit underrated, career as a solo artist. It would leave behind heartbroken fans and a collection of highly-ranked albums.

4. “Bossanova” (1990)

By 1990 Pixies were done being the band that made “Here Comes Your Man” and “Debaser.” In “Bossanova,” they entertain new quirks, and the results are nearly as convincing.

On this album, Black Francis pushes for other retro and out fashion styles. The guitars ring like reverb-drenched surf-rock music instruments. And the rhythms hint at exotic South American music.

Many of the songs are still outstanding, weird, and poppy. “Dig for Fire” and “Velouria” are among the band’s best.

Plus, on “Bossanova,” it’s harder than usual to make out when Francis is creating his own myth or just expecting the world to accept eerie pop songs. “Is She Weird” or “Cecilia Ann” are played as straight as possible.

“Bossanova” is a good record that never tries to ape-up what the band had done on “Doolittle.” Some fans would’ve kind of wished they had tried.

3. “Come On Pilgrim” (1987)

It doesn’t take long to hear greatness in Pixies’ music. “Come On Pilgrim” may just be a bunch of cheaply recorded demos. But there’s no denying the quality the Black Francis’ songwriting.

The ember for most of the songs is the 1950s and 60s retro rock. The lyrics, however, deal with kinky sex, deformity, and mania. No wonder Pixies are such a cult band. Singer and songwriter deliver all of those straight-faced and sombre.

“Caribou” opens the EP like the soundtrack to a since-deleted cowboy movie. “The Holiday Song” and “Nimrod’s Song” are humorous yet eerie. And “I’ve Been Tired” and “Levitate Me” are enough to leave audiences wondering what this kind of band could do in a real studio.

2. “Surfer Rosa” (1988)

“Surfer Rosa” is one of the definitive albums of the 1980s. It’s a record on which the unassuming Pixies create many of alternative rock’s most famous characteristics.

The album is also a step up soundwise from the band’s debut EP, “Come On Pilgrim.” Pixies are joined by Steve Albini, who helps gives the songs a frantic dynamism.

Albini, also known as a musician with Big Black and Shellac, would become one of the best-known producers due to working on “Surfer Rosa.” From Nirvana to Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, rock bands would try to persuade him to add a similar treatment to their records.

The soft-loud dynamics only enhance the dynamism of the record. Simply put, songs would typically either start out slow and soft and end faster-paced and loud. Or, it could work the other way around. It’s one of the most oft-copied traits of Pixies music.

As for the songs themselves, almost everything here is excellent, in my opinion. “Bone Machine” sounds like a letter sent by natural disaster survivors. “Broken Face” is manic punk rock. “Break My Body” sounds like the sound of 90s alt-rock in a nutshell.

The most notable songs on the album, however, are “Gigantic” and “Where is My Mind?” The former is an atypical love song written and sung by bassist Kim Deal. Meanwhile, “Where is My Mind?” is a song about scuba diving that sounds like a spiritual epiphany.

1. “Doolittle” (1989)

“Doolittle” is a perfect album and Pixies’ best effort. It finds the band at their quirkiest and least self-conscious. It’s a moment in time when they seemingly cannot produce a bad song.

I believe that taken song for song, it’s not a stretch to consider “Doolitle” one of the greatest albums of all time. Pixies still perform nearly every song when they play live.

I saw them in concert in Sweden, and they zapped through their setlist without talking in between numbers. They were like a rock band burdened by too many songs the audience wanted to hear.

Naturally, many of the songs here are iconic to alt-rock fans. Album opener “Debaser” sounds like a precursor to “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It features memorable lyrics borrowed from the imagery of Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali’s experimental movie “Un Chien Andalou.”

“Wave of Mutilation” is a perfect pop ditty about entertaining suicide and floating away on El Nino.

“Here Comes Your Man” and “Monkey Gone to Heaven” are mysterious pop tunes that helped offer Pixies some genuine commercial exposure.

“Tame” allows Black Francis to showcase his screaming. And “Hey” or “Gouge Away” suggests that Joey Santiago’s unorthodox playing was responsible for some of the best guitar parts played in rock during the whole of the 1980s.

Pixies became indie darlings on the back of “Doolittle.” The adulation may have soon got old. But one feels that there was no other way to react to the near-musical perfection that was “Doolittle.”