Alice In Chains Albums Ranked (rated from worst to best)

Formed in Seattle, Washington, USA in 1987, Alice In Chains gained fame internationally as part of the 1990s grunge movement. Although they never officially disbanded, there were long periods of inactivity due to illness and then the death of lead vocalist Layne Staley. He was replaced by William Duvall in 2006 and they released another 3 albums under Duvall’s vocals.

In total they have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide with 14 million of that total sold in the US alone. They have had 18 top 10 songs on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart with 5 reaching number 1.

Best Alice In Chains Albums Of All Time

Alice In Chains have released 6 studio albums and as always we will rank them as we see them from the rest to the best.

6.The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013)

Released on May 28th 2013 this was the band’s 5th studio album and their final album released by Capitol Records. It’s also their 2nd reunion album and it was delayed numerous times. At one point guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell had to have surgery on his shoulder which put back the production and subsequent release of the album even further. It reached number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and topped the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart. 

There were 3 singles released from this album which were; “Hollow”, “Stone” and “Voices”. All of which stayed on the chart for 20 weeks with 2 of them, “Hollow” and “Stone” reaching number 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

5. Rainier Fog (2018)

This was the band’s 6th studio album which was released on August 24th 2018 by BMG. It was their 3rd album with William Duvall sharing vocals with Jerry Cantrell and the 1st Alice In Chains album to be recorded in their hometown of Seattle for 22 years.

The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums, Alternative Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts and number 10 on the UK album charts. There were 4 singles released from this album which were’ “The One You Know”, “So Far Under”, “Never Fade” and “Rainier Fog”.

4. Alice In Chains (1995)

Often referred to as “The Dog Album” or “Tripod” due to the cover image of a 3 legged dog, this was the band’s 3rd studio album which was released on November 7th 1995 by Columbia Records. It was their 1st full length studio album to feature Mike Inez (bass) and their last to feature Layne Staley (vocals) who died in 2002. 

The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed on the chart for 46 weeks. They released 3 singles from this album which were; “Grind”, “Heaven Beside You” and “Again”. 

3. Facelift (1990)

Released on August 21st 1990 by Columbia Records this was Alice In Chains’ debut album. The album charted at number 42 on the Billboard 200 and there were 2 singles released from this album which were; “Man In The Box” which reached number 18 on the US main rock singles chart and “Sea Of Sorrow” which reached number 27 on the same chart. 

Drummer Sean kinney says he played this album with a broken hand, he said;-

“I almost didn’t play on the record – they started rehearsing with the drummer from Mother Love Bone, Greg Gilmore. I was sitting there playing with one hand, guiding him through it. Dave Jerden came in and they started to try to do it. He was like, ‘Screw it – pull the plug. This is not going to be the same.’ Luckily, we took a tiny bit of time off. I had that cast on for a while, and was like, ‘I can’t miss this.’ I cut my cast off in the studio and kept a bucket of ice by the drum set. Kept my hand iced down and played with a broken hand.”

2. Black Gives Way To Blue (2009)

Released on September 29th 2009 on the Virgin/EMI label, this was the band’s 4th studio album. It was their 1st album without Layne Staley who had died in 2002 and their 1st with rhythm guitarist/vocalist William Duvall sharing vocal duties with Jerry Cantrell who sings lead vocals on almost all of the songs. The title track is a tribute to Layne Staley featuring Elton John on piano.

There were 4 singles released from this album which were “A Looking In View”, “Check My Brain”, “Your Decision” and “Lesson Learned”. The album debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US and got as high as number 3 on the UK Rock and Metal Albums chart.

1. Dirt (1992)

Dirt was their 2nd studio album which was released on September 29th 1992 by Columbia Records. They often say a band’s 2nd album either makes or breaks them and in this case it was a roaring success. It got as high as number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart and is their highest selling album to date. It was also the band’s last album recorded with all of their original lineup, as Mike Starr (bass) was fired the following year during the supporting tour for this album. 

There were 5 singles released from this album which were; “Would?”, “Them Bones”, “Angry Chair”, “Rooster” and “Down In The Hole”. The single “Would?” was featured on the soundtrack to the 1992 film “Singles” and was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film. The track “Iron Gland” features Tom Araya (Slayer) on vocals. Most of the tracks were written by Jerry cantrell with 2 written by Layne Staley which were; “Hate To Feel” and “Angry Chair”. The album was voted “Kerrang! Critic’s Choice Album of the Year”.

All Alice In Chains Albums In Chronological Order

Album	Date
Facelift	1990
Dirt	1992
Alice In Chains	1995
Black Gives Way to Blue	2009
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here	2013
Rainier Fog	2018

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