Duran Duran Albums Ranked (rated from worst to best)
Duran Duran were formed in Birmingham, England, UK in 1978. The band was always at the forefront of the music video scene which allowed them to capitalise on the 24 hour music channel MTV. They were one of the leading bands of the second British invasion of the US in the 1980s via MTV.
They have sold more than 100 million records which makes them one of the world’s best selling music artists. They have had 30 top 40 singles on the UK charts and 21 top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. They have also won numerous awards including 2 Brit Awards, 2 Grammy Awards and they have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as having their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Table of Contents
Best Duran Duran Albums Of All Time
Duran Duran have released 15 studio albums and as always we will rank them as we see them from the rest to the best.
15. Liberty (1990)
Released by Parlaphone on August 20th 1990, this was the band’s 6th studio album. After the band’s initial successes through the 80s, their popularity continued to decline and by the late 80s their studio albums were not going down too well with either the critics or the public. They released a compilation album in 89 which did get to the top 10 in many countries; it was only a stop-gap. This gave the band a chance to decide which direction they would take going forward.
“Liberty” was the result, but in all honesty there were only 3 tracks worth listening to, which were the title track as well as “Serious” and “My Antarctica”. The band released “Serious” and “Violence Of Summer (Love’s Taking Over)” as singles which got to number 20 on the UK singles charts and “Serious” only got to number 48. The album managed to get to number 8 on the UK charts and number 46 on the US charts.
14. Red Carpet Massacre (2007)
This was their 12th studio album which was released by Epic Records on November 13th 2007. It debuted at number 44 on the UK album charts, and fell to number 116 the following week. It was their 2nd and final album released by Epic Records as they left the label in 2009.
There was 1 single released from this album which was “Falling Down” which reached number 52 on the UK singles chart and number 25 on the Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Airplay chart (helped by being available to download from iTunes in the US).
13. Future Past (2021)
Released on October 22nd 2021, this was the band’s 15th studio album and their 1st to be released by BMG. They brought in some help with the production of this album. The producers being Mark Ronson, Giorgio Moroder and Erol Alkan alongside the band themselves. The album also features guest appearances by Tove Lo, Ivorian Doll, Chai (Japanese band) and Mike Garson. As well as having Graham Coxon (Blur) as guitarist on the album.
All of which seems to have helped as the album got to number 3 on the UK album charts. There were 6 singles released from this album which were “Invisible”, “More Joy”, “Anniversary”, “Tonight United”, “Give It All Up” and “Laughing Boy”.
12. Pop Trash (2000)
This was their 10th studio album which was released on June 19th 2000 by Hollywood Records and was their last album to feature the trio of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Warren Cuccurullo. They released 3 singles from this album which were “Someone Else Not Me”, “Playing With Uranium” which was only released in Italy, and “Last Day On Earth” which was only available in Japan.
11. Thank You (1995)
Released on April 4th 1995 by Parlaphone, this was their 8th studio album. It was an album of cover versions and did quite well on the charts, reaching number 12 on the UK album charts and number 19 on the Billboard 200 in the US.
It includes covers of songs by many famous artists including “Perfect Day” (Lou Reed), “911 is a Joke” (Public Enemy), “Watching The Detectives” (Elvis Costello) and “Lay Lady Lay” (Bob Dylan) which they released as a single in Italy and Brazil only..
10. Seven And The Ragged Tiger (1983)
This was their 3rd studio album which was released on November 21st 1983 by EMI. It was their 1st and only number 1 album on the UK album charts. There were 3 singles released from the album which were “Union of The Snake”, “New Moon on Monday” and “The Reflex” which became their 2nd number 1 single in the UK and 1st in the US.
It was around the time of this album’s release that the Princess of Wales publicly named Duran Duran as her favourite band.
9. Astronaut (2004)
This was their 11th studio album which was released on September 28th 2004 by Epic Records. It was their 1st album in 4 years since “Pop Trash” in 2000. “Astronaut” debuted at number 3 on the UK album charts, number 17 in the US and reached the top 10 in many other countries.
There were 3 singles released from this album which were “(Reach Up for The) Sunrise” (which debuted at number 5 in the UK and would eventually reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US), “What Happens Tomorrow” (which peaked at number 11 in the UK) and “Nice” which was only released to radio in Europe.
8. Notorious (1986)
Released on November 21st 1986 by EMI this was the band’s 4th studio album. It got to number 16 on the UK album charts and number 12 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US. It marked a new funk/pop style to the band musically with lots of bass and brass instruments which can be seen on the singles “Notorious” and “Skin Trade”. There was also a 3rd single released from this album, “Meet El Presidente” which was released to coincide with their April 1987 tour. In the US the single was released under the title “The Presidential Suite”.
7. Big Thing (1988)
This was the 5th studio album by Duran Duran which was released on October 18th 1988 by EMI. It reached number 15 on the UK album charts and number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US. There were 3 singles released from this album 2 of which, “I Don’t Want Your Love” and “All She Wants Is” were dance tracks and showed that Duran Duran had a house-side to their music. The 3rd “Do You Believe in Shame?” was a more ballad-like track which failed to peak higher than number 30 and put the stoppers on a 4th single release.
6. Duran Duran (1981)
This was the band’s debut album which was released on June 15th 1981 by EMI. The album got to number 3 on the UK album charts and number 10 on the Billboard Top LPs and Tape chart. There were 3 singles released from this album which were “Planet Earth” which got to number 12 on the UK singles chart, “Careless Memories” which got to number 37, and “Girls On Film” which got to number 5 on the UK singles chart.
5. Paper Gods (2015)
Released on September 11th 2015 by Warner Bros. Records, “Paper Gods” was the band’s 14th studio album. The album peaked at number 5 on the UK Album charts and number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US. There were 2 singles released from this album which were “Pressure Off” and “Last Night in the City”.
4. Medazzaland (1997)
Released on October 14th 1997 by Capitol Records, this was the band’s 9th studio album. It was never officially released physically in Europe until 2022. It was originally released only in North America, Latin America and Japan. The album only managed to reach number 58 on the Billboard 200 chart and was the follow up to their covers album “Thank You”.
3. Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) (1993)
This was the bands 7th studio album which was released on February 11th 1993 by Parlaphone and is commonly known as “The Wedding Album”. The album reached number 4 on the UK album charts and number 7 in the US. The 3 singles released in the UK, “Ordinary World”, “Come Undone” and “Too Much Information” were all top 40 hits with “Ordinary World” reaching number 6 in the chart.
In the US “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone” both reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Femme Fatale” was released in France and “None of the Above” was released in Japan.
2. All You Need Is Now (2010)
This was the band’s 13th studio album which was released on December 21st 2010 in the UK and March 21st 2011 in the US. The album reached number 11 in the UK making it the band’s 13th top 20 album, and it got to number 29 in the US.
The band promoted the album by doing a tour of the same name and it received mainly good reviews from the critics. With many saying it was their best album since “Rio” in 1982.
1. Rio (1982)
Released on May 10th 1982, “Rio” was the 2nd studio album by Duran Duran and it peaked at number 2 onthe UK album charts and reached number 1 in the US and Canada. There were 3 worldwide hit singles released from this album which were the title track, “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “Save a Prayer”.
At the time of release, “Rio” received mainly negative reviews from the critics but it has stood the test of time and is now considered to be their best work ever.
All Duran Duran Albums In Chronological Order
| Album | Date |
|---|---|
| Duran Duran | 1981 |
| Rio | 1982 |
| Seven and the Ragged Tiger | 1983 |
| Notorious | 1986 |
| Big Thing | 1988 |
| Liberty | 1990 |
| Duran Duran (The Wedding Album) | 1993 |
| Thank You | 1995 |
| Medazzaland | 1997 |
| Pop Trash | 2000 |
| Astronaut | 2004 |
| Reportage (Unreleased) | 2006 |
| Red Carpet Massacre | 2007 |
| All You Need Is Now | 2010 |
| Paper Gods | 2015 |
| Future Past | 2021 |
Frequently Asked Questions
The best selling Duran Duran album is “Arena” (1984) which has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.
The newest Duran Duran album is “Future Past” which was released on October 22nd 2021.
The first Duran Duran album was “Duran Duran” which was released June 15th 1981.
Duran Duran’s most famous song is “Hungry Like The Wolf” which is taken from the album “Rio”.
Duran Duran were formed in Birmingham, England, UK in 1978.
The genres ascribed to Duran Duran are; Pop rock, synth pop and new wave.
The current members of Duran Duran are Simon Le Bon, Roger Taylor, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes. Past members are; Sterling Cambell, Warren Cuccurullo, Andy Taylor, Stephen Duffy, Simon Colley, Andy Wickets, Alan Curtis and Jeff Thomas.
