Meat Loaf Albums Ranked (rated from worst to best)

Marvin Lee Aday, better known as Meat Loaf was an American rock singer and actor. He was born on September 27th 1947 in Dallas, Texas and died on January 20th 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.

He was best known for his theatrical live shows and his powerful voice, and his “Bat Out Of Hell” trilogy: “Bat Out Of Hell” (1977), Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell” (1993) and “Bat Out Of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose” (2006), has sold in excess of 100 million records worldwide.

Table of Contents

Best Meat Loaf Albums Of All Time

Meat Loaf released 12 studio albums and as always we’ll rank them as we see them from the rest to the best.

12. Blind Before I Stop (1986)

This was Meat Loaf’s 5th studio album which was released on September 22nd 1986. The album was produced in Germany by Frank Farian and was the first Meat Loaf album to incorporate the full 80s sound.

There were 4 singles released from this album which were; “Rock ‘N’ Roll Mercenaries” (a duet with John Parr), “Getting Away With Murder”, “Blind Before I Stop” and “Special Girl”.

The album peaked at number 28 on the UK album charts and the highest charting single was “Rock ‘N’ Roll Mercenaries” which peaked at number 31 on the UK singles chart.

11. Braver Than We Are (2016)

Released in September 2016, this was the 12th and final studio album by Meat Loaf and songwriter Jim Steinman. It was originally planned that Steinman would write 2 or 3 songs for this album but in the end all of the tracks were written or co-written by him.

The album’s producer Paul Crook said of the album:

Although there’s been Bat 1, Bat 2 and Bat 3 completed, I believe this is actually Bat 3. I’m gonna say that. I might get myself in trouble, but I’m gonna say that. Jim’s involvement in this record is so intense. The songs, the way they run together and the narrative of the record, nothing has been this cohesive since Bat 1.
Paul Crook

There were 2 singles released from this album which were “Going All The Way” and “Speaking In Tongues”.

The album peaked at number 4 on the UK album charts and number 31 on The Billboard 200 chart in the US.

10. Couldn’t Have Said It Better (2003)

This was the 8th studio album by Meat Loaf which was released on April 21st 2003. This only one of 3 Meat Loaf albums that doesn’t contain any songs written by Jim Steinman,

There were 3 singles released from this album which were; “Did I Say That”, “Couldn’t Have Said It Better” and “Man Of Steel”.

The album peaked at number 4 on the UK charts, number 5 on the Danish charts and number 8 on the German charts.

9. Hell in a Handbasket (2011)

This was Meat Loaf’s 11th studio album which was released on September 30th 2011 in Australia and New Zealand, February 27th 2012 in the UK and March 13th 2012 in the US.

There were 3 singles released from this album which were; “Stand In The Storm” which featured guest appearances from Mark McGrath, John Rich and Lil Jon, who were his team mates on the TV show “Celebrity Apprentice”. The single was released as a digital download in May 2011 with proceeds going to each celebrities respective charities.

The second single which was released as a physical single as well as a digital download through iTunes in Australia on August 26th 2011 was “All Of Me”. Then in September 2011 a cover of The Mamas And The Papas song “California Dreamin’” featuring Patti Russo was released to radio in Australia.

The album peaked at number 5 on the UK album charts, number 20 on the Australian chart and number 100 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

8. Welcome to the Neighbourhood (1995)

“Welcome to the Neighbourhood” was released on October 30th 1995 as the 7th studio album by Meat Loaf. It was the follow up to his successful “Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell” album which was released 2 years earlier.

There were 3 singles released from this album which were; “I’d Lie for You (And That’s the Truth)”, “Not a Dry Eye in the House” and “Runnin’ for the Red Light (I Gotta Life)”.

One of the tracks on this album “Amnesty Is Granted” was written by Sammy Hagar (Montrose, Van Halen, Chickenfoot).

The album peaked at number 3 on the UK charts, number 10 on the Australian charts and number 17 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

7. Midnight at the Lost and Found (1983)

Released in May 1983, “Midnight At The Lost And Found” was Meat Loaf’s 3rd studio album. After an apparent falling out with his former songwriter, Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf was under pressure from his record company Epic Records to record an album.

Apparently Steinman had given Meat Loaf 2 songs which Epic wouldn’t pay him for so he withdrew them and gave them to Bonnie Tyler (“Total Eclipse Of The Heart”) and Air Supply (“Making Love Out Of Nothing At All”) which both became hits.

There were 3 singles released from this album which were; “If You Really Want To”, “Razor’s Edge” and “Midnight At The Lost And Found”.

The album peaked at number 7 on the UK charts and number 7 in Norway.

6. Bat Out of Hell III (2006)

Released on various dates in October 2006, this was Meat Loaf’s 9th studio album. Due to an on-going legal battle over the trademark “Bat Out Of Hell”, Jim Steinman wasn’t involved in the production of this album, making it the only “Bat” album of the trilogy he had no production input on.

Even though Steinman wasn’t involved in the production or recording of this album, it does have 7 of his songs featured on it.

There were 2 singles released from this album which were; “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” and “Cry Over Me”.

The album peaked at number 3 on the UK charts, number 8 on the Billboard 200 in the US and number 9 on the Australian charts.

5. Bad Attitude (1984)

This was Meat Loaf’s 4th studio album which was released in April 1984 in the UK and a year later in the US. It was recorded in the UK and features 2 songs by Jim Steinman and a duet “Bad Attitude” with Roger Daltrey (The Who).

There is also a duet “Modern Girl” with Clare Torry who worked with Pink Floyd on the track “The Great Gig In The Sky” taken from their “Dark Side Of The Moon” album.

This album is far more hard rock orientated than his previous releases and peaked at number 8 on the UK charts and number 74 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

4. Hang Cool Teddy Bear (2010)

Released in April 2010 this was Meat Loaf’s 10th studio album and includes many guest artists including; Brian May, Paul Crook, Steve Vai, Patti Russo, Jack Black, Hugh Laurie and Pearl Aday.

It contains songs written or co-written by Jon Bon Jovi, Justin Hawkins, Jon Foreman and Desmond Child.

There was only one single released from the album which was “Los Angeloser”.

The album peaked at number 4 in the UK and number 27 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

3. Dead Ringer (1981)

Released on September 4th 1981 “Dead Ringer” was the 2nd studio album by Meat Loaf.

There were 4 singles released from this album which were; “Dead Ringer For Love” (featuring Cher), “I’m Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us”, “Read ‘Em And Weep” and “Peel Out”.

The album was a number one hit in the UK, it peaked at number 5 in Australia and number 45 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US.

2. Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell (1993)

Released on September 14th 1993, this was Meat Loaf’s 6th studio album. It was written and produced by Jim Steinman and it peaked at number one in the UK, US and Canada.

There were 3 singles released from this album which were; “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” (which made the number one spot in 28 countries), “Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through” and “Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are”.

Jim Steinman said of the album:

I started writing what I felt was Bat Out of Hell part 2, definitely like The Godfather part 1 and part 2, that’s how I saw it. I wanted to do a continuation and I wanted to do an album that went even further and that was more extreme, if possible, which a lot of people felt wasn’t possible but I just wanted to see if I could make a record that was even more heroic because that’s what I thought of it … Bat Out of Hell to me was ultimately very heroic though it was funny … and I wanted to do one that to me would be even more heroic and more epic and a little more operatic and passionate.
Jim Stein

1. Bat Out of Hell (1977)

This was Meat Loaf’s debut album which was released on October 21st 1977. This is one of the best selling albums in music history. It was developed from a musical “Neverland”, a rock version of the Peter Pan story.

It was written by Jim Steinman in 1974 and recorded between 1975-76 in several studios including Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York.

The album, which was produced by Todd Rundgren, has sold more than 43 million copies worldwide.

There were 5 singles released from the album which were; “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)”, “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad”, “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”, “ All Revved Up with No Place to Go” and “Bat Out Of Hell”.

All Meat Loaf Albums In Chronological Order

Album	Date
Bat Out Of Hell	1977
Dead Ringer	1981
Midnight at the Lost and Found	1983
Bad Attitude	1984
Blind Before I Stop	1986
Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell	1993
Welcome to the Neighbourhood	1995
Couldn’t Have Said It Better	2003
Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose	2006
Hang Cool Teddy Bear	2010
Hell in a Handbasket	2011
Braver Than We Are	2016