Santana Albums Ranked (rated from worst to best)
Santana were formed in 1966 in California by the Mexican-American songwriter and guitarist Carlos Santana. The band has featured many line ups over the years with Carlos Santana the only consistent band member. They appeared at Woodstock in 1969 which resulted in them being signed to Columbia Records and then success with their first few albums. They then went on to experiment with jazz fusion before reaching commercial success with the release of “Supernatural” and the singles “Maria Maria” featuring The Product G&B and “Smooth” featuring Rob Thomas.
Best Santana Albums Of All Time
Here are the albums of Santana ranked from worst to best as we see them. We hope you enjoy our selection of work from the great Carlos Santana.
20. Shaman (2002)
Shaman was the 19th studio album released by Santana on October 22nd 2002. The first week of sales was recorded as 298,973 copies and the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in the US. Like the previous album “Supernatural”, “Shaman” features many famous rock, pop and hip hop artists but also includes the Spanish opera star Plácido Domingo.
19. Festivál (1977)
Festivál was the 8th studio album released by Santana in January 1977. It reached number 27 in the Billboard 200 in the US. There were 3 singles taken from this album which were; “Let The Children Play”, “Jugando” and “Verão Vermelho”.
18. Zebop! (1981)
Zebop! Was the 12th studio album released by Santana on April 29th 1981. It featured the single “Winning” which was one of Santana’s last top 40 hits until the 1999 release of “Supernatural”.
17. Milagro (1992)
Milagro was the 17th studio album released by Santana in May 1992. Milagro means miracle in Spanish and was dedicated to the lives of Bill Graham and Miles Davis. It was the band’s first album on the Polydor record label. It reached 102 on the Billboard 200 in the US.
16. Borboletta (1974)
Borboletta was the 6th studio album released by Santana in October 1974. The word Borboleta means butterfly in Portuguese and along with the butterfly on the album cover, is in respect to the album “Butterfly Dreams” by the Brazilian musician Flora Purim and her husband Airto Moreira.
15. Supernatural (1999)
Released on June 15th 1999, Supernatural was the 18th studio album from Santana. It reached number one in 11 countries and was at number one for 12 weeks in the US. Guest artists on this album include Eric Clapton, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Ceelo Green, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, KC Porter, Rob Thomas and Maná.
14. Africa Speaks
Africa Speaks was the 25th studio album released by Santana on June 7th 2019. Featuring Buika on lead vocals, Africa Speaks reached number 3 on the Billboard 200 and number one on the US Top Latin Albums.
13. Corazón (2014)
Released on May 6th 2014 Corazón was the 23rd studio album by Santana. The album features collaborations with numerous singers including Gloria Estefan, Cindy Blackman and Ziggy Marley. Corazón reached number one on the US Top Latin Album charts, the US Latin Pop album charts and the US Top Rock Album charts.
12. Amigos (1976)
Amigos was the 7th studio album release by Santana. It was released on March 26th 1976. This jazz fusion, funk rock, rock en Español, Latin rock album only reached number 10 on the US Billboard 200 and number 8 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album chart.
11. Santana IV (2016)
Santana IV was the 24th studio album from Santana. It was released on April 15th 2016 and was a mixture of Afro-Latin rhythms, blues, psychedelic guitar solos, percussion and vocals. It debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200 and sold 40,000 copies in its first week.
10. Shape Shifter (2012)
Shape Shifter was the 22nd studio album released by Santana on May 4th 2012. It was their first album since Milagro (1992) that doesn’t feature a guest singer on any of the songs. All of the tracks on this album are instrumentals apart from one, “Eres La Luz”.
9. Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time (2010)
Released on September 21st 2010 Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, was Santana’s 21st studio album. It features artists such as; India Arie, Chris Cornell (Sound Garden), Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots) Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty), Joe Cocker, Scott Stapp (Creed), Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach), Chris Daughtry, Pat Monahan and Nas.
8. Blessings And Miracles (2021)
The 26th studio album released by Santana on October 15th 2021, Blessings And Miracles was created remotely during the pandemic lockdowns. It features guest artists including; Ally Brooke, Kirk Hammett, Steve Winwood, Rob Thomas, Corey Glover, Chick Corea, Gayle Moran Corea and Chris Stapleton.
7. Welcome (1973)
Released on November 9th 1973, Welcome was the 5th studio album recorded by Santana. Similar in style to “Caravanserai” , Welcome was far more experimental than their first 4 albums and never produced any hit singles. It featured Alice Coltrane on piano and Flora Purim on vocals on the track “Going Home”.
6. Moonflower (1977)
Moonflower is a double album released in October 1977 and features studio recorded and live tracks intermingled throughout the album. Probably Santana’s most popular live album, “Moonflower” features a mix of Latin fusion, Blues-Rock, and some experimental and spiritual jazz fusion that became more prominent in later albums.
5. Santana (1969)
Their debut album, released on August 30th 1969, just 2 weeks after their performance at Woodstock. The album spent more than two years on the Billboard 200 chart and reached number 4 in November 1969.
4. In Search of Mona Lisa (2019)
This Extended Play recording was released on January 25th 2019 on Concord records. The title of the album comes from a personal experience that Carlos Santana had when he visited the Louvre in Paris and saw the painting Mona Lisa for the first time. He wrote the tracks after a series of dreams he had after seeing Leornardo da Vinci’s masterpiece.
3. Caravanserai (1972)
The 4th studio album released by Santana on October 11th 1972, “Caravanserai” was different to their first 3 albums as it concentrated on mainly jazz style instrumental tracks. It reached number 8 in the Billboard 200 chart and number 6 in the US R&B albums chart.
2. Santana III (1971)
This was the 3rd studio album released by Santana in September 1971. It’s actually another self titled album but as it’s their 3rd album, it’s often referred to as Santana III. It was the last Santana album to reach number one in the charts until “Supernatural” in 1999.
1. Abraxas (1970)
Released on September 23rd 1970, Abraxas was their 2nd studio album and their first album to reach number one on the US charts. Abraxas features 4 single releases which are “Samba Pa Ti”, “Hope You’re Feeling Better”, “Oye Como Va” and “Black Magic Woman”. Abraxas was cited as “culturally, historically, or artistically significant” by the Library of Congress and was also selected to their National Recording Registry in 2015.
All Santana Albums In Chronological Order
| Album | Year |
|---|---|
| Santana | 1969 |
| Abraxas | 1970 |
| Santana III | 1971 |
| Caravanserai | 1972 |
| Welcome | 1973 |
| Borboletta | 1974 |
| Amigos | 1976 |
| Festivál | 1977 |
| Moonflower | 1977 |
| Inner Secrets | 1978 |
| Marathon | 1979 |
| Zebop! | 1981 |
| Shangó | 1982 |
| Beyond Appearances | 1985 |
| Freedom | 1987 |
| Spirits Dancing in the Flesh | 1990 |
| Milagro | 1992 |
| Supernatural | 1999 |
| Shaman | 2002 |
| All That I Am | 2005 |
| Guitar Heaven | 2010 |
| Shape Shifter | 2012 |
| Corazón | 2014 |
| Santana IV | 2016 |
| Africa Speaks | 2019 |
| Blessings And Miracles | 2021 |
Santana’s Woodstock SetList
On Saturday August 16th between 2.00 pm and 2.45 pm Santana performed in front of an estimated 400,000 Festival goers at Woodstock. Their setlist was as follows;
- Waiting
- Evil Ways
- You Just Don’t care
- Savor
- Jingo
- Persuasion
- Soul Sacrifice
- Fried Neck Bones And Some Home Fries (Encore)
Frequently Asked Questions
The best selling Santana album is “Supernatural” (released in 1999). It is a 30 times platinum selling album (worldwide).
The newest Santana album is “Blessings and Miracles” (released in 2021). It features a number of famous artists including; Steve Winwood, Kirk Hammett, Chick Corea, Rob Thomas, Ally Brooke, Gayle Moran Corea, Chris Stapleton and Corey Glover.
Santana’s first album was self-titled and released in 1969 just two weeks after their appearance at Woodstock in front of 400,000 people.
Santana’s most famous song is “Samba Pa Ti” taken from the album Abraxas. It has been featured on TV shows, commercials and has also been covered by numerous artists.
The band Santana were formed in 1966 by the Mexican-American songwriter and guitarist Carlos Santana in San Francisco.
Santana’s genres include; Jazz fusion, Latin rock, Chicano rock, acid rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock.
The current lineup of the band Santana are; Carlos Santana, Cindy Blackman Santana, Andy Vargas, Benny Rietveld, Karl Perazzo, Ray Greene, Tommy Anthony, David K. Mathews, Paoli Mejias and Jim Jameson. Past band members include; David Brown, Gregg Rolie, Michael Shrieve, José “Chepito” Areas and Michael Carabello.
