The Cure Albums Ranked (rated from worst to best)

The Cure were formed in Crawley, West Sussex, UK in 1978. Although the band’s lineup has changed a number of times, the one constant is lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist, Robert Smith. Their debut album which was released in 1979 and their early single releases established The Cure as fully signed up members of the new wave, post-punk movement of the late 70s early 80s in Britain.

Best The Cure Albums Of All Time

Over almost 31 years The Cure produced 13 studio albums along with many live albums and a number of B-sides that were never included on any albums. Many of the B-sides are, however, included on the 2004 box-set “Join the Dots: B-sides & Rarities 1978-2001”. As always, we only include studio albums in our rankings so here are the studio albums of The Cure ranked from worst to best.

Every Cure fan will have their own ideas when it comes to the ranking of their albums, feel free to let us know your favourites, where you’d rank them and why in the comments.

13. The Cure (2004)

This album sounded too heavy to be the Cure. If it wasn’t for the familiar voice of Robert Smith you would never have known it was The Cure. At some stages, you can’t even make out his voice just a high scream. Stand out tracks include “(I Don’t Know What’s Going) On”, “Anniversary” and “Taking Off”. The only other track worth a mention is “The End Of The World”.

12. Wild Mood Swings (1996)

It almost sounds like the band lost their way a bit with this album, which is of course, exactly what happened. Band members came and went which led to an identity crisis within the band’s persona as a whole. The result was “Wild Mood Swings”. Stand out tracks include “This Is A Lie”, “Jupiter’s Crash” and “Want”.

11. 4:13 Dream (2008)

Apparently Robert Smith had so many songs available that he considered making this a double album. He chose instead to trim it down to just a single album full of the more upbeat tunes in the band’s back catalogue. The result was an album trying to sound like early Cure and sadly missing the mark to a greater extent. Stand out tracks include; “Freak Show”, “Underneath The Stars” and “The Only One”.

10. Bloodflowers (2000)

This was the third album in the trilogy which included “Pornography” and “Disintegration”. The only way to describe it is as a good Cure album but not in the same league as the previous members of the trilogy. Stand out tracks include; “Out Of This World”, “The Loudest Sound” and “There Is No If”.

9. The Top (1984)

A very confused album this one, there appears to be no musical direction at all. Which when you realise how the band were all arguing during this period makes sense. Stand out tracks include; “Birdmad Girl”, “The Caterpillar” and “Bananafishbones”.

8. Three Imaginary Boys (1979)

This was the first album by The Cure and it wasn’t to everyone’s taste. Even Robert Smith didn’t approve of the record company releasing it. Stand out tracks include; “Accuracy”, “Fire In Cairo” and “Object”.

7. Wish (1992)

“Wish” debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart and saw The Cure at their most commercial phase of their career. Stand out tracks include; “Doing The Unstuck”, “Friday I’m In Love” and “Wendy Time”.

6. Faith (1981)

When you look at the tracks produced on this album, it shows just how good their back catalogue is that this only makes number 6 in our rankings. This was the album that set the Cure’s style for years to come. Stand out tracks include; “The Funeral Party” and “Primary”.

5. Pornography (1982)

This album depicts the mood of the band in general, they were arguing, fighting and Robert Smith was struggling with some serious depression. Stand out tracks include; “One Hundred Years”, “The Figurehead” and “Cold”.

4. Seventeen Seconds (1980)

This was the band’s second album and it’s the album they started to identify their own persona. From this came the Goth culture and the movement that followed it. Stand out tracks include; “Play For Today”, “M” and “In Your House”.

3. The Head on the Door (1985)

Every track on this album was written by Robert Smith and it’s his wonderful songwriting ability that got the band back on track. The release of this album coincided with the start up of the modern-rock radio stations and it fit in well with the music they were playing. Stand out tracks include; “Inbetween Days”, “Close To Me” and “Six Different Ways”

2. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)

A double album of epic diversity is how one music pundit described “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me”. It was the album that broke The Cure into the USA listening audiences playlists. Stand out tracks include; “Just Like Heaven”, “Why Can’t I Be You” and “hey You”.

1. Disintegration (1989)

This is by far and away, the best album The Cure ever made. It sounds like it’s been produced by a band at the height of its creative level and it was. Stand out tracks include; “Fascination Street”, “Pictures of You” and “Lovesong”.

All The Cure Albums In Chronological Order

Album	Date
Three Imaginary Boys	1979
Seventeen Seconds	1980
Faith	1981
Pornography	1982
The Top	1984
The Head on the Door	1985
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me	1987
Disintegration	1989
Wish	1992
Wild Mood Swings	1996
Bloodflowers	2000
The Cure	2004
4:13 Dream	2008

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