The Doors Albums Ranked (rated from worst to best)
The Doors were formed in Los Angeles, California, USA in 1965. The members were Jim Morrison (vocals), Ray Manzarek (keyboards), Robby Krieger (guitar) and John Densmore (drums). The Doors were one of the most controversial and influential rock bands of the 60s mainly due to Morrison’s voice and lyrics.
They took their name from the title of Aldous Huxley’s book “The Doors Of Perception”. They signed with Elektra Records in 1966 and released 6 albums in 5 years, many of which are considered to be among the greatest of all time. Morrison died in 1971 and the band continued as a trio until disbanding in 1973.
Table of Contents
Best The Doors Albums Of All Time
The Doors have released 9 studio albums in total but we’ll only be ranking the 6 that were actually released while Jim Morrison was still alive. The others were recorded without Morrison at all, and are therefore not really albums by The Doors, well not for our purposes at least. As always we will rank them from the rest to the best as we see them.
6. The Soft Parade (1969)
This was their 4th studio album which was released on July 18th 1969 and reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart but it never reached the heights of their previous album “Waiting For The Sun” abroad in Europe or Canada. There were 4 singles released from this album which were; “Touch Me”, “Wishful Sinful”, “Tell All The People” and “Runnin’ Blue”.
5. Waiting For The Sun (1968)
This was their 3rd studio album which was released on July 3rd 1968 and was their only number one album, topping the Billboard 200 charts for 4 weeks. It also included their 2nd US number one single, “Hello, I Love You”. The other single released from this album was “The Unknown Soldier” which only reached number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was their first album to be a success on the UK charts where it reached number 16 in the album charts.
4. Strange Days
Released on September 25th 1967, “Strange Days” was their 2nd studio album and reached number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. There were 2 singles released from this album “People Are Strange” and “Love Me Two Times” which were both top 30 hits.
3. Morrison Hotel
Starting our top 3 Doors albums we have their 5th studio album which was released on February 9th 1970. This album has a real bluesy feel about it and reached number 4 on the Billboard 200 charts. It was their highest chart success in the UK where it reached number 12 on the UK album charts. There was only one single released from this album which was a double A side “You Make Me Real”/ “Roadhouse Blues” which reached number 50 on the Billboard 100 chart.
2. L.A. Woman
This was their 6th and last studio album before Jim Morrison died. It was released on April 19th 1971 and reached: number 9 on the Billboard 200, number 28 in the UK and number one in Holland. The album contains the single “Love Her Madly” which was released a month prior to the album’s release and reached the top 20 on the Billboard 100 chart. The other single released from this album was “Riders On The Storm” which also achieved chart success, reaching number 14 on the Hot 100 chart and number 22 in the UK.
1. The Doors
It often seems like a cliche when a band’s best album is also their first. But in this case it’s fully justified. The Doors debut album shows just what we have in store on future recordings. The opening track on side one “Break On Through (To the Other Side)” was released as their first single and reached number 126 in the US. 23 years after its original release it became a minor hit in the UK where it reached number 64 on the UK singles charts. The last track on side one “Light My Fire” was also released as a single and spent 3 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached number 49 on the UK singles charts.
All The Doors Albums In Chronological Order
| Album | Date |
|---|---|
| The Doors | 1967 |
| Strange Days | 1967 |
| Waiting For The Sun | 1968 |
| The Soft Parade | 1969 |
| Morrison Hotel | 1970 |
| L.A. Woman | 1971 |
| Other Voices | 1971 |
| Full Circle | 1972 |
| An American Prayer | 1978 |
Frequently Asked Questions
The best selling Doors album is “The Doors” which was their debut album and has sold almost 14 million copies worldwide.
The newest Doors album is “An American Prayer” which was released on November 17th 1978 and is a collection of Jim Morrison’s spoken words set to music by the remaining members of the band.
The first Doors album was “The Doors” which was released on January 4th 1967.
The Doors most famous song is “Riders On The Storm” which was taken from the album “L.A. Woman” and released as a single in June 1971. It reached number 14 on the Billboard 100 in the US and number 22 on the UK singles charts.
The doors were formed in Los Angeles, California USA in 1965.
The Doors genres are; Acid rock, psychedelic rock and blues rock.
The members of The Doors were; Jim Morrison (vocals), Ray Manzarek (keyboards), Robby Krieger (guitar) and John Densmore (drums).
