I don’t think I could rank because they have such a strong discography, but Wonderful, Wonderful would for sure be last
WW is definitely at the bottom. I love songs on that record, but you can really feel the absence of Dave.
WW is probably bottom but the title track and particularly “Run for Cover” are some of my favourite Killers songs. I think as a whole album, “Imploding..” might be my favourite.
Sincerely forgot, momentarily, that Wonderful Wonderful exists lol. Not sure what they were going for with that record but kicking it off with the title track, a song I cannot even make it through given how low energy/blah it is, really set the tone for that album.
Wonderful Wonderful is their only mediocre album. It just sounds and feels half-baked. Handful of good songs, Run For Cover is great, most of the rest is blah
I find all their albums kinda patchy lol, I think Day and Age has the best hit:miss ratio. No album has ever fallen off harder or more pronounced-ly in its second half than the debut. esp if you got the version w "indie rock and roll"
No offense but Pressure Machine and Battle Born under Wonderful is officially the worst thing I'll ever read on here
The thing is with these guys is that I could really see someone making the case for any of their albums being their best, with the exception of Wonderful, Wonderful - that one is a dud. My Killers hot take is that they absolutely recorded an album when they were making Sam's Town that lived up to the hyperbolic things Brandon Flowers was saying about it during the leadup and release, but that's not the album that they released. My other Killers hot take is that Day & Age* might be my favorite album of theirs, even though I would in no way argue that it's their best or strongest. I think it is so cool that they followed up WW with the one-two punch of Imploding The Mirage & Pressure Machine. * (I count the songs Tidal Wave, Forget About What I Said, & A Crippling Blow as part of the album)
I'd go: Hot Fuss (Side A) Imploding The Mirage The Desired Effect --- Pressure Machine Sam's Town Sawdust Hot Fuss (Side B) Battle Born Flamingo -- Day & Age Wonderful Wonderful but hey, that might be changing soon! on multiple fronts :)
So your hot take is there’s an unreleased Killers album that’s incredible? Or that Sams Town was supposed to be much better than it turned out to be? Or both? Haha
If I get to drop weak tracks and add the amazing b-sides that I like, I'd go with: Sam's Town The Desired Effect Day & Age / Pressure Machine Hot Fuss / Imploding The Mirage / Battle Born Flamingo Wonderful, Wonderful But I would say everything from Flamingo up is at least a great album, and even WW has a few songs I really like a lot.
Sorry for the double post, but I saw this after my other one. The second thing you said - Sam's Town was supposed to be much better but they left off some incredible songs and stuck on a few turds.
Pressure Machine Battle Born Hot Fuss Sam’s Town Imploding the Mirage (The Desired Effect) Day & Age (Flamingo) Wonderful Wonderful (Sawdust) Honestly, anything in that top 5 can shift around depending on the day. Really love all five of those. Battle Born is like my pet project. I like that one way more than anyone else and am constantly trying to convince people it’s awesome.
wonderful wonderful is most definitely NOT a dud. life to come, run for cover, tyson vs douglas, rut, the calling, and the title track are all stellar songs!
If Imploding the Mirage were as good for the duration as it is for those first four songs, it would be their best album by a huge margin. Hot Fuss catches all the flak for being top heavy, but Mirage has exactly the same problem, IMO. One of the great things about Pressure Machine is how strong the back half is. The last three songs really take it to another level.
If I were including solo albums, The Desired Effect would probably be my #2. That one really hit a sweet spot for me.
I think they’re saying it shouldn’t be considered a Killers album, but it was made by the band and called a Killers album. And if that’s what they’re saying, I agree with it. If I ranked Killers albums, I’d leave that one off as it’s such a departure, sonically, from every other record they’ve made. Edit: I’d put it in the solo/side project category.