AC/DC has just announced a thirteen-date North American stadium tour for 2025.  I have never seen AC/DC live, and while I love the band and would love to finally see them, I don’t anticipate that it will happen.  I hate stadium and arena shows, I hate paying hundreds of dollars for a show, and well, maybe I’m a little lazy in dealing with traffic issues as well.  I’ll travel far to see a band in a small club, but otherwise, I’m usually a pass. 

The date closest to my home in Virginia is Northwest Stadium (home of my beloved Washington Commanders) which is about two hours away in Landover, Maryland.  For the more local Pencil Storm readers, they will play Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on May 28th.   Anyway, along with the tour announcement, I have just happened upon a ranking of AC/DC records on a website called UCR (Ultimate Classic Rock.com, AC/DC Albums Ranked Worst to Best). 

After looking at it, I decided to take a crack at my own ranking which - by the way - will be vastly different from UCR’s.  When I got started writing this, it felt eerily familiar, like maybe I had already done this a few years back.  But it wasn’t me, it was Scott Plez, way back in 2017 when Colin asked him to write something about the Rock or Bust record which had just been released. My ranking is quite different than Scott’s as well.

Compare this list in which Scott Plez also ranked every AC/DC record for Pencilstorm in 2017.

I will tell you right off the bat, that while I loved Bon Scott, I think Brian Johnson has done a hell of a job carrying on in those big shoes for all these years, and arguably he could be considered Bon’s equal.  That opinion will be obvious in my rankings.  Another observation I can make about my own preferences is that my age probably has a big influence.  There’s an era that’s a little too old for my liking.  Having said that, I think it’s entirely justifiable to believe that 1977-1983 were the bands’ greatest years.  I simply don’t like Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.  It surprises me how well that ranks in the AC/DC catalog with most people.  The last thing I’ll say before we get to the rankings is that Highway to Hell and Back in Black are both masterpieces and either could be number one easily.  (Did I just spoil the countdown?)  Without further ado, here goes…..

17.  Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap  1976

16.  High Voltage  1975

15.  T.N.T.  1976

14.  Stiff Upper Lip  2000

13.  Blow Up Your Video  2016

12.  Black Ice  2008

11.  Ballbraker  1995

10.  Razor’s Edge  1990

9.    Fly on the Wall  1985

8.    Power Up  2020

7.    Rock or Bust  2014

6.    Let There Be Rock  1977

5.    Flick of the Switch  1983

4.    For Those About to Rock  1981

3.   Powerage  1978

2.   Back in Black  1980

1.   Highway to Hell  1979

So that’s my list.  In all honesty, I spent almost no time writing this piece, and I didn’t labor too much over the order.  I phoned it in, what can I say?  I think I’m happy with it though.  So don’t be lazy like me, get off your ass and go see the 2025 tour.  You probably won’t get many more chances.  From what I can tell, all tickets are on sale as of December 6th.

Ricki C.’s two cents; As befits my elder statesman r&r status I had lunch in 1979 with Bon & the boys. You can read about it here…My Lunch With Angus.

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 JCE, or John to his friends, was born in the Nation’s Capital.  He grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C.  His earliest musical memories are tied to a transistor radio with a single earphone that he carried everywhere listening to AM radio.  His wife of 33 years says he’ll never grow up, and she’s exactly right.  He attributes that to his lifelong love affair with all things rock n roll.