Ranking the Def Leppard Studio Albums

I don’t do album ranking posts often because I don’t believe in collecting every single studio album by a band, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Heck, I don’t even own all of Def Leppard’s studio albums. But, I own enough to the point where I could rank them for a blog post and that’s what I’m doing today! Just a heads up, these are strictly my opinions and some of the choices may surprise you guys, but that’s ok because if we all agreed on everything, this world would be a boring place. With all that said, let’s get on with the music!

12. Diamond Star Halos (2022)

There are some decent tracks on Diamond Star Halos like stadium rocker “Kick,” dark and moody “Liquid Dust,” and experimental “Open Your Eyes.” However, this album is too commercial. As mentioned in my album review, the band’s heavy rock days are long gone. Now, they’re focused on writing radio-friendly, poppy, and melodic songs. I enjoy melodic rock, but they took the commercial element too far. If you were to play Def Leppard’s debut album, On Through the Night, after this, you wouldn’t be able to tell it’s the same band. 

11. Yeah! (2006)

First of all, the album title and album cover suck. Second of all, I hate cover albums because I find them lazy. Def Leppard were probably like, “we know we can’t write great rocking songs anymore, so let’s just cover our favorite songs and have fun!” But at least, this album was a step in the right direction, more rock ‘n’ roll. My favorite tracks on here are “Rock On,” “Waterloo Sunset,” “Hell Raiser,” and “Stay with Me.” The latter is the best song on the album because Phil Collen sings lead vocals for it.  

10. Def Leppard (2015)

I’m just going to say it, the lyrics for the songs are terrible. “You ask me to be your savior / But I’m the poster boy for bad behavior.” You’d think that artists would mature overtime as songwriters, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case. To make matters worse, there’s 14 songs on this album, which is torturous. However, unlike Diamond Star Halos, which has a more happier and poppy tone, the self-titled 2015 album has a darker tone, which I like. “We Belong” is the best song on the album because all of the band members sing lead vocals for it, including Rick Allen.  

9. Euphoria (1999)

Euphoria is a weird album for me because it doesn’t feel sincere. After the poorly received Slang, the band decided to make a “classic” Def Leppard album because the times were changing and they felt like it was ok to be themselves again (whatever that means). They even went as far as having an album title that ended in “ia,” like Pyromania and Hysteria. Because of the circumstances, it sounds like Def Leppard wanted to regain their glory days, so that they could sell more records. “Promises” and “Paper Sun” are great tracks, but then, you have Def Leppard trying to do hip hop with “All Night” and it ruins the mood for me. 

8. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

Songs from the Sparkle Lounge is not a bad album at all. There’s some good stuff on here like “C’mon C’mon,” “Tomorrow,” and “Hallucinate,” which is a killer tune. I even dig “Nine Lives” with Tim McGraw. I think it’s a fun song and it’s insanely catchy. However, I wish Vivian Campbell would contribute more to the songs because this dude was in Whitesnake and Dio, just think of all the killer riffs and ideas he could bring to the table. He writes some of the Def Leppard songs, but not enough.

7. On Through the Night (1980)

With On Through the Night, you’ve got the scorching guitar duo of Pete Willis and Steve Clark, who were unstoppable back then. The playing on here is great, but the songwriting is not very good. Joe Elliott’s vocals are underdeveloped, like he hasn’t found his signature style yet. But Def Leppard were a different beast back in the early ‘80s. They were young and hungry…and had really curly hair. Album highlights include “Rock Brigade,” “Wasted,” “It Don’t Matter,” and the jaw-dropping “Answer to the Master.”

6. Slang (1996)

I enjoy a good amount of Slang. Album highlights include “Turn to Dust,” “Breathe a Sigh,” “Gift of Flesh,” and “Where Does Love Go When It Dies,” which is my favorite song on the album. I like that Def Leppard took a risk and decided to change it up a bit. The dark and moody tracks fit the terrible times the band was going through in their personal lives. My only problem with Slang is that it sounds dated. Don’t get me wrong, I like that it sounds different from Def Leppard’s previous three studio albums, but you can tell that this album came out in the mid ‘90s and I don’t like that.

5. X (2002)

I see why people were shocked when Def Leppard released the X album, saying that the band was going through an identity crisis, but I love it. I grew up listening to pop music, so this album takes me back to my childhood, in a good way. It’s a pop album written by artists that don’t irritate me. I’m kind of contradicting myself by saying I like X, even though I hate the extremely commercial Diamond Star Halos, but oh well. Album highlights include “Unbelievable,” “Long, Long Way to Go,” “Let Me Be the One,” “Torn to Shreds,” and “Cry,” which is the most rocking song on X.

4. Hysteria (1987)

 I think that Hysteria is over-hyped, but I’d be lying if I said that I don’t listen to it often. I even still dig the overplayed, yet memorable, “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” The first half of the album, minus “Rocket,” is really strong, but it slips during the second half. Hysteria is also when Def Leppard started going all-out commercial, poppy, over-produced, and all of that stuff. By this point, the band’s rough and tough New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound was long gone. At least the riffs were awesome, thanks to Clark.

3. High ‘n’ Dry (1981)

According to a lot of fans, High ‘n’ Dry is the best thing Def Leppard ever did. I can see where they’re coming from, but it’s not a perfect album. For one, I never need to hear “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” ever again. The album also closes with a stinker, which is the appropriately titled “No No No.” But everything else is great; the title track is a freaking banger. Fun fact, High ‘n’ Dry is the first Def Leppard album that Mutt Lange produced.

2. Pyromania (1983)

Pyromania is a perfect album, in my opinion. The production isn’t too slick, all of the songs are great, and the musicianship is excellent. This is where Def Leppard started to experiment with pop elements in their music, before taking it a step too far on the following album. Willis co-wrote a few of the songs on Pyromania, before he got the boot from the band. That explains why Def Leppard still had some balls at this point in time. Everyone knows “Photograph” and “Rock of Ages,” but album highlights include “Stagefright,” “Die Hard the Hunter,” “Billy’s Got a Gun,” and “Comin’ Under Fire.”

1. Adrenalize (1992)

Adrenalize is very underappreciated in Def Leppard’s catalog. Some say it’s a copycat of Hysteria, but I think the songs are better on this album. “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” got me out of a really dark time in my life, so I have a personal connection with Adrenalize. It’s also the last studio album to feature tracks that were co-written by Clark, who died in January 1991. “White Lightning,” my favorite Def Leppard song ever, was dedicated to him.

There you have it, people! That’s how I would rank Def Leppard’s studio albums. Despite putting their most recent albums at the bottom of the list, I really do love this band. I just don’t love the direction they chose to go with their music.

Many say that when Clark died, he took all the brilliant riffs with him, and to a sense, I agree. Def Leppard lost themselves following his death and I don’t think they ever recovered from that. They can still rock out, especially live, but their current music says otherwise. Thankfully, we have all the old goodies to listen to whenever we want!

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Lana