Not many bands can claim to be single-handedly responsible for an entire genre and musical movement, but The Cure can.
The post-punk found on their 1979 debut album, Three Imaginary Boys, quickly evolved into a gloomier and moodier form of music on their second LP, the following year’s Seventeen Seconds. The next few years gave birth to the goth subgenre, as dark music, darker moods and a super-dark outlook went on to inspire a generation of sad-sack kids – and plenty of crappy music – over the next three decades.
But the Cure wasn’t done yet. As the ’80s moved on, so did the band, which has been fronted by Robert Smith since the start. By the decade’s end, their music had steered them into new territories, including psychedelic, jangly alt-rock and cheery pop.
Their dozen-plus LPs over the years have swung through all these almost effortlessly, as you’ll see in the below list of Cure Albums Ranked Worst to Best. There were some stumbles along the way, but without an album like 1984’s bleak The Top, they may have never gotten to The Head on the Door, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and Disintegration.
Their influence continues four decades after songs like “Killing an Arab,” “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” introduced them to the world. Their 2019 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame may not be the culmination of their long career, but it stamps validity on a music catalog that helped shape an era.
The Cure Albums Ranked
Gloomy, gothy, punky, poppy – this multidimensional band’s albums are among the best of the era.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
