Paramore formed together as a band in 2004, they then released their debut album All We Know Is Falling one year later in 2005. The lead singer, Hayley Williams, was signed by Atlantic Records in 2003, hoping to make her a solo pop star. However, she said she had no intention of being the next Madonna, so she insisted on forming a band instead. She recruited her friends Jeremy Davis, Josh Farro, and Zac Farro. Early into their career they were almost fired because the label thought they were terrible; however, they gained a fanbase after their second album, Riot! blew up with songs like Misery Business and crushcrushcrush.  

After some internal struggles with the band, some members left; after a break, the band came back as a 3 piece instead of a 4 with Hayley, Taylor York and Jeremy Davis, with Zac Farro replacing him later. They then released a self-titled album, symbolizing the rebirth of the band. Now, 20 years after the band was started, they are still going strong, releasing a well-received album in 2023 called This Is Why and currently going on tour. I recently have been listening to a lot of Paramore’s music and have been loving it.  

When I listen to Paramore it reminds me of the first time I listened to Blondie or MF DOOM. Hayley Williams has that cool and the draw that Debbie Harry of Blondie does, while the other 2 members of the band are very talented. I wanted to listen though their whole discography, so I figured I would listen to all of it and rank it from my opinion as the best and worst.   

#6: All We Know Is Falling 

 Paramore’s debut album All We Know Is falling was released in 2005 and didn’t get much commercial success; however, it is now loved by loyal fans of the band. The members of the band were still very young when this album was released, with Hayley Williams being only 17 at the time.  

You can tell when listening to this album that Paramore hadn’t really found their sound yet. The whole album sounded very similar with just punk rock songs throughout, a far cry from some of their most recent albums where they have more diversity, incorporating more genres in their music. All the songs blend together. It isn’t unlistenable by any means, but none of the songs jump out to me. It is a mid-rock album, but it set the foundation for an incredible band.  

Light 5  

#5: Riot! 

 Riot! is Paramore’s second studio album and was the album that propelled them into the mainstream, this album still contains their most streamed song Misery Business, with over a billion across all platforms, and is their most sold album, however that is likely just because this album was released before the streaming era, as it came out in 2007.  

This album is definitely better than All We Know Is Falling, the band sounds a lot better, and the album has more versatility and better songs throughout. The band was able to switch up the instrumental throughout the songs well and Hayley really showed off her vocal range more on this album. Misery Business, For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic, crushcrushcrush, and Fences are great songs. However, this is still not my favorite era of Paramore as they are still a bit generic with the punk rock sound. 

Strong 7 

#4: Brand New Eyes 

Brand New Eyes is Paramore’s third album and their last album before the band’s 4-year break and transition to a 3 piece. This album also marks the end of the heavy punk rock sound that Paramore used to rely on, before adding more pop elements into their music. This album does venture off a bit however, with songs like The Only Exception and All I Wanted being slower more cinematic songs, these songs are also the most streamed from the album. 

I enjoyed this album slightly more than Riot! It doesn’t have a banger on the level of Misery Business, but the album is consistently better than Riot! I feel like each song has a different feel to it and is a much more unique album than Riot! I also feel like this was a great step towards the albums Paramore would go on to make in the future. I ended up really liking Ignorance, All I Wanted, Brick by Boring Brick, and The Only Exception.  

Strong 7-Light 8  

#3: Paramore 

Paramore is Paramore’s 4th studio album, and it was released in 2013. This album came after a falling out with the band where a good chunk of the group left, after a 4-year hiatus Paramore decided to rebrand to a 3 piece. They felt like it was a whole new band, and it was just like they were debuting again, which is why they opted to have a self-titled album for their return. This album is their longest in their discography at just a little over 1 hour, this album also has a grammy winning song with Ain’t it Fun?.  

This album is a step up from Brand New Eyes, the highs on this album are very high with songs like Ain’t It Fun and Anklebiters being some of my favorite songs from Paramore. The album also includes other great songs throughout, like Still Into You which is one of their most popular songs to date, Crazy Girls, and Be Alone. However, the album does drag on a bit with some songs being longer than it has to be like the last song, future, just being the same instrumental for 8 minutes. All the interludes are very enjoyable, and I can definitely listen to them outside of the album. Overall, a great album and the start of the modern Paramore sound. 

Light to mid 8 

#2: After Laughter 

After laughter is Paramore’s 5th album and was released in 2017. This album gained a lot of attention around the late 2010s with songs like Hard Times and Fake Happy blowing up. This album solidified the band even more than before so that they can succeed as a 3 piece, this album is also their first back with drummer Zac Farro who was one of the founding members. 

This album is filled with bangers throughout, the first 2 songs with Hard Times and Rose-Colored Boy is a great introduction. The album is very consistent throughout with little bad songs, the only songs that I didn’t like are songs like 26 because it’s a bit too boring for me, even though the lyrics are great and it’s a good sad song, it just isn’t my style. Also, No Friend is just some guy yapping on the beat for 3 and a half minutes. This album is a lot more pop centric than other Paramore albums and you can really tell their sound was still progressing and getting better this late into their career. It is a really good sad album that has upbeat bops you can dance too, but the lyrics still follow the theme of the album.  

Mid to strong-8  

#1: This Is Why  

This is Why is Paramore’s 6th and currently, final album in their discography this album was also their final release with Atlantic Records who they’ve been under since their debut. This album has the same lineup as After Laughter and is their first album in their career that has the same lineup as the last. This album was released in February of 2023 after a 6-year hiatus from After Laughter. This album debuted at number 2 on the billboard hot 200 albums and is currently nominated for a grammy for best rock album.  

This album is very good, and I believe it is their best. They do an incredible job of the indie rock sound, perfecting it on this album. They delve into many different sounds and topics on this album, and they all work great. The album can bounce between moods and topics seamlessly, with the first half being more upbeat and rocking, while the second half is slower and sad. The album is 10 songs long and 36 minutes, which makes it very comfortable and easy to listen to front to back. I pray that this lineup can stick together and release at least one more album together because they make gold. 

Rating: 10 

I actually wrapped back around on this rating and ended up bumping this album from a 9 to a 10, which is my first 10 rating so far this year, so I want to talk about this album a little bit more. The first 3 songs on this album are all 10/10 songs in my opinion with This Is Why, the title track leading it off. This song is a perfect introduction to the album with the guitar and drums starting off sporadic and all over the place, but it all gets interrupted by a perfect bassline which transitions the song into the lyrics. The second song, The News dives into some deeper topics, talking about, you guessed it, the news and how corrupt and depressing it can be. My favorite lyrics on this song are “I’m far, So far, from the front line quite the opposite, I’m safe inside But I worry, and I give money and I feel useless behind this computer and that’s just barely scratched the surface of my mind.” A great part of the song talking about the stress of watching tragedies like war unfold and knowing you can do nothing, but still burdening yourself with the problems. As I mentioned earlier, this album bounces from topics very well with the third song Running Out Of Time being a more fun, catchy song about the band aways being late to things. There are no songs that disappoint on this album, the “worst” song on this album in my opinion is Liar, which is a sad ballad with incredible lyrics, the only reason I didn’t love it the first few listens through was because that isn’t my style of song. You First is also a 10/10 song in my opinion which means this album has 4 of them. Again, I will stress the fact that this band is in their prime 20 years after they formed, and I pray that they continue to make music into the future, as they have solidified their spot in my top 3 favorite artists of all time and will no doubt be my number 1 listened to artist this year.  

I didn’t expect my ranking to be in chronological order, but that is how it ended up. I feel like Paramore in their early career were green and still finding their sound, as they relied heavily on the punk rock sound; however, once they rebranded to a 3 piece, I think Hayley Williams was able to really express her talent and show her versatility and they became even better than they were before. On the album, Paramore, they dabbled into more of a Pop/Indie Rock sound and found great success with it, they then went heavy with that sound on After Laughter. Now I think on This Is Why they did a great job at reincorporating the traditional rock sound with the pop/Indie rock, and they really have perfected their sound. They get better with every album and continued to impress me while listening. I really hope that they continue to tour and make new albums in the future with this same trio, because with the theme they’re on, their next album will be even better than This Is Why, and I think that album is incredible.   

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