Jackson Browne Albums Ranked Worst to Best

When it comes to Los Angeles-based singer-songwriters of the ’70s, none paints a more concise and vivid portrait of the era than Jackson Browne.

Born in Germany, and raised in L.A., Browne made his name as a songwriter while still a teenager in the ’60s, penning songs that were covered by artists as diverse as Nico and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Gregg Allman and Tom Rush.

By the time he released his eponymous debut (aka Saturate Before Using) in 1972, he was one of the elite members of the still-growing singer-songwriter movement. Over the next several years, he’d release a string of albums – Late for the Sky, The Pretender and Running on Empty, among them – that earned him the title of the quintessential ’70s singer-songwriter, as you will see in the below list of Jackson Browne Albums Ranked Worst to Best.

READ MORE: Top 10 Jackson Browne Songs

As time moved on, Browne stepped away from his comfort zone, making records throughout the ’80s that reflected the interests and themes of his peers, from pointed political commentary to insider looks at the community that made and surrounded him.

While it might be tempting to pin down Jackson Browne with just a handful of musical and thematic ideas in his toolbox, records from For Everyman and Running on Empty through Hold Out (his only No. 1) and, more recently, Standing in the Breach show an artist willing to break the chains of his past and move forward, unafraid to stumble occasionally along the way.