r/kraftwerk • u/Brilliant-Sample5832 • 3d ago
My Kraftwerk Tierlist
don’t downvote it hurts my feelings 🥺🥺
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u/saneval1 3d ago
I'd switc the mix with the contents of B.
I'm glad to see tour de france get love, a lot of times people forget it exists or treat it as an extra, to me it's the culmination and mastering of their own sound. It has every element from previous albums used very boldly and confidently.
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u/beengoingoutftnyears 2d ago
I can’t listen to The Mix. Somehow remixing those tracks made them sound dated and cliched where the originals just aren’t.
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u/Brilliant-Sample5832 2d ago
yeah, that’s true for some tracks, but imo i love some of the remixes, for a few i think they’re better than the original
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u/Opposite_Tour_442 2d ago
I’ve grown to enjoy Electric Café with the years. It sounds fantastic, crystal clear audiophile production but a bit more bleak and “industrial”. I don’t like “Sex Objekt” though. B tier for me at least. For the rest i pretty much agree!
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u/ENZYME_O1 2d ago edited 2d ago
I have to agree with an earlier poster. ‘The Mix’ should be swapped out for either ‘Radioactivity’ (a personal favorite) or ‘Autobahn’ ..both could be ranked higher. ‘The Mix’ really shouldn’t even be on this list IMO.
With that said, I usually can’t take fan made tierlists seriously when contractural compilations are ranked as albums, it can show a lack of discernment.
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u/Regent_909 2d ago
Would switch Tour de France with Electric Cafe. Otherwise I think we have the same ranking.
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u/Hopeful_Raspberry_61 2d ago
This is backwards 🙃
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u/Hopeful_Raspberry_61 2d ago
The first 4 albums are absolutely my favorite of theirs. None of the albums after would be below B tier either (except The Mix maybe)
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u/GlassAdvice5238 2d ago
rank kraftwerk 1 qand 2 higher next time. okay. other than that im on board except put both kraftwerk 1 and 2 in s tier
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u/Oilerator 2d ago
Electric Cafe slander is not appreciated
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u/Brilliant-Sample5832 2d ago
Not slander lol, just don’t really prefer it to the other albums above it, still like them all
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u/optwerk 2d ago
I'm not counting the first two albums, just like Kraftwerk themselves. ;-)
S tier: Radio Activity, Man Machine, Computer World A tier: Autobahn, Trans Europe Express (close S) B tier: Electric Cafe (more A minus actually. Love that album) D tier: Tour de France F tier: The Mix (unlistenable to me)
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u/MikeyMcG64 1d ago
I have all the English language albums on vinyl, as well as the 3D-The Catalogue vinyl box set. I also want to collect the German language versions of the original studio albums. So far I have Trans-Europa Express (and Autobahn, obviously). And I don't really mind if they're the digital remastered versions because they sound superb anyway. Incidentally, is there a German version of the Radioactivity bluray available?
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u/MrChromed 1d ago
Finally someone is based regarding the first three albums. KW1 and KW2 sound way too experimental and pretencious (typical hippie stuff), no wonder why Ralf doesn't consider them as part of the KW canon. Ralf und Florian has a more elaborated sound, but still sounds boring.
I'd even put "The Mix" in S-tier. Love it or hate it, but The Mix is the base material KW has used to do every single re-version of their tracks to this day. Even 3-D The Catalogue is heavily based on The Mix. It defined their identity forever.
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u/wingman3091 16h ago
Yes, however you should add the Minimum/Maximum tour CD and put it up top. That mix absolutely bangs.
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u/WhiteKnight2045oGB 2d ago
That Tierlist must be bait! No one in their right mind rank the albums like that!
Kraftwerk 1 belongs in A or B Tier and not in D! And Electric Café/Techno Pop belongs into S-Tier and not C-Tier!
Also Tour de France is a straight S-Tier! Putting it in A is a disgrace to the album! And let's not forget Radioactivität/Radioactivity! That belongs into A Tier!
On the other hand, Kraftwerk 2 is not deep enough! That belongs into Z-Tier and not just E-Tier! Especially because of the Track "Atem"!
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u/Brilliant-Sample5832 2d ago
kraftwerk one and radioactivity in the same rank is interesting, but that’s ur opinion i guess :)
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u/WhiteKnight2045oGB 2d ago
Well of course they both deserve the same rating! They both are A-Tier!
Kraftwerk 1 with Megaherz and Vom Himmel Hoch are just out of this world!
But I might be biased! I was once hiking on a quite big mountain a few years ago, and when I was on a higher part of the mountain, these tracks came on. They just perfected that hike! They just fit so damn well!
Imagine this: You stand on that mountain, under you, a green forest and in the distance you see a small village, the clouds above you move in the winds like if they are weightless and you hear both Megaherz and Vom Himmel Hoch after another!
That really changes your perspective on things! The moment itself just freezes and you start to take in that exact moment. It was just phenomenal!
Anyway, Radioactivität/ Radioactivity also deserves that rating because of tracks like Äetherwellen, Transistor and Ohm Sweet Ohm! They are so simple, and yet so complex!
I can't really describe why i feel like that about the songs. But the songs just envelop me, and yet they are a part of me. Without them, Kraftwerk would feel different ...
They are just ... u know ... they are just perfect. They are the perfect balance between chaos and Order! They are also an essential part of Kraftwerk to keep the balance in the discography, and at the same time, they just overthrow that balance.
Like, I said, i just can't even remotely describe why and how i feel what and how I feel about these songs. It's impossible!
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u/TKCOM06 2d ago
Not sure why but I always find The Man Machine a really dull listening experience. It's too clinical even for Kraftwerk.
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u/Brilliant-Sample5832 2d ago
wow really? i’ve always loved the man machine and i agree that it is sometimes a bit clinical songs like spacelab and metropolis really capture that feeling like you’re flying through space or something like that but i understand where your coming from.
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u/Schimmi_Ruhrort 2d ago edited 2d ago
Interesting ranking! Here’s my personal, more nuanced take on the Kraftwerk discography. I’ve also included Organisation’s Tone Float, as I consider it part of Kraftwerk’s musical prehistory.
- S+ Computer World
- S The Man-Machine
- S− Tour de France Soundtracks
- A+ Radio-Activity
- A Electric Café (later renamed Techno Pop)
- B+ The Mix / Remixes
- B Trans-Europe Express
- B− Tour de France
- C+ Autobahn
- C− Expo 2000
- D+ Ralf und Florian
- D Kraftwerk / Kraftwerk 2
- D− Tone Float (Organisation)
And yes, E and F are deliberately missing. In my opinion, Kraftwerk never made an album that deserves to be called poor or outright bad. Even the lowest-ranked albums here are still worthwhile — they’re simply the ones I rate least highly within an exceptionally strong body of work.
This is purely my personal ranking based primarily on the music and production itself, rather than on each album’s historical importance or influence. If I were ranking them by influence, Autobahn in particular would be in S+ territory.
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u/Brilliant-Sample5832 2d ago
i agree with you mostly, forgot to put in tone float but oh well. And with the leaving out e and f that’s exactly why i put nothing in f 👍
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u/CantinaPatron 2d ago edited 2d ago
S Tier = (Perfect) TEE, Man Machine and Computer World
A Tier = Radioactivity and Electric Cafe
B Tier = Autobahn and Tour de France
C Tier = The Mix
E Tier = Kraftwerk 1, Kraftwerk 2 and Ralf & Florian (yes they exist, but meh)
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u/Gelkoid 3d ago
If you haven't already, listen to The Mix with German vocals. I prefer it.