Let's start with a little background. Created in 1998 by Damon Albarn (of Britpop group Blur) and Jamie Hewlett (comic book creator/illustrator), Gorillaz has pushed the boundaries of what a musical project can be, regularly mixing alternative rock, hip‑hop, electronic music and global influences in their music. The band has also released many hits, including several we play here at Studio One — think “Clint Eastwood” or “Feel Good Inc." But it's not just their music that makes them legendary.
Gorillaz has carved out a spot in the music industry as one of the earliest and most inventive modern music acts, and has created a fully animated, ever-evolving fictional universe for their characters and their music. Their blend of music and visual storytelling in the now omnipresent digital universe has proven that a band doesn’t need to be bound by physical identity to feel authentic. In fact, if you do a search online, the top images you find won't be the actual bandmates, but their digital avatars: four cartoon humanoid gorillas!
The band's work and creativity has opened the door for multimedia experimentation, and they remain a blueprint for how artists can fuse art, technology and sound into something genuinely new. But they also helped redefine collaboration in the digital age. They introduced a whole new generation of music fans to artists like De La Soul, Lou Reed, MF Doom, Grace Jones and The Clash, to name a very few of their countless collaborations across their discography.
With the band’s ninth album The Mountain coming out this week, Studio One took a deep dive into Gorillaz' studio album catalogue and ranked them from the least fantastic to the phenomenal.
Don Gorillaz' Saturday Night Live debut on March 7.
9. The Fall
Fourth studio album, released 2010
Originally released as a download for Gorillaz fan club members, The Fall comes off like an experiment — and honestly that’s what it is. Albarn recorded the entire album on an iPad while on tour, and it shows. It has a few shining moments, but compared to the rest of the discography it falls short.
It does have a few essential tracks to check out though. Listen to “Revolving Doors” and “Amarillo.”
8. Humanz
Fifth studio album, released 2017
Like most Gorillaz albums (minus The Fall), the guest spots on Humanz are top notch. Mavis Staples, Grace Jones, Danny Brown and Kali Uchis are just a few of the featured musicians on this album. With names like that you would expect Humanz to hit hard, but it just kind of … doesn’t. It's also important to note that this album was recorded after Albarn and Hewlett resolved inner group tensions, which included a hiatus from music-making.
Humanz tackles politcal themes, including the 2016 United States presidential election and economic equality. It never quite lives up to the attempt, but it’s still worth a listen.
Essential tracks — “Saturnz Barz,” “Charger” and “She’s My Collar.”
7. The Now Now
Sixth studio album, released 2018
The Now Now is an easy-breezy listen. It doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is, which is a pretty solid Gorillaz album. There aren't a lot of frills on this album, and that’s ok, considering it followed the relatively bloated Humanz.
Over the years this album has been relatively ignored, but if you take the time to listen you'll be able to appreciate one of Gorillaz' more underrated records.
Essential tracks — “Humility,” “Sorcerez” and “Idaho.”
6. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez
Seventh studio album, released in 2020
This is a fun, cool, mega-collaborative offering from Gorillaz that was released in 2020 during The Covid 19 pandemic as part of the band's “Song Machine” project. The project was a web series of singles and music videos released episodically throughout the year. Every track was a single release and had a different featured guest vocalist — and they were some HEAVY hitters.
Robert Smith of The Cure supplies vocals on album highlight “Strange Timez,” Beck is on “The Valley of The Pagans” and Sir Elton John himself is featured in “The Pink Phantom.” If that isn’t an eclectic mix of music royalty, I don’t know what is.
Essential tracks — “Strange Timez,” “The Pink Phantom” and “Pac-Man.”
5. The Mountain
Ninth studio album, released Feb. 27, 2026
The latest album from Gorillaz is one of their more unique offerings. The Mountain includes collaborations with many international artists, and at times sounds like a world music record mixed with hip-hop and Gorillaz' signature sound. Songs are performed in English, Arabic, Spanish and Hindi.
An interesting tidbit about this album is that Albarn has stated that one of its main themes is death. That's played out in many ways, with one being featuring unused collaborations in the past from those who have died. If you listen to this album you'll get to hear Dennis Hopper, Bobby Womack and Trugoy the Dove of De La Soul, among others.
Gorillaz has never sounded like this before, and they're proving they can still keep it fresh.
Essential tracks — “The Happy Dictator,” “The Manifesto” and “Orange County.”
4. Cracker Island
Eighth studio album, released in 2023
Cracker Island was a return to classic form for Gorillaz, and channeled the vibe of their older records Plastic Beach and Demon Days. It's fun, expertly produced, is full of amazing collaborations and seamlessly flows between tracks. For anyone doubting if Gorillaz still had it after The Now Now and Humanz, Cracker Island proved them wrong, and is a later career highlight.
Featured vocalists include Thundercat, Tame Impala and Stevie Nicks. Oh, and a little artist known as Bad Bunny is even on here!
Essential tracks — “Cracker Island,” “New Gold” and “Tormenta.”
3. Demon Days
Second studio album, released in 2005
This is the album that propelled Gorillaz to stardom and features all there is to love about the band. The music videos for the now-iconic “Feel Good Inc.” and “Dare” are classics in the genre, and played a huge part in the group reaching a global audience.
Produced by Danger Mouse and the band itself, Demon Days was a breath of fresh air back in 2005. It also introduced countless new ears to hip-hop legends De La Soul.
If you haven't, or you’re meeting someone who has never heard of Gorillaz, Demon Days is a great place to start.
Essential tracks — "Feel Good Inc," "Dare" and "Kids With Guns."
2. Gorillaz
First studio album, released in 2001
This is the debut album of a cartoon band.
At the time, this type of band was novel, and their debut gained Gorillaz an entry in the Guinness World Book of Records as most successful virtual band. Albarn, who had already had success with his other group Blur, took Gorillaz into a new type of sound, incorporating hip-hop, electronic music and Latin influences.
The band may have initially been shrugged off as a gimmick, but with hard-hitting tracks like “Clint Eastwood” and “Tomorrow Comes Today” it quickly became clear that they weren't a flash in the pan. The talent on display with this debut was unquestionable.
Essential tracks — “Clint Eastwood,” “Tomorrow Comes Today” and “Rock the House.”
1. Plastic Beach
Third studio album, released in 2010
Gorillaz truly perfected their sound with their third album, Plastic Beach. The band had been riding high from the success of Gorillaz and Demon Days, and you get the sense they were feeling the desire to tackle something ambitious. If so, what they released is a goal achieved. At its core, Plastic Beach is a concept album about an island composed entirely of trash, and tackles many themes around environmentalism.
The album feels flawless and more seamless than the previous two records. It flows smoothly from one track to the next, and does a fantastic job of carrying the listener forward. Not only that, sonically, this is Gorillaz' best sounding work. But where Plastic Beach really shines is with its biggest hit, “On Melancholy Hill.” It’s Gorillaz' most beautiful song, and its inclusion on this record is a large reason for why the album is their top-rated album (by this reviewer's consideration at least).
Also, bonus recommendation: If you're looking for a song to test out a stereo system, you'll find it on this album with “Rhinetone Eyes.”
Essential tracks — “On Melancholy Hill,” “Sylo,” “Superfast Jellyfish” and “Some Kind of Nature.”
