Steely Dan

    No one can deny, that Steely Dan were mere genius. I love their albums to bits. Here is my personal ranking of their output:


    01. Aja

    02. Gaucho

    03. The Royal Scam

    04. Can`t Buy A Thrill

    05. Katie Lied

    06. Countdown To Ecstasy

    07. Pretzel Logic

    08. Two Against Nature

    09. Everything Must Go

    First we learned to walk on water.

    Then we tried something harder.

    - Red Seven -

    Like 2

    Love em. :thumbup:


    A while back they started doing a 6-10 night stand every October at The Beacon Theatre in NYC. They'd usually pick three albums and do an album a night + some hits for three or more of the shows. A Greatst Hits show and an Internet request night.


    Over the years I've been fortunate to catch five of the shows with one each of your top 3 albums Slowdancer, and a GH night as well as the Internet request night. All top notch, fantastic shows in a beautiful looking and sounding Theatre.


    The Internet request night was an interesting thing to do. After the online ticket purchase they'd send an email with about 30 songs and we could choose 20 we'd like to hear. They said they'd play the 20-22 most requested songs. Even though I loved the album shows, it was pretty cool not to know what songs would be played on the request night.


    Sad that Walter has passed and I don't know whether or not the Beacon shows will continue. It won't be the same without him obviously but I hope Fagan finds a way to keep the music alive.

    I've mentioned before that Steely Dan were my concert experience, in 1973. I was 15 years old. They were the opening band for headliners Bread (another phenomenal hit maker). Both bands were fabulous! I love everything SD ever put out.

    Steely Dan is one of those bands I don’t very play often, but when I do it's like a drug injection, I usually end up wanting to listen to two or three more in row.

    I’ve have their first six albums.

    Can’t Buy A Thrill is my favourite, and The Royal Scam is my second.

    If I tried ranking them beyond that, I would probably have a three- or four-way tie.

    There isn't a bad or weak album in that bunch, IMO.

    My top four would be the same - although the order would change based on my mood that particular week...


    The rest have tracks I like, but they aren't as pervasively excellent as the other 4. Yes, a great band! (R.I.P., Walter Becker.)

    Stepping out the back way, hoping nobody sees...

    Like 2

    I have loved Steely Dan since I was a little kid. The first song I remember grabbing my attention from them was FM. Even before I learned an instrument I knew I wanted to play music like that. Ranking their albums is tough because certain ones will hit me differently each time. Can’t deny that side 1 of Aja is their crowning achievement though. I’ll try to rank right now. I’m only doing their pre retirement albums.

    1. Aja

    2. Royal Scam

    3. Gaucho

    4. Katy Lied

    5. Countdown to Estacy

    6. Pretzel Logic

    7. Can’t Buy A Thrill


    BTW me and a group of local musicians created a group to perform Steely Dan songs. We ended performing the complete Aja album. Our lead saxophonist was mentored by none other than Pete Christlieb, who of course recorded the famous Deacon Blues solo.