The Killers' Discography Ranked Worst to Best

The ultimate ranking of The Killers’ discography from worst to best. From the post-punk revival and new wave of Hot Fuss, to the folk rock of Pressure Machine, discover where your favourite Killers albums have ranked.

Battle Born (2012)

The Killers’ Brandon Flowers has never been discreet about his love for Bruce Springsteen. From the similarities between When You Were Young and the boss’ own Born to Run, to songs like A Dustland Fairytale, the influence has been apparent since their sophomore album, Sam’s Town. Where Springsteen once inspired Flowers to write generational anthems, like the aforementioned When You Were Young, the songs on Battle Born seem like they were written with Springsteen in mind as crutch, because it’s an easy foundation to fall back on.

Flesh and Bone is a middle of the road opener — still, it’s perhaps one of the more exciting songs here, but that’s really not saying much. Runaways is basically the same template as Springsteen’s Thunder Road or Born to Run, but despite how schmaltzy it is, it’s still one of the better songs here. Miss Atomic Bomb is an American Graffiti era take on young romance.

Most of this album consists of ballads, making it quite boring and lacking in any thrills, though I’m sure it has its female audience, due to the sentimentality and tenderness of these songs.

5/10

Highlights: Runaways, Miss Atomic Bomb

Day & Age (2008)

Like on Sam’s Town, The Killers change their sound again on Day & Age, but this time, instead of a bold reinvention, it sounds more like a band selling out, softening up its edges and going for stadium pop status.

Losing Touch is admittedly somewhat interesting and adventurous as an opener, but the horns can be a bit campy. The dance pop single Human, poses the question of “are we human or are we dancer?”, and while Brandon Flowers defends the song and its lyrics, it’s still a noticeable drop in quality from the band’s previous anthems. Spaceman is one of the better songs on Day & Age, bringing back some of that post-punk revival charm. Joy Ride definitively sounds like a Las Vegas song — hollow and vapid entertainment. A Dustland Fairytale is by far the most Springsteen-sounding song that Brandon Flowers has penned yet; his influence becoming increasingly apparent in Flowers’ songwriting. This Is Your Life sounds like a hybrid between U2 and The Lion King (for better or worse, depending on how you feel about that description).

Considering that The Killers hail from Las Vegas, it makes sense that Day & Age is full of flashy, colourful sounds and pop-coated production, but it’s just too saccharine and sweet, lacking the edge that the band possessed on their first two albums. I don’t particularly like any of these songs, but there’s some decent variety and pop experimentation on display here.

6/10

Highlights: Spaceman, Human

Wonderful, Wonderful (2017)

After a 5 year absence since the dreadfully milquetoast Battle Born, Brandon Flowers and The Killers returned with Wonderful Wonderful, which is a huge improvement over its predecessor.

The Man is a silly, funk song, but its also one of the most fun singles The Killers have released in over a decade; it portrays modest Mormon, Brandon Flowers, as some hot-headed playboy and while it could have easily came off as corny, it manages to be endearing instead.The title track is a fairly epic opener and one of their most sonically-visceral songs, though it’s a little too similar to U2’s Bullet the Blue Sky. The robotic swagger of The Calling recalls Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus. Run for Cover and Tyson vs. Douglas have the band revisiting their new wave roots. Songs like Rut, Life to Come and Have All the Songs Been Written? fall into the sappy pop ballad category that plagued Day & Age and Battle Born.

Wonderful Wonderful isn’t quite a comeback for The Killers, as only half of the songs here are interesting — it’s a far cry from the peaks of The Killers’ early days, but it’s far more engaging than Day & Age and Battle Born.

6.5/10

Highlights: The Man, Wonderful, Wonderful, Run for Cover, Tyson vs. Douglas

Sawdust (2007)

Consisting of b-sides, alternate versions of songs and outtakes from the Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town sessions, Sawdust shows just how prolific the Las Vegas band was in their first two years.

For new songs on the compilation that were released as singles, there’s the Lou Reed-featuring opener Tranquilize (one of The Killers’ strangest songs, children singing and all) and a cover of Joy Division’s post-punk defining Shadowplay. There’s a decent cover of Dire Straits’ Romeo and Juliet. Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll (which originally replaced Change Your Mind on the U.K. version of Hot Fuss) makes an appearance here. Songs like All the Pretty Faces and Daddy’s Eyes show a heavier side of the band only hinted at briefly on their albums, like on Jenny Was a Friend of Mine and Uncle Jonny.

Nothing on Sawdust stacks up to the best songs from the band’s proper albums, but there’s still some decent deep cuts to be found here, if you’re craving more of The Killers.

7/10

Imploding the Mirage (2020)

Following the lukewarm reception of 2017’s Wonderful Wonderful, Imploding the Mirage finds the Las Vegas band back on the horse, though there is still a long way to ride.

My Own Soul’s Warning sounds like a Bruce Springsteen track (an artist that frontman Brandon Flowers blatantly wears on his sleeve), but is still one of the band’s best songs in years. Caution includes a guitar solo from Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham. Dying Breed samples two Krautrock classics: Neu!’s Hallogallo and Can’s Moonshake. K.D. Lang features on Lightning Fields and Weyes Blood appears on the triumphant My God.

Overall, Imploding the Mirage is not quite a comeback album, and it feels a little over-produced, but it’s a much more inspired album than the band’s past three releases and has the band feeling their most focused in ages.

7.5/10

Pressure Machine (2021)

Pressure Machine is the most consistent, artistic, well-produced and most passionate project that Brandon Flowers has ever written with The Killers — a complete surprise from the band this late in their career. Made with analogue recording equipment, there’s a warmth and authenticity to this album, and although it may mirror Flowers’ hero Bruce Springsteen on his 1982 classic Nebraska, it’s still got its own thing going outside of its acoustic sound.

Most songs on the album begin with interviews from various small town folks, talking about things ranging from the impacts on society of opioid addictions, going hunting and people getting run over on train tracks. It adds a conceptual narrative through the album, and shows how Flowers wasn’t going for accessibility, and wasn’t afraid to detail serious topics.

West Hills has Brandon Flowers singing his heart out, resulting in a crescendo that displays the sort of passion that was poured into this album. The title track is an ode to Flowers’ youth. Phoebe Bridgers features on Runaway Horses. In the Car Outside is one of the greatest Killers songs yet, making use of some incredibly tasteful synths over top of electric drums —in fact, that’s one of my favourite things about this record; it’s primarily a heartland rock album, but they still find a few places to add electronic elements, without making it seem jarring or inappropriate.

Pressure Machine might not be The Killers’ catchiest or most memorable album, but it’s definitely their most consistent and artistic work yet.

8.5/10

Sam’s Town (2006)

After the massive success of The Killer’s debut, fans were expecting Hot Fuss II, but what they got instead was something less influenced by U2, Duran Duran and New Order, and something more influenced by Bruce Springsteen.

Although Sam’s Town was seen as a disappointment when compared to the hit-making machine that was Hot Fuss, it still features When You Were Young, which is easily on the level of any of the big singles they had previously released and may just possibly be their greatest song yet.

The mini epic of a title track has a frustrated Brandon Flowers criticizing the judgements of others that have been cast upon him. Read My Mind is a gentle ballad, whereas For Reasons Unknown is an all-out rocker. Uncle Jonny is perhaps the band’s heaviest song (in terms of music and subject matter) and details the drug addiction of the titular character.

Sam’s Town might be lacking in the immediacy and gargantuan hooks of its predecessor, but it makes up for it in boldness and its sense of adventure. The Killers could have easily acquiesced and released the album that fans were expecting and hoping for, but Flowers stuck to his guns and made the album he wanted to make, something I can never fault an artist for doing. Sam’s Town may have hurt The Killers’ popularity and slowed down some of the momentum of the band’s generation-defining debut, but it gave me great respect for the earnest Brandon Flowers.

8.5/10

Hot Fuss (2004)

Musically, The Killers’ debut is new wave / post-punk revival, but compared to bands that came before, like The Strokes or Interpol, they add a pop edge, being comparable to bands like Duran Duran more than Joy Division.

Jenny Was a Friend of Mine leads the album off with a memorable bass line and is one of the band’s heavier tunes. Mr. Brightside is a pop smash that went on to become one of the most defining songs not just of the decade, but of the millennium. Somebody Told Me is a modern dancefloor classic, with a nonsensical chorus about sex changes (or something?). Smile Like You Mean It is a gloomy post-punk revival gem. All These Things That I’ve Done is good enough to elevate it’s refrain of “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier” from cheesy to empowering. Admittedly, the second half of the album is quite weak compared to the first half, (which had all the singles), but that’s not to say they are throwaway either.

Hot Fuss is one of the greatest rock debuts of the 2000s, with songs that still get airplay two decades later. The Killers may have made more ambitious albums since, but they will likely never replicate the success of their zeitgeist-capturing debut again.

8.5/10

The Musiquarium