All Twenty One Pilots albums, ranked worst to best

Twenty One Pilots have been making music for 15 years, and there’s no doubt they’ve come a long way in that time. They started out as a three-piece band releasing albums independently and now they are diamond certified artists, they have seven albums under their belt, and they almost worked with Tom Cruise on Top Gun: Maverick. Their most recent release brought an end to the story of Clancy, a fictional character who escapes Dema, a city under the oppressive rule of Blurryface.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the entire discography of Twenty One Pilots to see which album is truly the best.

7. Scaled and Icy (2021)

To be fair, these guys don’t really have a bad album, but somethings gotta take the worst spot on this list and in this case, it’s their sixth album Scaled and Icy. Like I said, it’s not that bad, it’s just not up to the duo’s usual standards – the album touches on themes regarding the media and paranoia during a time when trust for mainstream media was at an all time low (it was released in the middle of the pandemic). There are a few standouts like “Good Day” and “Redecorate” but the rest is just an inoffensive mish-mash of pop tropes.

6. Twenty One Pilots (2009)

Putting the first album from the band this low feels wrong, but it just shows how far they have come in terms of talent. At this point the group consisted of Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas, and Chris Salih, (the line up would change later now consisting of just Joseph and drummer, Josh Dun). While some may find the low production quality to be appealing, I just think their later efforts are so much better in terms of production quality and almost everything. To be fair the amazing songwriting and lyrics are already there, but everything on this album feels like it’s lacking something.

5. Regional at Best (2011)

The band’s second full length album isn’t widely available anymore with most platforms ignoring its existence altogether, however, you can still give it a listen if you do a little searching online. To be fair, most of the songs on this album have been re-recorded for their third album, early versions of songs like “Ode to Sleep” and “Holding on to You” among others can be found on this album as well as some tracks that weren’t re-used. As a result Regional at Best has been pushed to the side and isn’t often talked about due to it being somewhat forgettable.

4. Clancy (2024)

Released just last week, (May 24th) first impressions are that it’s good, certainly a much better project compared to their last effort (Scaled and Icy). This album is intended to be the finale to a long-running arc that has tied the band’s albums together and it doesn’t disappoint. From the buildup of sound and energy in the album’s opening track, “Overcompensate,” through to bops like “Navigating” there’s no doubt that fans of Twenty One Pilots will be coming back to listen to this album again and again.

3. Blurryface (2015)

The hold this album had over the entire musical sphere in 2015 is kind of insane – it’s definitely the duo’s most successful if we’re just considering the numbers alone. It debuted at the no.1 spot on the Billboard top 200, it was the eighth best-selling album of 2016, (despite releasing in 2015) and it’s the first non-compilation album in history to have every single song certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. 

If you give it a listen it’s easy to understand the hype, the first two tracks alone set you up for a fun, energetic pop album with “Heavydirtysoul” followed by “Stressed Out,” even people who aren’t into Twenty One Pilots know the words to this song. Other high points on an album full of highs include “Ride” and “Tear in My Heart.”

2. Vessel (2013)

This was the band’s debut album with record label Fueled by Ramen and despite being over ten years old fans still find themselves returning to Vessel. A good chunk of the songs were originally used on Regional at Best but the boost in production quality really makes the re-recorded songs shine in a way they didn’t on their sophomore album. Aside from those tracks, there’s plenty of new material like “Fake You Out” and “Migraine” that stand out and make this album one of their best, but it’s not the best.

1. Trench (2018)

I feel like I might be crucified for putting this above Blurryface and Vessel, but this is Twenty One Pilots’ best album, and I’m tired of pretending it’s not. Every song on this album is solid but if I had to pick a few I’d recommend first I’d say “Jumpsuit,” “Chlorine,” and “Nico and the Niners” really give a good taste of what the whole album is like.

This one also leans heavily into the lore the band had been building on with each album, delving into the character of Clancy and his disillusionment with Dema. It touches on some pretty heavy themes including the glorification of death/suicide with “Neon Gravestones” among other things. Arguably this is Twenty One Pilots’ darkest album, but that’s what makes it so good.