Best Albums

'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' (1991)

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is both Red Hot Chili Peppers’ breakthrough album and their masterpiece. “Give It Away” is a powerhouse track, with Anthony Keidis perfecting his frenetic style. “Breaking the Girl,” with its distinctive 6/8 time signature and emphatic percussion, is one of the band’s most original songs. And then there’s “Under the Bridge,” a soaring, soulful and deeply personal glimpse into Keidis’ struggles with addiction that remains the Red Hot Chili Peppers' definitive track. Truly transcendent LPs operate in a kind of time bubble, with material so strong the work continues to resonate decades after its release. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is such an album.

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'Stadium Arcadium' (2006)

Parsed to its best songs, Stadium Arcadium may be the Red Hot Chili Peppers' greatest album. It certainly has a strong case: It's the band’s first No. 1 LP, winning five Grammys and selling more than 4 million copies in the U.S. But the double album runs more than two hours, so there’s much filler between the golden moments For every “Snow (Hey Oh)” and “Dani California," there’s a forgettable “Warlocks” or “21st Century” bringing things back to earth. The highs here are so astronomical that they more than outweigh the dull points. Still, it’s hard not to wonder how a pared-down version of the LP would be regarded.

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'Californication' (1999)

Some critics and fans had written off the Chili Peppers by the late ‘90s. Californication silenced them and cemented the band’s place among rock’s elite. With John Frusciante back in the fold - and more sober and focused than ever - the group crafted some of the best tunes of its career. The LP still has plenty of funky bass (“Around the World”), but there are also poignant ballads (“Otherside,” “Scar Tissue”), distorted rockers (“Parallel Universe”) and even a folkish tune (“Road Trippin’”). Then there’s the title track, an unfiltered look at the dark side of Hollywood that remains one of the band’s most popular songs. Californiacation is a triumph.

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'By the Way' (2002)

Following 1999’s hugely successful Californication, expectations were high for By the Way. That the album managed to exceed them is notable, but how they did so is even more impressive. The Chili Peppers went against their own formula on By the Way, straying from funk-punk influences to a more melodic, emotional and introspective sound. The album still includes plenty of hits - the title track, "Can't Stop" and "The Zephyr Song" - but there are more ballads than before, including the soaring "Dosed." By the Way isn't quite as strong as its predecessor, but it ranks as one of the band's best works.

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