Pearl Jam: Ranking Their Albums From Worst To Best

9. Riot Act

Yes, the early 2000s resulted in quite the slump for Pearl Jam, who just couldn't quite find their footing in the rock scene. It was a period where they embraced the tag "art rock" with a weird level of zeal. But unlike Binaural, which was simply lacked the excitement of their previous efforts, Riot Act came with a thousand peaks and valleys. The band was as overt as they've ever been with their politicizing, and although it gave parts of the album a vivacious energy, it also weighed portions of the album down with its heavy-handedness. Give them credit where credit is due though, as they were one of the first well-known bands to rail against George W. Bush at a time when the general public was still largely in favor of him, due to the freshness of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And Riot Act isn't all preaching indictments, either. There are some genuinely beautiful moments sprinkled throughout the album, which act as a sense of levity to the political rockers. Album opener "Can't Keep" is a jangly mid-tempo jam that showcases the direction the band would take in the years to come. "I Am Mine" shows that Pearl Jam is occasionally willing to dig further back than Led Zeppelin for their influences, as they delve into mellower, Beatles-esque territory for the simple verses. (It still ratchets up into an arena-ready anthem by the song's end, but at least it held back the bombast to let the song work to a crescendo.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkgv3LoQY2o