Every Paul McCartney Solo Album Ranked

How We Ranked Them

Paul McCartney has released 20 solo studio albums of songs, from McCartney in April 1970 to The Boys of Dungeon Lane in May 2026, which went to number one in the UK. This list ranks all 20. We include Ram (1971), credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, because it sits squarely in his solo story, and we include the covers and standards albums. We leave out the Wings albums, which have their own ranking on this site, as well as the Fireman projects with Youth and the classical works.

Our order weighs three things: the strength of the songs, how well the album holds together from the first track to the last, and how it sounds now rather than how it sounded on release. Chart placings are noted for context but decided nothing. Pipes of Peace and Give My Regards to Broad Street both sold strongly and sit near the bottom, while Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, which stalled at No.10 in the UK, sits in the top three.

One practical note before the list: many of these albums have been reissued in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection with bonus material, and several have fine vinyl editions. We point out the best ones in our guide to the best McCartney vinyl pressings.

The Top Five

1. Ram (1971). Recorded in New York with Linda, drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarists Hugh McCracken and David Spinozza, Ram was dismissed by many critics on release and has since become the album fans reach for first. "Too Many People", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" (a US number one single), "Heart of the Country" and "The Back Seat of My Car" show his gift for melody at full stretch, and the whole record has a loose, homemade feel he rarely matched. It topped the UK chart and peaked at No.2 in the US. The original UK pressing is Apple PAS 10003.

2. McCartney (1970). Made largely at home in St John's Wood, with Paul playing almost every instrument, it was issued on 17 April 1970 (Apple PCS 7102 in the UK), weeks before Let It Be, and spent three weeks at No.1 on the Billboard 200. It is uneven by design, full of sketches and instrumentals, but "Maybe I'm Amazed", "Every Night", "Junk" and "That Would Be Something" are among his finest songs, and the rough edges are part of the appeal.

3. Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005). Producer Nigel Godrich pushed McCartney to play most instruments himself and to drop songs that did not measure up. The result is his most consistent late album: quiet, careful and deeply melodic, with "Fine Line", "Jenny Wren", "English Tea" and "Friends to Go". It earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.

4. Tug of War (1982). Produced by George Martin after Wings had ended, it is a polished, generous record that went to number one in both the UK and the US. "Here Today", his song for John Lennon, is one of the most moving things he has recorded, and "Wanderlust" and "Take It Away" sit alongside the hit duet with Stevie Wonder, "Ebony and Ivory".

5. Flaming Pie (1997). Written and recorded in the years around the Beatles Anthology project, with Jeff Lynne co-producing several tracks and Ringo drumming on "Beautiful Night", Flaming Pie is warm and relaxed. "Calico Skies", "The World Tonight" and "Young Boy" stand out. It reached No.2 in both the UK and the US, his best chart showing in years, and the 2020 Archive Collection edition adds a generous set of home demos.

Six to Ten

6. McCartney II (1980). Another one-man home record, this time built around synthesisers and drum machines. It puzzled people in 1980 and now sounds ahead of its time. "Coming Up" was a hit, "Waterfalls" is lovely, and "Temporary Secretary" has found a whole new audience. It went to number one in the UK. Our review of the McCartney I II III box set covers the three home-made albums together.

7. Flowers in the Dirt (1989). His late-1980s comeback, a UK number one, notable for songs co-written with Elvis Costello, including "My Brave Face". "This One", "Put It There" and "We Got Married" hold up well, and the album led to his first world tour in more than a decade.

8. McCartney III (2020). Recorded at home in Sussex during the 2020 lockdown, with Paul again playing everything, it completed the McCartney trilogy and went to number one in the UK. "Find My Way", "Deep Deep Feeling", "Women and Wives" and "Seize the Day" show a musician still experimenting in his late seventies.

9. Egypt Station (2018). Produced mainly by Greg Kurstin, it became his first US number one album since Tug of War in 1982. It is long and occasionally unfocused, but "I Don't Know", "Come On to Me" and "Do It Now" are strong, and the album's travel theme gives it shape.

10. The Boys of Dungeon Lane (2026). Co-produced with Andrew Watt and released on 29 May 2026, it reached number one in the UK and number five on the Billboard 200. The lead single "Days We Left Behind" and "Home to Us", a duet with Ringo, have become fan favourites quickly. Placing a brand-new album is always a guess, and it may climb this list once it has had a few years to settle. See our full review.

Eleven to Fifteen

11. Memory Almost Full (2007). The first album released on Starbucks' Hear Music label, it mixes the playful single "Dance Tonight", built on a mandolin Paul had just bought, with a closing run of songs about age and memory, including "The End of the End". It reached No.3 in the US, and it holds together better than its reputation suggests.

12. New (2013). Paul worked with four producers, Mark Ronson, Paul Epworth, Ethan Johns and Giles Martin, and the album sounds bright and modern. "Queenie Eye", "New" and the reflective "Early Days" are the highlights.

13. Run Devil Run (1999). Recorded soon after Linda's death, mostly rock and roll covers of songs he loved as a teenager, with a band including David Gilmour and Ian Paice, and produced by Chris Thomas. Raw, fast and full of feeling, with three new songs in the same style.

14. Driving Rain (2001). Produced by David Kahne and cut quickly in Los Angeles, this is the album where he first worked with guitarist Rusty Anderson and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., the core of the band that still plays with him. It is long and a little shapeless, but "From a Lover to a Friend" and "Tiny Bubble" are fine songs.

15. Pipes of Peace (1983). Built partly from Tug of War outtakes, it has the big duet with Michael Jackson, "Say Say Say", and the title track, which gave him a UK number one single. The rest is pleasant but slight.

Sixteen to Twenty

16. Off the Ground (1993). Produced with Julian Mendelsohn and recorded with his touring band of the time to sound live, it has "Hope of Deliverance" and a handful of good songs, including two more Elvis Costello co-writes, but it rarely lifts above competent.

17. Kisses on the Bottom (2012). An album of pre-rock standards recorded with producer Tommy LiPuma and Diana Krall's band, plus two originals, including "My Valentine". Elegant and heartfelt, but more of a side project than a McCartney album in the usual sense.

18. Press to Play (1986). Co-produced with Hugh Padgham, it chases the sound of mid-1980s radio, and much of it has dated. "Only Love Remains" and "Press" are worth hearing, and some fans argue it deserves a second look.

19. Choba B CCCP (1988). Rock and roll covers recorded in two days in 1987 and first released only in the Soviet Union, before a wider release in 1991. Fun, but a curiosity rather than a statement.

20. Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984). The soundtrack to his feature film, mostly re-recordings of Beatles and solo songs. It went to number one in the UK, and "No More Lonely Nights", with a David Gilmour guitar solo, is a genuinely great single. As an album, it sits last because so little of it is new.

Where to Start and What to Buy

If you are new to solo McCartney, start with the top five, then go back to McCartney II and McCartney III. For a single overview, the compilation Pure McCartney (2016) collects songs from across his solo and Wings career, though nothing beats hearing the albums in full.

On vinyl, the Archive Collection reissues of Ram, McCartney and McCartney II are easy to find, and original 1970s UK and US pressings of Ram and McCartney turn up often at record fairs. Albums from the CD era, such as Driving Rain and Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, were pressed on vinyl in much smaller numbers, so original copies can cost more second-hand than their age suggests. Check the matrix numbers before paying a premium for a supposed first pressing.

The Archive Collection is the best way to hear most of these records with context. It began with Wings' Band on the Run in November 2010, followed by McCartney and McCartney II in June 2011, Ram in May 2012, Tug of War and Pipes of Peace in October 2015, Flowers in the Dirt in March 2017 and Flaming Pie in July 2020. Each came in several formats, from a plain remastered album up to deluxe book sets with demos, outtakes and film, so decide first if you want the music alone or the full package.