All 8 Mastodon Albums Ranked Worst to Best — Is Your Favorite No. 1?

Here is a ranking of all eight Mastodon studio albums, from worst to best.

When all is said and done, Mastodon may go down as the most important American heavy metal band of their generation – what Metallica were to the ‘80s and Pantera were to the ‘90s.

Bold words, to be sure, but what other U.S. band has produced such a consistently innovative and unique discography, succeeding commercially on their own terms while leading heavy metal’s ongoing evolution instead of following its assorted movements and scenes.

Mastodon’s music stands apart from all that. It ain’t metalcore, deathcore, thrash metal or even progressive metal, which they’ve only been labeled for lack of a better term. If anyone sounds like Mastodon, it’s their imitators because, certainly, no one sounded quite like Mastodon before Mastodon.

Though the band was assembled by experienced musicians (guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer Brann Dailor had played together in Lethargy and Today is the Day, bassist Troy Sanders and guitarist Brent Hinds in Four Hour Fogger), they immediately carved a musical direction all their own with the technically proficient sludge metal of 2001’s Lifesblood EP and the next year’s full-length Remission.

But Mastodon really took off once they started infusing a broader array of heavy metal and even classic rock influences (Thin Lizzy, anyone?) into their insistently powerful style on 2004’s Leviathan, ‘06’s Blood Mountain and ‘09’s Crack the Skye – all of which qualified as full-fledged concept albums, lending further depth to their likewise persistent intricate musicianship.

Subsequent albums The Hunter (2011) and Once More ‘Round the Sun (2014) found the band dropping those conceptual ambitions so as to focus on finessing their songwriting skills, losing none of their experimental penchant and immediately identifiable style, along the way, and putting fans on the edge of their seats, wondering what may come next.

In 2017, Mastodon debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and hit No. 1 on the Top Album Sales Chart with the release of Emperor of Sand, still climbing the ladder of success. They later tried their hand at an experimental double album (2021's Hushed and Grim), which proved to be their final record with Hinds before his 2025 dismissal from the group and death months later at age 51.

See how they all stack up in the ranking below.