24
Peter Criss (1978)
-This is from the time when the band's manager thought it would be a good idea to release four solo albums simultaneously. Each one reflecting the taste in music of that person. Instead of the raw edge of hard rock, the man behind "Beth", "Hard Luck Woman" "Black Diamond" is now crooning to R&B ballads, big band-type music. Overall, it is not one of the better albums, even though it has a small handful of people who like it
-My opinion: I simply didn't care for it. I'm not saying it's bad or good. I simply did not care for the type of music on this album
23
Crazy Nights (1987)
-This album was considered garbage by most if not all Kiss fans. This band has been accused of changing with the times and here is no different. They adopted a pop-metal sound in addition to adding keyboards and synthesizers
-My opinion: I have this album. I think it's pretty good. I like a few of the tracks on here. It does seem, however, that the band were trying to keep the pace with other up-and-coming metal and rock acts of the time. "Reason to Live" is a definitely good track to get women into Kiss, other than "Beth".
22
Hot in the Shade (1989)
-This was considered to be a failure. The only highlight of the album was "Forever" and the other strong song was "Rise to It".
-My opinion: "Forever" is my favorite track here. It's beautiful and it's said to be one of the more popular songs for weddings. Other than that track, I can't say I'm too enthused about it. But, that's just me. Everyone has different opinions.
21
Music from "The Elder" (1981)
-With the band fractured after the departure of drummer Peter Criss, the band wanted to get back to their basic hard rock sound. That did not go according to plan. They somehow got talked into doing a concept album set in the Medieval Period.
-My opinion: Nope. I didn't bother listening to it. Too weird
20
Carnival of Souls (1997)
-With grunge overtaking the market by storm, seemingly overnight, all anyone wanted to hear were doomy, gloomy, grunge songs that sounds like the perfect soundtrack for a suicide. All bands were expected to change their sound just to fit in. It seems that Kiss had done that exact thing. They took on a doomy, grunge-y almost Black Sabbath sound
-My opinion: The only ones who can do the gloom and doom metal are Black Sabbath. I simply didn't care for this album
19
Animalize (1984)
-Paul Stanley was left mostly in charge of the production of this album because bassist Gene Simmons was busy trying to get face and name on the silver screen. Other than "Heaven's on Fire", this album is not that great
-My opinion: I do love the track "Heaven's on Fire". I know my sister sure seems to be a fan of the video, showing Paul Stanley close to naked except for a towel around his hips, lol.
18
Dynasty (1979)
-With the interesting journey of doing solo records, everyone had a taste of creative freedom. This album seems to have shunned a lot of Kiss fans with the disco track "I Was Made for Loving You". This is considered to be, among die hard Kiss fans, as the scariest song they made. Suffice to say, not much production was being made here
-My opinion: "I Was Made for Loving You" is a good song, no matter what people say. That is the only track I like here. And I literally went through each album, listening to song after song, just to see if I could find any more Kiss studio albums. Sadly, "I Was Made for Loving You" was my only highlight here
17
Psycho Circus (1997)
-Almost 20 years is the time limit between the last original lineup Kiss album and this one. This album proved, once and for all, that Peter Criss and Ace Frehley were about as useful as used condoms in Kiss. They hardly contributed any songs at all. Most of that work was down to Gene and Paul.
-My opinion: The title track is a great headbanger. Other than that, I'm not too in to the other songs. It just sucks that Peter Criss' ego and Ace Frehley's ego went to their heads. Instead of acting like they were both Jimi Hendrix or gods of rock, they should have focused on writing music together instead of group fighting
16
Sonic Boom (2009)
-It was more than a decade before Kiss made any headway in terms of new music. By that point, they had officially sworn in former Badlands/Lita Ford/Black Sabbath drummer Eric Singer and former Black 'N' Blue guitarist Tommy Thayer as the new Catman and Spaceman. Paul Stanley took the reigns on production, making a few simple rules-all ballads are going to remain on the cutting room floor, they play together in the studio. Despite the fact these rules might seem harsh to some, everyone was fine with it and the album proved very successful
-My opinion: Even though it was good, I have to go back and listen to it again. I heard "Modern Day Delilah" and it was pretty good.
15
Monster (2012)
-This album proved to be a, no pun intended, monster of success. One of the tracks to be forewarned about if you let kids listen to this is the risqué, AC/DC-type track "Take Me Down Below", which has Gene and Paul talking about sex.
-My opinion: AWESOME! I love this album. Although, be forewarned-you might need to turn down the volume when listening to this. When I listen to it on my MP3, I have the volume one click above total silence and even then it seems loud. But, overall, the songs are great. "Hell or Hallelujah" is a total headbanger. "Last Chance" is amazing. Every song is amazing!!!
14
Gene Simmons (1978)
-During the time when their manager thought it was a bright idea for all four band members to release a solo album simultaneously, Gene's was a total wild card. It's interesting to say the least. The total "wild card" moment is a cover of the song "When You Wish Upon a Star"
-My opinion: I didn't care for it.
13
Asylum (1985)
-This album is underrated in every sense of the word.
-My opinion: I have this album. It's okay. I like one or two tracks. My all time favorite track is "Who Wants to Be Lonely?" It's a good track and if women like Paul Stanley getting his clothes ripped off and getting wet underwater while doing that, then the video for this song is the video for ladies! Also, there's another beautiful track geared towards getting ladies to their shows-"Tears Are Falling". This poppy ballad is something that women can enjoy, rather than the just about sex songs that Kiss are sadly known for.
12
Paul Stanley (1978)
-This is Paul Stanley's solo album. His album reflected more of the hard rock and progressive rock he prefers. "Tonight You Belong to Me" was one of his only ballads on here. This is proof he could make a Kiss album all by himself
-My opinion: I like it. It's rock, but there's soft rock songs like "When We're Apart and hard rockers like "Move On" which wouldn't sound out of place at a Led Zeppelin concert.
11
Unmasked (1980)
-This is the album when Paul Stanley thought it would be good for the band and the image of the band to take off the famous white kabuki makeup. To do an album showing their faces. This album is underrated in a lot of ways. Ace Frehley has a few songs here and there. Sure, it's not "Deuce" or "Strutter", but it's power-pop that was beginning to become popular.
-My opinion: I simply don't care for it.
10
Lick It Up (1983)
-One more of the "non makeup" albums, the title track is good. It has that 80s metal sound of heavy guitars, heavy drums. By this point, they had two new members-on guitar Vinnie Vincent and on drums Eric Carr. Despite the good songs, Vinnie didn't last. He thought of himself as being a guitar virtuoso like Eddie Van Halen and would often do 10+ guitar solo marathons on stage. It got so bad that Paul Stanley had gotten to the point of going on stage and cutting off the power to Vinnie's guitar. He said that he noticed a pattern with people who were friends with Vinnie-"They bragged about his talents, but they never had a lot of nice things to say".
-My opinion: I like it. It has that 80s metal sound. The title track is great, but I only like a few of the songs here
9
Revenge (1992)
-Paul Stanley found it hard to write music for this album. He does not agree with the grunge sound. He'll often say in interviews that Kiss is about loving life, celebrating life and more, not about being down in the dumps, bragging about how life is unfair, etc. But, overall, somehow this album ends up becoming a fan winner
-My opinion: I don't really care for it. I don't understand why Kiss would attempt a grunge or doom metal-sounding album.
8
Dressed to Kill (1975)
-This album gave Kiss their most famous mantra "Rock and Roll All Nite (And Party Every Day)". This album was released only a few years into their career
-My opinion: I like "Rock and Roll All Nite". Other than that, not too many good songs
7
Rock and Roll Over (1976)
-Their plan for this album was a stripped-down rock sound. This album produced some great songs like "Calling Dr. Love", "I Want You", "Makin' Love"
-My opinion: "Calling Dr. Love" is one of my favorite tracks here
6
Love Gun (1977)
-The songs, overall, are great!
-My opinion: I LOVE THIS ALBUM! The songs, all of them, are great! One track that makes me laugh is "I Stole Your Love". It's a good song, but the reason it makes me laugh is because if you've ever seen the movie Detroit Rock City, listen close to the song playing while the overly religious mother is trying to turn off the record player. The song playing is "I Stole Your Love".
-If you have not seen Detroit Rock City, let me explain. In the movie, there is a guy named Jam. He's a drummer. His mother is overly religious. She does not want her son listening to Kiss because she thinks that Kiss stands for "Knights in Satan's Service". When she goes into her den to listen to what she thinks is a Carpenters record, it is actually Kiss' Love Gun record that her son had hidden away. She puts in the "Carpenters Record" and suddenly the aggressive guitars kick in and "I Stole Your Love" starts blasting out of the speakers. She is desperately trying to stop this horrible music, to the point of nearly destroying the bookcase in which the record player is located. When she finally gets it to stop, the lid pops up and she is looking, with horror, at the Kiss Love Gun record on the record player.
5
Ace Frehley (1978)
-His was considered to be the strongest effort of the four. He centered around straight rock, like Jimi Hendrix and the like. His was said to be the best one of all
-My opinion: I don't really like Ace Frehley. He seems arrogant and plus, it's a bad idea to collect Nazi memorabilia when you're in a band with two Jewish guys, one of whom lost family members to Auschwitz during the Holocaust
4
Hotter than Hell (1974)
-It was said that production work just sucked. But there were some good songs that came through the muck and bad production work, like "Goin' Blind", "Strange Ways", "Got to Choose".
-My opinion: The title track is good.
3
Kiss (1974)
-This is their debut album. "Black Diamond", "Deuce" are two of the better songs, that get played live, even to this very day. In addition, "Cold Gin" gets airplay live even today. This is proof that Kiss knows how to rock
-My opinion: I like the track "Black Diamond", "Deuce"
2
Creatures of the Night (1982)
-This heavy metal freight train came crashing into markets, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Many had dismissed Kiss as a kiddie band after their disco venture with "I Was Made for Loving You". This album proved they could come back swinging, just like any band can. "Saint and Sinner" is a straight-up, pointing the fingers of blame at Ace Frehley for his egotistical behavior and Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons getting past the point of frustration with him. "I Love It Loud" has that perfect hum of heavy metal guitars throughout the song, making it not only a good headbanging song, but the perfect battle cry for metal heads and headbangers alike
-My opinion: I love this album. The title track is amazing. "I Love It Loud" is so addictive you want to listen to it repeatedly. "War Machine" is a down and gloomy heavy metal rocker that is also addictive
1
Destroyer (1976)
-Bob Ezrin, who produced Alice Cooper, had come in and played drill sergeant to get these guys into shape. He wanted no songs about sex, since it seemed like the majority of their songs pertained to sex. Bob wanted songs that would be good, obviously, but he also wanted the band to attract the ladies as well. That's where "Beth" came in. Originally written as a song called "Beck" and from Peter's days in the band Chelsea, it was originally written to mock one of his former bandmates. They would take what he said and write it down. When the lyrics were read, it turned into a touching love song. But, in addition to the love song "Beth", you have heavy metal monster "God of Thunder", "Do You Love Me?" with its orchestral bells, "Shout It Out Loud", one of the ultimate party songs and an homage to a city that embraced them early on- "Detroit Rock City"
-My opinion: Great album. If it was not for the track "Beth", Kiss concerts would be nothing but sweaty teenaged males or just sweaty males there to rock. All the songs are good!!
