Who is best?
Most say Dylan. Steve Earle stomped his boots on Dylan’s coffee table to proclaim it is Townes Van Zandt. Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, Springsteen, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Lennon/McCartney, Paul Simon, Bob Marley, Tom Petty, Tom Waits, Tupac, and T-Swift all have legitimate claims.
But my pick is Craig Finn. Over the last 25 years, Finn has crafted a sordid encyclopedia of characters and capers, hang-ups and hangovers, triumphs and busted drug-deals in his solo work and as the lead singer in the Hold Steady and Lifter Puller. Finn’s initial commercial and artistic peak came in a trilogy of albums in the mid-naughties that give the Hold Steady one of the most compelling tenure packages in music history. Last week, the Hold Steady released their strongest album since then. The new album, along with a pair of solid releases in 2019 and a forthcoming collection of solo songs, feel like a resurrection.
In honor of my favorite songwriter, I’ve ranked all of the Hold Steady, Lifter Puller, and Craig Finn solo studio albums, from most-best to least-best.
1. Boys and Girls in America (The Hold Steady)
Year: 2006
How to listen: Strung out on the banks of the Mississippi River with a wad of racetrack winnings, a suicidal poet, and the homecoming queen.
Favorite Songs: Stuck Between Stations, The First Night
Sample Lyrics:
“There are nights I think that Sal Paradise was right. Boys and girls in America, they have such a sad time together.”
“They started kissing when the nurses took off their IVs. It was kind of sexy, but it was kind of creepy.”
2. Separation Sunday (The Hold Steady)
Year: 2005
How to listen: In a confession booth drinking gin from a jam jar.
Favorite Songs: Your Little Hoodrat Friend, How a Resurrection Really Feels
Sample Lyrics:
“I guess I heard about original sin: I heard the dude blamed the chick, I heard the chick blamed the snake. And I heard they were naked when they got busted, and I heard things ain't been the same since.”
“I’ve never been much for conversation, I kind of dig those awkward silences.”
3. Stay Positive (The Hold Steady)
Year: 2008
How to listen: Busting curfew atop a water tower on the last day of school with the dudes from Dazed and Confused.
Favorite Songs: Sequestered in Memphis, One for the Cutters
Sample Lyrics:
“Me and my friends are like the drums on ‘Lust for Life’”
“When one townie falls in the forest, can anyone hear it?”
4. Open Door Policy (The Hold Steady)
Year: 2021
How to Listen: Rekindling an old flame with a vanilla vodka and Diet Dr. Pepper.
Favorite songs: Family Farm, Me & Magdelena
Sample Lyrics:
“She had the aura of an angel, but she had a couple problems. I guess the big one is she's someone else's wife.”
“There’s something in the silence that hurts a bit to hear.”
5. Clear Heart Full Eyes (Solo)
Year: 2012
How to Listen: Falling off the wagon watching your ex leave the party with someone new.
Favorite Songs: Jackson, Balcony
Sample Lyrics:
“Stephanie was long on looks and short on mental health. She said depression is an ocean and it's prone to tides and swells.”
“When you come back from the hospital, we can’t go back to the Wagon Wheel, and if we do, we can’t go every night.”
6. Almost Killed Me (The Hold Steady)
Year: 2004
How to Listen: Cruising Ybor city high on special sauce, pixie powder, and swizzle sticks.
Favorite songs: Killer Parties, Most People Are DJs
Sample Lyrics:
“If she says we partied, then I’m pretty sure we partied.”
“Mary got a bloody nose from sniffin’ Margarita Mix.”
7. I Need a New War (Solo)
Year: 2019
How to Listen: Lying awake on a cigarette-stained couch waiting for an unemployment check that isn’t going to arrive.
Favorite Songs: Magic Marker, Something to Hope For
Sample Lyrics:
“I let you take my medicine, Cause I was hoping you’d be wild.”
“Everybody’s family until they don’t get paid.”
8. Fiestas & Fiascos (Lifter Puller)
Year: 2000
How to Listen: Covered up in powder drugs with Nightclub Dwight and the Eyepatch Guy while the Nice Nice burns.
Favorite Songs: Candy’s Room, Nice Nice
Sample Lyrics:
“She’s small and she’s sweet, but she’s a straight-up thief.”
“One night Dwight got all goofy with the roofies, now they call him the fiddler on the roof.”
9. Thrashing Through the Passion (The Hold Steady)
Year: 2019
How to Listen: Stranded at the airport at a transitional time.
Favorite Songs: Denver Haircut, Entitlement Crew
Sample Lyrics:
“Mutually assured destruction is often times a no-brainer.”
“Hold Steady at the Comfort Inn. Mick Jagger’s at the Mandarin”
10. Heaven is Whenever (The Hold Steady)
Year: 2010
How to Listen: Lying on the floor listening to your records.
Favorite Songs: The Sweet Part of the City, Hurricane J
Sample Lyrics:
“You can’t tell people what they want to hear if you also want to tell the truth.”
“She said the theme of this party is the Industrial Age, and you came in dressed like a train wreck.”
11. We All Want the Same Things (Solo)
Year: 2017
How to Listen: When you realize that you’re the oldest person at the party but you’re not quite ready to leave.
Favorite Songs: Ninety Bucks, God in Chicago
Sample Lyrics:
“She can’t pay up, but she still wants to rock.”
“Well the bartender’s friend sold us something I think was probably coriander.”
12. Teeth Dreams (The Hold Steady)
Year: 2014
How to Listen: Kickin’ it again with the Cityscape skins and an out-of-towner who isn’t sure why you brought her.
Favorite Songs: I Hope This Whole Thing Didn’t Frighten You, Spinners
Sample Lyrics:
“Heartbreak hurts, but you can dance it off.”
“Flying all around like a fist in a fight.”
13. Faith in the Future (Craig Finn)
Year: 2015
How to Listen: Getting friend-zoned by a girl named Sarah, Christine, or Sandra from Scranton.
Favorite Songs: Newmyer’s Roof, Christine
Lyrics:
“It’s hard for me to concentrate with all the killing and kissing.”
“She's got medical reasons for all these prescriptions, I suppose that's enough explanation.”
14. Lifter Puller (Half Dead and Dynamite)
Year: 1997
How to Listen: Dripping wet with pink oxide and white wine cooler at a Jones Beach afterparty.
Favorite songs: Nassau Coliseum, Half Dead and Dynamite
Sample Lyrics:
“Your kisses taste just like Skoal Bandits, They're minty fresh and fucking gorgeous.”
“She thinks that I’m the way that James Brown sings.”
15. Lifter Puller (self-titled)
Year: 1997
How to Listen: Partying on an empty tennis court waiting for the school year to begin.
Favorite songs: Star Wars Hips, Solid Gold Sole
Sample Lyrics:
“The dance floor looks like Normandy, the smoke, the foam, the misery.”
“You look so cute like that, I want your autograph.”