As any artist of any music medium knows full well, it’s that completing a project to their satisfaction takes more effort than we sometimes even thought possible. It’s why many of the most successful artists of all time have gone years, sometimes decades, between works; think Harper Lee with her To Kill a Mockingbird follow-up, Go Set a Watchman, released 55 years later. For an artist to put out their best work, they need to take the time to cultivate the idea at all stages.
So, when a musical artist or band releases more than ten solid albums throughout their career, that is a truly impressive feat, let alone 20. Releasing over 20 studio albums throughout one’s career is monumental; an achievement so impressive that very few mainstream artists have actually done it.
Where some of the most legendary artists of all time have achieved such a status with fewer than five studio albums – Rage Against The Machine pioneered an entire subgenre with only four studio albums to show for it – not many artists can claim that level of success and impact with over 20 albums to show for it. Here are 11 artists who most definitely can.
11
Deep Purple
23 Studio Albums
One of the pioneers of heavy metal, Deep Purple released their first album, Shades of Deep Purple, in 1968. From then on, the longest they went between albums was nine years, from their 1975 album, Come Taste the Band, to their 1984 album, Perfect Strangers. Aside from that hiatus, and an eight-year gap between Rapture of the Deep in 2005 and Now What?! in 2013, Deep Purple has been consistently releasing music for almost sixty years.
Though they have largely maintained the same primary lineup for most of their career, only drummer Ian Paice has been with Deep Purple from the very beginning through their most recent album, =1, released in July of last year. The band’s sound has certainly ebbed and flowed over the course of their six-decade tenure, as is apparent when you compare any two albums from different decades.
Even with Deep Purple’s evolution through the years, their influence on the genres of hard rock and heavy metal is clear throughout their entire discography. The guitar riffs and drum fills in particular have a signature sound from which many of the metal bands who came after them drew inspiration, and with their 23 studio albums, there is no shortage of potential inspiration.
10
The Rolling Stones
31 Studio Albums
Getting their start in 1964 with their self-titled debut, The Rolling Stones solidified their legendary status as one of the greatest rock bands of all time, well before their 20th album was released. The success of their 31 studio albums has most consistently been driven by Mick Jagger’s distinct vocals and Keith Richards’ masterful guitar riffs, but perhaps most impressively, The Rolling Stones have consisted of a combination of the same seven members over the course of their sixty-year career.
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When the band formed in 1962, and at the time of their first album’s release, The Rolling Stones consisted of Jagger, Richards, second guitarist Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts. Following Jones’ death in 1969, Mick Taylor took over, followed by Ronnie Wood, who replaced Taylor in 1975.
The fact that they have, for the most part, maintained their original lineup means that The Rolling Stones’ authenticity in their sound has been largely untouched. With sixty years and over 30 studio albums under their thumb (see what I did there?), nine of which reached the number one spot in the US and 11 of which hit number one in the UK, The Rolling Stones have had a remarkable career unlike any other.
9
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
27 Studio Albums
Australian rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, KGLW for short, released their first studio album in 2012, and have only gone one year since without the release of another album. Most of their music falls under the umbrella of rock or metal – though they have put out a couple of albums with some jazz influence – and of their 27 albums, really no two sound the same. From heavy metal to psychedelic rock and just about everything in between, the key thing to note about KGLW is that they are nothing without their immensely broad range.
If they continue releasing music the way they always have, they could reach 50 studio albums in no time.
Since 2012, KGLW has averaged two albums per year, with five studio albums released in the year 2017, and five more released in the year 2022, three of which were released in October. As a band, KGLW definitely marches to the beat of their own drum, and as a result, they have gained quite an eclectic yet incredibly devoted following.
They have experimented with synthesizers, used effects pedals in their vocal harmonies, and have made the harmonica an integral part of their sound, something very few artists have ever done on a regular basis. There really is no other artist quite like KGLW, and if they continue releasing music the way they always have, they could reach 50 studio albums in no time.
8
Prince
40 Studio Albums
Prince released 39 studio albums over the course of his career, and added one more posthumous album to make it an even 40 in 2021. Of those 40 albums, 17 of them reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 chart. Further, in the week following his death, Prince set the record for the most albums in the top ten of the Billboard 200 chart at one time, with a whopping five albums in the top ten, and 19 of his albums on the list of 200 overall (Billboard). Needless to say, Prince was an incomparable talent.
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Prince was a versatile artist, to say the least – a master of lyrics and vocals, guitar, piano and keys, synthesizers, the list goes on. His lyrics touched on a wide range of taboo topics, from sexuality to religion and politics. Really, nothing was off limits for Prince. With the sheer breadth of his discography, each of his 40 albums inevitably vary in quality, but are all an integral part of his career at large. With five songs reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and four albums reaching number one on the Billboard 200, Prince’s success speaks for itself.
7
Motörhead
23 Studio Albums
Right alongside Deep Purple as pioneers of heavy metal were Motörhead. Led by vocalist Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, who was the only band member to be present throughout their entire 50-year run, Motörhead, funny enough, did not really think of themselves as heavy metal. In a 2010 interview with The Independent, Kilmister said, “We were not heavy metal…We were a rock ‘n’ roll band. Still are. Everyone always describes us as heavy metal even when I tell them otherwise.” Regardless of whether they identify with the genre, Motörhead absolutely inspired any number of heavy metal artists who came after them.
Regardless of whether they identify with the genre, Motörhead absolutely inspired any number of heavy metal artists who came after them.
Motörhead are even credited by some as the early inspirations for metal subgenres speed metal and thrash metal. I have a vivid memory of my uncle’s throaty scream-singing on the video game Rock Band for the vocals of “Ace of Spades.” My uncle is 6’5″, with long, blond hair that runs the length of his back, and if you saw him on the street, you would likely assume he was in a thrash metal band. “Ace of Spades” specifically, along with a number of other Motörhead hits – “Overkill” and “Bomber” come to mind – go fast, and they go hard.
6
Stevie Wonder
23 Studio Albums
One of the most legendary artists in history was none other than Stevie Wonder, who, starting from the time he was just 11 years old, released 23 studio albums, all under the Motown umbrella. Wonder went blind at a young age, even before he signed with Tamla Records, a subsidiary of Motown, and made his trademark black sunglasses a staple on nearly all of his album covers.
He has won over 20 Grammy Awards, received honorary degrees from over a dozen universities, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014, making his career nothing short of truly prolific. Wonder has been making massive waves since day one, setting the record for the youngest solo artist ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 at age 13 with his song, “Fingertips” (Far Out Magazine).
Wonder went on to put out nine more number one singles, bringing his total to ten. He had three albums reach number one on the Billboard 200, and ten of them reach the top ten. His jazz-fueled vocals, his abilities on the piano, synthesizers, and keys, and occasionally on the drums and harmonica, too, quickly caught the attention of listeners across the globe.
5
David Bowie
26 Studio Albums
David Bowie was an artist whose music transcended the very idea of identity. Androgyny and gender-bending were at the forefront of Bowie’s identity, and the theatrics of which fueled much of his music, leading to the birth of his alter ego and title character of one of his most iconic albums, Ziggy Stardust. Bowie’s sound definitely evolved over the decades, spanning from avant-garde, art rock, to glam rock, electronic, and pop. As a result, there aren’t many artists who haven’t been influenced by Bowie, whether directly or indirectly.
David Bowie was an artist whose music transcended the very idea of identity.
When David Bowie passed away in January 2016, just two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar, it was as if the world stopped turning for a moment. Fans were still digesting that album, which had reached number one on the US, UK, and Australian charts, among others, when they had to pause any and all comprehension to get it through their minds that he was gone.
When he died, I was hardly even a casual fan of Bowie, but I remember that day like it just happened. Not many artists have had that level of impact on the world, but with his 26 albums, David Bowie most certainly did, and then some.
4
Aretha Franklin
38 Studio Albums
Though she never released an album with Motown, Aretha Franklin was the most prolific artist to come out of the Motor City. There are countless artists who identify heavily with their hometowns, and cities which identify heavily with the artists who grew up there, but you’d be hard-pressed to find an artist-city tie that’s as tightly wound as Aretha Franklin with the city of Detroit. I’ve always been a little blind to her impact outside the city, having grown up there, but once I moved away, I realized just how impressive Franklin’s legacy really is.
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Franklin released at least one album every year from her debut in 1961 to 1970. She released three albums in 1967, including her first to reach the top five of the Billboard 200, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You. Her next three albums also reached the top five, each of which saw at least one single reach the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.
This includes her cover of Otis Redding’s “Respect,” which was named number one in the 2021 updated list of Rolling Stone Magazine‘s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The Queen of Soul, a recipient of the Grammy lifetime achievement award, and the first woman ever inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, there is no shortage of honors and achievements that Aretha Franklin earned in her 76 years of life.
3
Bob Dylan
40 Studio Albums
If ever there were an artist who proved why songwriting is just poetry set to music, Bob Dylan was it. Though his musical stylings have changed quite a bit over the course of his 70-year career, the one constant has been his beautifully poetic lyricism. Often regarded as the single greatest singer who simply can’t sing, it’s Dylan’s guitar and his words that have landed 20 of his 40 studio albums in the top ten of the Billboard 200, and have made him one of the most covered artists of all time.
If ever there were an artist who proved why songwriting is just poetry set to music, Bob Dylan was it.
Bob Dylan has mastered the genres of both folk and blues, successfully blending the two, along with pop, rock, and even a little country. His music was always culturally relevant, and he never shied away from the political in his words.
In fact, beyond his music, though who knows how he possibly had the time, Dylan actually published two books of prose poetry, and dabbled in painting and drawing as well. Since his self-titled debut in 1962, Bob Dylan has never gone more than five years without releasing an album, and that includes the seven-year hiatus from touring he had to take after being involved in a motorcycle crash.
2
Elton John
31 Studio Albums
Sir Elton John is a multi-talented songwriter, vocalist, and musician, with 31 albums to show for it, and counting; he just released a collaborative full-length album with contemporary Americana artist Brandi Carlile. Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of John’s is that every single one of his 31 albums has charted on the Billboard 200, with his first 11 albums all reaching the top ten. He has also had nine number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
John became the 19th person to earn the highly coveted EGOT status, having won an Emmy in 2024 to complete the achievement. By his side throughout most of his career has been his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, who was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame separately from, and in addition to, John. Their partnership has been widely regarded as the most successful in all songwriting history, and without which, John wouldn’t be the massive worldwide phenomenon he is today.
A multi-talented artist with a voice like butter, Sir Elton John is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent. He has never gone longer than four years between album releases, and has never once faltered in his craft throughout his 55-year tenure.
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