# What is the best Portishead album?

> Three studio records and one orchestral live set, all slow-burning and a little haunted. Fans tend to split between the debut's smoky beats and the colder, harsher turn that came later.

*By YPB Team · Published October 17, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-portishead-album*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Dummy** — score 1000/1000
   The 1994 debut that put Bristol trip-hop on the map and won the Mercury Prize.
2. **Third** — score 409/1000
   A 2008 comeback after a decade away, trading hip-hop beats for krautrock pulses and abrasive synths.
3. **Roseland NYC Live** — score 300/1000
   A live album recorded with a full orchestra at New York's Roseland Ballroom in 1997.
4. **Portishead** — score 0/1000
   The 1997 self-titled second record, darker and more cinematic, built on sampled film-score textures.

Tags: music, 90s, electronic, trip-hop, portishead