# What is the best Steely Dan album?

> Nine albums across three decades from a band that treated the studio like a laboratory. Fans split between the polished jazz-rock peak and the scrappier early records.

*By YPB Team · Published October 23, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-steely-dan-album*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Aja** — score 1000/1000
   The 1977 jazz-rock landmark with Deacon Blues and Peg, a multi-platinum classic.
2. **Can't Buy a Thrill** — score 571/1000
   Steely Dan's 1972 debut, home to Do It Again and Reelin' in the Years.
3. **The Royal Scam** — score 444/1000
   A darker, guitar-driven 1976 album with Kid Charlemagne and Haitian Divorce.
4. **Pretzel Logic** — score 444/1000
   The 1974 album of tight three-minute songs including Rikki Don't Lose That Number.
5. **Gaucho** — score 363/1000
   The meticulous 1980 album with Hey Nineteen and Babylon Sisters, their last for twenty years.
6. **Countdown to Ecstasy** — score 266/1000
   The 1973 follow-up, a guitar-heavy set with Bodhisattva and My Old School.
7. **Katy Lied** — score 0/1000
   A polished 1975 record featuring Black Friday and Doctor Wu.
8. **Two Against Nature** — score 0/1000
   The 2000 comeback that won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
9. **Everything Must Go** — score 0/1000
   Their 2003 studio finale, a loose and wry set of late-career songs.

Tags: music, jazz, rock, 70s, steely dan