Editor’s Note: From Albumism’s inception back in 2016, we’ve remained unabashedly and unequivocally passionate about our mission of celebrating the world's love affairs with albums past, present and future.
But while our devotion to the album as an art form has remained steadfast, as evidenced by our deepening repository of individual album tributes and reviews, we’ve admittedly seldom taken the opportunity to explicitly articulate our reverence for the virtues of artists’ complete album repertoires as a whole.
Hence why we’ve decided to showcase what we believe to be the most dynamic discographies of all time in this recurring series. In doing so, we hope to better understand the broader creative context within which our most beloved individual albums exist, while acknowledging the full breadth of their creators’ artistry, career arcs, and overall contributions to the ever-evolving musical landscape.
We hope you enjoy this series and be sure to check here periodically for the latest installments.
CHER
Studio Albums: All I Really Want to Do (1965) | The Sonny Side of Chér (1966) | Chér (1966) | With Love, Chér (1967) | Backstage (1968) | 3614 Jackson Highway (1969) | Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves (1971) | Foxy Lady (1972) | Bittersweet White Light (1973) | Half-Breed (1973) | Dark Lady (1974) | Stars (1975) | I'd Rather Believe in You (1976) | Cherished (1977) | Take Me Home (1979) | Prisoner (1979) | I Paralyze (1982) | Cher (1987) | Heart of Stone (1989) | Love Hurts (1991) | It's a Man's World (1995) | Believe (1998) | not.com.mercial (2000) | Living Proof (2001) | Closer to the Truth (2013) | Dancing Queen (2018)
Cher’s collection of solo studio albums—spanning six decades—is criminally underrated. The icon status of hit song “I Got You Babe” with ex-husband Sonny Bono plus her megawatt celebrity status through the years have always overshadowed her work as a serious recording artist and supremely talented vocalist.
Regarding Cher’s solo music career, so much attention is paid to her big, bold powerhouse hits like the noirish “Dark Lady,” the eighties pop-rocker “If I Could Turn Back Time” and her late nineties smash “Believe.” But, if you dig deeper into her catalog, you’ll find way more nuanced and sublimely beautiful vocal performances tucked away on albums that don’t get name-checked too much anymore.
Look up “My Song” from her 1979 disco excursion Take Me Home, “The Gunman” from 1995’s It’s a Man’s World, “(The Fall) Kurt’s Blues”—a tribute to Kurt Cobain—on her 2000 online-only release not.com.mercial, and “I Hope You Find It” from 2013’s Closer to the Truth. These are recorded proof that Cher has so much more to offer as a vocalist than her biggest hits suggest.
Mark’s 3 Favorite Cher Albums of All Time:
1. It’s a Man’s World (1995)
2. Cher (1987)
3. Stars (1975)
VISIT Cher’s Official Store
LISTEN & WATCH: