I know what you are thinking, all their albums should be labeled the Worst. However, that is not the case. I am not a huge fan of the band by any means, I am trying to shake things up a little and try different things with my posts and I thought why not really stretch it and tackle Limp Bizkit. I will admit to liking a few songs, but I don’t actually own anything by them so thanks to Apple Music for giving me the means to do a fair assessment without spending any more money that my monthly Apple Membership fee.

Nowdays, a person wearing a “Red” hat is labeled a racist, Trump supporting pig. That is right, the MAGA Hats. Well back in the late 90’s, there was another reason to hate the “Red” hat and that was because people loved to hate the backwards “red” hat wearing lead singer of Limp Bizkit, Fred Durst. Man, people loved to hate this guy.

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The band was labeled as Nu-Metal and they brought in elements of hip hop, rap, metal, funk and rock. A whole smorgasbord of sounds. They were all over MTV and a massive success, but that success turned to hate really fast thanks to the controversial Fred. It was worse hate than poor Nickelback get for their success. Anyway, we are going to tackle their studio albums and I will try to let you know which ones I think are the best and in the order I rank them. I am not judging the band or its members, just focusing on the music or whatever you want to call it.

THE WORST – THE UNQUESTIONABLE TRUTH: PART 1 (2005):

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Wes Borland, lead guitarist, had left the band after ‘Chocolate Starfish’ and upon his return, the band release this pile of what, I am not sure. The promotion was practically nil as it was released as an “underground” album and that is where it should’ve stayed. It was a 7 song E.P. and it felt like some prog-metal, nu-metal mash up that is much darker and way more experimental than anything else they have done. What I like about the band, the aggressive music, Borland’s showmanship, the beats and the rhymes were all absent. Fred Durst felt lifeless and empty and the only thing I could think was they need to get some better beats and a better rhyme. I am fine with a band trying new things, but this didn’t work. This album definitely put the “Limp” in Limp Bizkit. I don’t even have a favorite song on it and that is the truth.

#5 – GOLD COBRA (2011):

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The original guys were all back including Jon Otto on drums which was missed from the previous album. My brother-in-law worked on this album and I got to hear a couple songs before the final mix and the release and those songs sounded much better than the end result. Limp Bizkit was back to form with this one, but there were so many misses and very few hits that it was extremely disappointing. The sound was Bizkit, but it was way more eclectic in style and hard for me to grab hold and hang on.

It doesn’t mean it was all bad as there were a handful of really great songs including “Gold Cobra”, “Shotgun” and my favorite (sadly) “Douche Bag”. I would throw in “Shark Attack” and “Why Try” as pretty good tracks as well. The album was just a little too all over the place for my liking.

#4 – RESULTS MAY VARY (2003):

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The first album without Wes Borland on guitar and as a result, a lot of people didn’t like the sound and this is one of their least favorite albums. However, although I will agree Borland’s brutal guitar sound was missed, this album was better than people give it credit for. It was an eclectic album, but where ‘Gold Cobra’ missed the mark, this one hit it much better. They dove more in to alternative rock, some funk and they kept the nu-metal, hip hop sound.

There were some solid angry songs like “Eat You Alive” and “Gimme the Mic”. You even had a softer side with “Build a Bridge” and “Lonely World” as well as you get some Snoop Dogg on “Red Light-Green Light” and a Who Cover with “Behind Blue Eyes”. Not every song worked, but more did then didn’t and that is why I think this one is better than the other two.

#3 – THREE DOLLAR BILL, Y’ALL (1997):

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The debut album, the one that started it all and we have the bassist from Korn, Reginald Arvizu, to thank for that. The band blended hip-hop and heavy metal together in a very aggressive way and not like anything around at the time. Yes, some bands blended it already, thus the nu-metal tag, but these guys were a little different. I think it was the cover of the George Michael song, “Faith”, that really caught everyone’s attention and MTV played the hell out of it.

With four singles from the album, including “Faith” and “Counterfeit”, the album went to #22 and the band went on to be one of the most talked about and hated bands of the times. There were other great songs including “Pollution” and “Nobody Loves Me”. The band had the right sound and came along at the right time. And Fred Durst was a very polarizing front man and this started the Love/Hate relationship with the public.

#2 – SIGNIFICANT OTHER (1999):

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The follow-up to the debut saw the band really start to find themselves and take things up a notch. They incorporated more metal, more hip hop and got even more aggressive and angrier with their sound. The kids seem to love it and drank it up and then some. The album has sold more than 7 million copies in the U.S. and reached #1 on the Billboard Charts. Limp Bizkit had made it to the top but how long would it last?

Songs like “Nookie” and the super aggressive song “Break Stuff” catapulted these guys to superstardom. “Re-arranged”, “Just Like This” and “N 2 Gether Now (feat. Method Man)” were also stellar songs on the album. And even the deeper cuts like “I’m Broke” and “No Sex” showed this album was full of tracks to crank up as loud as it could go while you drive down the road.

#1 – CHOCOLATE STARFISH & THE HOT DOG FLAVORED WATER (2000):

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The pinnacle of the band for me is their third album and the last with Wes Borland for several years at least. This is where the band started feeling the hate as the haters started to come out in droves. The band still went to #1 and still sold over 6 million albums in the US alone. As quick as they rose, after this album, they would fall just as fast. Enough about that. This album saw them push themselves, but saw critics thinking this was more of the same. Which it was, but better produced and some better songs.

I really like the song “Take a Look Around” which was used in the Mission Impossible 2 movie at the time. The song incorporates the MI theme song into its music. But the pinnacle for me on this one is “Rollin'” which is super heavy, super angry and super aggressive. Perfect Road Rage music. The album saw 5 singles including “My Generation”, “My Way” and “Boiler”. It also had the song with the most “F” words included with at least 46 in the song “Hot Dog”. It was a beast of an album with little to no missteps.

And there you have it, Limp Bizkit’s studio albums in order of how I rank them from the worst to the best.  Let me know what you think.  Where did we differ and where did we agree.  What is fun about these list is how differently each album impacts people. What I like, you might not, but we like the same artist and that is all that matters really. And if as a result, you find something new, then my job is done!!!