Jimmy Buffett Studio Albums – Top Ten

Today, I am starting my top ten blog with a top ten list of my favorite singer/songwriter, Jimmy Buffett. This top ten list will mostly reflect my own preferences, but I will also take into account the commercial success of each album. This list is also limited to just studio albums, so I’ve not listed any live or compilation albums here.

10. A White Sport Coat and A Pink Crustacean

A White Sport Coat and A Pink Crustacean was Jimmy Buffett’s first major release to chart on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart. It was the first album with the Coral Reefers credited as his backing band. Additionally, it was also the first album of Buffett’s Key West phase. With a sound that was distinct from most contemporary country albums, it spawned the gulf and western genre. Thanks to classic fan favorite tracks like “He Went to Paris” and “Grapefruit—Juicy Fruit” and the popular novelty song “Why Don’t We Get Drunk (and Screw)”, A White Sport Coat and A Pink Crustacean is an enjoyable discovery for anyone that hasn’t experienced early Jimmy Buffett.

9. Living and Dying in 3/4 Time

Released less than a year after A White Sport Coat and A Pink Crustacean, Living and Dying in 3/4 Time continued Buffett’s Key West phase. It was the first of many of his albums to land on the Billboard Top 200. Living and Dying in 3/4 Time owes much of its success to the timeless classic “Come Monday”. Its success on the Hot Country Songs, Hot 100, Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts exposed Buffett to a wider audience.

8. Last Mango in Paris

Over the course of his career, Jimmy Buffett’s sound shifted between island and country. Last Mango in Paris continued a trend towards the country sound that Buffett began with his previous album. Not only adding concert staples “Gypsies in the Palace” and the title track to Buffett’s catalog, it also introduced solid B-sides with tracks like “Frank and Lola” and “Jolly Mon Sing”, making Last Mango in Paris a solid album.

7. Coconut Telegraph

Released in February 1981, Coconut Telegraph continued the gulf and island theme of Jimmy Buffett’s catalog from the 1970s. With the track “It’s My Job”, Buffett collaborated with then-future 10 time CMA Musician of the Year, Mac McAnally, for the first time. This began a musical relationship that has now spanned over four decades. Coconut Telegraph balances coastal inspired songs, such as “The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful” and the title track, and more introspective songs like “Growing Older But Not Up” and the aforementioned “It’s My Job”.

6. Volcano

Though at the time of release it was critically panned, Volcano was a commercial success. Three singles, “Fins”, “Volcano”, and “Survive”, found success on the singles charts, with “Fins” and “Volcano” becoming Buffett standards. Not only were 3 tracks from this album on the multi-platinum compilation, Songs You Know By Heart, but it is also the only studio album so far that Buffett has completely recorded as a live album.

5. License to Chill

Many musicians spend their later careers trying to recapture their glory days. Meanwhile, the biggest commercial hit album of Jimmy Buffett’s career came when he was 57 years old. Topping both the Billboard Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts in the summer of 2004, License to Chill is one of the more unique studio albums of his career. 11 of the 16 tracks were covers, while 9 featured established country stars. Whether it is the duet with Martina McBride on “Trip Around the Sun”, covering the Hank Williams classic “Hey, Good Lookin'” with Clint Black, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, and George Strait, or the title track “License to Chill” with Kenny Chesney, this album has something for everyone to enjoy.

4. Fruitcakes

After a 5 year recording hiatus, Jimmy Buffett returned with Fruitcakes in 1994, his first platinum selling album since 1978. While the 1980s saw Buffett’s musical style lean more towards country, Fruitcakes shifted back to tropic rock music. With a memorable title track in “Fruitcakes,” great covers like “Uncle John’s Band”, and other solid original songs like “Everybody’s Got a Cousin in Miami”, Fruitcakes marked the beginning of Jimmy Buffett’s renaissance.

3. Son of a Son of a Sailor

Son of a Son of a Sailor greatly contributed to the first peak in Jimmy Buffett’s career. It was his second platinum album. Buffett straddled the line between rock and country with this album. “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “Livingston Saturday Night” have a definite rock sound. However, “Cowboy in the Jungle” has a more country sound. Son of a Son of a Sailor reflects Jimmy Buffett’s full range.

2. Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

I’m pretty sure that the only thing I have to say here is “Margaritaville”. That one track on Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes launched an empire. It is the anthem of his legions of parrotheads. Jimmy Buffett’s greatest hit spawned restaurants, blenders, and a radio station. This album would have made my top ten list without “Margaritaville” due to the strength of the title track and a few of the deeper cuts like “Banana Republics” and “In The Shelter”.

1. A1A

Jimmy Buffett’s Key West phase spawned some of his best work. Even though A1A didn’t contain the huge commercial successes of Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, this album is my personal favorite of Buffett’s. The B-side of the original vinyl release is likely one of the best B-sides of any album ever, containing “A Pirate Looks at Forty”, “Migration”, “Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season”, “Nautical Wheelers”, and “Tin Cup Chalice”. This whole album makes me yearn for a drive along that legendary road along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

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I hope you enjoyed this top ten list. Let’s discuss it in the comments below.