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My ranking of all 187 Animal Collective songs. Only includes songs that have been released in an official capacity, plus some short thoughts on each song.
187: The Living Toys
Torturous. One of the only AC songs I truly despise. Shrill, meaningless mush that goes absolutely nowhere and is a massive misstep on an otherwise great album. Their worst song by a wide margin.
186: Oh Sweet
Yeah I hate this one for pretty much the same reason as The Living Toys but at least this one doesn’t actually put me in real pain to listen to. Still pretty much worthless.
185: Coral By Numbers
This song is just lazy. I really don’t have anything to say about it, it’s a total nothing of a track. Like, Tangerine Reef could have been a song shorter, it didn’t need to be almost an hour long. If any song could have been cut it’s this one.
184: Rosie Oh
My first placement that will probably make somebody out there really angry. Is this song as bad as I’m claiming it is? Eh, probably not. But by god is it annoying. Panda Bear’s completely lifeless vocals over the worst guitar riff Deakin has ever written and Geologist’s ear grating boing boing noises make this song what I imagine every Animal Collective song sounds like to people who think Animal Collective is the worst band in the world, aka most of my friends.
183: Everyone Whistling
It’s an interlude!
182: A Manatee Dance
It’s an interlude that’s also the first song on the album!
181: Lundsten Coral
Ok maybe two songs should have been cut from Tangerine Reef.
180: Danny’s Jam
Surprising no one, “ambient Painting With” is as bad of an idea in practice as it is on paper.
179: The Kite
The many random deep cuts that can only be found on YouTube are generally fine, but for some there’s a reason you can only find them on YouTube.
178: Seeing Twinkles
The many random deep cuts that can only be found on YouTube are generally fine, but for some there’s a reason you can only find them on YouTube.
177: Pillows and Petals
The many random deep cuts that can only be found on YouTube are generally fine, but for some there’s a reason you can only find them on YouTube.
176: Tell It To the Mountain
The most mush song on Hollinndagain. Probably sounded cool live in 2001, sounds like shit on the record.
175: Best of Times (Worst of All)
What a boring way to end AC’s most patience testing album.
174: Summer Blaze
Sorry New Psycho Actives fans. There’s just not a lot of reason to return to a 25 minute long suite when I despise the entire middle section. It’s Rosie Oh level of obnoxious, but the ambient ending is pretty decent. Also the beginning of this song is literally just acoustic Disc One which is kind of funny.
173: Do The Nurse
Only memorable for the line about getting a boner.
172: Inspector Gadget
One of the other members of the band really should have made Avey reel it the fuck back in with the vocal effect he uses on this record.
171: Amazonawana/Anaconda Opportunity
Just kind of forgettable, as far as ambient AC goes. Not terrible I guess but I’d never choose to listen to it for any reason. The snake scene in the documentary is cool though.
170: Michael Remember
At least it’s not as redundant as Danny’s Jam, and the music video is alright.
169: Forest Children Risen
The many random deep cuts that can only be found on YouTube are generally fine, but for some oh fuck it you get the point.
168: Autumn Rites
Look I’m sorry this stuff just clearly isn’t for me. I can appreciate some noodling but I like it to eventually go somewhere or mean something. It’s a lot more pleasant than the other half of Psycho Actives 2 though.
167: People
I have warmed up to this song a little bit but it just doesn’t sit right with me, it’s definitely the laziest song from the Feels era.
166: Transverse Temporal Gyrus, Part 1
I like Avey’s little ditty at the beginning but then it goes on for about 8 too many minutes more.
165: Pumpkin’s Funeral
It’s alright but definitely one of the least memorable Crack Box tunes.
164: Wastered
The definition of overindulgence on the studio version but I do appreciate the alien, creepy vibes it gives to the shows it was played in on the Feels tour.
163: In the City that Reads
A decent cut from the Danse era but at the same time I can see why they didn’t release it on any of their own albums. Fine but forgettable.
162: Crocodiles and Zebras
Funny that the most “Animal Collective” sounding Automine track is the lowest ranking on the list but it’s still pretty alright, just a bit lightweight. Can you blame them though how old were they when they recorded this like 14?
161: Coral Realization
Not the greatest instrumental they’ve made or anything but it has special distinction of being one of the most fucking evil sounding things they’ve ever made.
160: Must Be Treeman
Did they ever play this live? They should open their next show with 20 minutes of “YOU’RE GAY YOU’RE GAY YOU’RE GAY” just to fuck with people.
159: Young Prayer 2
Yes it is an Animal Collective song you can totally hear Avey singing in the Crack Box version. Too bad I think Young Prayer in general kind of blows (sorry Panda) but even I can’t deny that the note he hits at the end is *chef’s kiss*.
158: Pumpkin Gets a Snakebite
The Crack Box version sucks, the Hollinndagain version is decent, and the 15 minute jammy freak out on 2 Nights is fucking dope, but none of them are exactly essential listening. Can you believe we have 3 versions of this song and they still haven’t recorded Defeat?
157: Mountain Game
Yeah I’m not a huge fan of this one, I appreciate that they really went for it on the 13/whatever the fuck time signature but the melody just kind of falls flat and I don’t know why they thought this song would fit in a goddamn cowboy game.
156: Sux-Bier Passage
Not bad, definitely the creepiest thing they’ve put out since Wastered but feels a little bit empty.
155: Runnin the Round Ball
I know a lot of people love this one but just like… imagine if it was longer or had actual substance.
154: My Favorite Colors
This should have just been the ending of Daffy Duck instead of it’s own track.
153: Another White Singer (Little White Glove)
I like how bouncy this is but at this point in Danse we could’ve used a real song.
152: Polly
Put this one in the list of “good but almost too disturbing to listen to” tracks.
151: Moo Rah Rah Rain
Nothing really happens for a lot of this track but it is always a trip hearing that thunderstorm roll in. An act of God or a Geologist addition (and to an AC fan, what’s the difference)?
150: Lablakely Dress
Painful on the record but kind of incredible live. I love the interplay between Panda’s raw vocals and Avey’s garbled nonsense, and the lyrics are a lot better than they appear to be at first (this could describe a lot of AC tracks).
149: Panic
Yeah remember what I said about Polly? Multiply that times a billion for Panic, this is the song that plays when you see the gates of hell and I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what they were going for.
148: Hip Sponge
Like most of Tangerine Reef it’s a bit redundant but I really like whatever weird bouncy percussion thing is going on in the background and this is one of the few songs from this era that is unquestionably better live.
147: Spirit They’ve Vanished
I’m probably ranking this one way too fucking low but come on it just hurts. Lyrics are brilliant though.
146: Iko Ovo
Remember when I said Runnin the Round Ball would be better if it was longer and had more substance? Well, Iko Ovo is essentially just that.
145: Pumpkin’s Hallucination
Even though it kind of goes nowhere the Middle Eastern sounding sample that kicks this track off is God tier and one of my favorite Geologist additions ever.
144: Transverse Temporal Gyrus, Part 2
“OH A WITCH WAS SEEN IN THE IDOL”. Fucking scary shit man.
143: In the Singing Box
Not a huge fan of the second half of the song but I do love the bass. “Jacob!”
142: Coral Understanding
Of all the tracks on Tangerine Reef, this one does the best at actually conveying the urgency of the climate crisis. It’s the sound of Avey screaming into total, unhearing nothingness.
141: Hey Friend
Fun little acoustic track, I really like the interplay between the two guitars. What at first seems like aimless strumming really morphs into something more.
140: No Last Ball
Paddington Band is really a better EP than it has any right to be, I like the stop-start guitars a lot.
139: Wide Eyed
Sorry Deak. Not that this song is bad or anything it just feels like a massive waste of potential. It could have been the perfect spot for Centipede Hz to just take a second and step back for a moment of emotional clarity but they just didn’t and the overwhelming synths and clashing effects do not do any justice to Deakin’s wonderful lyricism.
138: Blue Noses
Yeah it’s a bit too long but have you ever smoked a joint and gotten lost in the woods to it?
137: Throwin the Round Ball
One of the better short interludes on an album made almost entirely of short interludes.
136: Buffalo Tomato
Messy? Yes. Mushy? Yes. Kinda goes nowhere? Yes. Are all these things my least favorite qualities of Animal Collective? Oh yeah. But do I like the song? Yeah for some reason it works here don’t @ me. This is what My Girls would have sounded like if Panda had no input.
135: Circuit Spread
I know this comparison is overdone but it really does sound like Pavement. Stop Breathing, specifically, one of my all time favorite Pavement songs, and it’s nowhere near as good but it’s still worth a listen.
134: Crimson
I used to hate this song and now I just think it’s pretty good. For some reason the emotional weight of it just doesn’t really stick the landing for me and the lines about smoking are a bit corny but I do love the chorus.
133: Gnip Gnop
Y’all are gonna crucify me for putting this higher than Spirit They’ve Vanished and Crimson. It’s fun, people. If I saw them play this live I’d dance my ass off to this stupid, stupid song about ping pong. Yeah it’s not revolutionary or anything but it’s definitely not the hot garbage it gets treated like.
132: Jungle Heat
I love whatever it is they’re doing with the second guitar in this song. An acoustic AC song with an actual guitar riff instead of droning chords? Say it ain’t so.
131: Don’t Believe the Pilot
One of those songs that make you question Tare and Bear’s sanity. I wonder which one of them was like “bro wanna make plane noises we can just do that over the same chord the whole song and it’ll rip” because you know what it kinda does rip.
130: Peacemaker
To some this is probably just another unnecessary hocketing song but I think it’s creative enough, and the bass tone reminds me of STGSTV and if a song does anything to remind me of that album it can’t be that bad, right?
129: The Ballad of Reverend War Character
Heresy time: I like this better than the original. Very heartfelt tribute to an artist that clearly meant a lot to this band.
128: Hair Cutter
I wonder if whoever Avey wrote this song about knows that it exists. It’s obviously about him having a crush on his hairdresser right? Imagine them going out on a date and him showing her this, he’d probably be reported to some kind of watchlist.
127: Goalkeeper
Seinfeld bass, baby. Panda Bear finally gets to fulfill his dream of making his bandmates write songs about sports. A better version of Gnip Gnop.
126: Two Corvettes
It’s not my favorite but it’s a really nice middle section for Campfire Songs. Good transition from one half of the album to the next.
125: Bridge to Quiet
This EP literally just came out so I’m sure I’ll like this song more as time passes. It’s definitely a cool new direction for them but it never really justifies its length and Avey is a little bit too sedate to sell the song as a big finish. And on a more immature and personal level I’m too hung up on what it isn’t (ie: Cherokee, DownDownDownDown, Bolder, Magicians from Baltimore, etc.) to fall in love with what it is, but that’s COVID’s fault, not the song’s. I’m sure I’ll love this track in a week or two. I do appreciate how bizarrely normal sounding it is. Is that an unprocessed electric guitar? On an AC track? In 2020? What a world.
124: Monkey Riches
The sample looping can be a little grating but damn I wanna dance to this song at a live show some day. And that transition into Brother Sport on the CHz tour? Get the fuck outta here.
123: Too Soon
I wish I could decipher a single lyric on this song because I have a feeling something really powerful is being said to match the colossal sounding guitars but it’s so buried and glitched out it’s totally lost in the sauce. That’s the AC way though.
122: Mercury Man
To a lot of people this is a top tier CHz track, and while it isn’t to me I love how much passion Avey is putting into the singing and that King Tubby sample is a great way to kick off the track. Does this song remind anyone else of Age of Adz era Sufjan Stevens by the way?
121: Sleeper Factory
This is probably the most straightforwardly cute AC song ever written, like I could play this on guitar for my girlfriend and she wouldn’t think I was insane.
120: Baby Day
You really do get the best of both worlds with this song; great tender harmonies on the studio version, and then Avey and Panda just losing their fucking minds played live. On the Feels tour this song sounds like it could’ve been on Hollinndagain.
119: Vertical
This song is a goddamn mess but you can catch me singing along every time it comes on. Also, fun fact, it’s the only AC song I’ve ever heard get played on the radio! Shoutout to WUNH in Durham, New Hampshire.
118: Bagels in Kiev
I really like the middle section of this song where they go “doo dah doo”, slap some headphones on and try not to smile.
117: Someday I’ll Grow to be as Tall as the Giant
Yeah it’s the same thing over and over again, what about it. Even on the interludes Panda goes fucking apeshit on the drums on Spirit it’s awesome.
116: Penguin Penguin
Speaking of going apeshit, the whole trio goes insane for this song. I wish it had been mixed slightly differently though, with the guitars more clear and the drums more up front this would’ve sounded like a Lightning Bolt song.
115: Spilling Guts
I love how loud the synth blasts are in this song, and the lyrics are kind of great, it’s just over before it even gets the chance to start.
114: Pulleys
The studio version of this is a little messy but anybody who has listened to Live and 9:30 knows that Pulleys, on a good night, fucking bangs. Just get your head in the space to go out there.
113: Airpipe (To a New Transition)
If you want REALLY out there though, look no further than this fucking whatever it is. Deakin just casually playing his guitar like a sitar over some of the most fucked up synth sounds Avey and Geo have ever cooked up is too good.
112: Rain in Cups
Same thing I said about Bridge to Quiet applies to this but I do like this one more. It feels like a cut Cows on Hourglass Pond track which is never a bad thing, and I like how uncharacteristically dark it feels.
111: College
Yeah I’m that corny motherfucker considered this song therapeutic when I was dropping out of school, what about it.
110: Flesh Canoe
Hey look everybody it’s the worst song on Feels! And it’s still pretty fucking great. Aimless, but damn those lyrics are too good to overlook.
109: Whaddit I Done
Get over the wah wahs, this track is fun as fuck. Makes me want to fall asleep in the forest.
108: Bleed
Yeah this song would have been weird as fuck to put on Merriweather but it works pretty great on Fall Be Kind. Seems like every EP they put out has to have one droney, stoney song, to varying levels of success, and I’d say Bleed gets the job done well.
107: Unsolved Mysteries
Is it bad that my favorite thing about this song is Geo’s little sound collage at the end? It works so well.
106: Bleak Midwinter
I just love that one of the first things AC ever recorded was a Christmas song.
105: Piggy Knows
No hesitation on this one like the other new EP tracks. It’s a full band version of Uncle Donut, and I love me some Uncle Donut, and that drone at the beginning is so much better than it has any right to be. Dope song.
104: Hounds of Bairro
Maybe the most slept on post Merriweather song? Never really see anyone talk about it but damn is it a fun one. And when they play it live and do that long ass synth solo at the end, it just goes to another level.
103: Selection of a Place (Rio Negro Version)
While I do prefer the more upbeat Eucalyptus version, Geo’s additions are very welcome and watching them perform this on the Viceland doc in almost complete darkness is really amazing.
102: Jake and Me
The best songs on Tangerine Reef convey a palpable sense of longing, fading memory, and regret, and Jake and Me does these pretty fantastically. Depressing as shit, but that’s the point.
101: Baleen Sample
Kinda just shorter Visiting Friends with no vocals but it’s still really great. I love the swirling synths in the background.
100: Guys Eyes
To be totally honest I kind of don’t like the studio version but the many fantastic live performances keep me from rating this song any lower. It slapped on the MPP tour, it slapped on the Tomboy tour, and it blew my mind on the PW tour. Just wish it translated to the studio better. Song for Ariel forever.
99: Queen in My Pictures
This is one of those songs that’s worth it for the buildup. I can just picture the three of them in the woods with their guitars playing this, it’s a very transportive piece.
98: Bad Crumbs
This song sounds like it’s a lullaby being sung by one of the last surviving roaches after a nuclear holocaust. Fun stuff!
97: Golden Gal
Pretty perfectly encapsulates the corny but fun side of Painting With. So goddamn catchy too.
96: Tikwid
Not my favorite cut track from Feels but like I said even the misses from this era are hits. How can you be an AC fan and not love the phrase “berries in my heart bread”?
95: Lying in the Grass
One of the many Painting With songs that are great but would’ve been taken to the next level if the GOAT Jeremy Hyman had been in the studio for recording. Listen to him go the fuck off during the noise blast at the end at any show they played this, it’s next level.
94: Daffy Duck
I don’t typically get demoitis, especially when I wasn’t even a fan of the band when the song came out but damn, what happened to the ending of Daffy Duck? It brings the song together man, and it’s just gone in the studio version. That 2004 Cat’s Cradle performance though, that’s the real shit.
93: Covered in Frogs
You can tell the crowd at the Pitchfork Sung Tongs show were real AC heads because they went nuts at the Winters Love bait and switch where they pulled this song out for the first time in like 15 years. Such a fun tune, especially love the ending.
92: Pride and Fight
This song is the definition of colossal. AC really knew how to drone back in the day, and we’re lucky to have as good of a recording as we do of this track.
91: Good Lovin Outside
I definitely feel like the back half of Sung Tongs doesn't get as much love as it deserves, especially this song. It’s cute! The beginning is fucking trippy as shit too.
90: Father Time
I appreciate this song due to it being the least busy song on CHz, and I really love whatever it is making the flute noises in this track. The grimy guitar is great too.
89: The Burglars
Organized chaos. Panda Bear’s backing vocals in the second half are iconic too.
88: Forest Gospel
Beautiful, completely unorganized chaos. Who the fuck writes songs like this? Nobody but the boys. I know he isn’t but it totally does sound like Avey’s saying the n word in this though.
87: Cobwebs
Amazing to think two moments as gorgeous as the “cobweeebs” moment and the “we’re not going underground” moment both happen in the same song. Damn son.
86: Hocus Pocus
The song that made me fall in love with hocketing. Yeah I like hocketing, sue me. I can’t even imagine what kind of mental gymnastics and muscle memory playing this live requires.
85: Doggy
What kind of dog climbs trees is all I have to ask of this song. Heartbreaking, but every AC fan already knew that.
84: There’s An Arrow
This song feels weirdly poppy, all things considered. Or at least as poppy as you’re gonna get from a record like Hollinndagain. I kind of love the melody, and it’s great to hear something like this come through on a record mostly based around noise and drone.
83: Sweet Road
Like a little musical appetizer before the Visiting Friends main course. Fun as fuck on the record, and incredible live on the PW tour.
82: Derek
A real testament to Panda’s ability as a melody writer, this thing jumps all over the place but is still amazingly catchy. Those warm ass guitars too make this song so cozy feeling.
81: On a Highway
Another weirdly creepy song that wouldn’t have fit at all on MPP but works so well on FBK. The “I can’t wait” section is phenomenal, and the bizarre structure of the song keeps you on edge the whole time.
80: Jimmy Mack
Everybody needs to listen to NYCTaper’s bootleg of this song from I think their second 2016 NYC show. Avey goes on a full rant about love and Jimmy and having a good time at the show, it would be adorable if he wasn’t screaming like a fucking metal singer the whole time. Fantastic energy.
79: Honeycomb
Overwhelming but in a great way. That’s the beauty of CHz, every time you listen to a song like Honeycomb something new gets uncovered.
78: Cuckoo Cuckoo
Emotionally devastating to the point that I can’t really listen to this song very often. If anything it’s proof that even on their “poppiest” albums, AC can deliver some drum set crushing, soul rending experimentalism.
77: Winter Wonder Land
I think if this ever gets played live, that show will go down in AC history as the moment Panda Bear broke both of his arms for the sake of the show.
76: No More Runnin
Definitely one of the lesser songs on Merriweather but just like with Feels that’s only due to the insane competition it’s up against. I love the descending vocal lines on the “It’s what I’d hoped fooooooor” parts. Beautiful.
75: We Tigers
The little “I like it!” in the back of the mix of this song is one of the best little moments in AC’s catalogue, period. Oh yeah and this song is also just legendarily off the wall so there’s that too.
74: Bees
Such a wonderful mixture of what makes the slower side of Feels so great. And in the history of iconic AC moments, I’m not sure if there are any greater or meme-able than reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Chills every time I hear that autoharp kick in.
73: La Rapet
You know, I actually used to not get what the hype was about this song at all, but goddamn if it isn’t wonderful. It could be dogshit the whole way through and the “birds are calling for you” part would still totally redeem it.
72: Native Belle
The opening salvo of Ark’s insanity. The “so do you so do you love me love me” part is such an amazing blast of energy and Panda’s drumming is top notch as always. Perfect introduction to their most out there record.
71: Turn Into Something
I feel like this is the closest AC will ever get to making a bluegrass song. Just listen to the plucked guitars in the background, it could totally be a banjo tune. The chorus is fucking incredible and then the blissed out ambient ending is like nothing else, such an amazing way to cap off Feels.
70: Chores
Daily Routine, take one. I kid, Chores still rocks in it’s own right. When the kick drum comes back in over Panda’s wooo wooos it's pure Strawberry Jam magic. And how about that mashup with I Think I Can on the Tomboy tour? Pretty sweet stuff.
69: Taste
I feel like this has got to be the most straightforward poppy song on MPP and it still feels weird as fuck. Whenever I try to sing along to this song I can never decide if I want to do Avey’s part or Panda’s part, but the highlight has got to be the classic “am I really all the things that are outside of me” refrain. It’s a good question!
68: FloriDada
Yeah I owe this song a lot. It was the very first AC song I ever heard and while I know it’s pretty corny and the hook is a little over the top I can’t ever begin to hate the song that showed me all this incredible music. And you know what fuck it 4 years on this song is still fun as hell and the saxophone part in the bridge is crazy. Haters go home.
67: Hey Light
Native Belle is like “oh this album might be insane” and then Hey Light doubles down on every crazy notion the first song puts forward. The screaming back and forth is simultaneously hilarious and unsettling and when that guitar comes in it’s over. And then when it gets quieter and quieter you only go further down the rabbit hole. Great great stuff.
66: New Town Burnout
The middle, instrumental section of this song. That’s all I have to say to justify its greatness. Feels like a triumphant homecoming and it must have been insane live.
65: Untitled
I know it’s kind of a meme song but it’s a really beautiful, meaningful meme song. If you can get past the comedy of the initial screech it’s a gorgeous little instrumental and the piano playing is top notch, and coming in right after April and the Phantom is perfect placement.
64: Kids on Holiday
The best of AC’s “strum one chord” songs, that sample of the screen door closing they use as the percussion is pretty genius and the fact that every time they play this live Avey screams like his life depends on it makes it hard to not love this one. Glad they edit out the slur nowadays.
63: I See You Pan
The first time I ever listened to Hollinndagain I had eaten an edible with my friend and threw my newly purchased record on his turntable. A minute into this track we were basically tripping, and we thought that his record player was broken due to the scramble noises it starts with. Classic Animal Collective experience.
62: Ahhh Good Country
Remember how I said The Living Toys was their worst song ever? Well this song basically takes the concept for that track but does it right. If it hadn’t come out before 9/11 I would have assumed this was a song about the Iraq war, but even if it isn’t it still has a sort of anti-patriotism vibe that I really like. Fuck George Bush, you tell em Avey.
61: Buxom
This song genuinely makes me feel like I’m underwater, which is a good thing, and it’s one of the few T Reef tracks where the melody really shines through. Makes me feel like I’m chillin at the bottom of the ocean watching sun rays pierce through the waves.
60: Natural Selection
Probably controversial to put this random Painting With deep cut this high but damn do I love the idea of Panda Bear making an electronic punk song and I think it really, really works. And then they space it out and make it into a 10+ minute long psychedelic blast of energy live and it rules. The first time my girlfriend heard this song she said it felt like she was being shot into space and I couldn’t agree more.
59: Recycling
My favorite song lyrically off of Painting With. “Why not soak up all the craze instead of cope” is the definitive line of 2016. When the world was going to hell (the first time) and we all probably needed a shot of dopamine, PW came through and I think Recycling is the perfect closer for the record.
58: Bluish
To think that in only a span of a decade they went from writing love songs like Lablakely Dress to songs like Bluish. It feels both intimate and universal, the ultimate anthem for staying home with you S/O and just chilling out. Beautiful song.
57: Slippi
I want to lose a tooth in a mosh pit to this song. My god the ending is perfect as well. Ark’s pop song, if you can call it that.
56: Meet the Light Child
Chaos that slowly, painfully, paves the way to beauty. If you can get through this whole song and not feel like you’ve experienced something truly unique and wonderful I can only pity you. Plus it’s their first hocketing song so I’m legally required to love it as a Painting With defender.
55: In the Flowers
It’s a total one trick pony but it’s a damn good trick. Every AC fan on the planet can probably point out that specific time that “if I could just leave my body for the night” changed their life, and so no matter how many nitpicks I may have with this song (its mad weak live) it needs to be treated as the great it is.
54: Gotham
This song is so goddamn good it hurts. It's their most “normal rock song” thing I think they’ve ever put out but the lyrics and the melody and the guitars and the drumming are all so on point and perfect it’s shocking they left it off of CHz.
53: Man of Oil
I am so happy there’s a song in existence where Avey sings over bossa nova plucked guitars but damn is this song sad as hell. “I’m afraid to forget the smell of you”, yeah you didn’t need to do us like that but they did and it’s an instant classic. The samples of the indigenous singers works amazingly well also, an incredible way to follow up the PW era.
52: Fickle Cycle
Why the fuck isn’t this on Feels. So much energy, the vocals are off the fucking chain even by Avey’s very high standards, and that noisy ending is just classic Animal Collective. 2004 really was the best year of their songwriting maybe ever.
51: On Delay
Ok. Everyone who has ever doubted or hated on this song, go get some fucking headphones, smoke a fat bowl and listen to the “it was nice, it happened twice” section and tell me that isn’t one of the most mind bending, jaw dropping moments of psychedelia in their entire discography. Pure pop AC distilled into a perfect little tune.
50: Summing the Wretch
There are three shows from the Painting With era on AC’s bandcamp and they should honestly be required listening just so that every fan is aware of how incredible this song is. Hearing Avey and Panda nail every single hocketed syllable while Jeremy goes super saiyan on the drums is definitive, unquestionable proof that they are live performance superhumans and that they never lost their touch, no matter how many shitty music critics might tell you they have. This song fucking rips.
49: Mouth Wooed Her
Good lord the ending of this song is amazing. I was privileged enough to see them on their Sung Tongs tour and their performance of this song just solidified it as an all timer. And that’s not even mentioning how fucking weird it is, I mean it’s basically Avey and Panda doing random shit on their guitars and it somehow works. Pure magic.
48: Seal Eyeing
I said earlier that every EP has a wooshy, stoney trippy song to varying degrees of success, and this one is definitely the best. A real testament to how stunningly gorgeous this style of songwriting can be. It also kind of feels like a proof of concept for T Reef while also outclassing like 90% of the songs on that record funnily enough.
47: Kinda Bonkers
“Life is so french toast to me”. Is it a dumb line or an amazing one? I tend to think it’s somewhere in between, but this song overall is pretty incredible. That Indian music sample makes it feel like a classic AC song and the layered vocals at the end give it a little kick of psychedelia to cap things off, but mostly I just love how wholesome it is. Definitely their most 60s “peace and love” track, and it has a special place in my heart.
46: Suspend the Time
The many random deep cuts that can only be found on YouTube are generally fine, but sometimes they’re unparalleled masterpieces. This ethereal combination of Deakin’s gorgeous melodies, pitch perfect sound design, and beautiful cascading piano come together to make a truly special song. And my god, how did it take this long to get a real sitar in an Animal Collective song? You’d think they’d have incorporated that ages ago, it works wonders for the sound of the band.
45: I Remember Learning How to Dive
Goddamn I love Vashti Bunyan. Her voice matches so perfectly with Panda’s, and this song is such a great way to end their best (you heard me) EP. Short, sweet, heartwarming, and beautifully arranged. How can you not love those plucked strings?
44: The Softest Voice
One of many Sung Tongs masterpieces. This song will forever be synonymous with spending the day in the woods and then coming home and relaxing with friends. Genuinely soul soothing music.
43: Two Sails on a Sound
I can’t believe that the band considers this era to be the time in their lives where they had no idea what the fuck they were doing. To hear something as massive and mind bending as Two Sails and then to have the band just be like “oh we were just fucking around” makes me wonder if they even know what they’ve created. More of an experience than a song, and an insane experience at that.
42: Palythoa
The masterpiece of Tangerine Reef, and maybe the perfect song to describe pre-COVID America. Listless, depressive, malaise-laden vocals over somber, pulsating synths. Go out at night when the moon is bright and take a walk with this song playing, it’ll put you in a headspace like no other. Transportive, universal, essential stuff.
41: Today’s Supernatural
Geo (or whoever did them) really popped off with the vocal effects on Avey’s singing on this one. I love how this song goes from in your face hyper rock to almost dancey at the last minute, and it caps off with an all time great Avey scream. This is the song that made me fall in love with CHz.
40: My Girls
Of course it’s great, you think a band like this could have a song be a genuine hit and not have it be great? The mantra style vocals, the loud ass bass, and even the music video are fucking dope and I’ll have none of this anti-My Girls attitude in my four walls. I understand why the band is sick of playing it live after basically playing it nonstop for five years but if they ever bring it back the whole crowd will be singing along and that’s just the way it’s meant to be.
39: Who Could Win a Rabbit
This song is just freewheeling folk fuckery and I love it, from the random time signature switchups to the feral vocals, it just sounds like a party in the woods with all your friends dancing crazy around a fire. Love it to death, and damn that MPP tour rework is an all-time great.
38: April and the Phantom
Why did Panda Bear have to peak as a drummer this early? It’s literally the second song on the first album the band ever made and there’s only a few other songs that encapsulate what makes him such an amazing drummer so well (more on that later). This song has such a great personality to it as well, it’s basically the band announcing “alright, this is who we are and what we do”, starting off with a big, ear splitting blast of noise, going right into the jazzy drumming, and then descending into a parade of synths and strummy acoustic guitar. Spirit They’ve Vanished might be the first track on STGSTV, but April and the Phantom is where Animal Collective begins.
37: Lion in a Coma
MPP often gets talked about in terms of how much inspiration it took from Person Pitch, and I think the best example of this is Lion in a Coma. That jaw harp sample just goes so so well with the massive booms of bass and the swirling high pitched synths, and let’s not forget that Avey wrote a catchy as fuck melody in 9/8. This man makes time signatures his bitch on a daily basis.
36: Also Frightened
In my opinion the most underappreciated track on Merriweather. It does have the unfortunate distinction of being sandwiched in between two equally amazing but more accessible tracks which may have been it’s downfall, but the “are you also frightened” section is the absolute peak of Tare and Bear’s harmonic synchronicity. Like Lion in a Coma, it also is built around a really interesting and unique sample, and plays with time signatures as deftly, but instead of being a big booming chaotic track, Also Frightened give MPP an early breather, letting us just sit back and experience the amazing songwriting.
35: Chocolate Girl
Another in the long line of early masterpieces, this track showed that even in their most experimental days, these guys could write a damn fine pop song. This song’s verses sometimes makes me dizzy to listen to, from the rapidly strummed guitars and the crashing cymbals, and then the amazing synths of the chorus bring you right back down to Earth, and then the ending jam sends you into the stratosphere. Also, since he played it as his main instrument on the last tour, this song is proof that Avey has been a killer bass player since the 90s and he’s showing no sign of slowing down.
34: Fireworks
A lot of people think this is the best AC song ever made. And you know what? They’re dead wrong it’s not even the best song on Strawberry Jam lol but that only goes to show how incredible of a streak this band was on back in the day. I adore the time sig switch up in the back half of the song, Avey barely even had to change the melody that’s how versatile of a songwriter he is. Fucking tricky bastard. And then they decided to make it a monster live jam and rip a 10 minute guitar solo in the middle because why the hell not, they’ve literally never soloed in anything else so of course they were just sitting on that ability and doing nothing with it until pulling it out at the perfect time to melt some acid addled faces. Iconic stuff.
33: Moonjock
This song is a goddamn drum tornado. Even for someone who is pretty much only known for going apeshit when he’s on the kit, Panda’s drumming in Moonjock is shockingly good, and so is Deakin’s guitar riff, and Geologist’s blasts of noise, and Avey’s (again with this time sig bullshit) ridiculously fun 7/8 into 4/4 melody. There is not a single other band on the planet who could make a song that sounds like this and every single member of the band is firing on all cylinders and it works to marvelous effect. This is a world class opening track.
32: Leaf House
For an album that is 90% Avey songs it’s fitting that the single track with Panda on lead is one of the best he’s ever written. Like, the “ah ah ah ah ah” part in the middle. Who the hell comes up with something like that? All of the best AC songs should make you question how they even came up for the idea of the song and Leaf House is a fantastic example of this effect. And it ends with cat noises! What’s not to love.
31: Safer
I can see why this got left off Strawberry Jam, but that isn’t to say it’s a bad song in any way. I mean it’s a masterpiece and it’s easy to see why, this is one of Avey’s all time great vocal performances and the second half of the song is incredibly cathartic, especially after the heart wrenching first half. It’s kind of Cuckoo Cuckoo -> Derek but within the same song and it would feel a bit strange to have all of that on the same album but man if this isn’t one of their greatest deep cuts ever. If I live to see this performed live I will see Avey exorcising his own demons on stage and I’m not sure I’m ready for that but I hope someday it happens.
30: Prospect Hummer
Goddamn I love Vashti Bunyan, and this has got to be one of the most joyful things both she and AC have made. The drumming is subtly fantastic, the guitar work is bouncy but keeps that experimental strummy Sung Tongs edge, but the star of the show here is Vashti and Panda’s pure, perfect vocal performance. It really stands out in their catalogue as an expression of sheer happiness and I’m overjoyed to live in a world where it exists.
29: Grass
The bridge of this song is the best bridge they’ve ever written (sorry FloriDada). Full stop. It takes a really unique kind of songwriter to craft a song this catchy where the hook is literally just feral screaming, and Avey was obviously more than ready for the challenge, but I wanna point out that Geologist is kind of the unsung hero of this song, the effects and noise parts of this track are really fantastic and elevate it far beyond the usual AC pop tune, especially the birdsong samples during the aforementioned bridge.
28: Water Curses
This is one of the few AC songs that I think anybody who listened to it would fall in love instantly. How can you resist the hook of this song? Or that amazing synth line during the chorus? Yeah it’s busy and all that but this is the Collective at the absolute top of their game. They could write a song this good in their sleep in 2007 and that’s not an insult, Avey probably received the idea for this song in some Black Lodge esque vision quest. This band experiences sound like no one else. Any random sound can become an amazing pop song with enough creativity and Water Curses is proof. Sick as fuck mashed up with The Other One live as well but that’s my inner Dead head geeking.
27: Visiting Friends
I moved away from Boston four years ago and every time I would go back to the city to see my friends I would play this song as the train came into South Station. Last month, I picked up my entire life and moved 40 hours away from anyone I really know. It’s still hard for me to listen to this song in its entirety because of the times in my life it reminds me of, but I think I’ll put it on when I cross the line into my old home state. It may not be my favorite of their songs, but Visiting Friends has had the deepest effect on my soul, and I have a feeling I’m not alone in that. I owe this song more than I can even say.
26: Bat You’ll Fly
Underrated masterpiece alert, why the fuck isn’t this song talked about in the same light as the rest of STGSTV? That hook at the end is unbelievably good, those synths are top notch and the drumming is on point as always, but for some reason something about Bat You’ll Fly pushes it to the top of (almost) all of Spirit for me. Maybe because it’s shorter than a lot of the other songs, so it’s more digestible for casual listening. Whatever it is, the first time this gets played live I better be there because I am gonna dance my fucking ass off.
25: Summertime Clothes
I don’t know why people rag on My Girls for being poppy when this is clearly the poppiest song on Merriweather and it’s still a masterpiece. The lyrics are fucking incredible, the harmonies are beautiful, and it has managed to be amazing in every single live iteration, from it’s original electronic pulses, to the CHz stadium rock banger, to the PW bait-and-switch with the droney, ambient middle section. I hope Summertime Clothes never dies, as it is always a welcome addition to any live era.
24: Ice Cream Factory
This song sounds like it was made for a fucked up, non existent episode of Adventure Time. The main synth line sounds like someone left an ice cream truck speaker system out in the hot sun for a month just to see what would happen, and knowing this band that’s probably exactly what they did. What I really love about this song however is that it doesn’t really feel like it belongs to any existing AC era. Which is probably why they never actually recorded it, but it feels like the perfect mishmash between Spirit, Danse, and Ark. Not truly fitting on any of them, but taking the best aspects and creating something wonderful. Easily the best song on Crack Box.
23: Street Flash
Another masterpiece left on the Strawberry Jam cutting room floor. I can see why Avey thinks of SJ as his least favorite AC album, he was clearly going through some shit during the writing process. But, out of whatever pain that was, came some real beauties, and Street Flash is one of his best songs ever lyrically. He has captured the essence of the isolation and alienation of modern depression and processed it into a primal wail of emotional release. And as always, somehow, he has impossibly turned it into a catchy melody. Shoutout to that sampled scream as well for tying the whole room together.
22: Infant Dressing Table
I don’t pretend to be an expert on noise music. I enjoy it but it’s such a deep, confusing rabbit hole to get sucked into that I don’t think I ever will truly scratch the surface of it. That being said, somebody chime in if I’m wrong, but Infant Dressing Table has to be one of the greatest noise songs ever composed. Like most AC songs there’s nothing on planet Earth that even begins to sound like it but I feel that even more so with this track, from the heavily processed vocals that seem to fade in and out of existence in time along with the loud synth bloops, the screeching guitar that seems to build and build to impossible levels, and of course Panda’s wild man drumming. This has to be the peak of something, because this song brings me to places no other noise song can. It is pure psychedelic magic.
21: Amanita
Its funny that the best songs on CHz were the ones that weren't toured in 2011 considering how fantastic that record is live. Amanita is essentially the perfect way to close out that album and Panda goes OFF on the ending section. "What have we done, what have we done" section is my favorite vocal melody on the whole record, and it's cacophonous but not in a way that distracts from the beauty of the songwriting.
20: What Would I Want? Sky
We're really getting into the "what else can be said about this song" territory here. Yeah it's a fucking masterpiece, the Grateful Dead sample is brilliant, the melodies and songwriting are on point, the vocal harmonies are some of the best they've ever done, and damn I love how long they just let the instrumental section at the beginning build up. Pure pop genius.
19: Graze
The pan flute section is the best sample they've ever done. It's such a hilarious fake out the first time you hear it, thinking its gonna go into some kind of big bass drop, and then those renaissance fair ass flutes come in and pull the rug out from under you. And then the big bass drop happens anyway! Truly the song that keeps on giving. I see this as a bit of a play on the big drop moment in In the Flowers and I honestly think it works a lot better in this song.
18: De Soto De Son
The best songwriting on Campfire Songs, easily. I adore the lyrics of De Soto De Son, and the fact that all ten minutes of it are sung in unison between Avey and Panda make it something really special. The guitar part is actually really fun to play along with as well, this is kind of the perfect album to noodle along with because I mean that's essentially what they were doing when they recorded it. Oh and Avey shouts out Abby's birthday in the Crack Box version I mean what can get better than that. Wonderful song.
17: It’s You
Goddamn I love Vashti Bunyan and she knocks this song out of the fucking park. The guitars in this song feel like a brain massage, like a waterfall of sound covering you in warmth and goodness, and Vashti's spectral voice coming in and out with the guitars until it peaks with the "it's you" section, my god it's unlike anything else.
16: Peacebone
The steel drums in this song make the whole thing honestly. It just needed that one little thing to push it over into all time great territory and yeah it's the steel drums. Also the fact that it's insanely catchy, like infectious disease level catchy. When I was first getting into the band years ago I'd get this song stuck in my head all the damn time working in a kitchen, it was probably the "mildew on rice" connection which probably isn't a great look for Chipotle lol but ah well.
15: I Think I Can
I cannot believe how good this song sounds live. The Live at 9:30 version totally transformed my view of this song, especially the ending. It reminds me of My Girls in that Panda is mainly just singing repeated mantras but on this song it feels even more meaningful and personal to him, like he's daring or begging himself to make changes in his life. Pretty powerful stuff, and the ending with Avey's additional vocals is too fucking good.
14: #1
Easily the strangest track on Strawberry Jam but I think one of the best. I love that nothing really seems to fit in with itself, everything seems just a little off kilter but you can tell it was all intentional and that the band knows what it's doing with everything going on. This song also marks the last time the band was able to slow itself down and allow itself to put a slow, meandering experimental track in the middle of the pop tunes, and I really appreciate that it throws a real curveball in the SJ tracklist.
13: Penny Dreadfuls
How did Avey write this when he was 16? Am I just a manchild or does this song have a lot of real emotional weight and clarity for something written by a teenager? Even all that aside the instrumentation on this song is impossibly gorgeous. The piano is the obvious star of the show but goddamn when that synth comes in it's over for me, I'm entranced every time.
12: Essplode
Panda's best percussion performance ever. I love how sporadic it is, how creative it is, and how it all just works even though it really really shouldn't. The rest of the song is just as great too, I think this track shows a really different side of Avey's songwriting than the rest of the early AC work, and the "walking in the sunshine" section is the perfect kind of fucked up. And when it's all wrapped up in a Fireworks sandwich live it's even better. Best song on Danse Manatee and I don't care if that's a generic opinion it's just the truth.
11: Loch Raven
I adore this song for a lot of reasons but the main one is because of how different the three versions of it are. In the original 2004 live shows, it's a dark, Wastered esque noise trip fest. Then with the addition of Kria to the band, it becomes a lot softer, more sad than dark but still an emotional rollercoaster. And then they made it a techno dance track in 2016 and like I've said about many of these songs that should be a really bad decision that falls on its face but nope it's amazing. This band reworks it's own songs better than any remix artist ever could.
10: Winters Love
One of the first AC songs I really fell in love with. Its honestly shocking that they're playing Winters Love in that infamous Brighton Fest video because its funny that a song this beautiful can sound so awkward and chaotic live, but I think I just have had my brain so rewired by this band that I can no longer see that the studio version is just as awkward and chaotic, and in fact that's the whole reason its so great.
9: The Purple Bottle
The Purple Bottle on Live at 9:30 is one of the finest live performances of any song I've ever heard by any band. The amount of joy, heart and passion that must have went into this song is kind of flooring, I can only imagine how much fun it must have been to record all the vocal layering and percussion insanity in this, because you can really hear that joy come through in the music.
8: Did You See the Words
This probably could have been my number one just based off of the ending section alone. I love everything about this song, from the guitar work to the vocals to the gorgeous piano. My absolute favorite thing about this song though is the opening drone thing that seems to go on throughout the whole track, it sounds like a beautiful golden sunset over the water.
7: Applesauce
Fits in with the energy of CHz but I feel like this song has it's own vibe to it, it has a real joy and triumphant feeling that the rest of the album can only start to match. I love that the beginning of this song kind of sounds like a spaceship taking off because that's how it makes me feel most times when listen to it. It's also one of the only songs on this album where I think Geologist's additions are pitch perfect and don't distract from the song at all, which is a huge necessity to their music and it works so goddamn well here.
6: ODDSAC
Yes, all of it at once. Remember when I said we’d only be talking about the songs the band has released in an official capacity? Well, the individual tracks of ODDSAC have never been released, leaving us with only the full suite, which even that has never been released as a standalone audio piece as it was likely the intent of the band that this be experienced as a whole with the visuals. So how is it as a whole? I mean, what even is there to say about ODDSAC. It’s a movie experience like no other, an unbelievable psychedelic marriage between audio and visuals that morphs through genre and style effortlessly, going from drone to folk to noise to rock to pop without a single misstep, crafting catchy songs with deep lyrics and putting them alongside scenes of sheer terror and wild creativity. It’s easily the best video content associated with the band and you can tell everyone involved put their entire creative soul into the project, which in true Animal Collective fashion is why they never fucking released the music on any streaming services and the movie is now relegated to a low quality YouTube rip unless you buy the DVD. However, I appreciate that there are oddities like this still out there. I hope there are still stoned internet dwellers out there randomly encountering ODDSAC on YouTube and having their minds melted. What happened indeed.
5: Brother Sport
Again I have to say the Live at 9:30 version of this is fucking essential. So much wild energy, all the screaming and layering of sounds to create this incredible sonic landscape that builds and crumbles away just to build and crumble again. My dopamine centers are firing at full strength the second that first "pew" sound kicks off this masterpiece.
4: Daily Routine
I can't even describe how beautiful the second half of this song is. It's like nothing else I've ever heard and I'm glad that Geologist has said that it's his proudest moment in the band. If anybody hasn't ever heard the Live at the Ritz version of this on bandcamp it's absolutely transcendental, Panda holds the last "traffic signal" line for longer and more powerfully than I've ever heard on any other performance and his voice melts into the synths like butter. It's my personal favorite live moment in AC history.
3: For Reverend Green
Strawberry Jam is probably one of my least listened to AC projects. I don't really know why that is, I really like most of the songs on it, but I'm kind of glad that it isn't my go to like Feels or Painting With because then I can keep being blown away by how amazing For Reverend Green is. What metronome is Panda even running on in this song? How did Deakin get that amazing tone? How the fuck has Avey not obliterated his voice just from singing this song alone? Questions I hope I never find the answer to. I don't want a single molecule of mystery taken away from this incredible, singular achievement of a song.
2: Alvin Row
Even if you don't like the high pitched noises at the beginning you have to hand it to this song at the least for the insane ambition of it's mere existence. The fact that Avey and Panda even wanted to attempt a song this complex and emotionally raw that early in their career is mind boggling, but only a fraction of how mind boggling it is that they actually pulled it off like it was nothing. As far as musical complexity, Alvin Row is in a league of it's own in the AC world, and it was essentially written and performed entirely by Avey, aside from the drumming which is out of this fucking world. Yeah, I really don't know what else to say that hasn't already been said a thousand times, Alvin Row is a masterpiece and it's insane that it even exists.
1: Banshee Beat
So, at this point, you may be wondering why I even went through all the effort of writing this list if I was going to pick such an obvious choice for number one. To that I say, honestly ask yourself what else could be considered the best Animal Collective song. Yeah, you can probably come up with as many examples as I can for other songs that deserve this title but you know in your heart Banshee Beat is unimpeachable. Every single version of this song is a masterpiece in its own right, from the droned out 2004 live version, to the tender piano and viola accompanied studio recording, and the apocalyptic, percussion free Merriweather rework. It is also what their entire career had been building up to at that point. Banshee Beat is the distillation of Animal Collective; the wistful lyrics of STGSTV, the droning guitars of Danse Manatee, the found natural sounds of Campfire Songs, the titanic buildups of Ark, and finally the vocal interplay of Sung Tongs. Every quirk and aspect of the creative steps it took the band to get here is present in this single song, both making a case for them and perfecting them with ease. It flawlessly capped off the pre-Domino era of the band and has yet to be topped since, and is the best song the band has ever made.
