I’ve been a huge Deftones fan for around 10 years and I consider all their releases good. However, some Deftones albums are better than others. This is my ranking from best to worst.
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- Stefan Nordström
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Deftones full-length studio discography
I’ll only include their full-length studio albums, but I definitely recommend you to check out their covers compilation and other cool B-sides, such as the song “Smile”.
- “Adrenaline” (1995)
- “Around the Fur” (1997)
- “White Pony” (2000)
- “Deftones” (2003)
- “Saturday Night Wrist” (2006)
- “Diamond Eyes” (2010)
- “Koi No Yokan” (2012)
- “Gore” (2016)
- “Ohms” (2020)
- “Private Music” (2025)
Deftones albums ranked from worst to best
10. “Ohms” (2020)
On paper, this is probably a solid Deftones album. I mean, it features it all: atmospherics, stompy downtuned grooves, and genre-bending, but I’ve just never gotten any urgency from it. The first half of the album is solid Deftones, especially “The Spell of Mathematics”. I’m just looking for more than solid. Not a bad album by any means, but I need the band to cut to the bone.
Fav track(s): “The Spell of Mathematics”
Adrenaline” (1995)
As it’s the debut album, it’s obviously a holy cow to many fans. I’ve never fully connected with it, but that said, I appreciate the youthful vigor and its value as a time document. It’s a fun listen, it just doesn’t measure up to what was to come very soon.
Fav track(s): “Engine no.9” & “Bored”
8. “Gore” (2016)
This album is hard for me to summarize. It has some absolute bangers, like the title track, “Prayers/Triangles”, “(L)Mirl” and “Acid Hologram”. Unfortunately, the production job is a mess, Chino’s not at his best vocally, and the middle of the album has several of my least favorite tracks in the entire Deftones discography. It’s a mess to get through, but damn, the bangers do bang.
Fav track(s): “Gore” & “Prayers/Triangles”
7. “Deftones” (2003)
Peak dark period. It’s a disjointed, moody album that probably disappointed many people after “White Pony”. For me, this is quite a ride both in terms of dynamics and quality. “Hexagram” and “Bloody Cape” absolutely crushes. Certainly some of their most aggressive songs ever. The rest is a mish-mash that’s mostly good, but the really intense moments are few and far between. Solid album overall.
Fav track(s): “Hexagram” & “Bloody Cape”
6. Private Music” (2025)
This one took me by surprise, as it smashes “Gore” and “Ohms” to bits. Musically, this is mostly familiar Deftones, but there is just so much more urgency on display. The album flow feels like “Diamond Eyes”; just killer, no filler, no bullshit, let’s go. Chino sounds amazing and highly willing to play around with his voice. Just a superb effort from such a seasoned band, as it feels playful and rejuvenated.
Fav track(s): “Ecdysis” & “Cut Hands”
5. “Around the Fur” (1997)
I guess it’s a bit controversial to put such a classic in fifth place. It’s definitely not because I don’t love “Around the Fur” though. The album is a banger and delivered “My Own Summer” and “Be Quiet and Drive”. It’s total attitude, truly the place when Deftones started becoming a unique force.
Fav track(s): “Headup” & “My Own Summer”
4. “Saturday Night Wrist” (2006)
This album is a bit of a mess, but often a glorious mess. The band doesn’t fire as a unit, as it’s pure dark era music. It just doesn’t matter though. There’s so much cool stuff going on atmospherically, and there’s so much sonic variation. Sure, there are some headscratchers, “Pink Cellophane” especially, but the hits more than make up for it.
Fav track(s): “Cherry Waves” & “Kimdracula”
3. “White Pony” (2000)
Well.. what hasn’t already been said about “White Pony”? Obviously an amazing and groundbreaking album filled with wild ideas and massive vibes. It’s the definining release as far as Deftones albums go, and rightfully so. “Digital Bath” is my number one song from them, and it’s far from the only perfect cut on this classic.
Fav track(s): “Digital Bath” & “Passenger”
2. “Diamond Eyes” (2010)
“Diamond Eyes” is just so intense, full of life and non-stop. By far my favorite opening salvo with the blistering first three, and it doesn’t slow down much after that. The energy and the perfect tracklisting just gets me every time. Just a near-perfect album with everything I want from Deftones in huge doses.
Fav track(s): “Diamond Eyes” & “Sextape”
1. “Koi No Yokan” (2012)
The album that first converted me from a grumpy extreme metal listener to a Deftones fan. “Koi No Yokan” has a vibe like no other, balancing perfectly between aggression and sensuality. Perfect pacing, varied tracklist, my favorite Chino vocal performance, massive production job. This album simply has it all, and I don’t ever get tired of it.
Fav track(s): “Leathers” & “Tempest”
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