Wrightbuzz: Ben Folds

Ben Folds music over the years. This chronological list shows CDs and digital purchases over the years. Added some basic comments. You can get more details at the Ben Folds Wikipedia page. This list includes Ben Folds Five and solo albums.
Ben Folds Five 1995	This was the debut studio album by Ben Folds Five. I didn't find out about Ben Folds Five until their second album. This has a lot of great songs.
Whatever And Ever Amen 1997	This was album that turned me on to Ben Folds Five. Heard One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces on the radio and loved it. The song Kate is one of my favorites because it is so upbeat. Brick was a big hit from this album.
The Complete Sessions At West 54th 1997	Ben Folds Five was one of the first guests to appear on a new series called Sessions At West 54th. This DVD features the complete and long-unavailable footage.
Naked Baby Photos 1998	This compilation album contains outtakes and live performances. Most of the tracks were previously unreleased. Not a great CD.
The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner 1999	This strangely named album was a departure from the pop songs from the first two albums. My favorite song on the album is Army, which was more upbeat. There is a music video of the trio playing the song.
Rockin' The Suburbs 2001	This was Ben Folds' debut solo album. Lots of great songs from start to finish. Fun Rockin' The Suburbs video directed by Weird Al Yankovic.
Ben Folds Live 2002	This live album was made available for a limited time with a bonus DVD. Cover picture is the whole audience giving Ben the finger.
US Tour 2003	Ben Folds tour with Tegan and Sara (2003) Concert was in a small hall at WPI in Worcester. (set list)
Speed Graphic 2003	First of a three-EP series released in 2003. Starts with cover of In Between Days. At the end of Dog Ben included a phone conversation with his wife.
Sunny 16 2003	Second of a three-EP series. There's Always Someone Cooler Than You is a good start to the EP.
Super D 2003	Third of a three-EP series. All the songs are good. Listen to the lyrics in Rent A Cop, quite funny.
The Bens 2003	The Bens were a rock supergroup consisting of the trio, Ben Folds, Ben Kweller and Ben Lee, which toured for "the Bens Rock Over Australia tour" in 2003.
Ben Folds and Waso Live in Perth 2005	This concert DVD was recorded when Ben Folds played with Western Australian Symphony Orchestra in Perth.
Hoodwinked! 2005	Ben provided the song Red Is Blue for the Hoodwinked soundtrack. (Fun movie if you haven't seen it.)
Songs For Silverman 2005	This second studio album from Ben Folds was his highest charting album until 2008. Another great CD full of songs including Landed.
Songs For Goldfish 2005	This compilation album had live and unreleased tracks from Songs for Silverman. Some fun cover songs and quirks jingles.
Live at Tower Records 2005	Recorded live at Tower Records, Lincoln Center, New York on April 26, 2005.
Over The Hedge 2006	Ben provided a few songs for the Over The Hedge soundtrack. William Shatner voiced the main character. They worked together on a few things.
Way To Normal 2008	This was a fun album which included some videos too. My favorite song on the album is You Don't Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor). Check out this strange video for the song.
Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella! 2009	This album was produced by Ben Folds. It features collegiate a cappela groups singing Ben Folds songs.
Lonely Avenue 2010	This was a collaboration album with Nick Hornby. My favorite song on the album is Things You Think (featuring Pomplamoose). This was an iTunes bonus track. Check out this fun video for the song.
The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective 2011	This retrospective CD contains songs from Ben Folds Five and his solo work. There were three CDs in the set.
The Sound of the Life of the Mind 2012	Another long name for the fourth studio album by Ben Folds Five. The band got together after working on some songs for the 2011 retrospective album. The songs are fine but I don't listen to the album much.
So There 2015	This was an interesting album with the first half contains songs with lyrics and the second half a concerto for piano and orchestra.
Mr Peepers 2018	Mr Peepers was released online. It was a politically motivated song by Ben Folds. View the song on YouTube.
US Tour 2019	Ben Folds and Violent Femmes Tour (2019) Click to see set list for the concert at Mohegan Sun. Paid for premium seats including pre-show discussion with Ben and copies of his book A Dream About Lightning Bugs.
What Matters Most 2023	Bought the album in 2023 but did not listen to it much. Thought the album was kind of slow. Re listened in 2024 and discovered it is much better than my first impression.
US Tour 2024	Paper Airplane Request Tour (2024) Saw Ben Folds play at Durgin Hall at UMass Lowell. (set list) The concert was great. Ben was entertaining and played lots of songs.