The Best Pat Metheny Albums of All Time

Updated December 31, 2019 4.1k votes 692 voters 14.1k views

List RulesThis list includes studio albums only, so if you add an album make sure it's a proper studio release.

List of the best Pat Metheny albums, including pictures of the album covers when available. This Pat Metheny discography is ranked from best to worst, so the top Pat Metheny albums can be found at the top of the list. A Missouri-born fusion jazz composer and guitarist, he has many side projects, but his primary focus is with the eponymous Pat Metheny Group. The band has had various members and has taken several hiatuses since first forming in 1977, though co-composer and keyboardist Lyle Mays has remained a fixture.

To make voting for your favorite records easier for you, we haven't included Pat Metheny singles, EPs, or compilations, so everything you see here should only be studio albums. If you think the greatest Pat Metheny album isn't ranked highly enough, be sure to vote for it so it gets the credit it deserves. Make sure you don't just vote for critically acclaimed albums; if you have a favorite Pat Metheny album, then vote it up, even if it's not necessarily the most popular.

If you want to know the best Pat Metheny album of all time, this list will answer your question. It features albums like New Chautauqua, Question and Answer, We Live Here, Zero Tolerance for Silence, and Like Minds. This list of popular Pat Metheny CDs has been voted on by music fans around the world, so the order of this list isn't just one person's opinion.

...more

1
189
69
Still Life (Talking)
1987
Artist: Pat Metheny Group
Tracks: Last Train Home, Distance, (It's Just) Talk
Length (mins): 00:42:33
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion, World music, Smooth jazz, Latin jazz
2
132
41
First Circle
1984
3
133
42
As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
1981
Artist: Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays
Tracks: Estupenda graça, Ozark, Ozark
Length (mins): 01:13:19
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion
4
145
51
Offramp
1982
Artist: Pat Metheny Group
Tracks: Au Lait, The Bat, Part II
Length (mins): 00:42:28
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion
5
149
54
Letter From Home
1989
Artist: Pat Metheny Group
Tracks: Have You Heard, 45/8, Spring Ain't Here
Length (mins): 01:01:50
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion, Latin jazz, Crossover jazz
6
139
51
Secret Story
1992
Artist: Pat Metheny
Tracks: Finding and Believing, See the World, Rain River
Length (mins): 01:16:30
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion, World music, Crossover jazz, Ethno jazz
7
145
58
Pat Metheny Group
1978
8
113
38
Travels
1983
9
117
43
Bright Size Life
1976
Artist: Pat Metheny
Tracks: Missouri Uncompromised, Unquity Road, Midwestern Nights Dream
Length (mins): 00:37:12
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion
10
102
36
American Garage
1979
Artist: Pat Metheny Group
Tracks: (Cross the) Heartland, American Garage, The Search
Length (mins): 00:35:15
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion
11
98
42
We Live Here
1995
Artist: Pat Metheny Group
Tracks: Red Sky, To the End of the World, The Girls Next Door
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion
12
108
50
The Way Up
2005
Artist: Pat Metheny Group, Gregoire Maret
Tracks: Part Three, Part Two, Part One
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion
13
93
38
Imaginary Day
1997
Artist: Pat Metheny Group
Tracks: The Roots of Coincidence, The Awakening, Into the Dream
Length (mins): 01:04:41
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion

14
89
38
Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories)
1997
Artist: Charlie Haden, Pat Metheny
Tracks: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Cinema Paradiso (Love Theme), First Song (For Ruth)
Label: Verve Music Group
Genres (Music): Jazz
15
70
26
Question and Answer
1990
Artist: Dave Holland, Roy Haynes, Pat Metheny
Tracks: Solar, Change of Heart, Question and Answer
Genres (Music): Jazz
16
83
38
Speaking of Now
2002
Artist: Pat Metheny Group
Tracks: Afternoon, As It Is, Another Life
Length (mins): 01:12:05
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion
17
66
25
Watercolors
1977
Artist: Pat Metheny
Tracks: Suite: II. Legend of the Fountain, Watercolors, Icefire
Length (mins): 00:41:54
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion
18
66
26
80/81
1980
Artist: Pat Metheny
Tracks: Turnaround, Open, Every Day (I Thank You)
Genres (Music): Jazz
19
64
28
New Chautauqua
1979
Artist: Pat Metheny
Tracks: Daybreak, Long-Ago Child / Fallen Star, New Chautauqua
Length (mins): 00:38:33
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion, Folk jazz
20
56
27
Kin (← →)
2014
21
47
26
Rejoicing
1984
Artist: Pat Metheny
Tracks: Humpty Dumpty, Rejoicing, Waiting for an Answer
Genres (Music): Jazz
22
40
24
Day Trip
2008
Artist: Pat Metheny
Tracks: Son of Thirteen, When We Were Free, The Red One
Genres (Music): Jazz
23
44
30
One Quiet Night
2003
Artist: Pat Metheny
Tracks: Peace Memory, Over on 4th Street, North to South
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion, Folk jazz, Crossover jazz

24
41
30
I Can See Your House From Here
1994
Artist: Pat Metheny, John Scofield
Tracks: Message to My Friend, You Speak My Language, No Matter What
Length (mins): 01:09:46
Label: Blue Note Records
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion, Post-bop, Crossover jazz
25
37
27
Quartet
1996
Artist: Pat Metheny Group
Tracks: Second Thought, When We Were Free, Oceania
Length (mins): 01:06:16
Label: Geffen Records
Genres (Music): Jazz, Jazz fusion, Post-bop