I’m identifying the best three albums by my fifty favorite rock bands of all time. This blog is for, #17- The Hoodoo Gurus, a little-known Australian band that I love.

Criteria for selecting the best three albums

First, greatest hits albums are allowed. Second – no live albums. I will note that the Hoodoo Gurus are awesome in concert. I’ve seen them play live multiple times including recently and they rock hard. Third I’m including an honorable mention album for the top 25 bands.

Hoodoo Gurus albums ranked by ChatGPT

Let’s take a look at what artificial intelligence says about this list. According to ChatGPT below are the top three albums by the Hoodoo Gurus. My goodness, those sneaky algorithms are learning quickly. I completely agree with the list. This cracks me up since it is the first time it’s happened. The Hoodoo Gurus are an obscure Australian band. Amazing that ChatGPT got this right.

1. Mars Needs Guitars! (1985): Often considered a high point for the Gurus, this album consolidated their success and expanded their fan base internationally.
2. Stoneage Romeos (1984): this debut album introduced the band’s unique sound to the world and was critically acclaimed for its fusion of rock genres.
3. Blow Your Cool! (1987): While it contained their biggest hit “What’s My Scene?” and achieved commercial success, some critics and fans felt it represented a slight dip in the band’s creativity or originality compared to the first two albums, possibly due to its more mainstream sound and polished production.

Spotify popular releases for this band

Here are the top five most popular albums for the Hoodoo Gurus according to Spotify. Their first five releases which I agree are the best of their ten albums.

The third-best album by this band is Blow Your Cool

The third-best album by the Hoodoo Gurus is called Blow Your Cool. It is a loud album that deserves to be played loud. I own this one on vinyl. It includes my favorite song by the Gurus, “What’s My Scene” as well as a collaboration with the Bangles called “Good Times”.

The second-best album by The Hoodoo Gurus

The second-best album by The Hoodoo Gurus is their debut record Stoneage Romeos. It is a fun album to listen to. This record includes songs I enjoy such as “I Want You Back”, “Tojo”, “My Girl” and the crowd-pleaser “I Was a Kamikaze Pilot”. I saw this band recently in concert. They played a lot of songs off this album because it’s that good.

Honorable mention album for this band

Here is the honorable mention album for the Hoodoo Gurus – Magnum Cum Louder. Released while I was in college, I played it a lot. I saw them on this tour and they rocked the house with this album. It includes the song “Axegrinder” as well as “Come Anytime”.

The best album by The Hoodoo Gurus

The best album by this band is called Mars Needs Guitars. It is an unbelievably good album. I definitely own this one on vinyl. The first side includes “Bittersweet”, “Poison Pen”, “In the Wild”, “Death Defying” and “Like Wow Wipeout. Some of you have never ever heard of this band. If you haven’t, here is the place to start.

There you have it – the three best Hoodoo Gurus albums. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I am Doug Keating and this is my letter to my sons.