With the Scholars, Kenny Rogers launched his music career in the 1950s. He played with several different bands after that until finding success with The Final Edition. Rogers released his debut solo album, Love Lifted Me, after the band disbanded in 1975, marking his initial steps toward solo stardom.
His second album, Kenny Rogers, launched him into the public eye and marked the beginning of one of the most fruitful and productive careers in the history of country music.
Rogers had won numerous accolades, including several Grammys, and had sold more than 100 million recordings worldwide by the time he passed away in 2020. With our selection of the top 10 Kenny Rogers albums, we look back on the career of one of country music’s biggest stars.
1. The Gambler
The Gambler was the record that made Rogers one of the most well-known and lucrative country performers of the 1970s and 1980s. The album, which was released in November 1978 as his sixth studio album, debuted at the top of the country charts in both Canada and the US and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200, marking one of his highest-ever chart placements.
She Believes in Me and the album’s title song both went on to become huge crossover singles, giving Rogers a chance to appeal to both pop and country audiences. Its success went beyond music, as Rogers went on to star in several made-for-TV movies based on the main character from the title cut.
2. Eyes That See in the Dark
The Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb helped Rogers make his 15th studio album, Eyes That See in the Dark, in 1983. The majority of the songs were also written by Gibb, including the No. 1 country chart single of 1983 and the hit duet Islands in the Stream with Dolly Parton, which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard pop, country, and adult contemporary charts.
After selling over 2 million copies, the song was subsequently given platinum certification in the US. Buried Treasure, which peaked at number three, and the song’s title, which spent six weeks on the UK Singles Chart, are a couple of the other highlights.
3. Love Or Something Like It
Rogers’s fifth studio album was a huge hit, and it became his fourth number one album, topping the country charts and becoming a number-one album. Considering the quality of the content, he might have had a hit with practically any song on the tracklist.
However, the only single that was released was the song with the same name as the album, which went on to top the charts. Even while these songs are more pop than anything else Rogers has put out in the past, there are still plenty of traditional country melodies on here to satisfy die-hard fans.
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4. Kenny Rogers
Rogers’ career took off when his self-titled second album was released after only having moderate success with his solo debut, Love Lifted Me Up. When it was released in January 1977, it immediately shot to the top of the country charts, becoming the singer’s first of 12 number-one songs.
On the opposite side of the Atlantic, it was likewise a huge hit, topping the UK Album Chart. The album’s singles were equally popular; the first, Laura (What He’s Got That I Ain’t Got? ), reached a high of number 19 on the country charts, while the second, Lucille, shot to the top of the charts in both the US and Canada and gave Rogers his first number-five hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
5. Love Lifted Me
After the breakup of The First Edition, Kenny Rogers began his career as a solo artist and released his debut album under that moniker, “Love Lifted Me.” The album’s popularity was greater than what was initially anticipated since it peaked at number 28 on the country charts and also resulted in a crossover hit with the song that was given the album’s name.
The song, which featured elements of gospel music, reached its highest position on the country charts at number 19, and it also made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 97.
Both lists were dominated by gospel music. This event was an important landmark in Rogers’s career because it signified the beginning of his road toward becoming a megastar. As a result, it was a significant milestone.
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6. You Can’t Make Old Friends
In October of 2013, Rogers released his twenty-seventh and final studio album consisting entirely of his own compositions. There is enough here to satisfy the needs of those who are lovers of his pop side as well as his countryside.
The songs “You Can’t Make Old Friends,” a duet with Dolly Parton (which might not be quite as brilliant as their earlier duet, Island of the Stream, but is too beautifully melodic for it to matter), and “You Had to Be There,” a truly emotional song, are two of the album’s highlights.
7. We’ve Got Tonight
We’ve Got Tonight is Rogers’ 14th studio album and final release with Liberty Records before switching to RCA Records. When it was released in 1983, it quickly gained popularity across the globe, peaking at No. 3 on the US country chart, No. 18 on the Billboard 200, and No. 19 in Canada.
Following that, it received platinum certification in the US and Canada. The songs are dependably great, and the title track—which Sheena Easton and the duo performed—became a number-one hit. Since then, the LA Times and many other publications have listed it as one of Rogers’ best songs.
All My Life and Scarlet Fever, the other songs, all made it to the top 5 of the country chart. The true show-stopper, though, is You Are So Beautiful, which has grown to be one of Rogers’ most enduringly famous songs despite never being released as a single.
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8. Water and Bridges
A late-career hit for Rogers came in the form of his twenty-sixth studio album, Water and Bridges, which was released in 2006. The album peaked at number 5 on the country charts in the United States and at number 14 on the Billboard 200.
On the album, which Rolling Stone called a “graceful album that will certainly please both Rogers’ many longtime fans and contemporary country listeners,” Rogers sticks to his normal blend of smooth and mellow country music.
Because of how skillfully he does things, no one is going to complain about how little room there is for experimenting. The lovely Someone Somewhere Tonight, the reflective track that serves as the album’s title track, and the sorrowful pop song I Can Feel You Drifting are all standouts on this album.
9. Share Your Love
Share Your Love was the eleventh studio album issued by Rogers, and it was met with resounding acclaim upon its initial release in 1981.
In addition to reaching number one on the country charts in the United States and Canada, it also climbed to number one on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States and number three on the Hot 100.
After that, it was awarded the platinum certification in the United States, and in Canada, it received the double platinum certification. It has nearly nine million copies in circulation across the globe, making it one of Rogers’ most successful albums of all time in terms of sales.
10. She Rides Wild Horses
Even though Rogers’ days of being a surefire chart-topper had long since passed by the year 1999, he was still just as capable as he had ever been of delivering the goods. She Rides Wild Horses, his twenty-third studio album, is a charming affair, with a solid setlist and a wonderful vocal performance from Rogers.
The album was released in 2017. After an absence of eight years, he finally achieved commercial success with this album, which peaked at number 26 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks list.
Rogers, who was 61 years old at the time, became the oldest country musician in history to have a single reach number one on the charts thanks to the success of “Buy Me a Rose.”