David Gilmour and Roger Waters Solo Albums Ranked Worst to Best
David Gilmour and Roger Waters both laid claim to the legacy of Pink Floyd, rarely making solo statements.
The difference was that Gilmour remained at the helm, leading Pink Floyd to three more studio albums after Waters' bitter mid-'80s departure. Some have actually argued that the first one, Momentary Lapse of Reason, was nothing more than a Gilmour solo project dressed up with the band moniker.
More confusing was the relative quiet of Waters, who emerged as Pink Floyd's undisputed mastermind after leading them through 1977's Animals, 1979's The Wall and 1983's The Final Cut. His first solo album, perhaps understandably, featured leftover material from the Floyd days. But then Waters went on to release just three rock solo albums before his 75th birthday.
Pink Floyd's final Gilmour-led projects, The Division Bell and The Endless River, were far more collaborative. But Gilmour never really picked up the solo pace, even after the death of co-founding member Richard Wright summarily ended Pink Floyd.
Perhaps their hall-of-fame run in the band they fought so viciously over had left Gilmour and Waters with fewer ideas. Or maybe they just really enjoyed the middle-aged, rocking-chair life. Still, these rarely released records provided intriguing glimpses of their musical life outside of Pink Floyd – and lasting insights into the parts of the past that they still wanted to carry forward.
How do they stack up? Here's our ranking of every rock solo album by David Gilmour and Roger Waters.
David Gilmour and Roger Waters Solo Albums Ranked
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