Ranking System of a Down's Top 5 Albums

System of a Down is one of those love-them-or-hate-them kind of bands but they've still built legions of hard-core fans throughout the years. Front-man Serj Tankian is currently touring in support of his own album, which has been a success but is not included on the list.

Here is how I rank each album counting down to number one:

5. Mezmerize-

This album sounded pretty good when it first came out especially considering the long wait between it and "Steal this Album!" But after multiple listens the somewhat hokey lyrics start to become more distinguishable and this album's weaknesses become more apparent.

It's still a fun album to listen to but songs like "Sad Statue," "Old School Hollywood," and "Violent Pornography" have some cliched lyrics that aren't up to par with the rest of the band's work. The main difference is that most of the songs on this album were written by Daron Malakian as opposed to Tankian. Malakian is more wild and crazy while Tankian is more philosophical and inflective.

The best tracks on here are probably "BYOB" and "Question!" the latter of which was written by Tankian.

4. Steal this Album!-

This album was given its title because its basically comprised of a bunch of songs that didn't make the cut on "Toxicity." But that doesn't mean it's not a great album.

"Innervision" is the stand out track with its epic, sweeping guitar sound and loud snare drums as well as its soothing lyrics by Tankian.

Some of the songs on here seem half-baked and not quite done but that's part of this album's charm. It's very experimental and strange at times but it showcases the band at its most raw form and that's a good thing especially in regards to Tankian and his creativity as an artist.

3. Hypnotize-

This album is a much better mix of the two styles of Malakian and Tankian than "Mezmerize" and is the second part in a double album set comprised of the two albums.

The song "Stealing Society" is a good example of that mixture as both singers take turns and show off each of their vocal and lyrical styles.