Gillian Welch: Albums Ranked from Worst to Best

For someone born in New York City, Gillian Welch has the uncanny ability to evoke the pastoral music of a bygone America. Part bluegrass and part Appalachian folk, she’s able to sound authentic. She’s accompanied by guitarist Dave Rawlings, who provides harmonies, songwriting, and plays a distinctive 1935 Epiphone Olympic archtop guitar.

Welch just released her sixth studio album of original material, 2024’s Woodland. It’s also credited to Rawlings, but with Welch taking most of the lead vocals it belongs on this list.

Welch has released a lot of strong material outside of her studio albums. She’s perhaps best known for her contributions to the 2000 movie soundtrack O Brother, Where Art Thou? Her 2020 collection of outtakes, Boots, also has a wealth of impressive songs.

Gillian Welch Albums Ranked

#6 The Harrow and the Harvest

2011
Welch took a long time to follow Soul Journey, scrapping several albums of material and releasing a light-hearted record with Rawlings acting as front-man. When a follow-up finally arrived, it was dour and low-key, most reminiscent of Hell Among the Yearlings.

Songs like ‘Dark Turn of Mind’ and ‘The Way It Goes’ are bleak. It’s the songs that look for hope among the darkness that are my favourites here. ‘Hard Times’ features the refrain; “Hard times ain’t gonna rule my mind”, and it’s a beacon of light from an artist who’s admitted she’s struggles with writing unless she’s completely miserable. 

#5 Woodland

2024
Welch recorded her debut album in Nashville’s Woodland studio. Rawlings and Welch bought the studio in 2001. They had to rescue their life’s work from it when it was destroyed by a tornado in 2020.

Woodland leans into the folk aspects of the duo’s sound. It’s often pretty and warm, with songs like ‘What We Had’ which sounds derived from Neil Young’s ‘Lotta Love’. It’s credited to Welch and Rawlings – while Welch dominates the album’s tone, Rawlings sings lead on the Dylan-flavoured ‘Turf the Gambler’.

#4 Hell Among the Yearlings

1998
Welch and Rawlings’ second album is their darkest and most stripped-back. The duo handle all the instruments apart from T-Bone Burnett on piano on one track.

Any album titled Hell Among the Yearlings with songs like ‘The Devil Had A Hold On Me’ and ‘My Morphine’ isn’t a barrel of laughs. It’s impressive but it retrenches rather than builds on their debut.

#3 Soul Journey

2003
As with Time (The Revelator), Soul Journey delves further into Welch’s biography. She presents her back story in the standout ‘Wrecking Ball’ and ‘I Had A Real Good Mother and Father’.

Soul Journey is Welch’s fullest-sounding album, with a full band on tracks like ‘Look at Miss Ohio’ and ‘One Monkey’.

#2 Revival

1996
Welch had her style figured out from her first album. She had the good fortune to work with producer T-Bone Burnett, known for his grounding in roots music. She taps into the power of religion on tracks like ‘Orphan Girl’ and ‘By The Mark’.

Revival boasts an impressive set of songs with memorable tunes like ‘Acony Bell’ and ‘One More Dollar’.

#1 Time (The Revelator)

2001
Welch’s first album of the 21st century shifts focus. It’s more contemporary and personal than before. It’s also more relaxed, with the closer ‘I Dream A Highway’ stretching out over 15 minutes.

Two songs address the tragic history of 14 April. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, the Titanic striking an iceberg in 1912, and the Black Sunday dust storm of 1935 all occurred on this date. They’re eulogised on ‘April the 14th Part 1’ and ‘Ruination Day’.

What’s your favourite Gillian Welch record?

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