Today is Oct. 9, which means that your Facebook and Twitter feeds will probably be filled with people wishing John Lennon a happy birthday. He was born on Oct. 9, 1940 and died on Dec. 8, 1980 at age 40 when he was shot outside his New York apartment.

Over the past few years at TheCelebrityCafe.com, I’ve counted down his best solo songs and the best Beatles songs. So for this year, in which he would have turned 73, we’ll do something a little different.

During his ten years as a solo artist, Lennon released seven original studio albums. He also recorded plenty of singles and experimental albums with Yoko Ono, but he saved his best material for the studio albums. With such a short career, it’s amazing that he did make as much music as he did, especially when you take into account that he took five years off to raise son Sean (who also celebrates his birthday today).

This list is a ranking of those seven solo albums, from worst to first.

7. Some Time In New York City - 1972
Highlights: “New York City”

Some Time In New York City is not only Lennon’s worst solo album, but would probably be one of the worst Beatles solo albums were it not for some bad Ringo Starr records in the late ‘70s. The album is stripped of the timeless quality of the protest songs on Imagine and later on Mind Games. If you don’t have any understanding of obscure political causes in the 1972, you’ll never be able to understand some of the subjects Lennon and Ono are singing about here. “New York City,” which is like a sequel to “The Ballad of John & Yoko,” is pretty much the only highlight.

6. Mind Games - 1973
Highlights: “Mind Games,” “Tight A$,” “Only People,” “One Day (At A Time)”

After Some Time flopped, Lennon decided to essentially make Imagine, Part 2 with Mind Games. The album isn’t as strong as Imagine, but it does provide some highlights. Overall though, it has a “been there, done that” feeling.

5. Rock ‘N’ Roll - 1975
Highlights: “Stand By Me,” “Rip It Up/Ready Teddy,” “Peggy Sue”

During the infamous “Lost Weekend,” when he was separated from Ono for a time, Lennon went back to his roots. He had hoped to make Rock ‘N’ Roll with Phil Spector, but those sessions deteriorated quickly and Lennon later finished the record himself. It’s filled with wonderful tributes to the music he grew up on, particularly his amazing version of “Stand By Me.”

4. Double Fantasy - 1980
Highlights: “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy),” “(Just Like) Starting Over,” “Watching The Wheels”

Lennon hit the restart button with Double Fantasy. Although Ono’s ‘80s-flavored songs get in the way occasionally, Lennon’s songs are all incredible. It’s interesting that they’re all very pop more than rock, considering that he derided Paul McCartney during the early ‘70s for that type of music. But Lennon brought his own lyrical style and hard edge to pop and we can only imagine where he would have gone after Double Fantasy. Extra songs from the sessions were later released on Milk and Honey in 1984.

3. Walls and Bridges - 1974
Highlights: “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” “#9 Dream,” “Nobody Loves You (When You’re Down And Out)”

Walls and Bridges is my personal favorite Lennon album, even though I do know that it’s not without some faults. However, there are so many songs here that highlight the best of his songwriting, particularly “Nobody Loves You,” which is a song everyone should hear.

2. Imagine - 1971
Highlights: “Imagine,” “Oh My Love,” “Crippled Inside,” “Gimme Some Truth”

Imagine is the quintessential Lennon album, not only because of the title track, but because of some wonderful material that comes after it. It highlights the full range of his talents from blues (“I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier”) to delicate ballads (“Oh My Love”). If you’ve only heard “Imagine,” you’ve never experienced Imagine the album.

1. Plastic Ono Band - 1970
Highlights: “God,” “Working Class Hero,” “Love,” “Look At Me”

Plastic Ono Band’s stature has only grown since its release and it’s widely considered among the best rock albums ever produced. And that’s no understatement. The raw emotional power of the album doesn’t really come through until after a couple of listens. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to hear Lennon say “The dream is over” in 1970. We all have to move on, but that was one heck of a way to say it.

image: Amazon