Lou Reed discography

For a comprehensive list of releases by Reed as a member of The Velvet Underground, see The Velvet Underground discography.

American rock musician Lou Reed released 22 studio albums, 17 compilation albums, 15 live albums, six video albums, 46 singles, 16 music videos, and one box-set.

Lou Reed discography
Reed performing in 2011
Studio albums	22
Live albums	15
Compilation albums	16
Singles	46
Video albums	6
Music videos	16
Box sets	1

Albums

Studio albums

Year	Title	Release date	Label	Peak chart positions										Certifications (sales thresholds)
				US [1]	AUS [2][3]	CAN [4]	FRA [5]	GER [6]	NZ [7]	NLD [8]	NOR [9]	SWE [10]	UK [11]
1972	Lou Reed	May 1972	RCA	189	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	Transformer	November 1972		29	12	12	—	—	—	6	—	—	13	AUS: Gold[12] BPI: Platinum[13]
1973	Berlin	October 1973		98	59	51	—	—	—	—	—	—	7	BPI: Silver[13]
1974	Sally Can't Dance	September 1974		10	14	22	—	—	—	15	—	—	—
1975	Metal Machine Music	July 1975		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1976	Coney Island Baby	January 1976		41	25	—	—	—	16	4	—	23	52
	Rock and Roll Heart	November 1976	Arista	64	68	91	—	—	—	19	—	40	—
1978	Street Hassle	February 1978		89	24	—	—	—	9	—	—	—	—
1979	The Bells	May 1979		130	58	—	—	—	13	—	—	44	—
1980	Growing Up in Public	April 1980		158	—	—	—	—	27	—	—	35	—
1982	The Blue Mask	February 1982	RCA	169	—	—	—	52	35	28	—	17	—
1983	Legendary Hearts	March 1983		159	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	36	—
1984	New Sensations	April 1984		56	56	96	—	—	25	—	—	30	92
1986	Mistrial	April 1986		47	47	54	—	—	31	—	—	14	69
1989	New York	January 1989	Sire	40	25	44	—	19	17	11	12	9	14	RIAA: Gold[14] ARIA: Platinum[3] BPI: Gold[13]
1990	Songs for Drella (with John Cale)	April 1990		103	100	—	—	28	42	14	—	43	22
1992	Magic and Loss	January 1992		80	56	56	—	17	20	11	10	9	6
1996	Set the Twilight Reeling	February 1996	Warner Bros.	110	109	46	—	18	—	26	17	23	26
2000	Ecstasy	April 2000	Reprise Records	183	121	—	48	24	—	68	20	—	54
2003	The Raven	January 2003	Sire	—	—	—	60	45	—	50	—	—	—
2007	Hudson River Wind Meditations	April 2007	Sounds True	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011	Lulu (with Metallica)	October 2011	Warner Bros.	36	33	25	23	6	12	17	11	9	36
"—" denotes albums that did not chart, or albums not released in a particular territory.

Live albums

Year	Title	Release date	Label	Peak chart positions								Certifications (sales thresholds)
				US [1]	AUS [2]	CAN [4]	FRA [5]	GER [6]	NZ [7]	NLD [8]	UK [11]
1974	Rock 'n' Roll Animal	February 1974	RCA	45	20	55	—	—	—	—	26	RIAA: Gold[14]
1975	Lou Reed Live	March 1975		62	42	—	—	—	15	4	—
1978	Live: Take No Prisoners	November 1978	Arista	—	—	—	—	—	10	—	—
1984	Live in Italy	January 1984	RCA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1996	Live in Concert (reissue of Live in Italy)	1996		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1998	Perfect Night: Live in London	April 1998	Sire	—	—	—	56	98	—	197	—
2001	American Poet	June 2001	Pilot	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2004	Animal Serenade	March 2004	Reprise	—	—	—	157	—	—	—	—
	Le Bataclan '72 with John Cale and Nico	October 2004	Dynamic	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2008	The Stone: Issue Three with John Zorn and Laurie Anderson	April 2008	Tzadik	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	Berlin: Live at St. Ann's Warehouse	November 2008	Matador	—	—	—	144	—	—	—	—
	The Creation of the Universe	December 2008	Best Seat in the House Productions	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014	Thinking of Another Place	March 2014	Easy Action	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016	Waltzing Matilda (Love Has Gone Away)	2016		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	Alice Tully Hall			—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes albums that did not chart, or albums not released in a particular territory.

Compilation albums

Year	Title	Release date	Label	Peak chart positions							Certifications (sales thresholds)
				US [1]	AUS [3]	NZ [7]	NLD [8]	NOR [9]	SWE [10]	UK [11]
1977	Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed	April 1977	RCA	156	160	—	—	—	—	—
1980	Rock and Roll Diary: 1967–1980	December 1980	Arista	178	—	—	—	—	—	—
1985	City Lights	1985		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1989	Retro	1989, 1998	RCA	—	125	33	—	—	—	29	ARIA: Gold[15] BPI: Silver[13]
1992	Between Thought and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology	1992		—	165	—	—	—	—	—
1992	Walk on the Wild Side & Other Hits	March 1992		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	The Best of Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground	1995	Global TV	—	—	—	—	—	—	56	BPI: Gold[13]
1996	Different Times: Lou Reed in the '70s	May 1996	RCA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1997	Perfect Day	October 1997		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999	The Definitive Collection	August 1999	Arista	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999	The Very Best of Lou Reed	1999	Camden Deluxe	—	—	—	—	19	—	94	BPI: Silver[13]
2002	Legendary Lou Reed	July 2002	RCA/BMG	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2003	NYC Man (The Ultimate Collection 1967–2003)	June 2003	RCA	—	195	31	91	—	42	31
2004	NYC Man: Greatest Hits	August 2004	RCA/BMG	—	—	—	—	—	—	43
2008	Playlist: The Very Best of Lou Reed	July 2008	Legacy	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011	The Essential Lou Reed	September 13, 2011	RCA	155	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021	I'm So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos	December 24, 2021	RCA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2022	Words & Music, May 1965[16]	September 16, 2022	Light in the Attic Records	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes albums that did not chart, or albums not released in a particular territory.

Singles

Lou Reed, 1977

Year	Title	Peak chart positions				Certifications	Album
		US [17]	AUS [2][3]	UK [11]	US Alt [18]
1972	"I Can't Stand It"	—	—	—	—		Lou Reed
	"Walk and Talk It"	—	—	—	—
	"Walk on the Wild Side"[19]	16	95	10	—	BPI: Platinum[13]	Transformer
1973	"Satellite of Love"	—	—	—	—
	"Vicious"	—	—	—	—
	"How Do You Think It Feels"	—	—	—	—		Berlin
1974	"Caroline Says"	—	—	—	—
	"Sweet Jane"	—	—	—	—		Rock 'n' Roll Animal
	"Sally Can't Dance"	—	—	—	—		Sally Can't Dance
1976	"Charley's Girl"	—	—	—	—		Coney Island Baby
	"Crazy Feeling"	—	—	—	—
	"I Believe in Love"	—	—	—	—		Rock and Roll Heart
1977	"Chooser and the Chosen One"	—	—	—	—
	"Rock and Roll Heart"	—	—	—	—
1978	"Street Hassle"	—	—	—	—		Street Hassle
1979	"Disco Mystic"	—	—	—	—		The Bells
	"City Lights"	—	—	—	—
1980	"The Power of Positive Drinking"	—	—	—	—		Growing Up in Public
1982	"The Blue Mask"	—	—	—	—		The Blue Mask
	"Women"	—	—	—	—
1983	"Don't Talk to Me About Work"	—	—	—	—		Legendary Hearts
	"Martial Law"	—	—	—	—
1984	"I Love You, Suzanne"	—	71	78	—		New Sensations
	"My Red Joystick"	—	—	—	—
	"High in the City"	—	—	—	—
1985	"My Love Is Chemical"	—	—	—	—		White Nights
	"September Song"	—	—	—	—		Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill
1986	"The Original Wrapper"	—	—	—	—		Mistrial
	"No Money Down"	—	—	—	—
	"Soul Man" (with Samuel David Moore)	—	—	30	—		Soul Man soundtrack
1989	"Busload of Faith"	—	—	—	11		New York
	"Romeo Had Juliette"	—	—	—	—
	"Dirty Blvd."	—	45	—	1
1992	"Sword of Damocles"	—	—	—	—		Magic and Loss
	"What's Good"	—	—	86	1
1996	"Adventurer"	—	—	—	—		Set the Twilight Reeling
	"NYC Man"	—	—	—	—
	"Hookywooky"	—	172	—	—
1997	"Perfect Day" (as part of Artists for Children in Need)[20]	—	—	1	—	BPI: Platinum[13]	Non-album single
2000	"Future Farmers of America"	—	—	—	—		Ecstasy
	"Modern Dance"	—	—	—	—
	"Paranoia Key of E"	—	—	—	—
2002	"Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"	—	—	—	—		The Raven
2004	"Satellite of Love '04"	—	83	10	—		NYC Man: Greatest Hits
2007	"Gravity"/"Safety Zone"	—	—	—	—		Music Inspired by the Film Nanking
	"Tranquilize" (with The Killers)	—	84	13	—		Sawdust
2011	"The View" (with Metallica)	—	—	—	—		Lulu
"—" denotes singles that did not chart, or singles not released in a particular territory.

Other album appearances

Studio

Year	Song(s)	Album	Notes
1983	"Little Sister"	Get Crazy soundtrack	Original song
1985	"Hot Hips"	Perfect soundtrack
1988	"Something Happened"	Permanent Record soundtrack
1990	"One World One Voice"	One World One Voice	A concept album for environmental awareness. Reed and his band perform a track with overdubs from Richard Galliano and Penguin Café Orchestra
1993	"Tarbelly and Featherfoot"	Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams	Victoria Williams cover
	"Why Can't I Be Good"	Faraway, So Close! soundtrack	Original song
1995	"You'll Know You Were Loved"	Friends soundtrack
1997	"This Magic Moment"	Lost Highway soundtrack	Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman cover
2004	"Gentle Breeze"	Mary Had a Little Amp	Written and sung by Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson for a charity album
2006	"Leave Her Johnny"	Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys	Traditional song
2010	"Solsbury Hill"	And I'll Scratch Yours	Peter Gabriel cover released as a single in 2010, released on And I'll Scratch Yours in 2013
2011	"The Debt I Owe"	Note of Hope - A Celebration of Woody Guthrie[21]	Original song based on Hank Williams' writings
	"Peggy Sue"	Rave On Buddy Holly	Jerry Allison & Norman Petty cover

Live and remix

Year	Song(s)	Album	Type	Notes
1991	"What's Good"	Until the End of the World soundtrack	Remix	Early mix
1993	"Foot of Pride"	The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration	Live	Recorded live on October 16, 1992, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1996	"Sweet Jane"	The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame		Recorded live in 1995 with Soul Asylum
1997	"September Song"	September Songs – The Music of Kurt Weill	Remix	New version, released on video in 1994
2001	"Set the Twilight Reeling"	The Best of Sessions at West 54th	Live	Broadcast in 1998
2006	"Perfect Day" and "Vicious"	The Bridge School Collection, Vol.1
	"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean"	The Harry Smith Project Live, Vol. 2[22]

Guest appearances

Year	Album	Artist	Details	Ref.
1976	Wild Angel	Nelson Slater	Backing vocals, piano, producer	[23]
1978	Urban Desire	Genya Ravan	Duet Vocals ("Aye Co'lorado")
1988	Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom	Tom Tom Club	Backing vocals ("Femme Fatale")	[24]
	Nothing But the Truth	Rubén Blades	Guest vocals ("Hopes on Hold", "Letters to the Vatican", "The Calm Before the Storm")	[25]
	Duets	Rob Wasserman	Guest vocals ("One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)")	[26]
1989	Yo Frankie	Dion DiMucci
	Street Fighting Years	Simple Minds	Guest vocals ("This Is Your Land")	[27]
1991	I Spent a Week There the Other Night	Moe Tucker	Guitar ("Fired Up" and "I'm Not")
1992	I Still Believe in You	Vince Gill	backing vocals on "Under These Conditions"
1994	A Date with The Smithereens	The Smithereens	Guest vocals ("Point of No Return", "Long Way Back Again")
	Greetings from the Gutter	David A. Stewart	Guest vocals ("You Talk a Lot")
	Bright Red	Laurie Anderson	Vocals, lyrics ("In Our Sleep")
1998	Music for Children	John Zorn	Guest vocals ("Cycles Du Nord")	[28]
2002	Hitting the Ground	Gordon Gano	Guest vocals ("Catch 'Em In the Act")
	No Regrets	Jamie Richards	Backing vocals ("Don't Try to Find Me")
	Night Time!	Dan Zanes & Friends	Guest vocals ("What a Wonderful World")
2005	No Balance Palace	Kashmir	Guest vocals ("Black Building")
	I Am a Bird Now	Antony and the Johnsons	Guest vocals ("Fistful of Love")
2006	I Will Break Your Fall	Fernando Saunders	Guest vocals, guitar, writer ("Baton Rouge")	[29]
	Intersections 1985–2005	Bruce Hornsby	Guest vocals ("The Mighty Quinn")
	A Portrait of Howard	Howard Tate	Guest vocals ("How Do You Think It Feels")
2007	Sawdust	The Killers	Guest vocals ("Tranquilize")
	Recitement	Stephen Emmer	Guest vocals ("Passengers")
2008	The Family Album	Lucibel Crater	Guest vocals ("Threadbare Funeral")
2009	Duets	The Blind Boys of Alabama	Guest vocals ("Jesus")
	Solid Ground	Sara Wasserman (Rob Wasserman's daughter)	Guest vocals ("Need To Know")
	Havana Winter	Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle	Guest vocals ("Coma", "In The Shade", "Helicopter in the Sand")
2010	Plastic Beach	Gorillaz	Guest vocals ("Some Kind of Nature")
2010	Mayhem	Imelda May	Guest vocals ("Kentish Town Waltz") (non-album track)
2011	The Road from Memphis	Booker T. Jones	Guest vocals ("The Bronx")
2012	Synthetica	Metric	Guest vocals ("The Wanderlust")	[30]

Videography

Video albums

Year	Video details
1990	Songs for Drella Distributor: Warner Reprise Video Format: VHS/laserdisc
1991	A Night with Lou Reed Distributor: Image Entertainment Format: VHS
1992	Magic and Loss Live in Concert Distributor: Sire Records Format: VHS
1992	Coney Island Baby: Live in Jersey Distributor: Lionsgate Home Entertainment Format: VHS
2005	Lou Reed: Spanish Fly Distributor: Sanctuary Records Group Format: DVD
2008	Berlin: Live at St. Ann's Warehouse Distributor: Third Rail Releasing Format: Theatrical, DVD

Music videos

Year	Title	Director(s)	Ref.
1982	"Women"
1983	"Legendary Hearts"
	"Don't Talk to Me About Work"
1984	"I Love You, Suzanne"
	"My Red Joystick"
1986	"The Original Wrapper"	Zbigniew Rybczyński	[31]
	"No Money Down"	Godley & Creme	[32]
1989	"Busload of Faith"
1990	"Work" (with John Cale)
1992	"What's Good"	Matt Mahurin
1996	"Hooky Wooky"
2000	"Ecstasy"	Michele Civetta	[33]
	"Modern Dance"	Stefan Sagmeister	[34]
2003	"NYC Man"
2007	"Tranquilize" (with The Killers)	Anthony Mandler	[35]
2011	"The View" (with Metallica)	Darren Aronofsky	[36]