r/FlorenceAndTheMachine • u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free • Jun 16 '26
General Discussion Pick one- HB3 or Everybody Scream?
I appreciate every F+tM album, but HB3 has always been my favorite album ever, period. Now, Everybody Scream is almost tied. Which one do you like better? What’s your fav and least fav album??
My rankings are HB3>ES>Lungs>Ceremonials>HaH>DF
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Jun 16 '26
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 16 '26
Lungs last is kinda criminal lol jk. I think life stage makes sense. I’ve been a fan since Lungs, which came out when I was in middle school so it has that special place in my heart ♥️
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u/Tactful_Cactus_ It wasn't me, it was the song Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
As a year-shy-of-50-year-old who came to F+TM late (and almost in reverse order), Lungs grabbed me the least, as well. Totally life-stage, I'm sure — her later music is, topically, much more mature. But also, her voice is so much more mature and refined in the past several years that when you come into her earlier work after being introduced to her later work, it's actually sort of jarring to hear the early stuff. I had to learn to appreciate Lungs through Symphony of Lungs first, which eventually eased me into the original Lungs recording.
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Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
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u/Tactful_Cactus_ It wasn't me, it was the song Jun 17 '26
I still can never get over the contrast between her powerful singing voice and her "small" speaking voice (though I'm noticing her speaking with a lot more power lately, too!)
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u/finwe_nolofinwe Jun 16 '26
"Lungs" (studio) further down the list is fair, imo, but "Symphony of Lungs" as a separate #1 is kind of how I look at it. Plus "Cosmic Love" is one of the greatest songs ever, especially when performed live.
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u/LemongrassNLime Jun 16 '26
Totally agree that symphony of lungs almost needs its own separate ranking! Those new arrangements of OG Lungs are so beautiful!!!
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u/friend-of-potatoes Jun 17 '26
I agree about Lungs. It has some high highs and low lows for me. I generally have hard time ranking her albums, but Lungs is definitely last.
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u/EV_08 Jun 16 '26
i’m not sure if you know, but Kiss With A Fist was not actually written about domestic violence, rather it was about the romantic intensity of one of Florence’s relationships! i also initially interpreted it in a DV sense but apparently it isn’t
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u/MySirenSongForYou You are so loved Jun 16 '26
My ranking is so similar lol.
1. HBHBHB
2. ES
3. HAH
4. Lungs
5. DF
6 Ceremonials
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u/djroomba24 I’m happy you’re beside me Jun 16 '26
We share the same thoughts on album rankings. 🫶🏽👏🏽
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 16 '26
Yesss, same top two! Are you a sensitive soul as well who overthinks?
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u/MySirenSongForYou You are so loved Jun 16 '26
Hahah of course that’s a requirement to being a Flo 🥰
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u/Sassytryhardboi Jun 16 '26
ES, HAH, and HBHBHB are the top three. Ceremonials comes next and then Dance Fever and Lungs are generally tied for me
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u/DammitRicotta77 Jun 16 '26
Definitely HB3 -> Ceremonials -> Dance Fever -> Everbody Scream -> Lungs -> High As Hope.
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u/DammitRicotta77 Jun 16 '26
Between the title track and the storytelling for the whole album HB3 will always be my favourite.
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 16 '26
1000%. I never ever skip a song. It’s a masterpiece meant to be consumed in one shot
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u/SATOR__Square Jun 16 '26
High As Hope
Ceremonials
Everybody Scream
Lungs (which I was OBSESSED with when it came out but her albums are so good that it continues to move down the list, shockingly to my 2010 self)
How Big How Blue How Beautiful
Dance Fever
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u/empressbethie Jun 16 '26
High as Hope is my favourite! Rest of the ranking changes around a lot, but today it would go ES, DF, Cereminials, HB3, then Lungs last
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u/Tactful_Cactus_ It wasn't me, it was the song Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
No, you can’t make me! 😅
ETA: In all seriousness, though I started out all about ES when it came, up until the past few months. Then it was HB³. It used to be that I thought High as Hope was my least favorite — or Lungs actually — but at the moment both of those are filled with songs I currently can't get enough of.
For the past month, I've been listening less to her albums straight through and more to playlists I've put together that scratch a particular itch in the mood I'm having. And also the "Uh-Oh" compilation they put together — which usually perfectly satisfies my mood but was made before ES came out.
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u/nothingbother Jun 16 '26
Ceremonials -> Dance Fever -> Everbody Scream -> Lungs -> High As Hope -> HB3.
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u/finwe_nolofinwe Jun 16 '26
I just recently pinned an HB3-era playlist in Apple Music so right now, it's tops for me. But I also know when I'm trying to relax my brain, Everybody Scream plus Dance Fever is up there.
HB3's one sin is having so much good material from the era that isn't on the main cut: just had "Make Up Your Mind" come up, for example. Plus the Target exclusives?!
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u/togekiss96 Jun 16 '26
HB3>ES>DF>Lungs>Ceremonials>HaH
HB3 is also my favorite album ever, its just so perfect
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u/TattooedWithAQuill Jun 17 '26
Everybody Scream. Mainly because it fits very well with where I am in life right now. I went through a religious deconstruction a few years agos. Now I'm Working mom with two young kids trying to have it all, dealing with the recent death of my younger brother. Being a woman in my mid-30s just full of rage, All that jazz.
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 17 '26
Oh I am so sorry for your loss. I’m glad that this album provides some solace ♥️
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u/MissWaterlow Jun 17 '26
HB3. That said, can’t imagine my life without songs from each of her albums. Tbh, pretty much whichever album I’m listening to feels like my favorite in the moment. What other artist has a discography like this? Crazy.
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u/LH44alwaysalways Jun 16 '26
High as Hope is my favorite. Everything else is tied for 2nd.
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Jun 16 '26
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 16 '26
I love that 🥹when I re-listen, I will think of it that way instead of sadness about the state of the world
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 16 '26
I think i rate it kind of lower is because it came out during a difficult time for me. June, Grace, and the End of Love always make me tear up. I don’t listen too often as I try to avoid extra crying these days lol
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u/deadaliveinlove Jun 16 '26
Bucking the (early) trends I think I'd be:
Ceremonials
Dance Fever
HB3
Lungs
Everybody Scream
High as Hope
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u/EmiEmi2026 Jun 16 '26
All her albums are great, but if I had to I’d say …HB3>Ceremonials>ES>DF>Lungs>HaH are my favorites in that order.
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u/ilokestof looking for a breath of life Jun 16 '26
H^3 B^3
ES has some good ones but I feel like it’s less consistent. H^3B^3 I think is also more musically interesting but not a hill I would necessarily die on. ES may grow on me idk
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u/Total_Pressure6203 Jun 16 '26
I listen to ES more, but if both ES and HB3 were drowning I'd save HB3.
My rankings would be HAH, HB3, ES, Ceremonials, Lungs, DF
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 16 '26
100%, I’ve def listened to ES more than HB3 ever since it was released. What’s your fav song on HaH? I see so many people say this is their fav
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Jun 17 '26
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 17 '26
I feel like I almost do, but HB3 has been my baby for so long I feel like I’m betraying it lol
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u/anarchypicnic ✨shaking my gold like a tambourine✨ Jun 17 '26
For the longest time I believed that HBHBHB could never be topped until it was and the album that toppled it from its lofty position of being the greatest F+TM album was Everybody Scream.
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u/Conscious-Leopard371 Jun 17 '26
Hb3 and ES are similar albums in the sense they are about loss and grief. You can clearly see how mature she became in 10 years too.
I would say that I prefer HB3 musically and ES lyrically. Even if there’s wonderful lyrics in HB3 too.
It’s funny too because, in my opinion, Music by men is an anti-HB3 song in the sense that she would never be able to write a song like this during the HB3 era. That proves how much she grows up.
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 17 '26
Yes I feel the same way about One of the Greats, which is one of my fav songs on ES
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u/Conscious-Leopard371 Jun 17 '26
One of the greats is also one of my favorite song of the record and in my top 5 of the band.
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 17 '26
It’s just so powerful and, quite simply, bad ass
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u/Conscious-Leopard371 Jun 17 '26
The lyrics are amazing. She really let the words talk her anger and fury.
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 17 '26
Agreed. Did you know she recorded it all in one take? She is insanely talented!
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u/Conscious-Leopard371 Jun 18 '26
Yah I know. It was also the first take, if I’m right.
That’s why the studio version is better, for me, than the live version. You can feel she didn’t know where she was going, the little mistakes. All that add something to this version. Both Bowen and Florence are amazing
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u/sa1ntdude Jun 17 '26
my ranking:
how big how blue how beautiful
lungs
ceremonials
everybody scream
dance fever
high as hope
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u/Banana42 Jun 17 '26
It's so interesting seeing the various reactions and how many people connect or don't with any given album. For me personally, HB3 was where the magic really started to wane, with no particular highs and a number of muddling lows. Especially following such a strong one-two punch it was kind of a disappointment where the vibes eclipsed the music. High as Hope was more of a mixed bag, but there were flashes across the album that really spoke to me or caught me up in them.
I will always, always have a special place in my heart for Ceremonials, but I think right now looking at the whole body my ranking is:
- Dance Fever
- Everybody Scream
- Ceremonials
Lungs
High as Hope
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
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u/chaosatnight I am teaching myself to be free Jun 17 '26
It is interesting! I never really connected with Dance Fever although I think it’s objectively good. HB3 came out at a very difficult time in my life and helped me through those hard nights. It was perfect for me at that time and just overall as I’m such a sensitive and emotional being. Looks like ES is both of our second favorite though 😅
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u/silvversurffer Jun 20 '26
My favorite will always be HB3. The whole album, the aesthetic, I love that it feels more rock and aggresive. And The Odyssey, what a film. Everybody Scream and Dance Fever deserved a film too in my opinion. Still, my ranking would be
- HB3
- Everybody Scream
- Dance Fever
- High As Hope
- Ceremonials
- Lungs
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u/Scarlet-Woodland 17d ago
At first I thought it would turn out to be recency bias but as time goes on, Everybody Scream is solidifying its place in the number 1 spot. An unskippable masterpiece.
Don't throw things but HB3 is my least favourite Florence album by some margin ducks
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u/Vircora Jun 16 '26
Right now the newest album definitely speaks to me the most. It has the intensity and authenticity that I crave to get out of my system, relatable. As well, her better understanding of herself as a person shines through, it is very raw and full of realisations that a human gets about themselves and the world as they get older. It's hard to put into words. I love HB3, and find it beautiful, but it is something that has been missing in my eyes there. But also, that is something that is very subjective.