Gaga Eras in Order of Popularity

[crazygato 402]

Hey guys! 

How would you rank the eras in order of popularity with the GP? This is my ranking and from personal experience( Im only ranking the POP eras): 

1. TFM - this era basically cemented Gaga as an icon. She was everyone's strange darling. Everything about this era was iconic. She somehow managed to be commercial yet otherworldly. 

2. The Fame- this is the cool Gaga and launched her as the "it" girl with a lot of promise. She was strange and quirky but didnt take herself so seriously. 

3. Chromatica- many people who were not fans of Gaga surprisingly really liked this album/era. I was surprised honestly because I personally never connected to it. But around me and social media people really liked this. 

4. ARTPOP- behind the scenes everything was crumbling, but the two singles, Applause and DWUW, were HUGE! Like almost everybody that ive met really dig those two tracks. Maybe for us fans it seems like a sad time to be a fan, but around me people were VIBING to the music this era. That was my experience.  

5. BTW- this era was WEIRD. On the one hand people were eager for it, but then were "meh" about it? It felt like people were tolerating her but not really liking her anymore. I only remember radio playing BTW and TEOG and the other singles felt like "ghost" singles, just coming and going. 

6. Joanne- I think the GP only remembers the cowgirl aesthetics but that was it. I know some older folks dug this era but among most people it wasnt really popular. Even when she did the SB I heard people saying "oh yeah, what happened to her??" 

What do you guys think, how would you rank them?

[PartySick 144,360]

I would definitely put The Fame at the top, TFM next, then BTW.

Her debut was flawless and it seemed like every breath she took became an iconic moment. The outfits, the shock value, the pure talent, the raw power she had in the beginning. Truly something for the history books.

The follow-up was a continuation but I wouldn't say it surpassed it. Bad Romance may be her biggest song and the meat dress is her most infamous look but those two peaks don't climb higher than the era before them imo.

BTW was just 🤌 an objectively fantastic body of work that felt like "Lady Gaga" falling into her own. Her image, her style, her status, it was built across all three albums but really set in stone with this one.

After that, it gets muddier 'cause the sales have dropped off and you have to start considering other things like impact and relevance despite lower sales.

I mean, the other albums sold less than the ASIB soundtrack apparently  but I doubt many stans consider ASIB more relevant to her discography (not career) than ARTPOP, Joanne, and Chromatica.

ARTPOP is probably next. I'm not sure it had a lasting effect in the GP's eyes as it was a huge turning point for her (for the worst) but as a fan favorite, and in pure sales, it should go here.

Then Chromatica. Despite being derailed by 'rona, it did its job and gave her a few cute hits and spawned a bit of a resurgence in popularity. Not to mention a record breaking tour. Had covid not happened, this era would have rivaled BTW, I think.

Joanne...idek  the album itself is the closest she came to flopping but the era was iconic as f*ck. Coachella, the halftime show, her whole pink hat aesthetic remains strong in pop/gay culture, The Cure, coming off the heels of AHS: Hotel and stepping into ASIB. It's a "deep cut/cult classic" album, I guess. Definitely underappreciated though.

Tl;dr - TF > TFM/BTW > AP > Ch > J

Which is annoying to me as Joanne is my favorite album, ARTPOP is my favorite piece as a whole, BTW is iconic, Chromatica was a bit of a let down to me aside from a couple songs, and I can't remember the last time I listened to anything from TF or TFM

[sillynate 6,170]

TFM = TF 

BTW 

ASIB 

Ch

J 

AP

C2C 

L4S 

… 

TG 

[LateToCult 39,563]

1. TF/TFM

2. ASIB

3. BTW

.

.

.

4. Chromatica

5. Joanne

6. ARTPOP

I think in 10 years time Chromatica, Joanne, and ARTPOP are all gonna be fighting for last place. They’re not records that the GP particularly cares for or even remembers all that much if we’re being honest.

[weed 70,836]

The Fame Monster (from a controversial queen to an ICON)

The Fame (super famous debut)

A Star is Born (super famous re-peak in career, Oscar win, massive song)

Born This Way (iconic, performed in every country)

ARTPOP (perhaps posthumous, but still iconic)

Chromatica = Joanne (#1 single, VMAs, etc but SuperBowl, inspired other artists, etc)

[Gagaism 9,884]

TFMonster = her creativity and appeal peak for the GP.

TF = THAT debut. 

ASIB = I consider this the third because she was popular and praised all over. 

BTW = she was popular but already getting backlashes that started after the rosary swallow in Alejandro and the Madonna comparisons at the highest level after that and BTW(the song). 
 

Chromatica

C2C

Joanne

ARTPOP 

[sexy 3,135]

I'll be honest (and I've been a fan since Just Dance, experienced every era live as they happened) – I sorta feel like ASIB is actually her most "popular" with the GP (which I would distinguish from her "cultural" peak, which certainly happened with the TF/TFM/BTW run).

I feel like ASIB also became a cultural phenomenon (albeit not as big nor as long as peak-Gagamania), but the ratio of lovers to haters was a lot bigger. A crucial part of her image with the first three albums was controversy and that necessarily invited a ton of hate, naysayers, people who would never consider listening to her music.

ASIB, on the other hand, was very Swift-esque in the way it brought together so many disparate groups of people. I think Shallow and ARUTW are just as present in the public's imagination as Poker Face and Bad Romance, if not more, and I honestly think they may prove to have greater staying power with a larger number of people. They were good, solid songs that invited everybody in (older people who may not have liked her risqué image, people who weren't fans of her electronic music, people who just happened to see the movie and were won over by her fantastic acting). 

So, tl;dr, I think ASIB was the widest her fanbase has ever been, and I think you certainly felt that during the era – she felt untouchable and respected in a way that wasn't apparent with TF-BTW (which, again, is undeniably her cultural peak, and I think ASIB forced a critical reevaluation of those works). 

[Reality 71,553]

1. TFM
2. TF
3. ASIB
4. BTW
5. Joanne
6. Chromatica
7. ARTPOP
8. C2C
9. LFS

I'm surprised with how low some people ranked Joanne. The album itself is not popular, but Million Reasons was a big hit and she literally did the Super Bowl during that era. I also think the era did a lot to reinvent her image. It helped pave the way for ASIB, which was her biggest peak post-TFM imo. 

[Wet Fire 6,584]

Her most popular would probably be a draw between TFM and ASIB in terms of peak popularity with the general public. Everyone I know knows about Gaga in ASIB and Shallow and the Oscar performance with Bradley Cooper. This kind of unanimous popularity was only there during TFM era, I feel.

TF would be second. And BTW close third.

[Wet Fire 6,584]

7 minutes ago, Reality said:

I'm surprised with how low some people ranked Joanne. The album itself is not popular, but Million Reasons was a bit hit and she literally did the Super Bowl during that era. I also think the era did a lot to reinvent her image. It helped pave the way for ASIB, which was her biggest peak post-TFM imo. 

I agree. Even if most of the GP didn't stream/buy the f out of Joanne, the period from the Sound of Music Oscar tribute to the Super Bowl performance was a popular one. She also did AHS during this time. And this "vocal" era has many live performances with millions of views on YouTube. 

[Sorcerer 11,976]

57 minutes ago, Reality said:

1. TFM
2. TF
3. ASIB
4. BTW
5. Joanne
6. Chromatica
7. ARTPOP
8. C2C
9. LFS

I agree with this.

ARTPOP is her least popular pop era, I think. Outside Applause, not a lot of the GP knows even the title of the album, sadly. Joanne had the Super Bowl and the tour even had some baseball stadiums. Chromatica had Ariana Grande, the viral 911 transition, the VMAs, and Gaga's first stadium tour.

[Ivy 11,563]

I wasn't around as a fan for the beginning of her career but from everything I know I think popularity with GP would be:

The Fame

TFM 

ASIB

BTW

Joanne

Chromatica 

ARTPOP 

I think Chromatica era would have been a lot more popular except covid ruined the promo and a lot of GP wasn't even aware of it 

ARTPOP is last because "popular" to me means "liked" and she wasn't liked by GP during the era

Hoping LG7 x joker era will smash 

[Taylucifer 5,055]

As a casual Gaga fan in NZ:

1. The Fame/The Fame Monster - Combining them because TFM built off TF, her most iconic hits to date

2. A Star Is Born - Had a chokehold on radio, Shallow was everywhere 

3. Born This Way - Meat dress & the title track, need I say more 

4. Joanne - in NZ Perfect Illusion & Million Reasons were quite popular at the time

5. ARTPOP - Applause remains a banger but it wasn't everywhere, remember the CD cover from my childhood tho

6. Chromatica - Rain on Me was obviously there but seems more driven by Gaga X Arian rather than the album 

7. Cheek To Cheek/Love For Sale - I mean they aren't commercial 

[TheFame Monster 8,776]

1 hour ago, Reality said:

1. TFM
2. TF
3. ASIB
4. BTW
5. Joanne
6. Chromatica
7. ARTPOP
8. C2C
9. LFS

I'm surprised with how low some people ranked Joanne. The album itself is not popular, but Million Reasons was a big hit and she literally did the Super Bowl during that era. I also think the era did a lot to reinvent her image. It helped pave the way for ASIB, which was her biggest peak post-TFM imo. 

Agree about Joanne. It was a turning point in her career following C2C and leading to ASIB. I’m retrospect, she seemed universally loved during Joanne despite the album not being massive. Super Bowl, Coachella, ASIB filming, started playing sold out stadiums

[Cavadour 2,006]

8 hours ago, PartySick said:

Joanne...idek  the album itself is the closest she came to flopping but the era was iconic as f*ck. Coachella, the halftime show, her whole pink hat aesthetic remains strong in pop/gay culture, The Cure, coming off the heels of AHS: Hotel and stepping into ASIB. It's a "deep cut/cult classic" album, I guess. Definitely underappreciated though.

That's really when I became aware of Gaga. AHS, then Joanne, ASIB... At the same time, I backtracked her whole career, buying albums, watching and downloading everything online ravenously and obsessively as I never did since long time ago, for the rock heroes of my teenage.

I connected with some songs of TF, TFM, BTW, ARTPOP... But generally speaking, these eras as whole, don't speak to me as much as the recent stuff and the more mature Gaga, the halftime show, the jazz singer, the actress... Chromatica, well... the album, was an obvious nod to the her early days and was kind of a blank shot to me until TCB, of which I felt much more enthusiastic.

Anyway, I imagine what it must have been emotionally for all of you, younger monsters, when she appeared 15 years ago, taking the pop scene by storm, with her revolutionary music and persona. But I must say I'm more in phase with what she does today, the upcoming Joker 2, the Vegas residency, her collab with the Stones, HL even... So I kind of disagree with the emphasis I witness so often on GGD about her early career, praised as the best she did. Don't get me wrong, I also really get why most of you feel strong links with her early stuff, even though in my pov, the attitude sometimes looks like a reluctance to change, a nostalgic refusal to evolve with her.

To answer the op, I think the best Gaga era is the next one. I'm looking forward to everything she does. I love her deeply and I love the way she evolves. Her mainstream recognition is so well deserved and I don't think it casts any kind of shade upon her path. Just the opposite.

To some of you, little monsters of the first hour, who spend time to criticize, or doubt everything she does nowadays, grow up and have more faith in your queen, cause her worldwide reign spreads today over all generations, past and future.