Joe Walsh is a funny guy. That's both the blessing of his long career and its lasting curse.

When he balances that impish sense of humor with his impulse to roam around rock's jagged musical landscape, the quality of his records vastly improves. When he blends in elements of very real human emotion, they soar.

There are entries on the below list of Joe Walsh Albums Ranked Worst to Best that compare favorably with anything Eagles did with or without him. And some that ... do not.

To be fair, some of the imbalances were no doubt the result of Walsh's struggles with addiction. After the Eagles' initial split, Walsh went into a creative, commercial and personal swoon in the '80s. You Bought It – You Name It barely broke the Top 50, The Confessor barely broke the Top 70 and neither Got Any Gum? nor Ordinary Average Guy could get past No. 110. Songs for a Dying Planet didn't chart at all.

Thankfully, his Eagles buddies came calling with the offer of a mid-'90s reunion – but only with the proviso that Walsh finally get clean. He emerged from rehab with a newfound purpose, though 2012's Analogy Man became his lone modern-era release.

Today, the bulk of his musical legacy can be found in the period just before and just after Walsh began his lengthy tenure with Eagles.

Barnstorm's self-titled debut, and the solo albums The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get and So What make it clear why they wanted to add Walsh, despite his demons. Then the platinum-selling But Seriously, Folks showed he could fashion a more worthy follow-up to the Eagles' career-defining Hotel California than even his talented bandmates.

There were some notable early-career successes with the James Gang, too. Here's where they all rank.

Joe Walsh Albums Ranked

He's a funny guy. That's both the blessing of his long career and its lasting curse. 

Six Little-Known Eagles 'Hotel California' Facts