Talking Heads Discography: 8 Studio Albums in Order

Talking Heads made eight studio albums between 1977 and 1988. Release date, label, US Billboard 200 peak, UK peak and certifications (Wikipedia, Talking Heads discography):

• Talking Heads: 77 — 16 September 1977, Sire, US No. 97, UK No. 60; BPI Silver
• More Songs About Buildings and Food — 14 July 1978, Sire, US No. 29, UK No. 21; RIAA Gold
• Fear of Music — 3 August 1979, Sire, US No. 21, UK No. 33; RIAA Gold
• Remain in Light — 8 October 1980, Sire, US No. 19, UK No. 21; RIAA Gold
• Speaking in Tongues — 1 June 1983, Sire, US No. 15, UK No. 21; RIAA Platinum
• Little Creatures — 10 June 1985, Sire/EMI, US No. 20, UK No. 10; RIAA 2× Platinum
• True Stories — 15 September 1986, Sire/EMI, US No. 17, UK No. 7; RIAA Gold
• Naked — 15 March 1988, Sire/EMI, US No. 19, UK No. 3; RIAA Gold

More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music and Remain in Light were made with Brian Eno as producer. Remain in Light was recorded in July and August 1980 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau and Sigma Sound in New York (Wikipedia, Remain in Light).

Talking Heads has four live albums (Wikipedia):

• The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads — 1982, Sire
• Stop Making Sense — 1984, Sire/EMI, 2× Platinum in the US
• Live at WCOZ 77 — 2024, Sire/Rhino
• Live on Tour '78 — 2025, Rhino

The last two contain 1977 and 1978 recordings but were first issued in 2024 and 2025. A "1977" or "1978" live Talking Heads LP with a Rhino credit is therefore a new record, not a period original. The concert film Stop Making Sense was re-released in IMAX in September 2023 for its 40th anniversary (Wikipedia, Talking Heads).

Sorted by US Billboard Hot 100 peak, with the UK peak after it (Wikipedia):

• Burning Down the House — US No. 9
• Wild Wild Life — US No. 25, UK No. 43
• Take Me to the River — US No. 26
• And She Was — US No. 54, UK No. 17
• This Must Be the Place — US No. 62
• Life During Wartime — US No. 80
• Psycho Killer — US No. 92
• Road to Nowhere — UK No. 6; did not enter the Hot 100
• Once in a Lifetime — UK No. 14; did not enter the Hot 100

Some of their best-known songs charted low or not at all in the US. Once in a Lifetime reached only No. 3 on the Bubbling Under chart, below the Hot 100.

Every studio album came out on Sire, and from Little Creatures (1985) the label credit reads Sire/EMI in the discography. The label on a copy is the first clue to its era. The sales figures explain the prices: most albums were certified Gold (500,000 US copies), so used copies are easy to find and are priced mainly on grade and pressing.

Remain in Light is the one buyers look for most. It was added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2017 and ranked No. 39 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list, up from No. 126 in 2003. It sold over 1 million copies worldwide (Wikipedia). For any of these, read the catalogue number and both sides of the runout before trusting a "first pressing" claim. The runout and matrix guide shows how.