Jethro Tull released their first studio album with "This Was" in 1968 and their 21st in 2003 with "The Jethro Tull Christmas Album." There is a common misconception that Tull is a heavy metal and prog rock band. In truth, throughout the years, Tull has produced albums with distinctive sounds crossing and melding jazz, blues, folk, classical, Elizabethan, prog/art rock, and electronic genres (just to name a few) with just a smidge of heavy metal. Despite the variations, each album retains an unmistakable Tull sound.

Here's a quick guide organizing the albums by their dominant musical style. While such typologies are always debatable among the fans (heck, some would organize albums by Ian's period clothing), this provides a good guide to discovering records matching your musical tastes. In some cases, the albums are listed in more than one category. If you have suggestions for other categories (or just want to debate our listings!), email us at webmaster@jethrotull.com or better yet visit our discussion page at Facebook®.

Blues / Jazz

This Was (1968), Stand Up (1969), Catfish Rising (1991)

Folk or Acoustical Rock

Stand Up (1969), Aqualung (1971), Minstrel in the Gallery (1975), Songs from the Wood (1976), Heavy Horses (1978), Stormwatch (1979), J-Tull Dot Com (1999); The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003), Stand Up Collector's Edition (2010)

Prog / Art / "Concept" Rock

Aqualung (1971), Thick as a Brick (1972), A Passion Play (1973), Too Old to Rock and Roll: Too Young to Die (1976)

Heavy (more like medium) Rock

Benefit (1970), Aqualung (1971), Too Old to Rock and Roll: Too Young to Die (1976), Crest of a Knave (1987), Rock Island (1989), Catfish Rising (1991)

Elizabethan / Medieval / Classical

War Child (1974), Minstrel in the Gallery (1975)

Electronic Keyboards / Synthesizers

A (1980), The Broadsword and the Beast (1982), Under Wraps (1984)

Far East / Asian Influences

Roots to Branches (1995), J-Tull Dot Com (1999)