[Bad Wolf]

[1]I am... : Even if her vocals aren't as polished as they are on GUILTY I still have to say that theme-wise, music-wise and overall lyric-wise this is THE best Ayu album for me. There is not a single track on here that I dislike and I think it has some of her best songs. Stand out tracks are "I am...," "Connected," "No more words" and "Daybreak."

[2]GUILTY : Musically, theme and lyrically it's just as great as I am... but it loses points for tapering off near the end. GUILTY has a really strong, powerful and amazing first half and just an OK/good second half. IMHO, everything after Marionette kind of loses my interest, but untitled~for her~ saves it. Also the rapid succession of instrumentals seem like 'filler' tracks for me and I think the album could have either gone without them or could have expanded on one or two. Stand out tracks are "talkin' 2 myself," "decision," "Marionette" and "fated."

[3]LOVEppears : For a sophomore album LOVEppears is really impressive, I must say. It takes a totally different approach from ASFXX, which I like, and even if her vocals are squeaky she still manages to have really great songs that are some of my favorites today and are interesting. I love that it took an electronic/dance approach and didn't let up once. Stand out tracks are "monochrome," "P.S. II," "Who..." and "WHATEVER."

[4]RAINBOW : I would rank this as on par with I am... as far as lyrics and theme goes, but musically I'm a bit iffy on a few songs. Regardless I think it's a very lovely, tender and beautiful release. Some of her best ballads are on this album and the compositions are amazing for a woman who has no musical education. Stand out tracks are "HANABI," "Dolls," "Over," "Heartplace" and "Free & Easy."

[5]Memorial address : It's like GUILTY in reverse: an OK first half with a really amazing latter half. I could do without the first two tracks, as I find them boring again, but everything after Greatful days is ama~zing and some of her best work, IMHO. I almost wish this was a full-length release. Stand out tracks are "ourselves," "forgiveness," "HANABI~episode II~" and "Memorial address."

[6](miss)understood : Even though THIS album has a lot of my favorite Ayu songs I had to knock it down a bit for including compositions from GEO of Sweetbox. I don't mind that Ayu used them, I just don't like GEO and think she could have gone with a better composer XD. Even so, it's a very solid album with some great songs and variety all across the musical-genre board. Stand out tracks are "alterna," "rainy day," "(miss)understood," "is this LOVE?," "criminal" and "Will."

[7]Secret : I feel like this album SHOULD have been a mini album. It has a good first half and then after "taskinst" I feel like it should have gone right to "kiss o'kill" and "Secret." "1 LOVE," "Beautiful Fighters" and "Born to Be..." drag it down a bit for me, though I like the latter song MUCH more than the other two. Even so, if she had left it without these tracks (and maybe LABYRINTH, as it would then be an extraneous instrumental track) I would have been much happier with the album. Stand out tracks are "Until that day...," "It was," "kiss o'kill" and "momentum."

[8]MY STORY : Though this is where Ayu started with her whole 'rock' sound I have to say that as a release I'm not particularly interested with about half of the album. I almost think it's TOO long: there aren't many filler tracks but my attention often drifts away from the songs and I feel guilty for having that happen. It starts off strong and seems to get a little weak in the middle, then it picks up again only to sort of taper off weak again at the end. Stand out tracks are "About you," "GAME," "CAROLS" and "walking proud."

[9]A Song for XX : Her debut release ranks so low because it's just so not my style and her vocals are so unpolished - even so, there are some songs on here that I absolutely love (and would love even more if she redid them) despite their musical or vocal flaws. I'm just not a fan of 90s Jpop I guess, and this is gratuitously 90s XD. Stand out tracks are "POWDER SNOW," "poker face," "As if..." and "Hana."

[10]Duty : This is another release where I'm iffy about the album. Even though it's one of her best selling albums and has a lot of fan favorite tracks I don't think it holds up when compared to the previous albums I listed. That's not to say that I don't like the album, I just feel that it doesn't hold enough weight against her other releases. Stand out tracks are "SURREAL," "SEASONS," "SCAR" and "teddy bear."