Ranking ALL the Harry Potter Books

Think I'm wrong about where I've ranked the Harry Potter books? Am I wrong about which is the best or the worst? Come argue with me in the comments.

What if Ron Weasley died in the Philosophers Stone?

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Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:18 -Philosophers Stone
1:57 - Chamber of Secrets
3:23 - Prisoner of Azkaban
5:06 - Goblet of Fire
7:40 - Order of the Phoenix
9:35 - Half Blood Prince
11:22 - Deathly Hallows

[jordandwiggins]

Chamber of Secrets continues to be massively underrated

[kcez]

I initially agreed with you on the portkey in goblet of fire, but I think it was to make Harry’s death (if all went as planned) look like a triwizard tournament casualty vs if Harry got transported to the graveyard from a portkey in Madeye’s office randomly that would seem highly suspicious.

[PowerTwister]

Currently reading OOTP, and I am not particularly big fan of certain parts like Harry overthinking for three pages why he can see thestrals or the grawp description part was really long. The subplot with Cho could have been done better cause it felt dragged out and rushed at the same time. Also Ron constantly wanting to leave Quidditch was not exciting.

However, Sirius being on edge because of being confined to his place, Harry being an angry/temperamental teen, Umbridge, the DA meetings, any scene with Dumbledore, Fred and George just wrecking havoc, the dreams and occlumency with snape, st mungos and neville, breaking in the ministry and the breakdown harry had against Dumbledore in the end were all written beautifully.

For me the highs outweigh the lows by a lot so I would have put it in Low A/High B.

[RustBrand]

7:13 I get what your saying but interestingly if Barty just HANDED Harry the portkey for their plan that would raise immense suspicion and Voldemort wouldn’t have the upper hand of being hidden from the wizarding world, in his new born weakness the wizarding world might realize more quickly he indeed had returned and stamp him out. It was integral to the plan that Harry be transported during the tournament so it could be a mysterious coverup.

[JordanStar]

Order of the Phoenix has forever been my very favorite through my lifetime. However, I’m on a reread of the series, currently on Half Blood Prince. It’s been 10+ years since (I am about to be 33) and rereading them has definitely changed my view on them a lot and my order has changed. Waiting until finishing to sit down and rate them myself. I enjoyed Philosophers Stone SO much this reread. Chamber of Secrets was harder for me to get through but I attribute that to basically having it memorized.

Your list is great, but all the slow parts you mention about OotP are all things I really enjoyed! 😂 Great video.

[AndysEdits]

Loved this Brett and I think you got the rankings spot on.

Time element aspect of #3 POA was very frustrating and so poorly thought through (bless JK Rowling, but she should never have tried to incorporate time travel in to the universe).

#5 OOTP was definitely the draggiest book. I actually ended up hating Cho for no reason

And absolutely - when #7 came out I remember being so excited to read it. No other book has had that effect on me since

[redmapelleaf]

Agree with so much said! But I am nostalgic for the earlier books, where the world is new and exciting.

[claypage]

Chambers of secrets is my second favorite book primarily because it sets up so much about horcruxes and Tom riddle and learning about the gryffindor sword that is all very vital to the plot for the final book which is really cool to see come together 5 books later. I also really enjoy it bc Dobby is introduced and this is the only horcruxe Harry destroys besides the one inside himself

[rowenapotter]

Those aren't new covers on your tier list. Those are the only covers I have ever known being from the US. Unless you are talking about those new covers I have on kindle. I think they are cute. I like looking at different covers, especially from other countries

[JordanStar]

I’d love a video from you all about Plot Holes in the series.

[namitgarg]

Great content bro i like ur reasoning behind every ranking. Glad to see some channels still posting Harry Potter content. Every time I see an HP video it makes me sad and happy both at a time. no other series has that nostalgic effect on us as this series

[PJO_EDITS]

I love the chamber of secrets favourite book and movie

[Blecky]

A+
1 – Goblet of Fire: The central junction point of the whole story. It really expands the world. Perfectly rounded, setting up a lot of threads that come together and pay off in the end. That graveyard-confrontation is the absolute highlight in all of HP, the peripeteia. The undisputed masterpiece in the series.

A
2 - Half-Blood Prince: Might be #1 if it was just the Dumbledore/Harry parts about Voldemort's past, the cave-scene is terrific, and it’s a good setup for the final novel, but then it fills up quite a bit of running time with the teen-romance stuff – Hinny sucks and I will die on that hill!

3 – Philosopher’s Stone: Tbh, I don’t enjoy it as much as some of the others, but objectively speaking this was such a masterful introduction to the world and perfectly laid the groundwork for everything that was to come while being a roundly written, self-contained story in its own right. (I want to like it a bit more than I do).

A-
4 – Order of the Phoenix: In the grand scheme of things, you could skip quite a bit of it, but I kind of like it as a ‘moments taken from Harry’s life’ sort of book, and find myself randomly flicking through this one more than some of the other novels.

B (5-7 keep shifting around for me)
5 – Deathly Hallows: It’s really hard to wrap things up and in my heart of hearts I never wanted this series to end. While I agree it has pacing issues, I actually prefer the first half, peaking in the real highlight of Malfoy Manor, the way everything suddenly comes together and resolves itself in the last 24 hours is too contrived for my taste. I can ignore the epilogue in my headcanon.

6 – Prisoner of Azkaban: It lacks in plot as such and while the Dementors are a great concept, Sirius and especially Pettigrew make for weak antagonists after Voldemort. The time turner thing is a bit dumb. Having said that, for being purely talk, the climax in the Shrieking Shack is quite gripping (as random as the plot twist is – it probably comes down to Lupin being so likeable). It also works as a ‘moments from Harry’s life’ novel, even if it’s mostly Quidditch.

7 – Chamber of Secrets: Similar to PoA, this is a bit of a filler book with not too much plot. Still, it expands the world, going into Hogwarts’ and Voldemort’s past and the mystery around the Chamber is really gripping and scared the sh*t out of me as a kid. Plus, Lockhart is the most hilarious character in all of the series.

[grcfuedtz]

I just finished the half blood prince and here’s my ranking (first 6 books)

1: Goblet of fire (the whole Voldemort coming back is 🤌)
2: Chamber of secrets (idc if it’s random but I love myself a mystery)
3: Half blood prince (I love Ginny and Harry’s chemistry in the book and Draco being a death eater)
4: Sorcerers stone (my comfort book)
5: Order of the phoenix (just slow and excessively long)
6: Prisoner of Azkaban (idk I find it incredibly boring but I really love Lupin)

[ricky.t.]

I am amazed how in the English fandom the chamber of secret is the most hated book while in the Spanish fandom it’s one of the most loves and one of everyone’s favorites, I can’t find any reason. For me the chamber of secrets is one of the best books and is even better than the philosopher stone. So basically, you all are wrong, the chamber of secrets if the goat

[cgwworldministries]

the scholastic covers were released to the world and the "original" ones (which arent even the original ones, the original ones were red) was a UK only release.

[robinkinloch]

It's funny, I completely agree with all your complaints about OoTP, it IS too long by about 200 pages, drags in parts (coughGrawpcough), gets repetitive etc... but in the end, I don't care, it's still my fav as it has the highest highs of the series.

Seeing Harry go through his turbulent teen year and the whole wizarding world in political turmoil is just really engrossing, and the emotional stakes are so high. Is there a better written scene in the series than them meeting Neville in St. Mungo's? A more hateable villain than Umbridge? Better comedy than McGonagall sparring with Umbridge? A better action climax than the Ministry? A more emotional denouement than The Lost Prophecy? It's a beautifully written, messy character study that warts and all is a high point of the series.

[paulrindahl]

Order is at least an A. The “slower” parts are necessary (cleaning and throwing out a Horcrux).

[Wailmur]

My ranking:
1) Half Blood Prince
2) Goblet Of Fire
3) Deathly Hallows
4) Order Of The Phoenix
5) Prisoner Of Azkaban
6) Philosopher's Stone
7) Chamber Of Secrets

4-7 are very close, Love all of them

[REDRAGON]

Ah, nice to see someone who agrees with me that Order of the Phoenix is in the bottom 3, and that Half Blood Prince is one of, if not the, best of them all. Good list!