There is a particular thrill in hearing an ABBA song that never became a giant hit, yet somehow feels like it has been waiting for you all along. That is exactly what makes the best underrated ABBA album tracks so special. They sit just beyond the huge singles, quietly holding some of the group’s most revealing vocals, strangest ideas and most heartfelt moments.
For many fans, the chart-toppers were the beginning, not the end. Once you move past Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia and The Winner Takes It All, another ABBA opens up – one that is playful, melancholic, theatrical and, now and then, surprisingly raw. Album tracks mattered to ABBA because the records were never just containers for singles. They were carefully sequenced worlds, and some of the richest details are tucked into the songs that did not dominate radio.
Why the best underrated ABBA album tracks matter
Calling a song underrated can mean different things. Sometimes it means a track was overshadowed by a famous single on the same album. Sometimes it means fans love it but the wider public barely knows it. And sometimes it means the song simply does not fit the neat version of ABBA that casual listeners carry around in their heads.
That matters with this group more than most. ABBA are often praised for immaculate pop craftsmanship, quite rightly, but the deeper album cuts show how adventurous they could be. They tried cabaret, folk touches, glam sparkle, soft confessionals and icy synth-pop, often within the same phase of their career. If you only know the singles, you know the brilliance. If you know the album tracks, you know the range.
12 best underrated ABBA album tracks worth your time
1. My Mama Said
Nestled on Ring Ring, this is ABBA before the polished global image fully settled in, and that is part of the charm. My Mama Said has a slinky, almost funky groove that still catches people off guard. Benny and Björn were clearly enjoying themselves here, pushing towards something moodier and more rhythm-driven than the brighter early singles.
It is not a flawless classic, and that is exactly why it fascinates. You can hear a group trying on shapes, testing how far they can stretch their sound.
2. Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)
This track from ABBA has long lived in the shadow of bigger names from the era, which feels a little unfair. It has that emotional lift ABBA did so well – joy with a hint of ache underneath. Agnetha’s vocal brings warmth, while the melody carries the kind of wistful glow that would become one of the group’s signatures.
If you love the melancholy side of ABBA, this one lands beautifully.
3. That’s Me
Arrival is packed with giants, so an album track could easily disappear. Yet That’s Me is too lively, too characterful and too sharply written to ignore. Frida sounds terrific, and the song has a restless energy that feels almost autobiographical, even if it plays things with a wink.
It is one of those ABBA tracks that reminds you how good they were at singing personality into a pop song.
4. Move On
Move On from The Album is one of the group’s most unusual pieces, and perhaps one of the most unfairly overlooked. The spoken introduction from Björn should not work on paper, but somehow it sets up the song’s dreamlike optimism perfectly. When the melody opens out, it feels expansive and oddly moving.
This is not the ABBA song you put on to convert a sceptic. It is the one you treasure once you already trust them enough to follow them somewhere stranger.
5. If It Wasn’t for the Nights
Among the best underrated ABBA album tracks, this is often the one devoted fans mention first. It could easily have been a massive single. In fact, many listeners are still surprised it was not given a bigger standalone moment. The opening piano figure is instantly gripping, and the contrast between the upbeat arrangement and lonely lyric is classic ABBA at their best.
It captures that very ABBA trick of making sadness danceable without diminishing the sadness itself.
6. Lovers (Live a Little Longer)
From Voulez-Vous, this track often gets bypassed because the album has such a confident run of more famous songs. But Lovers (Live a Little Longer) is sparkling pop with a sly edge. The groove is tight, the chorus is irresistible and the performance has a hint of nightclub sophistication that suits the late 1970s turn in their sound.
It may not carry the emotional weight of their greatest heartbreak songs, but not every hidden gem has to. Sometimes pure style is enough.
7. Happy New Year
Yes, this song gets an annual revival, but as an album track on Super Trouper it still feels oddly underappreciated in the bigger ABBA conversation. Strip away the seasonal association and what remains is one of their most tender and quietly devastating recordings. It is hopeful, but the hope is fragile.
That balance is what makes it endure. It sounds lovely at midnight on 31 December, but it also sounds truthful in any month when the future feels uncertain.
8. Me and I
ABBA could do introspective without becoming dull, and Me and I is a fine example. Sitting on Super Trouper, it has a crisp, modern arrangement and a theme of inner conflict that gives it extra bite. There is humour in it, but also self-awareness.
For listeners who enjoy the more psychologically sharp side of late ABBA, this is a rewarding stop.
9. Two for the Price of One
Not every fan ranks this highly, and that is fair. It is lighter, cheekier and more obviously playful than the emotionally heavy songs around it on The Visitors. But that contrast is part of its appeal. Björn’s lead vocal gives it a novelty flavour, yet the arrangement is too smart to dismiss as a throwaway.
ABBA were never only one thing. This track proves that even in a darker era, they could still be arch, odd and delightfully entertaining.
10. Soldiers
If you want evidence that ABBA’s final studio period had steel in it, Soldiers is right there. Closing The Visitors, it is tense, dramatic and uncommonly stern. The production has real force, and the subject matter gives it weight beyond standard pop concerns.
It is not an easy listen in the way Waterloo is easy. But the trade-off is depth. Soldiers shows ABBA confronting a harder world without losing their melodic instinct.
11. Slipping Through My Fingers
This one is better known now than it once was, but within the original album context it still deserves mention. On The Visitors, it is one of ABBA’s most intimate songs, with Agnetha delivering a performance of extraordinary restraint. The everyday detail in the lyric is what makes it hit so hard.
There are no grand metaphors needed. Just a parent watching time move faster than the heart can manage.
12. Should I Laugh or Cry
Placed on the deluxe version of The Visitors rather than the original album, this is the sort of song that can escape even committed listeners for years. That is a shame, because it has the cold fury and emotional precision of ABBA’s finest late work. Frida sounds magnificent, balancing hurt and controlled contempt in a way that is almost chilling.
If you came to ABBA through the emotional sophistication of The Winner Takes It All, this track feels like essential further listening.
How to hear underrated ABBA tracks properly
Some ABBA songs reveal themselves instantly. Others need the right mood, or simply a little space away from the famous singles. That is especially true with deeper album cuts. If you drop If It Wasn’t for the Nights into a playlist next to five universally recognised hits, it may pass by as merely very good. If you hear it within Voulez-Vous or on a dedicated ABBA listening session, its brilliance becomes much clearer.
It also helps to resist the idea that underrated must mean obscure for its own sake. The point is not to choose songs nobody else likes. It is to notice where ABBA’s craft, humour, sadness or experimentation is hiding in plain sight. Sometimes the so-called hidden gems are hidden only because the competition on those albums was absurdly strong.
That is one reason a fan-led station such as ABBAradio.com can feel so rewarding. When the big singles sit alongside deeper cuts, live recordings and solo material, you begin to hear the full emotional map rather than just the landmarks.
The joy of going beyond the hits
Part of being an ABBA fan is returning to songs at different stages of life and hearing something new each time. A track that once seemed slight can suddenly feel clever. One that sounded cheerful can reveal a bruise beneath the surface. And one you skipped for years can become the song you play on repeat for a month.
That is the real pleasure in searching out the best underrated ABBA album tracks. You are not correcting history or proving your fan credentials. You are simply letting the music take you a little further in. And with ABBA, there is nearly always another beautiful surprise waiting just past the song everybody already knows.
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