Ranking Every Season Of Friends From Worst To Best

"Friends" is considered one of the greatest sitcoms ever made. During "Friends: The Reunion," it was revealed that the series has been streamed over 100 billion times across all platforms, something any show in history would have a hard time accomplishing. It's stood the test of time as younger generations have introduced themselves to Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) by way of streaming and constant availability.

The series ran for 10 incredible seasons, each of which offered up iconic moments that are still discussed today. Ranking those 10 seasons is no easy task, as most of them are well-rounded — consisting mostly of great episodes with a few that fall flat. While hilarity ensues throughout all of them, some of the storylines the producers and writers opted for never sat well with the viewers, making our ranking of the seasons a little bit easier. We did our best to put them in order from worst to best — including the almost two-hour reunion — so scroll through our ranking to find out where your favorite season landed and if we listed your top episodes as well.

Most "Friends" seasons range from good to excellent, except for one. Season 9 is easily the worst in the entire series, and that's not just our opinion. Fans have expressed serious disappointment in Season 9 and have complained about its episodes and storylines for over a decade, especially on Reddit. One of the most significant issues the fandom has with this season is the romance storyline between Joey and Rachel. They kiss in the season finale, but Rachel realizes she has feelings for her friend several episodes before. We wished those feelings would just go away, but they unfortunately never did. The Joey/Rachel story is the most hated in the entire series, and with good reason.

Additionally, the plot point of Chandler having to work in Tulsa, Oklahoma four days a week was flat out ridiculous. Why the writers went with this story is still baffling, and it made no sense to separate the only couple out of the group. While Season 9 was a rough go for the series, it still had some good moments. Paul Rudd was introduced as Mike, and Christina Applegate killed it as Rachel's other sister.

• Worst episodes: "The One With Christmas In Tulsa," "The One in Barbados," "The One With the Donor"
• Best episodes: "The One With Rachel's Other Sister," "The One With Ross's Inappropriate Song," "The One With The Lottery"

Season 10 of "Friends" is the last season of the series that doesn't cross the line into greatness. The biggest downfall of the final season was the continuation of the Joey and Rachel romance, which only got more and more awkward as the season went on. The only highlight to this massive mistake of a storyline was Ross's response in "The One Where Ross is Fine," but their coupling is a moment we'd rather forget. Season 10 also arguably has the worst Thanksgiving episode of the bunch — a horrible way to close out a theme fans of the series loved so much. There really wasn't a Thanksgiving at all as Monica and Chandler sat alone in their apartment waiting for their four pals, who all showed up late.

One of the redeeming qualities of Season 10 was how everyone's story wrapped up in a nice bow, with Ross and Rachel finally getting back together. We also got to see a wonderful ending for Phoebe as she walked down the aisle with Mike, while Monica and Chandler became the happy parents to — SURPRISE — twins! Not much changed for Joey, but him ending the season as a single man seemed the most appropriate for the character.

• Worst Episodes: "The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss," "The One With Ross's Grant," "The One With Ross's Tan"
• Best Episodes: "The Last One," "The One Where the Stripper Cries," "The One With Phoebe's Wedding"

By the end of Season 4, Episode 1, Ross and Rachel were broken up for good despite deciding to give their relationship a second go in the beginning of it. Their breakup led to a handful of episodes of them going at one another in the most hilarious way, which kicked off the season well. Season 4 also saw the spotlight shift from the warring couple to Chandler, who began to get more serious storylines. This was the infamous season with Kathy (Paget Brewster), who almost singlehandedly tore Chandler and Joey apart. It was also the season of Emily (Helen Baxendale), the unofficial nail in the coffin for Ross and Rachel's relationship.

While Kathy and Emily were a thorn in the sides of viewers, Season 4 thrived with some of the greatest episodes in the catalog's history. Phoebe's pregnancy, Monica and Chandler's hookup, and Ross saying the wrong name at the altar in the finale were just some of the season's major highlights. The finale was full of suspense — one of the tensest in the series — and solidified that year as one of the more emotional seasons of "Friends."

• Worst Episodes: "The One With the Invitation," "The One Where They're Going to Party!," "The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie"
• Best Episodes: "The One With the Embryos," "The One With the Jellyfish," "The One With Ross's Wedding"

The Season 8 premiere kicked off by confirming what we all suspected from the Season 7 finale — that Rachel was pregnant. This was the main storyline throughout the year, and after the big reveal of Ross being the father, there were plenty of episodes that saw hilarity between the exes now that they were expecting a child together. While we complained about cameos earlier, we have to mention Brad Pitt stopping by during Season 8 to co-star alongside his then-wife, Jennifer Aniston. It's one of the better Thanksgiving episodes and was incredibly well written, pitting the spouses' characters against one another.

If Season 8 didn't start one of the worst storylines in the entire series, it might have been nearly perfect. While Joey and Rachel's romance officially begins in the Season 9 finale, it first starts to percolate in Season 8 when the former develops a crush on his pregnant roommate. The desire turns serious as he falls in love with Rachel, but she doesn't reciprocate his feelings. This causes significant tension between Ross and Joey, something that just didn't need to happen.

• Worst Episodes: "The One With Ross's Step Forward," "The One with Joey's Interview," "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel"
• Best Episodes: "The One With the Rumor," "The One With the Videotape," "The One With the Red Sweater"

While Season 6 has a few so-so storylines, it still managed to produce some of the biggest bangers in the catalog — and that just can't be ignored. Ross's relationship with his student Elizabeth was a real bummer and a plot point we wish we could forget, while Joey's time on "Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E." was not so funny. We weren't quite fond of Richard popping back in to disrupt Monica and Chandler's engagement, as it seemed like a cheap way to get one more Tom Selleck cameo. Tossing those stories aside, we're left with a great season full of incredible performances.

It's easily Ross's best season as he shines in more than a handful of episodes. Season 6 has the legendary dance routine between Ross and Monica, which was preceded by the Thanksgiving episode where Ross's parents found out he smoked pot in college. Mixed with stories about Rachel's trifle dessert, Phoebe's running, "The One That Could Have Been," and Ross's glow-in-the-dark teeth, Season 6 was one of the best "Friends" seasons, with many of the series' most talked-about moments.

• Worst Episodes: "The One Where Ross Dates a Student," "The One Where Paul's The Man," "The One With Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E."
• Best Episodes: "The One Where Ross Got High," "The One With the Routine," "The One With Unagi"