Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie says he loves one of the band’s albums more the rest — and the choice might surprise you.

Gibbard was asked by Noisey to rank all eight Death Cab albums ahead of next week’s release of Thank You for Today. His choice for number-one was 2003’s Transatlanticism, which features the band’s breakout track, “The Sound of Settling.”

Gibbard says it was a fantastic year for him. “I know for a fact I will never have a year again like 2003. The Postal Service record came out, Transatlanticism came out. These two records will be on my tombstone, and I’m totally fine with that. I’ve never had a more creatively inspired year, and the proof is in the pudding.”

He ranks the rest of them in this order — 2000’s We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes, 2008’s Narrow Stairs, 2005’s Plans, 2015’s Kintsugi, 1998’s Something About Airplanes, 2001’s The Photo Album and 2011’s Codes and Keys.

Gibbard says Codes and Keys is his least favorite for three reasons — he started playing a different type of guitar, he was wary of writing about himself since he’d just married actress Zooey Deschanel ,and he didn’t like living in Los Angeles.

Gibbard tries to balance both sides of his brain when he’s on tour.

Gibbard tells Noisey that he tries to read “something somewhat challenging” and that “in my life in general, I’m feeling a hunger for nutritious media. Like, watching classic films that are somewhat challenging that I haven’t seen, or reading books that are maybe translated into English. But I’m also peppering in, like, Jackass movies.”

He adds that finding the right mix is essential. “I don’t wanna give the impression that I’m all highbrow all the time. My wife and I always talk about the importance of the balance of high and lowbrow. I want to read Bulgakov and then watch somebody get a kick in the nuts.”