Following is a discography for the major solo works of American singer Michael McDonald.
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [1] | US R&B | AUS [2] | DEN [3] | NLD [4] | SWE [5] | UK [6] | ||||
| If That's What It Takes |
| 6 | 10 | 41 | — | — | — | — |
Gold[7] | |
| No Lookin' Back |
| 45 | — | — | — | 26 | — | — | ||
| Take It to Heart |
| 110 | — | — | 56 | 29 | — | 35 | ||
| Blink of an Eye |
| — | — | — | 74 | 42 | — | — | ||
| Blue Obsession |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| In the Spirit: A Christmas Album |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Motown | 14 | 17 | — | 25 | 95 | 58 | 29 |
| ||
| Motown Two |
| 9 | 8 | — | 8 | — | 56 | 29 |
| |
| Through the Many Winters, A Christmas Album |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| |
| Soul Speak |
| 12 | 10 | — | — | — | — | 27 | ||
| Wide Open |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | ||||||||||
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Certifications | Record label | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | |||||||||
| 1982 | That Was Then – The Early Recordings of Michael McDonald * | - | - | Arista | ||||||
| 1986 | Sweet Freedom | - | 6 |
Platinum[8] | Warner Bros. | |||||
| 2000 | The Voice of Michael McDonald | - | - |
| Warner Bros. / Rhino | |||||
| 2001 | The Very Best of Michael McDonald | - | 21 |
| Warner Bros. / Rhino | |||||
| 2004 | The Best of Michael McDonald: The Christmas Collection | - | - | |||||||
| 2005 | The Ultimate Collection | 19 | 20 |
| Warner Bros. / Rhino | |||||
| 2009 | This Christmas | 95 | - | Razor & Tie | ||||||
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | ||||||||||
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US AC | US Dan. | US Main Rock | US Jazz | UK | ||||
| 1982 | "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" | 4 | 7 | 8 | - | - | - | 43 | If That's What It Takes | |
| "I Gotta Try" | 44 | - | 28 | - | - | - | - | |||
| 1985 | "No Lookin' Back" | 34 | - | 18 | - | 4 | - | - | No Lookin' Back | |
| "Bad Times" | - | - | - | - | 38 | - | - | |||
| "Lost in the Parade" | - | - | 40 | - | - | - | - | |||
| 1986 | "Sweet Freedom" | 7 | 17 | 4 | 8 | - | - | 12 | Running Scared (soundtrack) / Sweet Freedom | |
| 1987 | "Our Love (Theme from No Mercy)" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Sweet Freedom | |
| 1990 | "Take It to Heart" | 98 | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | Take It to Heart | |
| "Tear It Up" | - | - | 27 | - | - | - | - | |||
| 1991 | "All We Got" | - | 88 | - | 9 | - | - | - | ||
| 1993 | "I Stand for You" | 114 | - | 21 | - | - | - | - | Blink of an Eye | |
| "Hey Girl" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| "For a Child" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| 1994 | "Matters of the Heart" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2003 | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" | - | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | Motown | |
| 2004 | "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | 111 | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2005 | "Reach Out, I'll Be There" | - | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | Motown Two | |
| "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| "Deck the Halls/Jingle Bells" | - | - | 19 | - | - | - | - | Through the Many Winters | ||
| 2008 | "Walk On By" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Soul Speak | |
| "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | - | |||
| "Love T.K.O." | - | 92 | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| "Enemy Within" | - | - | 18 | - | - | - | - | |||
| 2009 | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | This Christmas | |
| 2017 | "Find It in Your Heart" | - | - | - | - | - | 22 | - | Wide Open | |
| 2022 | "You Belong to Me" (w/ Buika)[9] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Single only | |
| "Tears to Come"[10] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| " - " denotes the single was not released or didn't chart. | ||||||||||
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US AC | US Cou. | UK | ||||||
| 1975 | "Bad Sneakers" (w/ Steely Dan) | - | - | - | - | - | Katy Lied | |||
| 1979 | "This Is It" (w/ Kenny Loggins) | 11 | 19 | 17 | - | - | Keep the Fire | |||
| 1980 | "Let Me Go, Love" (w/ Nicolette Larson) | 35 | 96 | 9 | - | - | In the Nick of Time | |||
| 1980 | "Ride Like the Wind" (w/ Christopher Cross) | 2 | - | 24 | - | 69 | Christopher Cross | |||
| 1983 | "Yah Mo B There" (w/ James Ingram) | 19 | 5 | 10 | - | 44 | It's Your Night | |||
| 1985 | "Yah Mo B There" (w/ James Ingram) [UK re-release] | - | - | - | - | 12 | ||||
| 1986 | "On My Own" (w/ Patti LaBelle) | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 2 |
| Winner in You | ||
| "I Just Can't Let Go" (w/ David Pack & James Ingram) | - | - | 13 | - | - | The Voice of Michael McDonald | ||||
| 1987 | "Love Has No Color" (w/ The Winans) | - | - | - | - | - | Decision | |||
| 1992 | "Ever Changing Times" (w/ Aretha Franklin) | - | 19 | 11 | - | - | What You See Is What You Sweat | |||
| 1992 | "Time to Be Lovers" (w/ Chaka Khan) | - | - | - | - | - | Beverly Hills 90210 - The Soundtrack | |||
| 1998 | "One Heart at a Time" (w/ Garth Brooks, Billy Dean, Faith Hill, Olivia Newton-John, Neal McCoy, Victoria Shaw, and Bryan White) | 56 | - | - | 69 | - | Single only | |||
| 1999 | "Among the Missing" (w/ Kathy Mattea) | - | - | - | 73 | - | ||||
| "Eyes of a Child" | - | - | - | - | - | South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut | ||||
| 2002 | "Sweet Freedom" (w/ Safri Duo) | - | - | - | - | 54 | - Episode II | |||
| 2005 | "Heart of America" (w/ Wynonna Judd, Eric Benet and Terry Dexter) | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| 2006 | "My Love's Leavin' " (w/ Fourplay) | - | - | - | - | - | X | |||
| 2009 | "While You Wait for the Others" (w/ Grizzly Bear) | - | - | - | - | - | Single only | |||
| 2011 | "Some Children" (w/ Holy Ghost!) | - | - | - | - | - | Holy Ghost! | |||
| 2017 | "Show You The Way" (w/ Thundercat and Kenny Loggins) | - | - | - | - | - | Drunk | |||
| "When We Were Young" (w/ Jo Harman) | - | - | - | - | - | People We Become | ||||
| 2023 | "Wherever I Go" (w/ Jacob Collier and Lawrence) | - | - | - | - | - | Djesse Vol. 4 | |||
| " - " denotes the single was not released or didn't chart. | ||||||||||
| Year | Video | |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "I Keep Forgettin'" | |
| 1982 | "I Gotta Try'" | |
| 1985 | "Lost in the Parade'" | |
| "No Lookin Back" | ||
| 1986 | "Sweet Freedom" (with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines) | |
| 1986 | "On My Own" (with Patti LaBelle) | |
| 1987 | "Love Has No Color" (with Winans) | |
| 1998 | "One Heart at a Time" (with Olivia Newton-John, Bryan White, Neal McCoy, Faith Hill, Victoria Shaw, Billy Dean and Garth Brooks) | |
| 2000 | "Among the Missing" (with Kathy Mattea) |
. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 185.