That's a tough one. I would consider nearly any volume of Usagi to be a worthwhile and noteworthy accomplishment, so I'll rate them with a C meaning "average for Usagi" and still probably worthy of an A in any other ranking system. Therefore an A- is still leaps and bounds beyond great and a must read, but not as good as some other eras of Usagi. A B is not an absolute must read, but it's still a masterpiece. Does that make sense?

Anyway, here are my rankings.


Book 1: Ronin (C+)
Book 2: Samurai (A)
Book 3: The Wanderer's Road (A-)
Book 4: The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy (A-)
Book 5: Lone Goat and Kid (B+)
Book 6: Circles (A)
Book 7: Gen's Story (C)
Book 8: Shades of Death (C+)
Book 9: Daisho (C-)
Book 10: The Brink of Life and Death (B)
Book 11: Seasons (A-)
Book 12: Grasscutter (A+)
Book 13: Grey Shadows (B-)
Book 14: Demon Mask (B)
Book 15: Grasscutter II: Journey to Atsuta Shrine (A+)
Book 16: The Shrouded Moon (B-)
Book 17: Dual at Kitanoji (A-)
Book 18: Travels with Jotaro (A-)
Book 19: Fathers and Sons (A)
Book 20: Glimpses of Death (B)
Book 21: The Mother of Mountains (B)
Book 22: Tomoe's Story (A)
Book 23: Bridge of Tears (B)
Book 24: Return of the Black Soul (B-)
Book 25: Fox Hunt (B-)
Book 26: Traitors of the Earth (B+)
Book 27: A Town Called Hell (B)
Book 28: The Red Scorpion (B)
Book 29: Two Hundred Jizo (B+)
Book 30: Thieves and Spies (B)
Book 31: The Hell Screen (A-)
Book 32: Mysteries (B)
Book 33: The Hidden (B)
Book 34: Bunraku and Other Stories (A-)

Space Usagi (A+)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Usagi Yojimbo: Namazu, or The Big Fish Story (B)


And that's as far as I, myself, have read as I am waiting on the Saga editions. I'm certain others here will have somewhat different opinions, but I hope this helps give you an overall feel of the series. Enjoy!