Buffett began his career in Nashville, as one of the many country music singers in search of glory. His early albums Down To Earth (Barnaby, 1970) and High Cumberland Jubilee (Barnaby, 1971), later compiled as Before The Beach (MCA, 1993), are as original as a hamburger.

After moving to Florida, Buffett founds his mission in life. His first masterpiece was A White Sport Coat & A Pink Crustacean (Dunhill, 1973), that contains colloquial vignettes such as Great Fillin' Station Holdup and They Don't Dance Like Carmen No More, and Death Of An Unpopular Poet, the first of a long gallery of nostalgic and ironic characters that express his humane but detached view of life and the world: Lord Buckley's God's Own Drunk on Living & Dying in 3/4 Time (Dunhill, 1974), that also contains the catchy Come Monday, Pirate Looks At Forty and Life Is Just A Tire Swing on A1A (Dunhill, 1974); Livingston Saturday Night on Rancho Deluxe (United Artists, 1975) Havana Daydreaming on Havana Daydreamin' (ABC, 1976), which also contains the bizarre My Head Hurts My Feet Stink; and the most famous of them all, the ode to laziness and relaxation Margaritaville, on Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes (ABC, 1977), which also contains Changes In Attitudes. His style slowly mutated into a quirky Carabbean honky-tonk (i.e., colored with elements of reggae, salsa and calypso).

Cheeseburger in Paradise, Cowboy In The Jungle, African Friend and Son Of A Son Of A Sailor make Son Of a Son Of a Sailor (ABC, 1978) one of his best.

Fins on Volcano (MCA, 1979), The Weather Is Here and It's My Job on Coconut Telegraph (MCA, 1981) continued the party, but Somewhere Over China (MCA, 1981), One Particular Harbour (MCA, 1983), with We Are The People Our Parents Warned Us About, became less and less entertaining.

Riddles In The Sand (MCA, 1984) and Last Mango In Paris (MCA, 1985) were mediocre country albums, the latter still offering comic relief in Please Bypass This Heart and If The Phone Doesn't Ring.

Songs You Know By Heart (MCA, 1985) is an anthology.

Floridays (MCA, 1986), Hot Water (MCA, 1988), Off To See The Lizard (MCA, 1989), not to mention the live albums, kept the legend alive but continued the artistic decline.

Boats Beaches Bars & Ballads (MCA, 1992) is an anthological 4-CD box-set.

After a five-year hiatus, Fruit Cakes (MCA, 1994) resumed the trip, lulled by the usual Caribbean lullaby (Delaney Talks to Statues), fueled by the usual Caribbean dance party (Fruitcakes) and steel-band novelty (Quietly Making Noise), laced in fairy-tale melodies (Lone Palm) and solemn country-gospel hymns (Six String Music), peppered by an unusual syncopated blues-rock number (Vampires, Mummies & the Holy Ghost). Buffett's storytelling skills are as strong as ever. His melodic talent may have even increased. Only a few covers spoil the show.

It was followed by: Barometer Soup (MCA, 1995), Banana Wind (MCA, 1996), Don't Stop The Carnival (Island, 1998), Beach House on the Moon (Island, 1999), Far Side Of The World (Mailboat, 2002).

He topped the charts with It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (2003), a duet with Alan Jackson written by Jim "Moose" Brown and Don Rollins, and Knee Deep (2011), a collaboration with the Zac Brown Band.

In 2023, Forbes named him a billionaire.

Jimmy Buffett (nato in Mississipi ma cresciuto in Alabama) ha inventato un ibrido tra coantautore, attore, individualista romantico, eccentrico e ubriacone. Ha dedicato la sua carriera la mare.

Buffett iniziò la sua carriera a Nashville, come uno dei molti cantanti country in cerca di fama. I suoi primi album Down To Earth (Barnaby, 1970) e High Cumberland (Barnaby, 1971), più tardi interamente raccolti in Before The Beach (MCA, 1993), erano originali quanto gli hamburger.

Trasferendosi in Florida, Buffett ha trovato la sua ragione di vita. Il suo primo capolavoro fu A White Sport Coat & A Pink Crustacean (Dunhill, 1973), che contiene scenette comiche come Great Fillin' Station Holdup e They Don't Dance Like Carmen No More, e Death Of An Unpopular Poet, il primo di una lunga serie di personaggi ironici e nostalgici, che esprimono la sua visione al contempo umana e distaccata, della vita e del mondo: Lord Buckley's God's Own Drunk in Living & Dying in 3/4 Time (Dunhill, 1974), che contiene anche l'orecchiabile Come Monday; Pirate Looks At Forty e Life Is Just A Tire Swing in A1A (Dunhill, 1974); Livingston Saturday Night in Rancho Deluxe (United Artists, 1975), Havana Daydreaming in Havana Daydreamin' (ABC, 1976), che contiene anche la bizzarra My Head Hurts My Feet Stink; e la più famosa di tutte, l'ode alla pigrizia ed al relax Margaritaville, in Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes (ABC, 1977), che contiene anche Changes In Attitudes. Il suo stile è lentamente mutato in un eccentrico honky-tonk caraibico, colorato di elementi del reggae, della salsa e del calypso.

Cheeseburger In Paradise, Cowboy In The Jungle, African Friend e Son Of A Son Of A Sailor compongono Son Of A Son Of A Sailor (ABC, 1978) uno dei suoi lavori migliori.

Fins in Volcano (MCA, 1979), The Weather Is Here e It's My Job in Coconut Telegraph (MCA, 1981) continuano la festa, ma Somewhere Over China (MCA, 1981) e One Particular Harbour (MCA, 1983), con We Are The People Our Parents Warned Us About diventano sempre meno divertenti.

Riddles In The Sand (MCA, 1984) e Last Mango In Paris (MCA, 1985) sono mediocri album country, l'ultimo dei quali possiede ancora un risvolto comico in Please Bypass This Heart e If The Phone Doesn't Ring.

Songs You Know By Heart (MCA, 1985) è un'antologia.

Floridays (MCA, 1986), Hot Water (MCA, 1988) e Off To See The Lizard (MCA, 1989), senza menzionare gli album live, mantengono viva la leggenda, ma continuano il declino artistico.

Boats Beaches Bars & Ballads (MCA, 1992) è un'antologia in 4 CD.

Dopo un silenzio di cinque anni, Fruit Cakes (MCA, 1994) riprende il viaggio, cullato dalla ninnananna caraibica (Delaney Talks to Statues), ristorato da un dance party caraibico (Fruitcakes) e dalla novità dello steel-band (Quietly Making Noise), fissato in melodie fiabesche (Lone Palm) e solenni inni country-gospel (Six String Music), animato da un isolito numero sincopato rock-blues (Vampires, Mummies & the Holy Ghost). L'abilità cantautorale di Buffett non potrebbe essere migliore. Il suo talento melodico potrebbe andare meglio. Solo un paio di cover rovinano lo show.

Seguono: Barometer Soup (MCA, 1995), Banana Wind (MCA, 1996), Don't Stop The Carnival (Island, 1998), Beach House on the Moon (Island, 1999), Far Side Of The World (Mailboat, 2002).