The Bends (studio album) by Radiohead

The Bends by Radiohead
Year: 1995
Overall rank: 23rd   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 3,824 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Best album of 1995 (1st)
Award Top 10 albums of the 1990s (5th)
Award Top 50 albums of all time (23rd)
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
RADIOHEAD THE BENDS [LP] NEW VINYL
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
RADIOHEAD - The Bends Torhout Werchter 2CD Live EP RARE
Condition: Good

$199.95


Go to store

eBay
eBay
RADIOHEAD - THE BENDS NEW CD
Condition: Brand New


  My favourite store:  

Radiohead bestography

The Bends is ranked 4th best out of 22 albums by Radiohead on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Radiohead is OK Computer which is ranked number 1 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 77,699.

Radiohead album bestography « Higher ranked (6th) This album (23rd) Lower ranked (73rd) »
In RainbowsThe BendsA Moon Shaped Pool

Upcoming concerts

May
17
Fri
20:00
No Surprises: The DMV's Tribute to Radiohead - Performing the album "OK Computer" in its entirety.
Pearl Street Warehouse, Washington, United States. United States
Tickets from $15.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to The Bends on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

The Bends track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 88 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 88 (913 votes)Comments: 17
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
2.
Rating: 89 (935 votes)Comments: 13
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
3.
Rating: 89 (964 votes)Comments: 11
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
5.
Rating: 84 (825 votes)Comments: 5
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
6.
Rating: 87 (860 votes)Comments: 6
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
7.
Track pick
Rating: 90 (1,013 votes)Comments: 10
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
8.
Rating: 89 (919 votes)Comments: 9
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
10.
Rating: 86 (856 votes)Comments: 13
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
11.
Rating: 82 (806 votes)Comments: 8
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify

Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

The Bends rankings

The Bends collection

The Bends ratings

Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 3,824 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 3,824 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 Report rating
4 days ago JoshN125  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 10095/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
03/10/2024 21:40 liquidbottle  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 10193/100
 
90/100
 Report rating
03/10/2024 21:26 RadioGraaah  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 46878/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
03/09/2024 14:41 poblo  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 16380/100
 
90/100
 Report rating
02/28/2024 18:54 Gavin Cook  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 24965/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 87.1/100, a mean average of 85.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.3.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

The Bends comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 312 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
90/100
From 11/29/2023 21:57
This is not perfect, but clearly very important album not only in Radiohead discography but in music in general. Here Radiohead stays true to its alternative rock roots, but going beyond its boundaries at the same time, improving everything from songwriting and song structures to overall concepts of tracks. It starts with explosive Planet Telex - one of the greatest opeing tracks ever. It has also one of the best closing tracks - Street Spirit (Fade Out) is one of my absolute favorite songs by them it is almost foreshadowing OK Computer with its depressive vision of present and especially future world, piece of music that you just cannot be not moved by. Thom's vocals are fantastic on this album, they especially help on more dreamy, melancholic tracks like High And Dry, Fake Plastic Trees or (Nice Dream). I also love the vulnerabilith expressed here on Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was and Black Star, this is just the type of music I love the most. It is important step in band's moving from typical alternative 90s rock to more art rock sound that made them legendary.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/19/2023 10:41
This is the groups first very strong album as they begin to experiment with their sound more on this release. In result of this, we get an instrumentally diverse display that is also one of their most accessible and infectious listens. This leads to some irresistible tracks like Just, Fake Plastic Trees and High And Dry. All of these showcase the potential the group had to go on to do amazing things and this release is basically a precursor to the levels they would reach on Ok Computer. I also think that Thom Yorke gives a brilliant vocal display on here with his ability to create emotion in the listener being really impressive to me. The group then back his voice up very well creating an almost melancholic atmosphere that could easily draw in anyone who comes across it. However, I do find there to be weak moments on here which don't have the same significance or impact as the better tracks which is what holds it back in their discography ranking for me. Overall, this might not be my favourite Radiohead album or the one I think is the greatest but it still has its moments and I can't deny how much quality is present on here.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 10/21/2022 14:54
Every time I listen to this i tink it´s their best, but then for some reason, it´s always behind In Rainbows, Ok , and Kid a in my memory. Maybe the other three have somo sort of better aftertaste.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 08/31/2022 03:21
Great album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/12/2022 20:17
Radiohead's best album. Whilst it has a distinctive melancholy sound it avoids being self indulgent like later albums
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/07/2022 04:27
A really good record. Radiohead rarely misses. My favorite song on this record was High and Dry.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/14/2022 21:57
A strong sophomore effort from the one and only Radiohead, The Bends see the group improve leaps and bounds from their debut. With the emotional, heavy sounds of the mid-90's grunge and the deep sensitivity that really makes the band distinct, The Bends can be called the first true Radiohead album. From the powerful opening of Planet Telex, the reflective Fake Plastic Trees, to the magnificent closer of Street Spirit (Fade Out), there is a lot to be said on this album. Even the deep cuts like (Nice Dream) and Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was are incredibly strong tracks. Every band out there aspires to make an album as sonically wondrous and as massive of a technical achievement as The Bends.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/12/2022 14:53
The start of Radiohead's steep and remarkable rise to immortal status. What makes The Bends so incredible is that it has great qualities of an art-rock album while being able to stand amongst brit-pop and alternative rock albums of the time. The standard and class of writing here however puts this album way above those.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/02/2022 19:15
This album is the soundtrack to depression along with The Smiths- Queen is Dead. It's a very sad album and I don't listen to it much anymore because I'm a very happy person. However, the music is awesome and well written. It has a nostalgic vibes to it in some ways. Probably reminds people of the era in which it came out. I think it does deserve the hype and place that it reached. My only complaint is I wish Thom wrote happier songs. I would relate to it more.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
35/100
From 03/29/2022 18:30
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (2 helpful | 5 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for The Bends

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1995
1. The Bends by Radiohead
2. (What's The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis
3. Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins
4. Different Class by Pulp
5. Post by Björk
6. Liquid Swords by GZA/Genius
7. Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
8. To Bring You My Love by PJ Harvey
9. Elliott Smith by Elliott Smith
10. Wowee Zowee by Pavement
11. The Infamous by Mobb Deep
12. Foo Fighters by Foo Fighters
13. Garbage by Garbage
14. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... by Raekwon
15. Maxinquaye by Tricky
16. Clouds Taste Metallic by The Flaming Lips
17. Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt
18. Symbolic by Death (Metal)
19. Alien Lanes by Guided By Voices
20. The Great Escape by Blur
Back to Top