Candle (track)
by Sonic Youth

Candle by Sonic Youth
Year: 1988
From the album Daydream Nation (track #9)
Average Rating: 
89/100 (from 363 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history

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ProvidenceCandleRain King

Candle appears on the following album(s) by Sonic Youth:


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Candle ratings

Average Rating: 
89/100 (from 363 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.
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65/100
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28 hours ago Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,16367/100
 
100/100
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10/17/2025 07:20 NJ  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 99187/100
 
50/100
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09/21/2025 13:47 gmessian  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,30055/100
 
75/100
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09/07/2025 16:23 spinout  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 37,09483/100
 
90/100
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08/31/2025 01:16 ExTeaSea  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 11,97086/100

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 tracks can have several thousand ratings)

This track is rated in the top 1% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 88.6/100, a mean average of 87.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.9/100. The standard deviation for this track is 13.5.

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Candle comments

Showing all 7 comments |
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Rating:  
100/100
From 06/27/2019 15:55
When the guitars get real noisy, that's when the song really gets awesome.
#238464 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/28/2017 15:47
This song is one of the most beautiful wonders in Sonic Youth's catalog, the intro riff perfectly sets the tone for a wonderful composition filled with amazing riffing and mesmerizing vocals. Truly essential to their catalog.
#200229 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/30/2017 12:47
Candle is one of those songs that you find to be one of the single most perfect pieces of music ever made, and yet you can't explain to anyone for the life of you why you like it.

I'm still convinced it's the riff on that chorus that keeps bringing me back to it.
#184584 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/01/2016 04:26
Atmosferica, tétrica, alegre y misteriosa, una rara convinación
#173941 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 12/27/2015 06:16
Beautiful guitar riff! Reminds me of the mysterious quality of Zep's "Stairway" or ELP's "From the Beginning"
#155184 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 02/03/2015 23:44
Favorite Sonic Youth song to play on guitar, I love the dynamics of this track!
#133882 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/22/2013 05:28
Wasn't expecting this at this point in the album. Beautiful guitar playing.
#62464 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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