A Deeper Understanding
by The War On Drugs

A Deeper Understanding by The War On Drugs
Year: 2017
Release date: 2017-08-25
Overall rank: 389th   
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 613 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 2017 (4th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 2010s (51st)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (389th)

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2017 The War on Drugs A Deeper Understanding LIMITED Orange Vinyl Lp Excellent
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The War On Drugs-A Deeper Understanding-Rock Atlantic Records 561934-1 Lp NM
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The War On Drugs bestography

A Deeper Understanding is ranked 2nd best out of 9 albums by The War On Drugs on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The War On Drugs is Lost In The Dream which is ranked number 167 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 8,776.

The War On Drugs album bestography « Higher ranked (167th)
Lost In The Dream
This album (389th)
A Deeper Understanding
Lower ranked (1,604th) »
I Don't Live Here Anymore

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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A Deeper Understanding track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 84 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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1.
Average Rating: 83 (157 votes)Comments: View 2
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2.
Average Rating: 88 (184 votes)Comments: View 6
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3.
Track pick (880 - 189 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (189 votes)Comments: View 3
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Track pick (880 - 187 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (187 votes)Comments: View 2
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5.
Average Rating: 80 (141 votes)Comments: View 1
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6.
Average Rating: 83 (144 votes)Comments: View 1
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7.
Track pick (900 - 212 votes)
Average Rating: 90 (212 votes)Comments: View 6
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8.
Average Rating: 83 (144 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 79 (132 votes)Comments: View 1
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10.
Average Rating: 80 (130 votes)Comments: View 0
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

A Deeper Understanding rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 389th | 2010s rank: 51st | 2017 rank: 4th

A Deeper Understanding collection

A Deeper Understanding ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 613 votes)
   Help 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 613 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
60/100
 !
01/14/2026 23:55 This_is_handsome   76979/100
 
85/100
 !
01/13/2026 19:56 iann97   1,90074/100
 
80/100
 !
01/07/2026 09:50 mattkwyatt   6585/100
 
50/100
 !
12/29/2025 17:10 mutant   1,67156/100
 
85/100
 !
12/18/2025 20:29 Luncea   61184/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 80.9/100, a mean average of 80.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.1.

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A Deeper Understanding comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 51 comments |
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Rating:  
85/100
From 07/03/2025 10:56 | #309868
My second album from this band . And for the second time i am impressed . Whoever said ``Good Rockmusic is dead `` or `` Only the Seventies had good bands ``..... well go to whereever you`re going , but go . Everybody else please enjoy ` The War on Drugs`.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 11/30/2022 01:15 | #291653
Each song has a melody or a riff or a sound or a lyric that grabs my attention. And then the rest of the song tends to fritter that attention away.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/02/2022 11:02 | #278364
Um misto de synthpop e heartland rock incrível!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/29/2021 12:35 | #274386
The best thing about this album is how the artist gives every song its own limelight and its own space to breathe. Every track is allowed to run its course and finish where it is supposed to finish. The run times are just perfect. It is on albums like these that you realise how amazing music can be when you allow it to be free. This is best displayed on Thinking Of A Place. Every song matches the same tone and atmosphere and it creates this mellow and chill vibe throughout. The lyrics are fantastic and well worth delving into as well. However, some cuts are a little weaker, they are still enjoyable but are closer to filler than the quality of the other tracks. Overall, a fantastic album from a very consistent artist.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/14/2021 12:07 | #264396
The best, an album following up a magnum opus, can hope for is to gain at least a small faction of listeners who would sincerely claim its the better album. And in that sense, A Deeper Understanding did all that and then some. My personal favourite and a timeless modern classic.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 12/09/2020 00:24 | #262316
Somehow sounds like a cross between Bryan Adams, Dire Straits, Bruce Springsteen and Don Henley. But without any of the biting lyricism that made some of them stand out. It all just kind of glides by inoffensively. Which is great if that's what you're into.

Also - is the song 'In Chains' meant to sound so much like 'Red Eyes' crossed with 'Under the Pressure'?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/17/2020 23:33 | #250134
They actually topped their last album... Cannot believe it... Some songs still two years after hearing them are still growing like baby mushrooms into full grown beautiful pineapples. Thats a special and unique gift this album has to offer. It is literally impossible for them to improve even higher.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/10/2020 15:22 | #249752
Somewhere, maybe on someone's chart, I saw a comment saying that The War on Drugs is a band that appeals to the "bridge and tunnel crowd." I had to Google the phrase to find out what it means; apparently it's a term of condescension applied by New Yorkers to folks who commute into the city from New Jersey and elsewhere. The implication, I suppose, is that such people have gauche, unrefined musical tastes. Well, I live in Montana, and whatever it may say about me, I love The War on Drugs. A Deeper Understanding is an aptly titled album, as I think it far surpasses their previous albums (which I also liked) in consistency and emotional depth. I love the spaciousness of the production on this album, and I love the way these songs breathe. "Strangest Thing" is a slow burner that lumbers out the gate full of portent and, over the course of its eleven-minute runtime, expertly dials up the drama, with Wurlitzer organs and a wall of synths leading to a booming finale.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/29/2020 14:56 | #249263
ADU is my favorite War On Drugs album. It feels like a continuation of LITD, but with a more rough sound, somestimes saturated. And always the aerial vibes from the previous one. The band has had a great impact in my life. Can't wait for more.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/04/2020 15:06 | #248480
Beautiful sounds. "Holding On" is my absolute favorite. But there is no song, that is not exceptional well written. The whole album takes you on a journey, where you can travel in your head and feel whatever you want to feel. Very impressive song writing.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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