The Soft Bulletin (studio album) by The Flaming Lips

The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips
Year: 1999
Overall rank: 117th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,478 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1999 (2nd)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1990s (23rd)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (117th)

The Flaming Lips bestography

The Soft Bulletin is ranked as the best album by The Flaming Lips.

The Flaming Lips album bestography « Higher ranked This album (117th) Lower ranked (119th) »
-The Soft BulletinYoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

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Apr
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Apr
23
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The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
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The Soft Bulletin track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 86 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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The Soft Bulletin rankings

The Soft Bulletin collection

The Soft Bulletin ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,478 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 1,478 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
35/100
 Report rating
4 days ago Proto  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 62442/100
 
75/100
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4 days ago RadioGraaah  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 46878/100
 
75/100
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03/02/2024 16:21 Brassmat  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 9274/100
 
70/100
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02/27/2024 07:43 robertoveltri  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 33279/100
 
85/100
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02/18/2024 18:22 pinkfreud1981  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 60980/100

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 83.0/100, a mean average of 81.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.9.

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The Soft Bulletin comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 119 comments |
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Rating:  
75/100
From 04/17/2023 13:43
There is a lot of good stuff on here but I don't think it goes much further than that with a lot of songs on here being pretty mediocre. The worst offender of this is The Observer which is a completely skippable track and doesn't provide anything to the record. There isn't anything outstanding on here either and the music can sound quite repetitive and similar to other groups around the time. Despite this, they do have one major unique quality which is the vocal as this is a highlight throughout. Overall, this record gets hugely over rated on this site in my opinion as it doesn't have the quality or consistency to compete with the greatest of all time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 08/31/2022 03:42
Solid album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/08/2022 10:16
Album Rating: 78.83
(946/12)

1. For The Prize (Remix). (N/a)
2.A Spoonful Weighs A Ton. 86
3.The Spark That Bled. 78
4.The Spiderbite Song. 71
5.Buggin' (Remix). 73
6.What Is The Light? 82
7.The Observer. 71
8.Waitin' For A Superman. 83
9.Suddenly Everything Has Changed. 83.
10.The Gash. 83
11.Feeling Yourself Disintegrate. 78
12.Sleeping On The Roof. 70
13.Race For The Prize. 88
14.Waitin' For A Superman (Remix). (N/a)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 02/09/2022 17:32
I wonder about the high position of this album in the Bea All-Time list. Too high, I do not get this music. Do not actively hate it, but a relisten of this thing is not going to happen,
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (3 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 02/04/2022 18:15
Great stuff!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/31/2022 21:37
Interesting music matched with appropriately weird vocals. Wayne is that guy you hang with on the off chance that one of the thousand bizarre things he’s going to say will be truly profound.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 10/16/2021 11:07
No me dice gran cosa. Bastante plano
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/05/2021 14:45
Tem algo de grandioso, mas sem perder a leveza.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/30/2021 09:49
Sugery psychedelic pop fused with electronics is such an ear candy for me, also Wayne really fits his "ugly" vocals in his music. It suits with the sci-fi like production. Can't really understand the lyrics, but for me it's all the melody and the production. Overall, a masterpiece. 9/10
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/27/2020 03:14
I have to go with the consensus on this one.....easily their best album. I know he doesn't have a good voice, (and it's especially bad here) but for some reason I like his singing anyway. Maybe because it's raw emotion and fits the music in a weird way. Near perfect album. Best songs are Race for the prize, Waiting for a superman, feeling yourself disintegrate
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1999
1. Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós
2. The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips
3. Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers
4. 98.12.28 男達の別れ [98.12.28 Otokotachi No Wakare] by フィッシュマンズ [Fishmans]
5. 13 by Blur
6. Emergency & I by The Dismemberment Plan
7. Summerteeth by Wilco
8. Keep It Like A Secret by Built To Spill
9. American Football by American Football
10. 69 Love Songs by The Magnetic Fields
11. When The Pawn... by Fiona Apple
12. Play by Moby
13. Enema Of The State by Blink-182
14. The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails
15. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory by Dream Theater
16. Slow Riot For New Zerø Kanada by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
17. The Slim Shady LP by Eminem
18. The Battle Of Los Angeles by Rage Against The Machine
19. Mule Variations by Tom Waits
20. Showbiz by Muse
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