Ascension
by John Coltrane
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John Coltrane bestography
Ascension is ranked 5th best out of 90 albums by John Coltrane on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by John Coltrane is A Love Supreme which is ranked number 76 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 14,749.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to Ascension on YouTube
Ascension track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Ascension rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 3 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  baystateoftheart | Top 57 Music Albums of 1966 | 7/57 | 4 |
| 2026 |  Helios | Top 50 Music Albums of 1966 | 42/50 | 1 |
| 2026 | Rivera | 301-400 | 71/100 | - |
| 2026 | LittleM1971 | Top 80 Music Albums of 1966 | 78/80 | 0 |
| 2026 |  RockyRaccoon | Jazz #101-200 | 6/100 | - |
| 2026 | Steppenwolf666 | Top 98 Music Albums of 1966 | 35/98 | 3 |
| 2026 |  AAL2014 | Top 55 Music Albums of 1966 | 23/55 | 3 |
| 2026 | Rivera | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s | 57/100 | 9 |
| 2026 | matterhornrider | JAZZ | 37/40 | - |
| 2026 |  deadhouse | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 31/100 | 68 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 273 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 1,672 | |||
Ascension collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 107 members
Ascension ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 331 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/29/2026 23:39 | xhitmanx | 1,573 | 76/100 |
| ! | 07/28/2026 20:48 | PapaShiz86 | 11,676 | 79/100 |
| ! | 07/13/2026 13:44 | liquidbottle | 775 | 82/100 |
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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.3/100, a mean average of 75.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 19.3.
Ascension favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 45 members
Forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 07/02/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5361): By deadhouse BestEverAlbums 12/01/2024 17:00 in Monthly overall chart movements BestEverAlbums 11/01/2024 16:00 in Monthly overall chart movementsAscension comments
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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An excellent album that I feel is not quite the classic everyone says it is, at least for me. It seems almost like Coltrane pushed the avant-garde jazz past the breaking point, to where it becomes more of a noise album than a music album. It is still great playing, but it is not an album that I would come back to, because I personally prefer a lyrical balance within the avant-garde or free jazz styles. 9/10! (Edited)
Jboy56 08/29/2022 12:41 | #288998
Hendrix of the sax..
A crazy experience that really crams as much instrumentation into your ears as possible. In some places this works perfectly and in others it sounds a bit like a mess. The performances are incredible and it is a joy just to hear these masters of their craft play. This is very consistent throughout and so it gives us a lot to enjoy. However, it is the content where this album struggles as it is a bit confused in places and is quite a tough listen. I can see how this would make the album a masterpiece for some listeners but to me it doesn't work. Overall, I love the playing but can't get past the craziness that would allow me to appreciate this record more. (Edited)
America, land of the free (jazz) and home of the brave (jazz?)
Somewhere between heaven and headache.
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