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 14,642.
(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: 5 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Tamthebam | Top 100 Music Albums of 1966 | 17/100 | 4 |
| 2026 |  JR | Top 17 Music Albums of 1966 | 16/17 | 1 |
| 2026 | stangetzaway | Top 27 Music Albums of 1966 | 27/27 | 0 |
| 2026 | Rivera | 301-400 | 71/100 | - |
| 2026 |  AfterHours | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 48/100 | 52 |
| 2026 |  baystateoftheart | Top 57 Music Albums of 1966 | 7/57 | 4 |
| 2026 | saltysurprise | Top 18 Music Albums of 1966 | 7/18 | 3 |
| 2026 | jdizzle123456 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s | 81/100 | 4 |
| 2026 | leniad | Top 301-400 Greatest Music Albums | 83/100 | - |
| 2026 | Weepingguitarman | Top 29 Music Albums of 1966 | 13/29 | 3 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 274 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 1,651 | |||
Ascension collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 108 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 332 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/07/2026 22:09 | pharoahstune | 256 | 79/100 |
| ! | 08/29/2026 23:39 | xhitmanx | 1,604 | 75/100 |
| ! | 07/28/2026 20:48 | PapaShiz86 | 11,837 | 79/100 |
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 76.0/100, 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
Ascension forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 07/02/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5361): By deadhouseView latest topic →
BestEverAlbums 12/01/2024 17:00 in Monthly overall chart movements - November 2024View latest topic →
View all forum mentions
Ascension comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
Fischman TOP 100 COMMENTER 02/16/2019 22:32 | #232063 | TOP COMMENT
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Brilliant expression or just disjointed cacophony? I can see the argument for both. I lean closer to "brilliant," but there's no doubt there's some mindless rambling in there as well. (Edited)
Great in places, annoying and frustrating in others. A completely flawed masterpiece that walks that very fine line between triumph and disaster, but Coltrane's mercurial genius just about pulls it off.
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)
JulianR TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/23/2017 22:07 | #198628 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
a brilliant cacophony
the real question is how the album is rated a 78 but its sole track is an 84...
SuedeSwede TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/01/2015 20:32 | #140650 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
Uhhh it's only 38 minutes long... you must have listened to the Spotify version which has both versions xD
#awkward
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