Skeleton Tree
by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds bestography
The best album by Nick Cave is Skeleton Tree which is ranked number 369 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 4,470.
(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 Skeleton Tree on YouTube
Skeleton Tree track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 86 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Skeleton Tree 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 | Johnnyo | 2016 - Uncut (TB Deleted) | 3/74 | - |
| 2026 | xhitmanx | Top 24 Music Albums of 2016 | 3/24 | 5 |
| 2026 | stangetzaway | Top 24 Music Albums of 2016 | 1/24 | 5 |
| 2026 | javicho07 | Top 14 Music Albums of 2016 | 12/14 | 1 |
| 2026 | Kettwig | Top 21 Music Albums of 2016 | 2/21 | 5 |
| 2026 | fabm0 | Top 15 Music Albums of 2016 | 9/15 | 2 |
| 2026 |  zags7000 | Top 100 Music Albums of 2016 | 1/100 | 5 |
| 2026 |  Tamthebam | Top 95 Music Albums of 2016 | 9/95 | 5 |
| 2026 | bryatk | Top 30 Music Albums of the 2010s | 7/30 | 16 |
| 2026 |  DommeDamian | Top 71 Music Albums of the 2010s | 5/71 | 19 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 704 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 4,470 | |||
Skeleton Tree collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 188 members
Skeleton Tree 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 712 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/28/2026 15:00 | Svelte8 | 1,937 | 73/100 |
| ! | 08/28/2026 03:00 | Proto | 4,318 | 33/100 |
| ! | 07/20/2026 01:14 | WillWill1989 | 1,458 | 67/100 |
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 82.5/100, a mean average of 81.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.0.
Skeleton Tree favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 103 members
Skeleton Tree forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 10/02/2026 08:18 in Monthly overall chart movements - September 2026
pedro1976 09/09/2026 21:18 in What album are you listening to? (cont.) BestEverAlbums 09/01/2026 16:00 in Monthly overall chart movements - August 2026Skeleton Tree comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
badseed 09/13/2016 06:54 | #174868 | TOP COMMENT
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It really warms my heart to see how quickly this album has risen on the 2016 list. This is my first "new" Nick Cave album as I'm still not two years into him. I bought as soon as it came out last Friday, have listened to it at least a dozen times and I still have barely any words. When Nick Cave lost his son I knew the next album would be the most heartbreaking yet. While it most certainly is that, it is also the most devastatingly beautiful album of the year. And while I think its somber tone and personal lyrics may not turn on a non-fan, people like me who think this is the greatest band of all time know that Saint Nick has churned out another masterpiece. Album of the year.
louisjwyatt TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/12/2016 21:41 | #174846 | TOP COMMENT
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Wow. In a year with so many great emotionally driven albums (A Moon Shaped Pool, Blackstar, Lemonade), Nick Cave somehow managed to top them all (though I'll have to keep listening to see if that opinion stands). Just an absolutely gut-wrenching album from beginning to end. The last three tracks are especially gorgeous, with Cave delivering his best poetry to date.
More death? Fuck’s sake. This time we’re dealing with Nick Cave’s grief after the loss of his son, and it’s heartrending. The usual swagger and bombast in his voice has gone, and we’re left listening to him breathe sharply in between tears. I’ll admit I haven’t seen the documentary that went along with this, but it seems like the music tells enough of the story on its own.
Best track: Distant Sky. It will bring you to your knees if you haven’t heard it already. The female singer brings in an inspired contrast to Cave’s own wavering voice. (Edited)
In a year of incredible music, this is the heart-stopping, devastating high point.
Beautiful and emotionally devastating. Subsequent listens may push this above "A Moon Shaped Pool" to become my favourite album of 2016, but amazingly on my first listen from a band I've never heard of before today, it's not far off.
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