Skeleton Tree (studio album) by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Skeleton Tree by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Year: 2016
Release date: 2016-09-09
Overall rank: 387th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
82/100 (from 685 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 2016 (7th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 2010s (51st)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (387th)

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds bestography

Skeleton Tree is ranked as the best album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album bestography « Higher ranked This album (387th) Lower ranked (388th) »
-Skeleton TreeThe Boatman's Call

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Skeleton Tree 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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Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 86 (170 votes)Comments: 0
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3.
Rating: 86 (162 votes)Comments: 1
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4.
Rating: 83 (141 votes)Comments: 0
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5.
Rating: 82 (142 votes)Comments: 0
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Track pick
Rating: 90 (198 votes)Comments: 3
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Rating: 88 (171 votes)Comments: 0
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Skeleton Tree rankings

Skeleton Tree collection

Skeleton Tree ratings

Average Rating: 
82/100 (from 685 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 685 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
50/100
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6 hours ago ScrumpyArbuckle  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,13378/100
 
80/100
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4 days ago colonelchibbers  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,63577/100
 
60/100
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04/01/2024 11:07 Jantje  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 39776/100
 
85/100
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03/31/2024 17:19 genialbibi  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 51986/100
 
100/100
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02/18/2024 23:09 teague  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,29479/100

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 82.4/100, a mean average of 81.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.0.

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Skeleton Tree comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 46 comments |
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Rating:  
85/100
From 02/06/2023 21:20
An album full of some phenomenal lyricism that is amongst the greatest Nick Cave has ever written. It is dark and interesting with there being a lot for the listener to be able to explore. The words explore themes of loss, death and grief with some of the songs being so open and emotional. His lyrics are pure poetry on this album and you really find yourself connecting to and becoming attached to Nick Cave on here. The music matches this tone with it being tense in atmosphere and full of suspenseful moments. The last three songs are pure perfection as well and are such a powerful way to close the record. Overall, a few slower songs in the middle keep this album from its true potential but its lyrical quality is outstanding and it is such an emotional listen.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/25/2023 07:44
Album Rating: 90.13
(721/8)

1.Jesus Alone. 89
2.Rings Of Saturn. 90
3.Girl In Amber. 99
4.Magneto. 95
5.Anthrocene. 87
6.I Need You. 99
7.Distant Sky (Feat. Else Torp). 87
8.Skeleton Tree. 77
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 09/13/2022 22:19
Great fan of Nick Cave. Love his story telling style lyrics on top of great music. With this however, I find an album of dark poetry with a background of slow melodic gothy jazz. It's alright but not as immense when compared to his other work. I'm surprised at how highly ranked this stands amid his catalog of mind blowing albums. Each to their own I guess.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/25/2022 22:43
Linda obra e grande acerto do mestre!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/06/2021 15:56
Highlights:

- Girl In Amber
- I Need You
- Skeleton Tree
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/04/2021 09:18
Took me a while to liken to this album so much. I still think Ghosteen is the best of the trilogy but this finally clicked. I Need You and Distant Sky are amazing
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/27/2020 20:32
Cave's best album. by some good margin. I've been a fan for some time, I never thought he'd release something this good so late in his career. The arrangements and songwriting for the album are haunting and beautiful......best album of the 2010's???
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/04/2020 17:32
Highlights:

I Need You
Skeleton Tree
Rings Of Saturn
Girl In Amber
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 07/15/2019 17:24
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.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (5 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 07/13/2019 04:54
A heart rending and soul stirring masterpiece. One of Nick's crowning achievements
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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