Skeleton Tree (studio album)
by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds bestography
The best album by Nick Cave is Skeleton Tree which is ranked number 380 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 4,452.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
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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
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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 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 701 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 25 minutes ago | Exist-en-ciel | 2,644 | 70/100 |
| ! | 11/24/2025 21:02 |  LukasAntoine00s | 362 | 80/100 |
| ! | 09/28/2025 12:20 | JacobMullis | 723 | 88/100 |
| ! | 08/14/2025 02:29 | considerthejosh | 592 | 83/100 |
| ! | 08/12/2025 12:23 |  Milhaud | 1,631 | 69/100 |
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 14.1.
Skeleton Tree favourites
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Skeleton Tree comments
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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.
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
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.
VictorVale 06/25/2022 22:43 | #286666
Linda obra e grande acerto do mestre!
Timestarter 06/06/2021 15:56 | #270429
Highlights:
- Girl In Amber
- I Need You
- Skeleton Tree
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
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???
Montpejo 04/04/2020 17:32 | #249526
Highlights:
I Need You
Skeleton Tree
Rings Of Saturn
Girl In Amber
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.
A heart rending and soul stirring masterpiece. One of Nick's crowning achievements
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