Turn On The Bright Lights
by Interpol

Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol
Year: 2002
Release date: 2002-08-20
Overall rank: 89th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,642 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 2002 (2nd)
Award Top 10 albums of the 2000s (9th)
Award Top 100 albums of all time (89th)

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Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights LP Vinyl NEW Sealed
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Interpol Turn On the Bright Lights (Vinyl) 12" Album (Limited Edition)
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Turn on the Bright Lights by Interpol (CD, 2002) Indie Rock
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Interpol bestography

Turn On The Bright Lights is ranked as the best album by Interpol.

Interpol album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (89th)
Turn On The Bright Lights
Lower ranked (494th) »
Antics

(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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Turn On The Bright Lights track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 87 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Turn On The Bright Lights rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 89th | 2000s rank: 9th | 2002 rank: 2nd
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 ExTeaSeaTop 89 Music Albums of 200230/893
2026 PurplepashTop 71 Music Albums of 200222/714
2026leniadTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s15/10017
2026FlapJackJoeyTop 100 Greatest Music Albums91/10010
2026 RasmVMost listened albums since I joined BEA34/100 -
2026jdizzle123456Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s33/10014
2026jtrizzle35Top 60 Music Albums of the 2000s24/6012
2026 hoyquarlowTop 100 Greatest Music Albums83/10018
2026 ssteveTop 47 Music Albums of 20025/475
2026ShnopyTop 25 Greatest Music Albums22/2516
2026Exist-en-cielTop 22 Music Albums of 20022/225
2026 imacgillTop 100 Greatest Music Albums14/10087
2026 TamthebamTop 96 Music Albums of 20027/965
2026chavaloricardinTop 100 Greatest Music Albums28/10072
2026 daisyTop 40 Greatest Music Albums4/4090
2026wizardalienTop 23 Music Albums of 20028/233
2026FlapJackJoeyTop 22 Music Albums of the 2000s16/226
2026wizardalienMy Ranking of the BEA Top 10027/92 -
2026 ssteveTop 100 Greatest Music Albums81/10020
2026 RomanelliTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s77/1005
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 1,295
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 12,987
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Turn On The Bright Lights collection

Turn On The Bright Lights ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,642 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help 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 1,642 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 
45 hours ago Liks_on_music  Ratings distribution  5488/100
 
70/100
 
5 days ago Jimmybash  Ratings distribution  1657/100
 
65/100
 
5 days ago araidernomore  Ratings distribution  44270/100
 
85/100
 
04/04/2026 21:55 alexandermause  Ratings distribution  1,55886/100
 
100/100
 
04/03/2026 16:14 cronadigallina  Ratings distribution  2,93467/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 83.5/100, a mean average of 82.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.9.

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Turn On The Bright Lights comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 128 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
25/100
From 09/18/2024 19:02 | #305316
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 10/08/2023 17:28 | #299406
So let me get this straight! She can read AND she's bad?!?! Damn bro that's wild.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 09/25/2023 06:12 | #299232
Some fascinating songs that just kind of unravel, moving in different directions as they go on. My favorite moments of this album are the extended droney codas that make me suddenly realize I've forgotten how the song started.
I generally think that the Joy Division comparisons sell this album short; plus, I'm certain that Television comparisons would be more apt.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/03/2023 09:00 | #296552
Great album that captures the essence of what made post punk albums of the late 1970's in New York so important to that particular time by repurposing it for a new generation.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/14/2022 23:05 | #289676
Interpol’s Turn on the Bright Lights is a very unique album. Being recorded in the shadow of 9/11 in New York City, it is one of the few records that truly captures a mood of the time it was released. There hasn’t been a more vulnerable time in recent history(aside from COVID-19), and you can truly get that moody and almost lost vibe from this record.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 08/31/2022 03:40 | #289118
Solid album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 04/14/2022 18:00 | #284250
Television with a U2 twist? More like Joy Division with an REM twist, if anything. It's unique enough for me to say that's just not fair though. My wife's been on an Interpol kick for MONTHS since I gave this one a 2nd spin in front of her....
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 03/28/2022 06:58 | #283504
This Band sounds very much like Television with a U2 twist. Not a bad album at all, it feels like that 2nd listen helped to understand this more.
Untitled, Hands Away and Obstacle 1 stand out.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/03/2022 14:37 | #280538
If I ever ran into people like this, I probably wouldn’t hate New York as much as I do.

Songs alternate between choppy staccato guitar bounces and soaring open-ended guitar screams. Punctuated by tight drumming and cynical lyrics from the guy who just barely cares enough to hide what he really thinks of you.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 01/25/2022 15:28 | #280061
A good album, but for me a bit overhyped. Obstacles 1 and 2 are great (especially 2), so is PDA.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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1. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco
2. Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol
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