Nocturama
by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Nocturama by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Year: 2003
Overall rank: 7,628th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
69/100 (from 124 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 2003 (147th)
Award Top albums of the 2000s (1,322nd)
Award Best albums of all time (7,628th)

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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds bestography

Nocturama is ranked 19th best out of 30 albums by Nick Cave on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Nick Cave is Skeleton Tree which is ranked number 376 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 4,454.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album bestography « Higher ranked (5,371st)
Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone At Alexandra Palace
This album (7,628th)
Nocturama
Lower ranked (12,637th) »
The Best Of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Apr
24
Fri
jigitz: 360 set
Old National Centre, Indianapolis, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
May
08
Fri
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - All The Good Times: The Farewell Tour
Hard Rock Live Bristol, Bristol, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
30
Thu
The New Pornographers with support from Will Sheff (of Okkervil River)
House of Blues Cleveland, Cleveland, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

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Nocturama rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 7,628th | 2000s rank: 1,322nd | 2003 rank: 147th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of 200380/1001
2026 covecoveTop 100 Music Albums of 200357/1002
2026blueandthemoonTop 83 Music Albums of 200332/833
2026mrmcrookTop 42 Music Albums of 200312/424
2026JohnnyoFavourite albums by Australian artists18/89 -
2025JohnnyoTop albums of the '00's (201 - 300)47/100 -
2025JohnnyoTop 100 Music Albums of 200329/1004
2025 AAL2014Top 50 Music Albums of 200350/500
2025HyggevinylTop 63 Music Albums of 200351/631
2025davidhuretRanking: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (+ Grinderman)18/20 -
2025ThuramThugoodRanked - Nick Cave - Ranked19/41 -
2025JohnnyoThey came from the land down under17/69 -
2025 ExTeaSeaTop 100 Music Albums of 200385/1001
2025cronadigallinaTop 100 Music Albums of 200379/1001
2025mikepenTop 62 Music Albums of 200354/621
2025 imacgillTop 100 Music Albums of 200386/1001
2025 videoheadcleanerTop 85 Music Albums of 200348/852
2025 dihansseTop 70 Music Albums of 200345/702
2024 DankelTop 52 Music Albums of 200350/520
2024 HeliosTop 90 Music Albums of 200372/901
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 73
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 165
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Nocturama collection

Nocturama ratings

Average Rating: 
69/100 (from 124 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 124 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
01/25/2026 01:12 mrmcrook  Ratings distribution  1,04177/100
 
100/100
 
12/21/2025 04:23 Kingturtle  Ratings distribution  7,57973/100
 
75/100
 
12/01/2025 08:08 Tamthebam  Ratings distribution  23,01169/100
 
50/100
 
11/28/2025 19:41 Musicbuff123  Ratings distribution  32469/100
 
60/100
 
08/14/2025 10:49 TonySayers61  Ratings distribution  23,87664/100

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 has a Bayesian average rating of 69.3/100, a mean average of 68.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 69.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.1.

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Nocturama favourites

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Nocturama comments

Showing all 4 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 06/18/2022 23:08 | #286494
An overlooked and forgotten album. If your a Nick Cave fan, this wont let you down. Not up there with his best but in no way a bad album. Good mix bag of piano driven slower numbers along with some of the classic rockier gothic crooning stuff. The final track is an interesting one. A rocker of close to 15 minutes that just chugs along with no deviation. Not bad, just long.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 04/02/2021 11:07 | #268100
So many people have panned this album. Most of the negative reviews refer to a certain laziness, as if NCATBS were simply dusting off some old, rejected, songs and churning them out in order to get an album out.

And, to be fair to the reviewers, it's nowhere near the Bad Seeds' best efforts. But it's not completely terrible. (I'm not sure any Bad Seeds album could be completely terrible.) Of the tracks on here, Dead Man In My Bed is probably the best for me, although I have a sneaking admiration for Babe, I'm On Fire, just because of the playing on it. But Rock of Gibraltar is horrible. It's almost like someone said "I bet you can find 16 rhymes for Gibraltar" and Nick Cave went "Watch me". Yuck.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 05/14/2016 16:32 | #165957
If there is a Nick Cave album that tends to be regarded as his weakest it's, nocturama. I don't understand why. I agree, it's not his best, but come on, it's Nick Cave, this is a guy who has never made a bad record, and, nocturama, is another fine LP. There are some great songs here, he wants you, being my favourite, with, wonderful life, bring it on, and, still in love, all excellent. If there is one complaint, it's the last track, baby's on fire. If it was four or five minutes long it would have been fine. As it is, it goes on for what feels like three months, although it is actually 15 minutes. Still, way too long. Aside from that, it's a good record.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (3 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 04/13/2015 04:33 | #139420
Definitely the master's weakest moment, and lauded as such, but hey, it's still fun at times.

Favorite tracks: "Bring It On", "Babe I'm On Fire"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (3 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 2003
1. Elephant by The White Stripes
2. Hail To The Thief by Radiohead
3. Absolution by Muse
4. Room On Fire by The Strokes
5. Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins
6. Give Up by The Postal Service
7. Transatlanticism by Death Cab For Cutie
8. The Magnolia Electric Co. by Songs: Ohia
9. De-Loused In The Comatorium by The Mars Volta
10. The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place by Explosions In The Sky
11. Fever To Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
12. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by OutKast
13. Meteora by Linkin Park
14. Michigan by Sufjan Stevens
15. Ghosts Of The Great Highway by Sun Kil Moon
16. Quebec by Ween
17. Velocity : Design : Comfort by Sweet Trip
18. The Black Album by Jay-Z
19. Fallen by Evanescence
20. Dear Catastrophe Waitress by Belle And Sebastian
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