Close To The Edge (studio album)
by Yes

Close To The Edge by Yes
Year: 1972
Overall rank: 87th   
Average Rating: 
85/100 (from 1,480 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1972 (4th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1970s (24th)
Award Top 100 albums of all time (87th)

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Close To The Edge CD Yes
Condition: Like New


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YES CLOSE TO THE EDGE 1972 LP GATEFOLD ATLANTIC SD 19133 VG+/VG+
Condition: Used


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YES-CLOSE TO THE EDGE - VINILO NEW VINYL
Condition: New


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Yes bestography

Close To The Edge is ranked as the best album by Yes.

Yes album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (87th)
Close To The Edge
Lower ranked (265th) »
Fragile

(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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Close To The Edge track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 90 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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3.
Track pick (880 - 379 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (379 votes)Comments: View 4
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Close To The Edge rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 87th | 1970s rank: 24th | 1972 rank: 4th

Close To The Edge collection

Close To The Edge ratings

Average Rating: 
85/100 (from 1,480 votes)
   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 1,480 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
30 hours ago II   29072/100
 
95/100
 !
38 hours ago AbsurdCheesecake   32587/100
 
75/100
 !
12/16/2025 21:54 mrmcrook   99877/100
 
75/100
 !
12/14/2025 10:22 Rockdrigo   13082/100
 
70/100
 !
12/08/2025 22:18 JoshN125   17368/100

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 85.3/100, a mean average of 84.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 85.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.5.

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Close To The Edge comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 120 comments |
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Rating:  
75/100
From 12/16/2025 21:55 | #312163
Prog's an interesting genre as there's so many variations. If you needed to explain a concise definition and what typical prog may be, this album would be the perfect example. I find albums like this do seem to take multiple listens before gelling with though. This is one that does have the right mix and blend of melody v's complexity.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
35/100
From 08/14/2025 10:31 | #310525
Siberian Khatru is a good track, the first track I'm not a huge fan of, especially the beginning. generally I don't like this long-form style of prog rock
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/27/2025 10:13 | #307256
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -5 votes (0 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
From 09/03/2024 10:01 | #305122
Perfect album for me , stunning from start to finish andat 40 mins long you can quickly get through multiple listens when introducing yourself to it 10/10
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 09/02/2024 00:42 | #305092
perfect
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 03/14/2024 14:33 | #302464
One of the greatest musical achievements ever. Especially in prog rock. 3 songs, 38 minutes. High replay value. Wish more prog albums were like this. Favourite track: And You And I, strongly followed by Close To The Edge.

Heresy: I sometimes skip the intro to Close To The Edge and the last minute or so of Siberian Khatru. It depends heavily on my mood though.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 12/02/2023 11:50 | #300257
One of the best progs album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/10/2023 18:50 | #297539
Perfection. It’s that simple
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/30/2023 21:14 | #296511
An essential prog rock album that is not only extremely influential but is backed up by some fantastic music as well that is some of the best in the genre. The instrumentation on here is simply stunning with the experimentation and creativity truly flowing from the band. This leads to one of the best atmospheres I have ever found on a prog record. They build tension so well as a group and the pay offs are always so rewarding which makes this such a fulfilling listen every time you pick this release back up. It is just one of those records where you get to the conclusion and you just sit back and admire the phenomenal experience that you have been treated to by Yes as they truly blow us away on here. Overall, this is a rollercoaster ride with a huge amount of highs making it a must listen for everyone even people who aren't fans of this genre.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 08/31/2022 03:40 | #289119
Solid album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1972
1. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie
2. Exile On Main St. by The Rolling Stones
3. Pink Moon by Nick Drake
4. Close To The Edge by Yes
5. Harvest by Neil Young
6. Transformer by Lou Reed
7. Machine Head by Deep Purple
8. Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull
9. Ege Bamyası by Can
10. Foxtrot by Genesis
11. Clube Da Esquina by Milton Nascimento / Lô Borges
12. #1 Record by Big Star
13. Can't Buy A Thrill by Steely Dan
14. Super Fly by Curtis Mayfield
15. Acabou Chorare by Novos Baianos
16. Talking Book by Stevie Wonder
17. Eat A Peach by The Allman Brothers Band
18. Neu! by Neu!
19. Vol 4 by Black Sabbath
20. Argus by Wishbone Ash
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