Sister (studio album) by Sonic Youth

Sister by Sonic Youth
Year: 1987
Overall rank: 513th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 630 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1987 (9th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1980s (77th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (513th)
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
Sister | Sonic Youth Uncensored Cover Disney Used LP SST-134 Black Pressing
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
Sonic Youth : Sister CD (2005)
Condition: Very Good


eBay
eBay
Sonic Youth - Sister [New Vinyl LP]
Condition: New


  My favourite store:  

Sonic Youth bestography

Sister is ranked 3rd best out of 39 albums by Sonic Youth on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Sonic Youth is Daydream Nation which is ranked number 72 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 16,978.

Sonic Youth album bestography « Higher ranked (476th) This album (513th) Lower ranked (725th) »
GooSisterEVOL

Upcoming concerts

Dec
28
Sat
19:30
Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros Featuring The Wolfpack
Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Cent, Ft Lauderdale, United States. United States
Tickets from $69.50 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Dec
27
Fri
19:30
E5C4P3 - The Journey Tribute
Ludlow Garage Cincinnati, Cincinnati, United States. United States
Tickets from $25.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Nov
14
Thu
20:00
The Alan Parsons Live Project: Reset & Power Back On Tour
Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, United States. United States
Tickets from $59.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Sister on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Sister track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 84 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick
Rating: 90 (226 votes)Comments: 4
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
6.
Rating: 84 (122 votes)Comments: 1
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
9.
Rating: 84 (117 votes)Comments: 2
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
10.
Rating: 84 (119 votes)Comments: 3
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify

Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Sister rankings

Sister collection

Sister ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 630 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 630 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 Report rating
10/18/2024 19:43 mash  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,12688/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
10/14/2024 08:30 AlexBMUFC  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 23876/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
09/13/2024 10:56 Dingerbell  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,55162/100
 
90/100
 Report rating
09/04/2024 10:19 saltysurprise  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,75384/100
 
40/100
 Report rating
08/28/2024 07:15 marcoserra1966  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 46355/100

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 80.1/100, a mean average of 79.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.6.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Sister comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 43 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
85/100
From 02/05/2023 21:47
They are much better here than on Evol and their cemented their original sound. Still I can hear influences (mainly TVU and Joy Division), but not as obviously. I don't typically enjoy noise rock, but the track structure here is enjoyable for me, I was a little tired of noise by the end of the album, but not as much as I thought I would be. I really like Schizophrenia, White Cross and Catholic Block.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/22/2023 16:06
I felt a little underwhelmed when I listen to this and I found myself drifting out of the record quite a lot. I think this is because all the brilliant tracks come in the first 6 or 7 songs and after that it feels like quite a slog to the end. Despite this, it has some of my favourite SY songs on here such as Schizophrenia which is the exact sound I think they were going for on this release. They do lose the consistency on here and I find the tone isn't as focused as it is at the beginning. Overall, there are some bangers on here which are some of the best SY has to offer but I find it to be quite messy at times and I think they refine their sound on future releases.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 02/15/2022 09:15
Too Sonic Chaos for my morning mood.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/03/2022 22:28
some hard hitting bangers and extremely good pacing. Might just be might favorite SY album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/28/2020 17:09
I prefer this to Daydream Nation actually. This is as close to perfect noise rock ever got. The best Sonic Youth album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 04/22/2020 21:04
Sonic Youth's second best album. Only surpassed by Daydream Nation.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 04/20/2020 23:00
Great album. Don't know why it took me 7 years after hearing Dirty and Goo to listen to this, but I'm glad I eventually did. Schizophrenia is a noise rock anthem.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 06/26/2019 19:40
Good album, a little too much filler.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/16/2018 20:12
A savagely good record.

Sonic Youth's "screw you mom", flannel shirt wearing, ever-so-slightly-edgy teenage phase. More accomplished than previous works, but less monumental and less polished than what would follow, meaning it delivers that rough, bitter taste that made this era of SY so damn good in absolute spades.

It takes time and consideration to be appreciated, but beneath its raw, feedback-driven and strangely subtle overtone is a beautiful creation that strings together the last remains of punk and post-punk, with hints of alt rock and art rock, all of which is brought together in a tumultuous 40-something-minute record. Not an easy album to listen to, but one that - like much of Sonic Youth's discography - is extremely satisfying.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/15/2018 06:05
Loosely based as a concept album inspired by the life and works of science fiction writer Philip K.Dick , Sister is album number 3 in the SY holy 5 (Bad Moon Rising into Evol into Sister into DDN into Goo)

Sister is a masterful release that rightfully received its due critical praise many years after its original release . Tracks such as "Schizophrenia" , "Beauty Lies in the Eye" and "Pacific Coast Highway " are SY classics and among their best pieces in a stellar career

My only criticism would be the inclusion of the Crime cover "Hot Wire My Heart" , it really doesn't fit into the over all flow of the album plus quite frankly down right sucks , I always skip past this track

I will always argue 'Evol' was Sonic Youth's first truly great album , but 'Sister' is just , only just behind it

Tense

80/100
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Sister

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1987
1. The Joshua Tree by U2
2. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
3. Sign "O" The Times by Prince
4. Strangeways, Here We Come by The Smiths
5. You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur
6. Document by R.E.M.
7. Bad by Michael Jackson
8. Music For The Masses by Depeche Mode
9. Sister by Sonic Youth
10. Substance 1987 by New Order
11. Hysteria by Def Leppard
12. Kick by INXS
13. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me by The Cure
14. Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths
15. Darklands by The Jesus And Mary Chain
16. Come On Pilgrim by Pixies
17. Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim
18. Diesel And Dust by Midnight Oil
19. Tango In The Night by Fleetwood Mac
20. Tunnel Of Love by Bruce Springsteen
Back to Top