Only A Lad
by Oingo Boingo

Only A Lad by Oingo Boingo
Year: 1981
Overall rank: 6,072nd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 64 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1981 (105th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (886th)
Award Best albums of all time (6,072nd)

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Availability

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Oingo Boingo - Only a Lad [New CD]
Condition: Brand New


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Only a Lad & Boi-Ngo by Oingo Boingo - Lot of 2 CDs RARE
Condition: Good


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Oingo Boingo Only a Lad LP Vinyl 1981 SP-4863 A&M Records VG
Condition: Used

$100.00


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Oingo Boingo bestography

Only A Lad is ranked 2nd best out of 14 albums by Oingo Boingo on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Oingo Boingo is Dead Man's Party which is ranked number 5641 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 239.

Oingo Boingo album bestography « Higher ranked (5,641st)
Dead Man's Party
This album (6,072nd)
Only A Lad
Lower ranked (8,774th) »
Good For Your Soul

(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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Only A Lad rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 6,072nd | 1980s rank: 886th | 1981 rank: 105th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 HeliosTop 80 Music Albums of 198122/804
2026BorderFreeAndrewTop 100 Music Albums of 198179/1001
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of 198176/1001
2026 MadhattanJackTop 100 Music Albums of 198130/1004
2026 imacgillMissed The Cut- 19816/6 -
2026 videoheadcleanerTop 100 Music Albums of 198176/1001
2025 TheDude85Caught Me By Surprise92/99 -
2025 imacgillMissed The Cut- 19815/5 -
2025 pavelthevelvetTop 99 Music Albums of the 1980s87/993
2025FlapJackJoeyTop 56 Music Albums of 198133/562
2025 cestuneblagueTop 100 Music Albums of 198174/1001
2024 louisjwyattTop 100 Greatest Music Albums85/10013
2024innes1903Top 40 Greatest Music Albums28/4025
2024JamesMowbrayTop 100 Music Albums of 198167/1002
2024 PAPPITUFOTop 100 Music Albums of 198173/1001
2024sonicdiscourseTo-Do List 198113/90 -
2024 meccaleccaTop 80 Music Albums of 198130/803
2023 seb7Top 24 Music Albums of 198110/243
2023JohnnyoAlbums to help you catch the summertime vibe - Goldmine Mag21/30 -
2023 TheDude85Top 66 Music Albums of the 1980s49/665
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 48
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 217
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Only A Lad collection

Only A Lad ratings

Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 64 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 64 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
04/05/2026 21:03 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,29370/100
 
70/100
 
11/12/2025 09:43 MadhattanJack  Ratings distribution  5,73866/100
 
85/100
 
04/14/2025 02:49 CokeBabies  Ratings distribution  52983/100
 
60/100
 
10/07/2024 14:00 MetalMan67  Ratings distribution  6,01071/100
 
75/100
 
09/18/2024 21:15 Kaduken  Ratings distribution  53579/100

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 22% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 73.7/100, a mean average of 72.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.4.

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Only A Lad favourites

Showing all 4 members who have added this album as a favourite

Only A Lad comments

Showing all 6 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 04/10/2021 22:54 | #268428
very silly album, with little girls being borderline pedophilic (I know it's satire but it's still pretty weird). Overall, it's pretty enjoyable on the offhand listen.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 03/09/2019 15:22 | #233297
Best track: "Only A Lad"
Weakest track: "Perfect System"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 09/10/2017 05:38 | #197687
Very cool album from this band. Was not expecting a lot, but a lot was what I got. Recommended!

Favorite tracks: Little Girls, Perfect System, On the Outside, Only a Lad, What You See, Imposter

Least favorite track: Capitalism

Overall rating: 90/100
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 06/09/2017 01:50 | #192257
Pretty cool album. Danny Elfman is a good singer and the band is good. I am excited to hear what else they've done.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 12/31/2012 04:57 | #59541
It's definitely unique!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/31/2010 23:12 | #13916
Definitely silly, but also a fast paced unique album with good lyrics.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1981
1. Moving Pictures by Rush
2. Computerwelt by Kraftwerk
3. Discipline by King Crimson
4. Juju by Siouxsie And The Banshees
5. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts by Brian Eno & David Byrne
6. Time by Electric Light Orchestra
7. Faith by The Cure
8. Dare by The Human League
9. Damaged by Black Flag
10. Deceit by This Heat
11. Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones
12. Youth Of America by Wipers
13. Ghost In The Machine by The Police
14. Fire Of Love by The Gun Club
15. The Ascension by Glenn Branca
16. Heaven Up Here by Echo & The Bunnymen
17. Face Value by Phil Collins
18. Killers by Iron Maiden
19. Nightclubbing by Grace Jones
20. Movement by New Order