Grievous Angel
by Gram Parsons

Grievous Angel by Gram Parsons
Year: 1974
Release date: 1974-01-00
Overall rank: 1,460th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 286 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1974 (29th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (282nd)
Award Best albums of all time (1,460th)

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Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel [New Vinyl LP] 180 Gram
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Gram Parsons Grievous Angel VMP - CW009 180g Turqoise Galaxy vinyl NEW!
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Gram Parsons Grievous Angel 1974 Vinyl Reprise Records 1st Press White Label Pro
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Gram Parsons bestography

Grievous Angel is ranked as the best album by Gram Parsons.

Gram Parsons album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (1,460th)
Grievous Angel
Lower ranked (4,702nd) »
GP

(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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Grievous Angel rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,460th | 1970s rank: 282nd | 1974 rank: 29th

Grievous Angel collection

Grievous Angel ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 286 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 286 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 
02/28/2026 18:42 DaveH68  Ratings distribution  1,36376/100
 
30/100
 
01/11/2026 07:04 CrazyDiamond84  Ratings distribution  9462/100
 
30/100
 
12/29/2025 08:03 dukeboxkool  Ratings distribution  2,18672/100
 
70/100
 
12/15/2025 06:27 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  11,41370/100
 
70/100
 
12/15/2025 04:18 BlueNote  Ratings distribution  96369/100

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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.8/100, a mean average of 76.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.1.

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Grievous Angel comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 18 comments |
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Rating:  
95/100
From 03/07/2022 04:10 | #282408
Gram was not a great singer, though he could sell a song even when his intonation betrayed him. But no matter-- he's joined on this by one of the greatest singers of all time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 02/20/2022 04:28 | #281562
In some ways, it feels like Gram might be a tad overrated. What he was was an excellent curator of country and folk songs and musicians, and this record is the pinnacle of Gram bringing material and personnel together- his performances on their own don't necessarily blow me away, but the whole package is worth the price of admission.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 12/27/2021 10:25 | #278043
Tras una trayectoria tan breve como brillante, es en su álbum póstumo donde Parsons alcanza su máximo nivel.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/30/2021 03:11 | #274434
It's a good album for many reasons, not least of these is the presence of the amazing Emmy Lou Harris. To my ears, she takes it to the next level.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
15/100
From 08/03/2021 12:32 | #272185
twangy out of tune vocal
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 10/31/2020 13:36 | #260012
Thought I’d hate it honestly considering it inspired so much pop country but unlike that very commercial genre there is a surprisingly nice level of authenticity here.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 06/05/2020 04:30 | #252867
An all too familiar sounding type of music that evokes a nostalgia I’ve never known before. & yet it humbly deviates from the norm with its unapologetic showcase of fervent emotion.

I also want to commend buzzdainer on a beautifully written review.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/30/2019 17:43 | #246137
Beautiful!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 12/01/2019 16:22 | #245288
It's a genuine achievement when an artist can be innovative and influential while at the same time creating something that feels familiar and timeless. Gram Parsons is one of those artists. He wrote songs that felt unironically straight out of a decades-old Nashville country tradition, yet managed to carve out for himself a unique niche in the history of both rock and country music. His songs are respectful of the conservative and Christian roots of the bluegrass and country artists who came before him, yet he really felt more at home among the innovators of the Bay Area scene of the late sixties and early seventies. If you've never heard of Gram Parsons, you'll immediately recognize most any track on Grievous Angel, particularly the oft-covered "Return of the Grievous Angel"--or at least, you'll insist you've heard it someplace before.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 07/27/2019 18:15 | #240447
Favorite Tracks:Brass Buttons, Medley Live From Northern Quebec
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1974
1. Red by King Crimson
2. On The Beach by Neil Young
3. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis
4. Crime Of The Century by Supertramp
5. Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt
6. Court And Spark by Joni Mitchell
7. Here Come The Warm Jets by Eno
8. Diamond Dogs by David Bowie
9. Sheer Heart Attack by Queen
10. A Tábua De Esmeralda by Jorge Ben