Machine Head
by Deep Purple
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Deep Purple bestography
Machine Head is ranked as the best album by Deep Purple.
(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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Machine Head track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 85 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Machine Head rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 1 hour ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Helios | Top 60 Music Albums of 1972 | 22/60 | 3 |
| 2026 | adbrack1988 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 11/100 | 18 |
| 2026 | stangetzaway | Top 50 Music Albums of 1972 | 21/50 | 3 |
| 2026 | martintho | Top 68 Music Albums of 1972 | 15/68 | 4 |
| 2026 |  PanheadWarrior | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 86/100 | 3 |
| 2026 |  Sandrof1969 | Top 40 Music Albums of 1972 | 11/40 | 4 |
| 2026 |  Charade | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 73/100 | 26 |
| 2026 | byuzak | Top 43 Music Albums of 1972 | 5/43 | 5 |
| 2026 | AbsurdCheesecake | Top 70 Music Albums of the 1970s | 31/70 | 11 |
| 2026 | adbrack1988 | Top 51 Music Albums of 1972 | 3/51 | 5 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 836 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 6,278 | |||
Machine Head collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 565 members
Machine Head ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 1,052 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/12/2026 07:26 | Olli | 7,932 | 62/100 |
| ! | 09/01/2026 12:12 | AndyLish79 | 505 | 81/100 |
| ! | 08/22/2026 15:52 |  Squonk007 | 768 | 24/100 |
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 82.5/100, a mean average of 81.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.4.
Machine Head favourites
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Forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 09/06/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5427): By StreakyNuno BestEverAlbums 09/02/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5423): By serpicoMachine Head comments
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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One of those early collection additions that I do consider a classic. It may have been one of my favorites at one time but I guess I don't get inspired like I used to in my teens. I never been a fan of Deep Purple, but I know this is still a monster album for fans of artist. For the most part every song is definitely iconic, as classic as it gets. (Edited)
This Album is fantastic, MkII line were the best, the best tunes are Highway Star & the eponymous Smoke on the Water, but I think the overall album is strong all the way through, no wonder they're considered so highly by their peers and generations to come. (Edited)
talinhosgameplay 09/20/2025 20:18 | #310991
One of the best and most consistent albums ever. Definitely one of my favorites! (Edited)
I really don't get the hype with this album. I found it really boring. Smoke on The Water is the best track on the album even though it features the most overrated and overplayed guitar riff of all time. (Edited)
A hugely influential album in the history of music and with all the quality that is on here you can see why this is the case. They start the album with an absolute classic that is Highway Star which gets you so pumped to listen to this release. Unfortunately this is then followed up by a 3 track run which isn't bad but they aren't great either. They are on the edge of being filler but the instrumentation, mainly the guitar work, saves them in my opinion. After this it is an energetic and full on ride to the finish with 4 massive songs that are just brilliant. Everything just comes together on these closing 4 songs and all you can do is sit back and admire the musical genius on display. This finale elevates the record so much and is probably my favourite run of songs in any Deep Purple record. Overall, a great experience that is full of power and quality which makes it so easy to fall in love with this release.
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