Dare
by The Human League
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The Human League bestography
Dare is ranked as the best album by The Human League.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to Dare on YouTube
Dare track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Dare rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 5 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | bonnequestion | Best albums from '75 to '84 | 97/100 | - |
| 2026 |  MadhattanJack | Top 100 Music Albums of 1981 | 56/100 | 2 |
| 2026 |  ERadio | Top 80 Music Albums of 1981 | 3/80 | 5 |
| 2026 | fabm0 | Decade 1980s Pt 2 | 50/100 | - |
| 2026 | jonny5244 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 60/100 | 8 |
| 2026 | arnellarsen | Top 99 Music Albums of 1981 | 29/99 | 4 |
| 2026 | Johnnyo | Greatest albums of 1981 by Ultimate Record Collector | 2/55 | - |
| 2026 | thenat | Top 14 Music Albums of 1981 | 4/14 | 4 |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Top 100 Music Albums of 1981 | 43/100 | 3 |
| 2026 | Rm12398 | Top 20 Music Albums of 1981 | 19/20 | 1 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 420 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 2,002 | |||
Dare collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 254 members
Dare 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 476 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/17/2026 15:10 | Devilwoac | 1,529 | 97/100 |
| ! | 08/03/2026 04:36 |  AAL2014 | 4,320 | 75/100 |
| ! | 05/20/2026 23:44 | thepardunk | 2,587 | 69/100 |
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 7% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.2/100, a mean average of 73.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.2.
Dare favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 65 members
Dare forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 09/14/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5435): By flamingyesdept BestEverAlbums 09/07/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5428): By ExTeaSea
dihansse 03/08/2026 21:34 in My discoveries per yearDare comments
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I believe that the relatively low score of 73 for this album reflects the number of purists or 'rockers' - or whatever you want to call them - who want to immediately attack it because it's heavily based on the synthesizer. Or, they know only the hit song and can't appreciate it (see comment regarding 'worst single ever'). Make no mistake, it is a great single: fantastic hook, well-constructed, wonderfully produced. The album is actually a lot more forward-looking than its slightly dated synth makes it sound. A very good album, almost a great one.
One of the essential electro pop recordings. Dare, is a great album, the best the Human League ever made and it remains a highly influential LP. Don't you want me, is off course a classic track, a massive hit single in 1981. Elsewhere, love action, and, open your heart, are two more stunning songs. A superb release, an essential early eighties recording.
opening track The Things That Dreams Are Made Of and Love Action are good. Abba + Kraftwerk = Human League.
johnner TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/02/2012 22:43 | #34257 | TOP COMMENT
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The perfect synth-pop album of the 80s, Dare's steely stare is nonetheless intimidating. Whether musing on nucleur war or Judge Dredd, it's electronic revolution is absorbing.
Proof that minimalism works! A Roland TB303, a TR808, a couple of lead synths and a suitcase full of creativity. Although the lead vocal is not on a par with similar bands of the era, coupled with two female backing singers it really worked. After the departure of Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware for Heaven 17, many thought it was the end of The Human League. This album certainly proved this was not the case. Essential eighties synth pop!
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