Boy
by U2

Boy by U2
Year: 1980
Release date: 1980-10-20
Overall rank: 819th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 770 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1980 (15th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (126th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (819th)

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U2 bestography

Boy is ranked 5th best out of 37 albums by U2 on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by U2 is The Joshua Tree which is ranked number 51 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 18,392.

U2 album bestography « Higher ranked (471st)
The Unforgettable Fire
This album (819th)
Boy
Lower ranked (835th) »
All That You Can't Leave Behind

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Apr
18
Sat
The Music Of The Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit, & The Rings of Power
Springfield Symphony Hall, Springfield, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
10
Fri
DAVE - The Boy Who Played the Harp Tour
South Side Ballroom, Dallas, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Mar
22
Sun
Miguel: CAOS Tour
Fillmore New Orleans, New Orleans, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

Listen to Boy on YouTube

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Boy rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 819th | 1980s rank: 126th | 1980 rank: 15th

Boy collection

Boy ratings

Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 770 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 770 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
02/18/2026 23:04 LedZep  Ratings distribution  4,93779/100
 
80/100
 
02/15/2026 18:35 Pluto11  Ratings distribution  12,07372/100
 
50/100
 
02/14/2026 03:23 brent13  Ratings distribution  1,91968/100
 
55/100
 
01/15/2026 00:07 bjorndedrij  Ratings distribution  13762/100
 
70/100
 
12/30/2025 21:18 Milhaud  Ratings distribution  1,86370/100

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 11% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.7/100, a mean average of 73.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.3.

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Boy comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 39 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:  
85/100
From 08/04/2022 06:18 | #288110
I love post-punk and it's very good debut album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 01/26/2022 17:02 | #280123
The beginnings of the incredible guitar sound The Edge can produce. The best was definitely still to come. First half is great, second half is quite forgettable. My highlights are Twilight and I Will Follow.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/08/2022 15:30 | #278856
A great record - I got into U2 about 83 so missed this on release but soon caught up. I loved the energy, the guitar sound. The first 3 albums are all that post-punk youthful energy before they move onto their next phase probably at Unforgettable Fire.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/01/2021 05:52 | #269185
Post-punk U2, Joshua Tree U2, Achtung Baby U2 and ALTYCLB U2 are all different bands to me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/04/2021 22:35 | #263840
Its is a good album, when you consider how early in their development as a band it was released. By the time WAR was released they had moved to higher level.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 12/14/2020 04:40 | #262668
Not my favorite, nut my mom’s favorite album of all time
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/11/2020 18:56 | #251312
I find this debut a sheer delight. The bouncy excitement mixed with teenage fear of Bono's voice and that first taste of Edge's treble heavy guitar lines. It's beautiful. Naive of course, but what do you expect from 20 year olds? The Ocean sounds far too sophisticated for a group their age, and Shadows and Tall Trees is an echoing nightmare. Electric Co is terrifying and thrilling in equal measure. There's simply not a song I don't love.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 08/16/2019 11:33 | #241263
A brilliant debut album. The production for this was spot on
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/27/2019 18:24 | #230842
Graciosidade e força, canta os males da Irlanda enquanto buscam o seu som.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/05/2019 18:32 | #229048
This album reminds me of "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" by Pink Floyd because, just like Pink Floyd's first album, U2's first album is very different from the style that's going to make them famous later. Both those bands' first album are awesome, unique and full of energy. Plus, they both make a great use of the guitar with a surf rock sound at some point.

I really like this album from beginning to end, especially "Twilight", "An Cat Dubh" and "The Electric Co.". Right now, it's my second favorite U2 album, second to "War" only. Don't overlook it!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1980
1. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
2. Closer by Joy Division
3. Back In Black by AC/DC
4. Scary Monsters by David Bowie
5. Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys
6. Peter Gabriel (1980) by Peter Gabriel
7. The River by Bruce Springsteen
8. Permanent Waves by Rush
9. Pretenders by Pretenders
10. Seventeen Seconds by The Cure
11. Making Movies by Dire Straits
12. Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies
13. Sandinista! by The Clash
14. Ace Of Spades by Motörhead
15. Boy by U2
16. Heaven And Hell by Black Sabbath
17. Dirty Mind by Prince
18. Gaucho by Steely Dan
19. Sound Affects by The Jam
20. Get Happy!! by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
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