Scarecrow
by John Cougar Mellencamp

Scarecrow by John Cougar Mellencamp
Year: 1985
Overall rank: 2,021st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 199 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1985 (25th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (307th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,021st)

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Product Details
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JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP Scarecrow USED 1985 LP Pop Rock Vinyl Record RIVA-824865
Condition: Used


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Scarecrow (Definitive Remasters) by John Cougar Mellencamp (CD, 2005, Mercury)
Condition: Brand New


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JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP SCARECROW 1985 ORIGINAL 1ST PRESSING SEALED
Condition: New


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John Cougar Mellencamp bestography

The best album by John Mellencamp is Scarecrow which is ranked number 2021 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 816.

John Cougar Mellencamp album bestography « Higher ranked (2,021st)
Scarecrow
This album (2,021st)
Scarecrow
Lower ranked (2,543rd) »
The Lonesome Jubilee

(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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Scarecrow track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Scarecrow rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,021st | 1980s rank: 307th | 1985 rank: 25th

Scarecrow collection

Scarecrow ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 199 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 199 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
60/100
 
02/07/2026 12:19 Juneof44  Ratings distribution  2,57369/100
 
75/100
 
01/31/2026 02:55 mrmcrook  Ratings distribution  1,03477/100
 
90/100
 
01/28/2026 17:58 Gedster  Ratings distribution  16372/100
 
80/100
 
11/23/2025 20:07 TimBroad04  Ratings distribution  20369/100
 
50/100
 
11/12/2025 23:23 NYAndreas  Ratings distribution  1,43344/100

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 6% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.8/100, a mean average of 74.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.9.

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Scarecrow comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 14 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
75/100
From 01/31/2026 02:57 | #312905
One of his better. Bit front heavy, the back half mostly plodding along but his style of singer songwriter Americana has a bit of flow within the rhythms which makes it quite catchy in a foot tapping way and hooks you in.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/28/2026 18:16 | #312849
This album has a good balance of hit singles and more serious content album tracks. The lyrics of the songs are superior to the average singer songwriter. The songs are about ordinary folk in mid west America or small town America. This singer is well known in the US but I feel he is under rated in the UK and don't know why. This is a good album and has a few big hit songs as well.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 05/08/2025 16:14 | #308883
I got interested in Cougar when I heard him on American Bandstand in 1980 singing I need A Lover. I saw him the first time he performed in my area and then again in 1985 for his Scarecrow tour. This is a special album with a different sound than his previous music without being overly POP. This is his best album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 08/11/2024 07:41 | #304708
Mellencamp, often considered as the poor mans Bruce. it he can very well stand on his own. Good material and very good album throughout
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/24/2020 13:24 | #254416
Amazing songwriting on this one!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/19/2019 07:10 | #237842
A brilliant concept album from start to finish.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/07/2018 10:00 | #220702
One of the best Mellencamp albums with a lot of good songs like "Small Town" and "Between A Laugh And A Tear". Nevertheless the album takes a little bit of time to grow and seems a little inconsistent (album rating: 74,17 %)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 07/07/2017 08:54 | #193858
Nice fellow. Great writer of songs. Maybe not the best of singers
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/23/2015 21:38 | #144463
Best songs are Lonely Ol' Night, Minutes To Memories and Rumbleseat. Perhaps I'm biased because I'm a Hoosier, but he sings songs about the heartland and I can identify with them, even if he is a liberal and I'm not.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
10/100
From 04/24/2014 21:46 | #109987
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -7 votes (0 helpful | 7 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1985
1. Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
2. Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
3. Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits
4. Meat Is Murder by The Smiths
5. Psychocandy by The Jesus And Mary Chain
6. Songs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears
7. The Head On The Door by The Cure
8. Tim by The Replacements
9. Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout
10. Rum Sodomy & The Lash by The Pogues
11. Misplaced Childhood by Marillion
12. Low-Life by New Order
13. New Day Rising by Hüsker Dü
14. This Nation's Saving Grace by The Fall
15. This Is The Sea by The Waterboys
16. Fables Of The Reconstruction by R.E.M.
17. Little Creatures by Talking Heads
18. Around The World In A Day by Prince And The Revolution
19. Love by The Cult
20. The Dream Of The Blue Turtles by Sting
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