Scarecrow
by John Cougar Mellencamp
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John Cougar Mellencamp bestography
The best album by John Mellencamp is Scarecrow which is ranked number 1945 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 871.
(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 Scarecrow on YouTube
Scarecrow track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Scarecrow rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 8 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | matterhornrider | Top 70 Music Albums of 1985 | 18/70 | 4 |
| 2026 | Johnnyo | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 20/100 | 16 |
| 2026 | fabm0 | List 1985 | 14/100 | - |
| 2026 |  Tamthebam | Best Of The 80's Pt.3 (201-300) | 97/100 | - |
| 2026 | Musicbuff123 | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 25/100 | 75 |
| 2026 | Juneof44 | Top 50 Music Albums of 1985 | 35/50 | 2 |
| 2026 | Jakor | Top 60 Music Albums of 1985 | 19/60 | 4 |
| 2026 | tim0505 | Top 38 Music Albums of 1985 | 14/38 | 3 |
| 2026 | machiaj | Top 40 Music Albums of the 1980s | 3/40 | 19 |
| 2026 |  ERadio | Top 45 Music Albums of 1985 | 28/45 | 2 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 171 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 871 | |||
Scarecrow collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 123 members
Scarecrow 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 201 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/22/2026 15:54 | classicjoe | 507 | 78/100 |
| ! | 03/19/2026 22:28 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,903 | 70/100 |
| ! | 03/08/2026 23:55 | Musicbuff123 | 389 | 70/100 |
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 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.9/100, a mean average of 74.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.9.
Scarecrow favourites
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Scarecrow forum mentions
Scarecrow comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
jhuik TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/06/2012 00:20 | #34647 | TOP COMMENT
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This was a great reinvention, from changing his name to changing his lyrical depth. I think it has become customary to dismiss JCM as a redneck and even (very mistakenly!) an overly patriotic conservative. Anyone who thinks along those lines needs to listen more closely. This is far more intelligent and specific social commentary than you'll find on anything by, say, the f***ing Smiths. (Edited)
Jboy56 08/11/2024 07:41 | #304708 | TOP COMMENT
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Mellencamp, often considered as the poor mans Bruce. it he can very well stand on his own. Good material and very good album throughout (Edited)
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. (Edited)
TerryTezza 06/19/2019 07:10 | #237842 | TOP COMMENT
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A brilliant concept album from start to finish.
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. (Edited)
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