Louder Than Bombs
by The Smiths

Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths
(Compilation album)
Year: 1987
Overall rank: 723rd   
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 667 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1987 (14th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (109th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (723rd)

Listen on Spotify Spotify
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
The Smiths – Louder Than Bombs cassette tested (1987)
Condition: Very Good


eBay
eBay
THE SMITHS Louder Than Bombs 2LP VG++ VINYL W/HYPE STICKER
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
LOT (2) Cassette Tapes The Smiths Louder than Bombs & Strangeways, Here We Come
Condition: Very Good


  My favourite store:  

The Smiths bestography

Louder Than Bombs is ranked 6th best out of 15 albums by The Smiths on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The Smiths is The Queen Is Dead which is ranked number 16 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 33,404.

The Smiths album bestography « Higher ranked (289th)
Strangeways, Here We Come
This album (723rd)
Louder Than Bombs
Lower ranked (4,988th) »
The World Won't Listen

(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

Mar
29
Sun
The Purple Xperience featuring Marshall Charloff
Plaza Theatre, Palm Springs, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Feb
15
Sun
THE MOVEMENT - VISIONS TOUR 2026
Minglewood Hall, Memphis, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
03
Fri
Kylie Morgan
Tally Ho Theater, Leesburg, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Louder Than Bombs on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Louder Than Bombs track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 85 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
2.
Average Rating: 86 (129 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
4.
Average Rating: 84 (119 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
5.
Average Rating: 88 (126 votes)Comments: View 3
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
6.
Average Rating: 82 (109 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
7.
Track pick (890 - 217 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (217 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
8.
Average Rating: 84 (104 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
9.
Average Rating: 81 (105 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
12.
Track pick (890 - 151 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (151 votes)Comments: View 1
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
13.
Average Rating: 89 (158 votes)Comments: View 3
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
14.
Average Rating: 73 (105 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
15.
Average Rating: 81 (104 votes)Comments: View 1
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
16.
Average Rating: 84 (109 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
17.
Average Rating: 83 (110 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
18.
Average Rating: 82 (101 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
19.
Average Rating: 86 (108 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
20.
Average Rating: 83 (102 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
21.
Track pick (900 - 130 votes)
Average Rating: 90 (130 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
23.
Average Rating: 84 (109 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
24.
Average Rating: 89 (177 votes)Comments: View 2
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Louder Than Bombs rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 723rd | 1980s rank: 109th | 1987 rank: 14th

Louder Than Bombs collection

Louder Than Bombs ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 667 votes)
   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 667 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 !
01/15/2026 00:15 This_is_handsome   76979/100
 
85/100
 !
12/30/2025 21:16 Milhaud   1,78670/100
 
80/100
 !
12/25/2025 20:54 RasmV   2,49973/100
 
60/100
 !
12/19/2025 15:06 marcoserra1966   76358/100
 
80/100
 !
12/05/2025 17:45 Araldo   1,47180/100

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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 82.9/100, a mean average of 81.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.4.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Louder Than Bombs comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 25 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:  
90/100
From 01/31/2023 11:27 | #293432
Great compilation, but I prefer Hatful Of Hollow, mostly because of raw, post-punk sound that they had, but it's the matter of personal taste. On this album Sheila Take A Bow, Sweet And Tender Hooligan, Panic and London are probably the biggest bangers, but we have some sad lyrical masterpieces here like Ask, Asleep, Unloveable and Half A Person all of them accompanied with Johnny Marr's excellent guitar work. Of course we have soke great tracks that we had already on on Hatful Of Hollow so I will not write about them here.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/03/2021 22:08 | #269330
Essa banda não tem nem dsicarte de b-side! Tudo de primeira qualidade!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 05/27/2020 06:19 | #252203
Their 5th best lp. Meh.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 12/31/2018 07:21 | #228366
What made The Smiths so great was even their B-Sides were good , not all but most . Case in point this compilation and the following killer B-Sides:

-Is It Really So Strange ?
-Sweet and Tender Hooligan
-Half a Person
-London
-Oscillate Wildly
-Rubber Ring
-Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
-Unlovable
-Asleep

Think about it ? That bunch of tracks were B-Sides ! . Ridiculous


'Louder Than Bombs' was released in America as a cousin to their British compilation 'The World Won't Listen' and consists of all singles and nearly all B-sides that had not at that point been available in the United States, either on single or album, with a few other tracks added.

Brilliant , minus the simply awful "Golden Lights" which is hands down the worst Smiths track ... period
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/29/2018 22:02 | #225884
I don't know, this doesn't feel like an album as much as "The Hatful of Hollow" but oh. my. god, there are so many good songs here.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/06/2018 21:32 | #204746
Too good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/21/2017 22:20 | #187842
I typically don't like to consider compilations as proper albums and avoid putting them in my charts, but for this and Hatful of Hollow, I make an exception. Most of these tracks don't show up on any of the Smiths' studio releases, so might as well rate it as any other album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/11/2016 17:06 | #168459
Yet another Smith's compilation(paint a vulgar picture, anyone?), but you can't argue with the quality of music on offer. Panic, hand in glove, half a person, are off course all great on an album that flows nicely for a comp. Extremely enjoyable.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/05/2015 18:06 | #143107
A super collection of songs. Compilations aren't supposed to sound as cohesive as this. Marr's jangly, chord-based melodies never sounded better.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/19/2015 02:10 | #141776
Excellent compilation. Flows vewry well, as others have stated. Girl Afraid is fantastic, so many other good songs included here. MEZ
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Louder Than Bombs

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1987
1. The Joshua Tree by U2
2. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
3. Sign "O" The Times by Prince
4. Strangeways, Here We Come by The Smiths
5. You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur
6. Document by R.E.M.
7. Bad by Michael Jackson
8. Music For The Masses by Depeche Mode
9. Sister by Sonic Youth
10. Substance by New Order
11. Hysteria by Def Leppard
12. Kick by INXS
13. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me by The Cure
14. Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths
15. Darklands by The Jesus And Mary Chain
16. Come On Pilgrim by Pixies
17. Diesel And Dust by Midnight Oil
18. Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim
19. Tango In The Night by Fleetwood Mac
20. Tunnel Of Love by Bruce Springsteen
Back to Top