The Way Out
by The Books

The Way Out by The Books
Year: 2010
Release date: 2010-07-20
Overall rank: 3,291st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 87 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 2010 (53rd)
Award Top albums of the 2010s (562nd)
Award Best albums of all time (3,291st)

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The Way Out by the Books (Record, 2010)
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The Books bestography

The Way Out is ranked 2nd best out of 6 albums by The Books on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The Books is The Lemon Of Pink which is ranked number 2121 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 773.

The Books album bestography « Higher ranked (2,121st)
The Lemon Of Pink
This album (3,291st)
The Way Out
Lower ranked (5,460th) »
Thought For Food

(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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The Fab Four: Tribute to the Beatles' "Help!" and the Hits
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The Way Out track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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The Way Out rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 3,291st | 2010s rank: 562nd | 2010 rank: 53rd
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 arthurbittencourtTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s69/1006
2026 baystateoftheart2010 Honorable Mentions20/38 -
2025AlienCinemaTop 100 Music Albums of 201069/1002
2025 MercuryTop 44 Music Albums of 201010/444
2025juanr1096Top 100 Music Albums of 201049/1003
2025Foxforce5Top 17 Music Albums of 201016/171
2025FelipeBoorkesTop 91 Music Albums of the 2010s46/9110
2025 IgtonumamaTop 100 Music Albums of 201094/1000
2025 cestuneblagueTop 99 Music Albums of 201030/994
2025 NagaiwolfwoodTop 100 Greatest Music Albums51/10047
2025 PurplepashTop 100 Music Albums of 201047/1003
2025 Patman360Top 100 Music Albums of 201012/1004
2024 drstueyTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s93/1002
2024jdizzle123456Top 100 Music Albums of 201039/1003
2024 SquishypuffDaveTop 100 Greatest Music Albums5/10079
2024 ArthurknightTop 100 Music Albums of 201044/1003
2024 meccaleccaTop 100 Music Albums of 201016/1004
2024 travelfulTop 100 Music Albums of 201020/1004
2024DavideBernaTop 20 Music Albums of 201014/202
2024 HaydenTop 100 Music Albums of 201074/1001
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 79
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 454
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

The Way Out collection

The Way Out ratings

Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 87 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 87 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
09/12/2025 08:50 cicadelic  Ratings distribution  12,04173/100
 
15/100
 
05/10/2025 02:08 Proto  Ratings distribution  4,07333/100
 
80/100
 
12/04/2024 14:51 boppare  Ratings distribution  2,86378/100
 
60/100
 
10/19/2024 17:25 baystateoftheart  Ratings distribution  2,81972/100
 
80/100
 
07/08/2024 11:41 Fertu  Ratings distribution  3,56982/100

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 7% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.2/100, a mean average of 74.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.9.

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The Way Out favourites

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The Way Out comments

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Rating:  
80/100
From 06/08/2019 07:47 | #237237
The Books has made musical digression its science. Formed in 1999 by guitarist Nick Zammuto and cellist Paul de Jong, The Books is certainly one of the best-kept secrets of the indie scene. It is a leading band of the avant-garde thanks to its first two albums "Thought For Food" (2002) and "The Lemon Of Pink" (2003), which are classics of folktronica. Their latest album, "The Way Out", is based on an organic foundation (cello, banjo or guitar), a collage of disparate beats and lyrics more spoken than sung, which articulate an absurd statement. "The Way Out" is particularly mastered, measured and melodically accessible. A fourth tour de force that arises after 5 long years of absence.

8/10

Best track: "The Story Of Hip Hop"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/25/2012 17:21 | #58882
Wow! This album is actually really impressive. It's playful and super creative. The song "The Story of Hip Hop" really sums up all the greatest qualities of this whole album-it's upbeat and well produced and really it's own genre. It's the books at their best. And right at the end of that track you get the idea that that story could be a metaphor or could have a bigger meaning. Or maybe that's just rubbish and it has no deeper meaning. It's really all about what significance you place on it. For me the whole record flows well. The spoken word samples meld very very nicely. The instrumentation is serene and precise. The music never seems predictable. It's not a perfect record, not every track clicks 100% for me at least. But it is one of the greatest albums of 2010 and Soooooooo ridiculously underrated! Check it out!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/15/2012 06:11 | #55049
Profound and playful in equal measures, what could have been a cynical mockery of spiritual inquest turns out to be a joyous soul-searching experience.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (4 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
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