Melodrama
by Lorde

Melodrama by Lorde
Year: 2017
Release date: 2017-06-16
Overall rank: 301st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 797 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 2017 (2nd)
Award Top 50 albums of the 2010s (39th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (301st)

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Lorde bestography

Melodrama is ranked as the best album by Lorde.

Lorde album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (301st)
Melodrama
Lower ranked (674th) »
Pure Heroine

(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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Melodrama track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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

Melodrama rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 301st | 2010s rank: 39th | 2017 rank: 2nd
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026sunnydhammTop 46 Music Albums of 20176/464
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of 201712/1004
2026 JMGL95Top 68 Music Albums of 201727/683
2026SiromynianTop 21 Music Albums of 20173/215
2026MoondanceTop 100 Music Albums of 201751/1003
2026matterhornriderTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s60/1008
2026sunnydhammTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s78/1005
2026 PurplepashYa joking? Should've been higher! 2010s edition92/100 -
2026brent13Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s46/10011
2026pinkfreud1981Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s34/10013
2026 baystateoftheartTop 100 Music Albums of 201751/1003
2026 swedTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s45/10011
2026jdizzle1234562000-201935/100 -
2026mutantTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s77/1005
2026AledJamesTop 100 Greatest Music Albums25/10075
2026 RomanelliMy Overall Chart: 2101-220019/100 -
2026sweetnessTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s73/1006
2026 katerpillarMy most listened to in 20255/20 -
2026Exist-en-cielTop 20 Music Albums of 20177/204
2026jdizzle123456Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s19/10016
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 663
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 5,542
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Melodrama collection

Melodrama ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 797 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 797 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 
03/08/2026 19:59 Agent007  Ratings distribution  2395/100
 
95/100
 
03/06/2026 23:01 Map  Ratings distribution  50181/100
 
95/100
 
03/01/2026 22:24 snailmail500  Ratings distribution  25682/100
 
80/100
 
03/01/2026 16:44 sweetness  Ratings distribution  1,11679/100
 
100/100
 
02/25/2026 19:58 Turbat  Ratings distribution  3784/100

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 80.4/100, a mean average of 79.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.4.

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Melodrama comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 77 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)

From 05/23/2025 11:32 | #309114
Shortlisted for album of the year at the 2018 Grammys. the winner was 24K Magic by Bruno Mars
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
25/100
From 07/23/2024 04:55 | #304511
God, this album went nowhere for hours.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/29/2022 18:07 | #291647
I keep rediscovering this album on dark nights after good days. It's a modern masterpiece. I love every song. It's one of a few albums from the past decade that I can happily listen to from front to back. It's up there with Grimes's Art Angels and Tyler's Flower Boy in its singular approach to storytelling and world building. Time will tell its lasting impact on the musical landscape. I can imagine looking back in ten years time and seeing this as one of the defining albums of the decade, and if that happens I will rate it 100/100. Until then, I will just enjoy the high it gives me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 05/13/2022 20:21 | #285359
I first heard this when it was new and getting lots of rave reviews. I liked it but, unlike the critics, I didn\'t think it was significantly better than her debut. Then recently I noticed that AcclaimedMusic.net has this all the way up at #240(!) of the greatest albums of all time. OK then, I\'ll give it another listen.\r\n\r\nIt didn\'t grow on me. Don\'t get me wrong, it\'s one of the better pop albums of recent years. But I still wouldn\'t include it in my Top 2000 of all time. There is potential greatness here. At times it comes across like a 21st century Hounds of Love. But the abundance of juvenile T.Swift-isms borders on insufferable, almost ruining what are otherwise very good songs and arrangements. Lorde is a much more unique and interesting talent than Swift, and I\'m almost certain she\'s got a masterpiece in her eventually. But she\'s gonna need to do a lot of maturing to get there (first step: Stop hanging out with Taylor and the other Plastics).
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/18/2022 10:42 | #284356
Lorde cements herself at the top of modern day pop with this album that is full of fantastic songs and brilliant choruses. It is tough for me to find a song that isn't amazing on this album and if I was forced to pick one I would say The Louvre is a bit cringy at times but it is still a decent song. The production is phenomenal and it really creates a clean and slick experience for us that allows us to properly explore the melodies and pop nuances in here. It does so well at blending one track into the next and making the record feel very cohesive. I love her vocal performance as well which is just remarkable throughout. It really lifts this pop album above the competition and makes songs like Green Light, Liability and Homemade Dynamite completely irresistible. Overall, a modern day pop classic that is fantastic from beginning to end and has no filler in my opinion.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/25/2022 14:17 | #281907
I didn’t think I would like this album, and the first few songs made me believe my suspicions were correct.

I didn’t like her voice, the forced attempts at edginess, the sickly sweet pop sound.

Then “Liability” came on. It was like a whole new record. Honest introspection paired with stripped down sounds. Thereafter, something clicked. The hooks were catchier, the lyrics a bit less contrived sounding. I think I actually liked this album?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/18/2022 23:32 | #279674
sooooo lit
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 09/01/2021 23:48 | #273180
Been listening to this album for a year now, never gets old.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/04/2021 14:04 | #270367
At it's best, you can practically feel the sweat and shows off a remarkable balancing act between her immediately heartbroken and defensively snarky side... but there's still no denying the filler near the end kind of kills the momentum a bit, and "Perfect Places" still feels like an overwrought Pure Heroine retread but I can see why it caught on. A remarkable little album, if not quite the spotless gem it was made out to be- which, in this context, can be a good and bad thing depending on the song.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 02/20/2021 19:31 | #266546
Beyond the opener, none of these songs excite me like the best songs from the first album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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