A Deeper Understanding
by The War On Drugs

A Deeper Understanding by The War On Drugs
Year: 2017
Release date: 2017-08-25
Overall rank: 389th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 618 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 2017 (4th)
Award Top 50 albums of of the 2010s (50th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (389th)

Listen on Spotify SPOTIFY
Sorry, no matches on eBay for "A Deeper Understanding The War On Drugs".

  My favourite store:  

Listen & Collect

Complete your collection or upgrade your listening experience.

The War On Drugs bestography

A Deeper Understanding is ranked 2nd best out of 9 albums by The War On Drugs on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The War On Drugs is Lost In The Dream which is ranked number 171 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 8,440.

The War On Drugs album bestography « Higher ranked (171st)
Lost In The Dream
This album (389th)
A Deeper Understanding
Lower ranked (1,240th) »
I Don't Live Here Anymore

(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 A Deeper Understanding on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

A Deeper Understanding track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 84 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
3.
Track pick (880 - 188 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (188 votes)Comments: View 3
4.
Track pick (880 - 186 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (186 votes)Comments: View 2
7.
Track pick (900 - 210 votes)
Average Rating: 90 (210 votes)Comments: View 6

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

A Deeper Understanding rankings

A Deeper Understanding rankings summary
Overall rank: 389th | 2010s rank: 50th | 2017 rank: 4th  Overall chart history
(Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). (Last updated: 1 hour ago).
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026jon5417Top 30 Music Albums of 201713/303
2026 paladisiac2010s, #401-50070/100 -
2026JohnnyoTop 100 Music Albums of 201724/1004
2026leniadTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s42/10012
2026Rm12398Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s19/10016
2026araidernomoreTop 20 Music Albums of 201712/202
2026jdizzle123456Top 100 Music Albums of 201719/1004
2026 Patman360Top 100 Music Albums of 201788/1001
2026 zags7000Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s35/10013
2026 KalosL10Y - Last 10 Years fav albums50/100 -
2026 PurplepashYa joking? Should've been higher! 2010s edition80/100 -
2026 RomanelliTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s61/1008
2026gregthealienTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s80/1004
2026SkernsTop 100 Music Albums of 201744/1003
2026asimpkinsTop 74 Music Albums of 201774/740
2026 paladisiacTop 100 Music Albums of 201758/1002
2026 covecoveTop 100 Music Albums of 201722/1004
2026Johnnyoin 2021 (2 B deleted)81/99 -
2026 NowhereManTop 14 Music Albums of 20171/145
2026 flamingyesdeptTop 100 Music Albums of the 2010s41/10012
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 584
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 4,239
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

A Deeper Understanding collection

A Deeper Understanding ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 618 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 618 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 !
07/07/2026 18:03 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  15,32470/100
 
90/100
 !
04/11/2026 15:08 CatQueenCole  Ratings distribution  5291/100
 
75/100
 !
04/08/2026 22:45 araidernomore  Ratings distribution  47370/100
 
75/100
 !
03/23/2026 09:49 platus  Ratings distribution  5,87174/100
 
70/100
 !
02/27/2026 22:49 DaveH68  Ratings distribution  1,36376/100

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 80.9/100, a mean average of 80.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.1.


Please log in or create an account if you want to be able to leave a rating

A Deeper Understanding comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 51 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:  
85/100
From 07/03/2025 10:56 | #309868
My second album from this band . And for the second time i am impressed . Whoever said ``Good Rockmusic is dead `` or `` Only the Seventies had good bands ``..... well go to whereever you`re going , but go . Everybody else please enjoy ` The War on Drugs`.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 11/30/2022 01:15 | #291653
Each song has a melody or a riff or a sound or a lyric that grabs my attention. And then the rest of the song tends to fritter that attention away.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/02/2022 11:02 | #278364
Um misto de synthpop e heartland rock incrível!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/29/2021 12:35 | #274386
The best thing about this album is how the artist gives every song its own limelight and its own space to breathe. Every track is allowed to run its course and finish where it is supposed to finish. The run times are just perfect. It is on albums like these that you realise how amazing music can be when you allow it to be free. This is best displayed on Thinking Of A Place. Every song matches the same tone and atmosphere and it creates this mellow and chill vibe throughout. The lyrics are fantastic and well worth delving into as well. However, some cuts are a little weaker, they are still enjoyable but are closer to filler than the quality of the other tracks. Overall, a fantastic album from a very consistent artist.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/14/2021 12:07 | #264396
The best, an album following up a magnum opus, can hope for is to gain at least a small faction of listeners who would sincerely claim its the better album. And in that sense, A Deeper Understanding did all that and then some. My personal favourite and a timeless modern classic.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 12/09/2020 00:24 | #262316
Somehow sounds like a cross between Bryan Adams, Dire Straits, Bruce Springsteen and Don Henley. But without any of the biting lyricism that made some of them stand out. It all just kind of glides by inoffensively. Which is great if that's what you're into.

Also - is the song 'In Chains' meant to sound so much like 'Red Eyes' crossed with 'Under the Pressure'?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/17/2020 23:33 | #250134
They actually topped their last album... Cannot believe it... Some songs still two years after hearing them are still growing like baby mushrooms into full grown beautiful pineapples. Thats a special and unique gift this album has to offer. It is literally impossible for them to improve even higher.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/10/2020 15:22 | #249752
Somewhere, maybe on someone's chart, I saw a comment saying that The War on Drugs is a band that appeals to the "bridge and tunnel crowd." I had to Google the phrase to find out what it means; apparently it's a term of condescension applied by New Yorkers to folks who commute into the city from New Jersey and elsewhere. The implication, I suppose, is that such people have gauche, unrefined musical tastes. Well, I live in Montana, and whatever it may say about me, I love The War on Drugs. A Deeper Understanding is an aptly titled album, as I think it far surpasses their previous albums (which I also liked) in consistency and emotional depth. I love the spaciousness of the production on this album, and I love the way these songs breathe. "Strangest Thing" is a slow burner that lumbers out the gate full of portent and, over the course of its eleven-minute runtime, expertly dials up the drama, with Wurlitzer organs and a wall of synths leading to a booming finale.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/29/2020 14:56 | #249263
ADU is my favorite War On Drugs album. It feels like a continuation of LITD, but with a more rough sound, somestimes saturated. And always the aerial vibes from the previous one. The band has had a great impact in my life. Can't wait for more.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/04/2020 15:06 | #248480
Beautiful sounds. "Holding On" is my absolute favorite. But there is no song, that is not exceptional well written. The whole album takes you on a journey, where you can travel in your head and feel whatever you want to feel. Very impressive song writing.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or create an account if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for A Deeper Understanding

Anonymous
What do you think of this album? Leave a comment or rate it below.
The top-voted comments get featured on our charts, Album of the Day, and the site newsletter.
Log in or create an account to rate this album, leave comments and join the discussion.