Koyaanisqatsi
by Philip Glass

Koyaanisqatsi by Philip Glass
(Soundtrack album)
Year: 1983
Release date: 1983-10-00
Overall rank: 1,939th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 132 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1983 (30th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (297th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,939th)

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Philip Glass bestography

Koyaanisqatsi is ranked 2nd best out of 41 albums by Philip Glass on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Philip Glass is Glassworks which is ranked number 1730 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 975.

Philip Glass album bestography « Higher ranked (1,730th)
Glassworks
This album (1,939th)
Koyaanisqatsi
Lower ranked (1,939th) »
Koyaanisqatsi

(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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Koyaanisqatsi rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,939th | 1980s rank: 297th | 1983 rank: 30th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026HyggevinylTop 50 Music Albums of 19839/504
2026SkernsTop 76 Music Albums of 198363/761
2026Exist-en-cielTop 67 Music Albums of 19838/674
2026 JoaoMoreiraTop 49 Music Albums of the 1980s13/4915
2026Foxforce5Top 21 Music Albums of 198319/211
2026 imimesisTop 100 Greatest Music Albums55/10045
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s72/1006
2026 Robert Anton WilsonTop 100 Greatest Music Albums47/10053
2026 mutley88Best Ever Soundtracks Pt 142/70 -
2026spewventuriTop 91 Music Albums of the 1980s43/9111
2026 LeonardTop 100 Music Albums of 19836/1005
2026cicadelicTop 100 Music Albums of 198323/1004
2026 LeonardTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s55/1009
2026 LeonardTop 100 Greatest Music Albums88/10013
2026 Patman360Top 90 Music Albums of 198375/901
2026 arthurbittencourtTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s91/100 -
2025 Graeme2Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s77/1005
2025 dihansseTop 52 Music Albums of 198319/523
2025 desh79Top 100 Music Albums of 19837/1005
2025 imimesisTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s33/10014
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 125
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 854
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Koyaanisqatsi collection

Koyaanisqatsi ratings

Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 132 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 132 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
03/13/2026 13:09 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  8,96370/100
 
100/100
 
01/30/2026 05:07 subnam  Ratings distribution  18327/100
 
100/100
 
01/29/2026 22:02 CharonBri  Ratings distribution  1,04776/100
 
90/100
 
01/15/2026 22:26 glebrus  Ratings distribution  19486/100
 
85/100
 
12/05/2025 16:19 Araldo  Ratings distribution  1,47280/100

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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 79.2/100, a mean average of 79.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.6.

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Koyaanisqatsi comments

Showing all 4 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:  
80/100
From 02/09/2024 01:20 | #301851
Great piece of creative music.
Clearly a new wave of approaching structure and narrative as well as intensity.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 09/08/2018 10:55 | #220734
Koyaanisqatsi is a phantastic film and it would be a lot different without the soundtrack from Philip Glass. I listen to score music a lot but except for "Koyaanisqatsi" and "Prophecies" most songs from this soundtrack only work if you see the pictures as well (album rating: 58,33 %)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 12/28/2014 17:46 | #130294
One of my all time favorite films, and a fantastic soundtrack. Don't buy the iTunes version though, it's just the film audio lifted and sold. Buy a used CD or Vinyl.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/07/2011 17:02 | #29977
What is the point of changing the album on the turntable or the CD in the player if the next album is to be more of the same. Koyaanisqatsi, the soundtrack of the movie by Giorogio Moroder. Electronica, not the dance type, more the dreadfully intellectual type my dears. Musical pieces built around repetitive structures that just grows on whiffs of wind until they overwhelm you like a thunderstorm.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1983
1. Murmur by R.E.M.
2. Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes
3. Power, Corruption & Lies by New Order
4. Synchronicity by The Police
5. War by U2
6. Speaking In Tongues by Talking Heads
7. Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits
8. Kill 'Em All by Metallica
9. Let's Dance by David Bowie
10. Clics Modernos by Charly García
11. Script Of The Bridge by The Chameleons
12. The Final Cut by Pink Floyd
13. Soul Mining by The The
14. The Hurting by Tears For Fears
15. Piece Of Mind by Iron Maiden
16. Pyromania by Def Leppard
17. Holy Diver by Dio
18. Eliminator by ZZ Top
19. Script For A Jester's Tear by Marillion
20. Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble