Sail Away
by Randy Newman
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Randy Newman bestography
Sail Away is ranked as the best album by Randy Newman.
(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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Sail Away track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
#
Track
Rating/Comments
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Sail Away rankings
Sail Away rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,761st | 1970s rank: 324th | 1972 rank: 35th Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 5 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  covecove | Top 50 Music Albums of 1972 | 23/50 | 3 |
| 2026 | martintho | Top 68 Music Albums of 1972 | 39/68 | 2 |
| 2026 |  zags7000 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 85/100 | 3 |
| 2026 | Exist-en-ciel | Top 100 Music Albums of 1972 | 88/100 | 1 |
| 2026 | BorderFreeAndrew | Top 100 Music Albums of 1972 | 7/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | fabm0 | List 1972 | 76/100 | - |
| 2026 |  Romanelli | Top 49 Music Albums of 1972 | 48/49 | 0 |
| 2026 |  imimesis | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 80/100 | 4 |
| 2026 | byuzak | Top 43 Music Albums of 1972 | 43/43 | 0 |
| 2026 | BorderFreeAndrew | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 36/100 | 63 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 229 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 970 | |||
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Sail Away collection
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Sail Away ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 272 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 25 hours ago | stareaterogni0n | 605 | 70/100 |
| ! | 09/30/2026 16:54 |  Tamthebam | 23,332 | 69/100 |
| ! | 09/20/2026 17:10 | AledJames | 1,720 | 69/100 |
Rating metrics:
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 78.0/100, a mean average of 77.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.7.
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Sail Away favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 41 members
Sail Away forum mentions
This album has been referenced 94 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
imacgill 07/26/2026 23:50 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
imacgill 07/26/2026 23:50 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)“What album are you listening to? (cont.)”
View post →From Romanelli 12/04/2025 23:41 in The Romanelli Music Diary: Mexican Moon
Romanelli 12/04/2025 23:41 in The Romanelli Music Diary: Mexican Moon“2351 RANDY NEWMAN SAIL AWAY 1972 – REPRISE Produced By LENNY WARONKER & RUSS TITELMAN 1. Sail Away 2. Lonely At The Top 3. He Gives Us All His Love 4. Last Night I Had A Dream 5. Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear 6. Old Man 7. Political Science 8. Burn On 9. Memo To My Son 10. Dayton, Ohio –…”
View post →From 
BestEverAlbums 12/01/2024 17:00 in Monthly overall chart movements - November 2024
BestEverAlbums 12/01/2024 17:00 in Monthly overall chart movements - November 2024“The overall chart is ever changing, and it's difficult to keep up with the detail of what's happening. So, for those people who are interested, this post attempts to show the latest movements - biggest climbers, movers, new entries and leavers for the top 100, 250, 500 & 1000 over the past month,…”
(68 mentions across Monthly Overall Chart Movements topics)View latest topic →
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Sail Away comments
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From
ffudnebbuh TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/07/2010 20:15 | #13086 | TOP COMMENT
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ffudnebbuh TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/07/2010 20:15 | #13086 | TOP COMMENT
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It was a consistently good seller(Reprise MS 2064) throughout the 70s and 80s and got a lot of airplay in the same period, especially for "Political Science" and "Sail Away". One of my favorite albums and IMO his best, but also check out Randy Newman Live and "I think its going to rain today". I am really glad to see that this album is so popular with the members on this site..albums like this can get lost in the passage of time.
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From
an_outlaw 12/24/2011 20:41 | #33686 | TOP COMMENT
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Some guy that sounds like Gruff Rhys but from the far past sings about some weird stuff. He has Willy Wonka complex and probably his attitude too. Maybe. Maybe Not? I'm reviewing 'Sail Away' here, have got to remind myself. Yes, it has an old timey feel. 'Lonely At The Top' self lamenting comes with brass instruments and a tinkering piano. This isn't quite Scott Walker though. This guy is more... pre occupied with the song. I can't see much narration here. Through the sadness of 'Old Man' and the confusion via passion of 'Last Night I Had A Dream' it gives the impression one is reading an audio diary. Except you're listening to the words off the page. I'm confusing am I? Well whatever, nevermind, listen to the album. It won't take long. These songs go in the ear and out sooner than you would think. Not saying it isn't interesting, in fact... it does have some most interesting parts. 'Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear' takes you to the seaside quicker than the fastest plane. I can see the striped pre first world war swimsuits just be listening... And 'Sail Away' and 'Political Science' certainly have a different sense of humor. Odd odd album. Listened to it 3 times so far and can't quite grasp it. Seems like a grower though.
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Simbetam 08/21/2021 17:03 | #272706 | TOP COMMENT
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Bob Dylan said "It doesnt get any better" than this album.
I know people use the term "underrated" way too much. But this album may actually be the most underrated album of all time. A really great album of tinkering piano songs, really personal but not really in a lyrical and biographical sense but in a personality. This album is deep, humorous, catchy and really charming, reflecting newmans personality.
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From
swhaze TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/06/2014 20:32 | #123527 | TOP COMMENT
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swhaze TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/06/2014 20:32 | #123527 | TOP COMMENT
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Randy Newman is in a class all his own. That's not to say he's the BEST of the best, but he is most definitely an icon.
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garycottier TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/01/2016 14:52 | #167501 | TOP COMMENT
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Probably Randy Newman's best album, sail away, is an excellent record from one of America's greatest ever songwriters. Featuring stunning songs from the eternally topical, political science, you can leave your hat on, and, God's song(that's why I love mankind). Brilliant intelligent songs.
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