Workingman's Dead
by Grateful Dead

Workingman's Dead by Grateful Dead
Year: 1970
Release date: 1970-06-14
Overall rank: 1,036th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 436 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1970 (32nd)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (241st)
Award Best albums of all time (1,036th)

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Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead (50th Anniversary Dlx Edition) [New CD] Annive
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Grateful Dead ‎– Workingman's Dead Vinyl LP, WS 1869 Original 1970, Sealed, GR8
Condition: New

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Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead - MFSL 45RPM 2LP MFSL 2014 NM
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Grateful Dead bestography

Workingman's Dead is ranked 2nd best out of 162 albums by Grateful Dead on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Grateful Dead is American Beauty which is ranked number 325 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,027.

Grateful Dead album bestography « Higher ranked (325th)
American Beauty
This album (1,036th)
Workingman's Dead
Lower ranked (1,727th) »
Live/Dead

(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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Workingman's Dead track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (870 - 113 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (113 votes)Comments: View 2
8.
Track pick (860 - 105 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (105 votes)Comments: View 1

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

Workingman's Dead rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,036th | 1970s rank: 241st | 1970 rank: 32nd

Workingman's Dead collection

Workingman's Dead ratings

Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 436 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 436 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 
04/24/2026 01:16 davidleewrong  Ratings distribution  2,35881/100
 
10/100
 
04/05/2026 09:51 RemainInLight  Ratings distribution  3,34436/100
 
95/100
 
02/18/2026 00:16 brent13  Ratings distribution  1,94068/100
 
70/100
 
01/30/2026 00:38 Jax83  Ratings distribution  18094/100
 
85/100
 
01/17/2026 22:29 alexandermause  Ratings distribution  1,56786/100

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 79.5/100, a mean average of 78.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.9.

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Workingman's Dead comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 19 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 09/06/2022 15:44 | #289314
Solid
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 01/05/2022 23:37 | #278677
Enjoyable country/folk music here. A few standouts but overall a little inconsistent.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/29/2021 02:50 | #274370
I love "Uncle John's Band," "Dire Wolf," and "High Time." I am in the minority liking this album a little better than American Beauty.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/30/2021 01:31 | #265279
A step behind American Beauty as an album, but featuring more songs on my all-time favorite playlist.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 12/05/2020 14:21 | #262040
A tiny bit weaker than "American Beauty", but it contains my favorite song by them "Casey Jones". Overall, 65/100.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/23/2020 03:16 | #250384
Not as consistently strong as a American Beauty but it’s peaks are just as high.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/21/2020 07:13 | #247046
The weak track for me is Cumberland Blues, a great tune, but the arrangement here is weird, starting out electric--a very thin-toned electric--then bringing in the banjo and going full acoustic. It sounds like an outtake to me, and Europe '72 obviously has the definitive version of that tune. Otherwise, this is a classic. Easy Wind is one of Pigpen's finest moments, so good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/11/2017 09:57 | #202946
New speedway boogie is very underrated. Uncle johns band is the best
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 06/11/2016 15:05 | #168449
In my opinion the slightly weaker of the two 'country' records the Grateful dead released in 1970. Workingman's dead, is still a fine record, but it just doesn't have a, ripple, on it. Still fine songs in, high time, new speedway boogie, and, Casey Jones. Good summertime sounds.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/03/2016 03:37 | #163199
Casey Jones is one of my favorites of theirs. I'm totally a song fan of them... the albums are ok.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1970
1. Paranoid by Black Sabbath
2. After The Gold Rush by Neil Young
3. All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
5. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon
6. Bitches Brew by Miles Davis
7. Moondance by Van Morrison
8. Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival
9. Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin
10. Fun House by The Stooges
11. Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath
12. Let It Be by The Beatles
13. Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek & The Dominos
14. Loaded by The Velvet Underground
15. Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
16. American Beauty by Grateful Dead
17. Deep Purple In Rock by Deep Purple
18. Abraxas by Santana
19. Tea For The Tillerman by Cat Stevens
20. Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One by The Kinks