American Beauty (studio album) by Grateful Dead

American Beauty by Grateful Dead
Year: 1970
Overall rank: 344th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 788 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1970 (16th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1970s (85th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (344th)
Product Details
Availability

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Grateful Dead American Beauty 1970 Original Vinyl LP Sealed Hype Sticker 1893
Condition: New

$300.00


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Grateful Dead American Beauty Mofi 2XLP 45rpm sealed Audiophile AAA New
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Grateful Dead - American Beauty [50th Anniversary] NEW Sealed Vinyl LP Album
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Grateful Dead bestography

American Beauty is ranked as the best album by Grateful Dead.

Grateful Dead album bestography « Higher ranked This album (344th) Lower ranked (1,038th) »
-American BeautyWorkingman's Dead

Upcoming concerts

Mar
21
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An evening with Cubensis ~ Live Grateful Dead Music
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The Englishtown Project: Grateful Dead Tribute
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30
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20:00
Cosmic Charlie: High Energy Grateful Dead - Acoustic & Electric
The Charleston Music Hall, Charleston, United States. United States
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American Beauty track list

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

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1.
Track pick
Rating: 88 (174 votes)Comments: 2
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3.
Rating: 85 (162 votes)Comments: 1
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Rating: 79 (124 votes)Comments: 1
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Rating: 81 (129 votes)Comments: 1
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Rating: 87 (161 votes)Comments: 4
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Rating: 86 (173 votes)Comments: 1
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

American Beauty rankings

American Beauty collection

American Beauty ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 788 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 788 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
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03/11/2024 08:42 Jibb  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,08683/100
 
85/100
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03/07/2024 23:42 JR  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,05881/100
 
100/100
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02/13/2024 17:21 Ben  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 18991/100
 
85/100
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01/26/2024 17:39 Kaduken  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 44279/100
 
80/100
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01/17/2024 00:20 albumceleste  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 90757/100

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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.1/100, a mean average of 79.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.9.

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American Beauty comments

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Rating:  
95/100
From 12/02/2023 11:56
Grateful Dead best album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/30/2023 04:13
I wasn't a member of this site until I saw how criminally underrated this album is on this site.
In what universe can Kid A/The White Album(overly long but would've been amazing if reduced to 12 songs)/London Calling etc even lace American Beautys sneakers.

Box of Rain/Ripple/Brokedown Palace/Friend of the Devil/ Candyman EVERY SONG is good or great.

Enough of that but 350.... come on now. Kid A???? REALLY?!!!? Dude even a Moon Shaped Pool is ranked 77th? What are we doing here. I love Radiohead but that album was trash.

American Beauty is at worst a top 25 album of all time
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/13/2023 23:54
A thoroughly enjoyable record that is relaxing, smooth and gives the listener a great experience. The group have nailed this style of music on this release and have made one of the best records in the genre. Musically, it is so cohesive and packed full of brilliant instrumental performances across the whole group. They really shine on songs like Friend Of The Devil, Ripple, Sugar Magnolia and Box Of Rain. These songs are the peak of the record and show the beautiful music this group could create. Despite this, Operator still draws me out of the album every time I hear it and I argue it should be skipped. Overall, this is one of those albums that you can stick on and just relax to and get lost in the music.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/27/2022 18:34
I used to think that "Workingman's Dead" with songs like "Uncle John's Band," "Dire Wolf" and "Casey Jones" must be the strongest Grateful Dead album. After listening carefully to "American Beauty" there is no doubt that I have to reconsider my opinion. Where the "Uncle John's Band" has a few less interesting numbers, "American Beauty" comes out as a full set album. Stylistically the two albums, of course, are very close to each other, with the emphasis that is placed in magnificent vocal harmonies, with considerable inspiration from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Grateful Dead's songwriting is troughout the album marked by both inspiration and creativity and many of the group's most beloved songs can be found here. First and foremost, the bluesy "Truckin '" is highlighted because it was a great concert favorite, the closest the group came to a single hit, and of course because it's nice song.

Otherwise, it is the country / folk-inspired songs that dominate with "Box of Rain", "Sugar Magnolia," "Ripple" and "Till the Morning Comes" as my personal favorites.

The magnificent vocals are particularly expressed in the hymn-like "Attics of My Life", which also help make this album an unforgettable milestone.

More upbeat is "Friend of the Devil" and "Operator", the latter written and sung by Ron McKernan. Otherwise, it is as usually Jerry Garcia who is the most prolific songwriter, with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir contributing with the classics "Box of Rain" and "Sugar Magnolia".

In addition to the single versions of "Truckin '" and "Ripple" the bonus tracks consist of fine live recordings from various concerts played in 1970. Fine sound and great performances.

https://www.angelfire.com/nv/Badfinger/BANDgrateful.html
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/06/2022 17:09
Favorite GD Studio album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/13/2022 21:12
I am not Grateful Dead fan but that was decent record.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/05/2022 17:05
Una de las dos joyas country rock de Grateful Dead (la otra es Workingman's Dead).
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 01/04/2022 14:16
Only getting round to this in 2021. Didn't know any of their stuff or back ground so able to listen to it fresh with no preconceptions. Didn't really get it grabbing me. Attics Of My Life was top track.
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Rating:  
75/100
From 09/29/2021 03:11
When I was younger, I felt like "Operator" killed the momentum of the album and then "Candy Man" did nothing to revive it. These days I appreciate those songs a lot. It is interesting to listen to things again after many years and see how one reacts differently.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/23/2021 01:26
It's hard to believe that jam band icon Grateful Dead made one of the finest country-rock records of all time, filled with simple and focused melodies instead of improvisation and psychedelic experimentation. It's flawed, yet perfect. Wistful, yet charming. Loose, yet effortfully assembled.

Essential.

Career Highlight: Friend of the Devil
Gems: Ripple, Box of Rain
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 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. Let It Be by The Beatles
12. Loaded by The Velvet Underground
13. Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek & The Dominos
14. Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath
15. Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
16. American Beauty by Grateful Dead
17. Abraxas by Santana
18. Deep Purple In Rock by Deep Purple
19. Tea For The Tillerman by Cat Stevens
20. Atom Heart Mother by Pink Floyd
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