White Light/White Heat
by The Velvet Underground

Album
White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground
Year: 1968
Release date: 1968-01-30
Overall rank: 164th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,426 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1968 (7th)
Award Top 50 albums of of the 1960s (29th)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (164th)

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The Velvet Underground bestography

White Light/White Heat is ranked 3rd best out of 19 albums by The Velvet Underground on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The Velvet Underground is The Velvet Underground & Nico which is ranked number 10 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 37,426.

The Velvet Underground album bestography « Higher ranked (96th)
The Velvet Underground This album (164th)
White Light/White Heat Lower ranked (269th) »
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(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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White Light/White Heat track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 86 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (880 - 423 votes)
White Light/White Heat
Average Rating: 88 (423 votes)Comments: View 2
2.
The Gift
Average Rating: 83 (331 votes)Comments: View 8
3.
Track pick (860 - 351 votes)
Lady Godiva's Operation
Average Rating: 86 (351 votes)Comments: View 5
4.
Here She Comes Now
Average Rating: 85 (336 votes)Comments: View 3
5.
I Heard Her Call My Name
Average Rating: 82 (324 votes)Comments: View 6
6.
Track pick (890 - 424 votes)
Sister Ray
Average Rating: 89 (424 votes)Comments: View 14

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

White Light/White Heat rankings

White Light/White Heat rankings summary
Overall rank: 164th | 1960s rank: 29th | 1968 rank: 7th  Overall chart history
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings).Help Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 4 hours ago)

White Light/White Heat collection

White Light/White Heat ratings

Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,426 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 3 ratings for this album.  | Show all 1,426 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 !		08/20/2026 05:09 nextorgd  Ratings distribution  1,22184/100
 
80/100
 !		08/16/2026 12:28 TitoVampir  Ratings distribution  19776/100
 
85/100
 !		08/10/2026 14:13 Tamthebam  Ratings distribution  23,29169/100

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 83.6/100, a mean average of 82.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.4.


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White Light/White Heat favourites

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Forum mentions

This album has been referenced 101 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From BestEverAlbums 08/06/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5396): By pranafilms
“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. by (1985) 2. by (1970) 3. by (2000) 4. (1996) 5. by (2015) 6. by by (1972) 8. by (1971) 9. by (1998) 10. by (1969) 11. by (1989) 12. by (2000) 13. (2006) 14. by (1965) 15. by (1976) 16. by (1966) 17. by (1967) 18. (1971) 19. (1988) 20.…”
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From BestEverAlbums 08/05/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5395): By areminder
“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. by (1999) 2. (1986) 3. by by (1965) 5. by (1969) 6. by (1988) 7. by by (1999) 9. by (1959) 10. (1977) 11. by (1970) 12. by (1966) 14. (2009) 15. (1977) 16. (1969) 17. by (1969) 20. by (1968) 21. by (1971) 22. by (1968) 23. by (1965) 24.…”
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From BestEverAlbums 07/21/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5380): By Purplepash
“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. by (1991) 4. (1986) 5. by (1983) 6. by (2016) 7. by (1973) 8. by (1967) 9. by (2004) 11. by (1987) 12. by (2007) 13. by (1985) 14. by (1986) 15. by (1967) 16. by (1971) 18. by by (1986) 20. by (1984) 21. by (1985) 22. by by by (1985)…”
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White Light/White Heat comments

Showing latest 5 comments | Show all 101 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:  
70/100
From 08/31/2022 03:49 | #289163
Solid album (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Reply
Rating:  
85/100
From 02/02/2022 16:50 | #280472
84.17

El disco más experimental de los Velvets. Tiene opiniones muy divididas. Para algunos solo es ruido, mientras que otros lo consideran uno de los mejores trabajos de VU. Tiene The Gift, tema que no me termina de fascinar. Y también los mejores temas, White Light/White Heat y Sister Ray. Personalmente no es de mis favoritos. Lo ubico #3 después de TVU&N y TVU.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Reply
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/17/2022 12:25 | #279543
This is peak of the VU creativity, but on there is not their most accesible sound. Song like Sister Ray is good but works only in context of the album. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Reply
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/14/2022 23:45 | #279398 | TOP COMMENT Help Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
This is probably the groups least accessible album by a long way but it is also their most experimental and interesting album to explore both sonically and lyrically. The guitars are allowed to pretty much just run free on this album and we are really rewarded for them doing that. We get that classic VU screeching guitar noise all over this record and there are times when they are fighting over which one can play louder which makes for some incredible moments on Sister Ray. The lyrics are amazing and so diverse and every time I listen to this record I am stunned by the genius and engaging lyrics that Reed gave us. They are delivered brilliantly by him as well. Every track is great and has its moments to shine and each cut is completely unique and the variety we are treated to is amazing. Instrumentally, I think they are at the strongest on this record and also on The Velvet Underground And Nico as demonstrated best on Sister Ray which is up there with one of their best ever tracks. Overall, an absolute classic from VU and while on first listen it may seem a little abrasive, once you have given it a few more tries you will fall in love with this album just like I have. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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From 11/23/2021 18:12 | #276597
Me parece aburrido (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of  1968
1. The Beatles (The White Album) by The Beatles
2. Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
3. Astral Weeks by Van Morrison
4. Odessey And Oracle by The Zombies
5. The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks
6. Beggars Banquet by The Rolling Stones
7. White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground
8. Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel
9. Music From Big Pink by The Band
10. At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash