Metal Machine Music
by Lou Reed

Metal Machine Music by Lou Reed
Year: 1975
Overall rank: 9,243rd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
47/100 (from 202 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1975 (130th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (1,363rd)
Award Best albums of all time (9,243rd)

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lou reed metal machine music german cd
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Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music (50th Anniversary) [2-lp Metallic Silver Vinyl]
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Sealed RCA Original Lou Reed Metal Machine Music Vinyl Record CPL2-1101 Grail
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Lou Reed bestography

Metal Machine Music is ranked 11th best out of 37 albums by Lou Reed on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Lou Reed is Transformer which is ranked number 144 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 9,584.

Lou Reed album bestography « Higher ranked (7,812th)
Ecstasy
This album (9,243rd)
Metal Machine Music
Lower ranked (10,246th) »
New Sensations

(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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Metal Machine Music rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 9,243rd | 1970s rank: 1,363rd | 1975 rank: 130th

Metal Machine Music collection

Metal Machine Music ratings

Average Rating: 
47/100 (from 202 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 202 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
0/100
 
03/08/2026 15:35 SD100852  Ratings distribution  1,26876/100
 
75/100
 
03/05/2026 15:27 Beattieboi  Ratings distribution  2263/100
 
60/100
 
12/28/2025 13:14 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  7,93870/100
 
20/100
 
12/21/2025 04:27 Olli  Ratings distribution  6,75563/100
 
40/100
 
10/25/2025 17:53 LittleM1971  Ratings distribution  5,91981/100

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 has a Bayesian average rating of 47.1/100, a mean average of 45.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 45.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 30.2.

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Metal Machine Music favourites

Showing all 11 members who have added this album as a favourite

Metal Machine Music comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 36 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:  
100/100
From 04/11/2023 15:27 | #295950
Sounds like telephone interference mixed with dial-up internet. 10/10.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/11/2021 16:40 | #267247
This album is brilliant. Some day I will write a dissertation justifying my stance, but for now all I'll say is this: anyone could have done this, but Lou Reed was the only one with the guts to actually make it happen.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 06/10/2020 20:36 | #253261
Not as bad as its reputation would suggest, but I would only recommend it for Lou Reed completionists.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 05/31/2020 19:57 | #252623
I give it 60 points of 100 because i found it not so bad not easy to listen but ok. For me it is often the same frequency but there are some outriders so it is not the worst but it is very experimental and a kind oft art. I would not buy it but when you want to listen to avantgarde music this is you way.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 04/13/2020 19:21 | #249897
I don’t believe this belongs in Lou’s top ten but I understand it’s going to get attention. This is strictly instrumental and experimental not a traditional release by any means. I own this on vinyl because I am a completist. I was unable to get all the way through my first listen and not sure when I will give it another spin. The album cover is really cool and the liner notes are hilarious. You have been warned.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 03/21/2020 03:31 | #248925
This platter is a nifty lil toe tapper. Just right to enjoy with a glass of mineral water (with honey) in a warm bath.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/09/2020 05:14 | #248581
The reaction to this album shows how little rock critics know. Dismissed at the time as unlistenable noise released to get out of a record contract, this is serious electronic music, and anyone who knows the greatest classical composers of the 2nd half of the 20thC - Stockhausen, Xenakis, Cage - would instantly recognise it as such. This album is not at that level, but it is at least equal to Zappa's best serious Art Music. It's up there with Tago Mago, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Venetian Snares and Nurse With Wound as serious art music.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/30/2019 15:48 | #246130
Yes.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 11/01/2018 02:08 | #223667
Absolutely awful, if there is something to get, i don't get it
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 09/07/2018 06:39 | #220692
There is definitely some order in this chaos. The kind of order you find on Aphex Twin’s jungle tracks. This is not just all random, I’m sure. It is - however - very repetitive. And that would be kinda okay for mmm pt. 1, but there are no particularly different patterns to find on the rest of the erm... compositions. All in all, this is an interesting experiment, but he could have tried to make it somehow enjoyable to listen to. That would’ve been a legendary work of art. But this sounds a bit lazy and is only good for releasing some stress... if you’re okay with the migraine that it replaces.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1975
1. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
2. Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan
3. Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
4. Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin
5. A Night At The Opera by Queen
6. Another Green World by Eno
7. Horses by Patti Smith
8. Tonight's The Night by Neil Young
9. Fleetwood Mac by Fleetwood Mac
10. Mothership Connection by Parliament
11. The Hissing Of Summer Lawns by Joni Mitchell
12. Toys In The Attic by Aerosmith
13. The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett
14. Zuma by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
15. Young Americans by David Bowie
16. Expensive Shit by Fela Kuti & Africa 70
17. The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan & The Band
18. Sabotage by Black Sabbath
19. Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John
20. Katy Lied by Steely Dan
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