The Prodigal Son
by Ry Cooder
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Ry Cooder bestography
The Prodigal Son is ranked 10th best out of 38 albums by Ry Cooder on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Ry Cooder is Paris, Texas which is ranked number 6380 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 209.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to The Prodigal Son on YouTube
The Prodigal Son track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
The Prodigal Son rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 4 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Johnnyo | Top 90 Music Albums of 2018 | 55/90 | 2 |
| 2025 | rkm | Top 53 Music Albums of 2018 | 19/53 | 3 |
| 2025 | cicadelic | RTÉ Our favourite albums of 2018 | 17/17 | - |
| 2025 | spinout | Top 68 Music Albums of the 2010s | 41/68 | 8 |
| 2025 | Johnnyo | Fopp Records Albums of the Year 2018 | 32/100 | - |
| 2025 | Johnnyo | Top albums of the ‘10’s (301 - 400) | 80/100 | - |
| 2024 |  EyeKanFly | AM Bubbling Under 2010s 11 | 99/100 | - |
| 2024 | henriknaess | Top 100 Music Albums of 2018 | 13/100 | 4 |
| 2024 | glynspsa | Top 99 Music Albums of 2018 | 75/99 | 1 |
| 2024 | henriknaess | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | 75/100 | 5 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 27 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 66 | |||
The Prodigal Son collection
Showing all 8 members who have this album in their collection
The Prodigal Son 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 17 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/22/2025 22:44 | EyeKanFly | 8,848 | 65/100 |
| ! | 05/02/2022 10:19 | Moondance | 20,824 | 72/100 |
| ! | 02/09/2022 05:58 |  zags7000 | 20,568 | 64/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 72.3/100, a mean average of 72.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 72.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 11.5.
Forum mentions
The Prodigal Son comments
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What rockinsteve said. Lovely album acquired today and 1st listen, it’s great. Chillin & a groovin
rockinsteve 05/18/2018 22:06 | #215161
This is a wonderful album! It showcases Ry's great guitar playing and weathered vocals perfectly. The spiritual feel throughout the recording is nice. It soothes my soul. If you're a fan of Mr. Cooder's music, DEFINITELY pick this one up!
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