XO (studio album) by Elliott Smith

XO by Elliott Smith
Year: 1998
Overall rank: 444th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
82/100 (from 639 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1998 (7th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1990s (81st)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (444th)
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
Elliott Smith - XO - Elliott Smith CD F9VG The Fast Free Shipping
Condition: Very Good


eBay
eBay
Elliott Smith - XO [New Vinyl LP] Explicit
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
Elliott Smith XO [Explicit Content] Records & LPs New
Condition: New


  My favourite store:  

Elliott Smith bestography

XO is ranked 2nd best out of 10 albums by Elliott Smith on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Elliott Smith is Either/Or which is ranked number 129 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 11,703.

Elliott Smith album bestography « Higher ranked (129th) This album (444th) Lower ranked (637th) »
Either/OrXOElliott Smith

Upcoming concerts

Mar
23
Sat
20:00
SkiiTour
Rialto , Bozeman, United States. United States
Tickets from $25.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Apr
19
Fri
20:00
Marisela : ZAS World Tour
Silver Spurs Arena At OHP, Kissimmee, United States. United States
Tickets from $59.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Apr
24
Wed
19:00
Nashville Nights
Topeka Performing Arts Center, Topeka, United States. United States
Tickets from $35.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to XO on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

XO track list

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

Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 84 (120 votes)Comments: 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
3.
Track pick
Rating: 91 (227 votes)Comments: 1
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
4.
Track pick
Rating: 86 (134 votes)Comments: 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
5.
Rating: 84 (114 votes)Comments: 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
7.
Rating: 83 (111 votes)Comments: 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
8.
Rating: 80 (108 votes)Comments: 1
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
9.
Rating: 78 (106 votes)Comments: 1
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
10.
Rating: 81 (110 votes)Comments: 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
12.
Rating: 80 (105 votes)Comments: 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify

Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

XO rankings

XO collection

XO ratings

Average Rating: 
82/100 (from 639 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 639 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
95/100
 Report rating
18 hours ago charadeyouare  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 16086/100
 
90/100
 Report rating
03/10/2024 21:30 RadioGraaah  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 46878/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
03/02/2024 19:50 Hyggevinyl  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,92373/100
 
95/100
 Report rating
02/15/2024 08:34 miltiadis2001  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 65584/100
 
25/100
 Report rating
01/30/2024 21:22 r0b07  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 80183/100

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 81.6/100, a mean average of 80.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.3.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

XO comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 18 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
85/100
From 06/16/2023 23:16
Genial!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/28/2023 23:30
A brilliant demonstration of Elliott Smith's musicianship and lyricism that only adds to the already deep discography of quality albums. Smith once again has written a masterclass with this album with every song being full of depth and character. It is well worth reading the lyrics alongside listening to this release as then you can get a true experience and understand better what he was saying. The music itself is brilliant as well with it being full of depth and diverse instrumentation. Smith himself demonstrates his talents on a huge array of instruments on this record with each of them only adding to the intrigue and excitement of the sound he has created. The production is simply amazing also and really improves the experience for the listener. Overall, another consistent and elite level album from Elliott Smith that is so enjoyable to listen to.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/19/2022 06:38
Extra prima good...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/28/2021 18:52
Elliott Smith trades in the intimate lo-fi indie offerings for some baroque pop influenced Nick Drake type ballads. It loses a lot of its charm from Either/Or, but it really shows how great Smith was at songwriting.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 11/21/2019 01:10
August 6th 2019 would have been Elliott Smiths 50th birthday and to acknowledge this milestone a deluxe edition has been released featuring the original album plus 9 additional tracks from around that period

Personal favourites include a very early version of "Bottle Up & Explode" , "Some Song" and finally the true and correct "Miss Misery" track is available separate to the 'Good Will Hunting Soundtrack' for the very first time

For fans of the artist and in particular this album this deluxe edition is a must
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/22/2019 02:27
To fully appreciate and understand 'XO' context is really important

The 'XO' journey really begins the year prior in 1997 with Smiths break through release 'Either/Or'as well as his appearance on the Good Will Hunting Soundtrack ("Miss Misery") and with their release the genie was out of the bottle - Smith was suddenly huge outside of the Portland area. Clearly the shy and reserved Smith struggled with his new found notoriety as his drinking , drug use and depression spiralled out of controlled around this same time , eventually friends and family would perform an intervention in Chicago resulting in Smith departing Portland and relocating to Brooklyn New York. Much of 'XO' was written around this tumultuous time in Smiths life

Fast forward to 1998 and much the much of the angst Smith was feeling the year prior comes pouring out on 'XO' most notably in "Everybody Cares Everybody Understands" questioning the wisdom of the intervention and pretty much asking everyone to leave him the fuck alone , whilst "Waltz 2" (Lyrics: " XO, mom / It's ok, it's alright, nothing's wrong/Tell mr. man with impossible plans to just leave me alone" ) explores similar themes

The title of 'XO' says it all - it's X (kiss ) O (Hug) , see ya later , all the best no hard feelings

'XO' is Smiths most accomplished work and is a diary of an artist struggling with fame and fraying apart at the seems seemingly into the abyss

Its an often over used term but 'XO' isn't just Smith's masterpiece but it's a master class in song writing by a generational artist

'I'm never gonna know you now, but I'm gonna love you anyhow'
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 03/18/2018 15:47
Tasked with quickly following up his burst to the mainstream after signing with DreamWorks, Smith didn't crumble to either the pressure or money. If Either/Or is balanced and melodic, this must be… I don't know. Perfection. From another universe. The abrupt explosion of “Sweet Adeline” followed by the typical acoustic ballad of “Tomorrow Tomorrow” and then the consecutive run of masterpieces from “Waltz #2 (XO)” to “Waltz #1” is just mind-blowing. Breathtaking. A miniscule dip in quality on “Amity” doesn't necessarily throw off the record, and it just keeps marching on confidently to the heartbreaking conclusion of “I Didn't Understand”. The production is all over the place, but this time the greater variety of colors and tones adds distinct power and each song is placed in the perfect spot on the tracklist.
Favorites: “Waltz #2 (XO)”, “Baby Britain”, “Pitseleh”, “Sweet Adeline”, “Independence Day”, “Bled White”, “Tomorrow Tomorrow”, “Bottle Up and Explode!”, "Waltz #1"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/07/2018 15:57
From the first time I heard this record, it really resonated with me. The song writing is great, as usual with Smith, and the production enhances the sound. Waltz #2 is possibly my favorite song of all time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 05/15/2017 20:58
Elliot Smith will forever be a cult figure. Like most rock post 1995, wouldn't have received a lot more attention if he was making music in an earlier era such as the 1970's. I think this is his finest album and Waltz #5 his finest song.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 10/12/2016 18:50
This improves from Either/Or in terms of production, however the songs themselves, that's a major debate. I love both of them and I can't decide which one I prefer. Really taking a liking to Elliott's music...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for XO

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1998
1. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
2. Mezzanine by Massive Attack
3. Moon Safari by Air (FR)
4. Aquemini by OutKast
5. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
6. Music Has The Right To Children by Boards Of Canada
7. XO by Elliott Smith
8. Deserter's Songs by Mercury Rev
9. Electro-Shock Blues by Eels
10. Ray Of Light by Madonna
11. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams
12. Without You I'm Nothing by Placebo
13. Adore by The Smashing Pumpkins
14. The Shape Of Punk To Come (A Chimerical Bombination In 12 Bursts) by Refused
15. The Boy With The Arab Strap by Belle And Sebastian
16. This Is Hardcore by Pulp
17. TNT by Tortoise
18. Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star by Black Star
19. Yield by Pearl Jam
20. System Of A Down by System Of A Down
Back to Top