Porgy & Bess
by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
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Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong bestography
Porgy & Bess is ranked 2nd best out of 7 albums by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong is Ella & Louis which is ranked number 1035 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,691.
(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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Porgy & Bess track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Porgy & Bess rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 3 hours ago)
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Porgy & Bess 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 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 62 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 07/28/2026 12:12 | cicadelic | 13,731 | 73/100 |
| ! | 04/21/2026 08:24 | Leginlists | 3,786 | 83/100 |
| ! | 01/31/2026 20:29 | sweetness | 1,127 | 79/100 |
| ! | 12/22/2025 01:23 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,468 | 70/100 |
| ! | 11/14/2025 16:09 | TonySayers61 | 25,379 | 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 is rated in the top 7% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.2/100, a mean average of 75.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 11.7.
Porgy & Bess favourites
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Porgy & Bess comments
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Well crafted arrangements. A really beautiful rendition of the original soundtrack.
A beautiful version of the Gershwin's classic. Both Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald are on top form and thankfully Fitzgerald doesn't slip into any scatting histrionics. A lovely record.
A classic record!
RoundTheBend 01/24/2016 21:49 | #157540 | TOP COMMENT
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While Summertime is timeless, I didn't really fall in love with it. I think with most things like this (Opera/Musical) you have to experience it live, not just listening to a recording. If you've fallen in love with it live, you'll love the recording. The score I'm giving is strictly on the recording as I don't have a connection with the opera yet. Most Operas/Musicals have a popular theme and the rest of it musically isn't "catchy" rather is part of the story. Also I rated the songs at a 70 because they are musically interesting in of themselves, but as an over all album I rank it a 60 because I didn't really jive with the whole thing...it was just a random collection of songs telling a story I am not familiar with.
More listenable than the Gershwin opera. A great addition for fans of Ella and Louis.
eclab 01/24/2013 01:52 | #62656 | TOP COMMENT
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Spectacular vocals from Ella, especially on "Summertime".
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