For Alto
by Anthony Braxton
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Anthony Braxton bestography
For Alto is ranked 2nd best out of 51 albums by Anthony Braxton on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Anthony Braxton is Saxophone Improvisations Series F which is ranked number 5086 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 275.
(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 For Alto on YouTube
For Alto track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
For Alto rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 5 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Exist-en-ciel | Top 100 Music Albums of 1970 | 72/100 | - |
| 2026 |  AfterHours | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 55/100 | 45 |
| 2026 |  DommeDamian | Top 31 Music Albums of 1971 | 22/31 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Norman Bates | Top 100 Music Albums of 1971 | 16/100 | 4 |
| 2025 | Johnnyo | Albums of the year 1971 by Acclaimed Music | 45/75 | - |
| 2025 |  Xxnu99etxX | Top 99 Music Albums of the 1970s | 37/99 | 13 |
| 2025 | Norman Bates | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 97/100 | 1 |
| 2024 |  Arthurknight | Top 100 Music Albums of 1970 | 21/100 | - |
| 2024 | LosWochos | Top 100 Music Albums of 1970 | 91/100 | - |
| 2024 | thekrauter | Top 99 Music Albums of the 1970s | 41/99 | 12 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 51 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 244 | |||
For Alto collection
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For Alto 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 72 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 01/04/2026 02:41 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,702 | 70/100 |
| ! | 11/23/2025 07:33 | NYAndreas | 1,433 | 44/100 |
| ! | 05/26/2025 21:22 | DommeDamian | 7,794 | 49/100 |
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 13% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.3/100, a mean average of 73.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 20.2.
For Alto favourites
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For Alto forum mentions
EyeKanFly 12/20/2021 13:11 in What album are you listening to right now?
BestEverAlbums 12/01/2019 17:02 in Monthly overall chart movements BestEverAlbums 11/01/2019 16:02 in Monthly overall chart movementsFor Alto comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Yeah...no. I will admit that there are a few tracks I do like off this album. The intro for Jack Gell was a nice interlude intro. Also love the hell out of Susan Axelrod. Probably the best track that plays to the strengths of the qualities this album has. Also thought Murray De Pillars was also good. Now I do admire how this album is quite raw and naked where it's only Anthony. It does create an interesting presence. And though I'm not head over heels for Ann and Peter Allen that track feels like the prototype for lowercase music.
But even when I do have some nice things to say, I don't like the album at all. The Cecil track is oddly enough the only track that I forgot. Weirdly enough it just went in one ear and out the other. However tracks 2, 7 and 8 are so annoying to me. The qualities of being raw and naked just become this weird form of punishment where if this was release this decade, people would make fun of this shit instantly. And unlike Karma or The Epic where I do like how the atonal qualities of the sax create an interesting counterpoint, this is just work.
I'm a passionate defender of the avant-garde, and I never thought I'd say this, but there are moments where the screeching noises on this album make it hard for me to listen to. The rest of the album sortof makes up for it, but Saxophone Improvisations is a similar type of solo sax album from Braxton, and is a far better album. I'd like For Alto a lot better if I didn't have Saxophone Improvisations to listen to instead.
mickilennial 03/17/2019 20:26 | #233695 | TOP COMMENT
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If this was released today, the atonal avant-garde aspects of jazz might not be where they are. Ridiculous statement.
This is a classic. Heck off. (Edited)
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