Ray Of Light
by Madonna

Album
Ray Of Light by Madonna
Year: 1998
Release date: 1998-02-22
Overall rank: 633rd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 637 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1998 (8th)
Award Top albums of the 1990s (105th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (633rd)

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Madonna bestography

Ray Of Light is ranked as the best album by Madonna.

Madonna album bestography « Higher ranked
- This album (633rd)
Ray Of Light Lower ranked (818th) »
Like A Prayer

(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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Ray Of Light track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Drowned World/Substitute For Love
Average Rating: 85 (143 votes)Comments: View 1
2.
Swim
Average Rating: 79 (119 votes)Comments: View 0
3.
Ray Of Light
Average Rating: 84 (177 votes)Comments: View 4
4.
Candy Perfume Girl
Average Rating: 74 (112 votes)Comments: View 0
5.
Skin
Average Rating: 76 (112 votes)Comments: View 2
6.
Nothing Really Matters
Average Rating: 79 (118 votes)Comments: View 0
7.
Sky Fits Heaven
Average Rating: 80 (115 votes)Comments: View 2
8.
Shanti/Ashtangi
Average Rating: 70 (105 votes)Comments: View 1
9.
Track pick (870 - 180 votes)
Frozen
Average Rating: 87 (180 votes)Comments: View 1
10.
The Power Of Good-Bye
Average Rating: 84 (136 votes)Comments: View 0
11.
To Have And Not To Hold
Average Rating: 79 (101 votes)Comments: View 0
12.
Little Star
Average Rating: 75 (99 votes)Comments: View 0
13.
Mer Girl
Average Rating: 70 (99 votes)Comments: View 0

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Ray Of Light rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 633rd | 1990s rank: 105th | 1998 rank: 8th

Ray Of Light collection

Ray Of Light ratings

Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 637 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 637 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
0/100
 		02/24/2026 21:04 AdamRP  Ratings distribution  1548/100
 
100/100
 		02/16/2026 07:47 duble2007  Ratings distribution  964/100
 
75/100
 		01/16/2026 10:52 Pluto11  Ratings distribution  12,13672/100
 
80/100
 		01/15/2026 00:10 This_is_handsome  Ratings distribution  76979/100
 
30/100
 		01/11/2026 03:27 Proto  Ratings distribution  4,11533/100

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 is rated in the top 15% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.1/100, a mean average of 72.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 20.1.

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Ray Of Light comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 46 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:  
75/100
From 09/18/2025 00:17 | #310954
Madonna going a tad EDM. She pulls it off quite well. There's some decent tracks on this.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/25/2025 07:43 | #308710
Shortlisted for album of the year at the 1999 Grammys. the winner was The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/25/2025 19:59 | #307206
Without doubt her best album. Love it
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/26/2023 22:49 | #297247
Her absolute best. Seeing her evolution from the catchy bubblegum synthpop of her earliest records all the way to Ray of Light is one of the most rewarding artistic evolutions. From Like a Prayer through Bedtimes Stories in particular, Madonna is searching for new sounds and exploring new ideas. They all lead to fascinating places, but none of it is whole. Even when she's leaving it all on the dance floor, there's still something missing.

But not on Ray of Light. The infectious songwriting, the sprawling possibilities, the cheekiness and melodrama that never quite meshed as well as you might want all finally coalesce into the most effortless and triumphant albums you'll ever hear. This is Madonna at the peak of her powers and she doesn't waste a second.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 08/04/2021 06:35 | #272242
Listen ROL is always a good idea
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 12/10/2020 02:23 | #262446
This is on the low end of the Madonna spectrum for me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 11/25/2020 15:30 | #261386
Her finest hour. Overall, 60/100.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From 08/20/2020 02:22 | #257226
love this
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 11/11/2019 16:42 | #244678
Her best album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/23/2019 19:14 | #244052
An unexpected album that once again proved Madonna as the queen of reinvention.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Buy album United States
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
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. Ray Of Light by Madonna
9. Deserter's Songs by Mercury Rev
10. Electro-Shock Blues by Eels
11. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams
12. Without You I'm Nothing by Placebo
13. This Is Hardcore by Pulp
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