Workbook
by Bob Mould
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Bob Mould bestography
Workbook is ranked as the best album by Bob Mould.
(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 Workbook on YouTube
Workbook track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Workbook 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 | Johnnyo | Top 100 Music Albums of 1989 | 8/100 | 5 |
| 2026 |  Patman360 | Top 86 Music Albums of 1989 | 63/86 | 1 |
| 2026 | Rivera | Top 37 Music Albums of 1989 | 22/37 | 2 |
| 2026 | gloveside | Top 30 Music Albums of the 1980s | 5/30 | 17 |
| 2026 | matterhornrider | Top 50 Music Albums of 1989 | 37/50 | 1 |
| 2026 | Johnnyo | Most listened to artists in November 2020 (To delete) | 2/34 | - |
| 2026 |  AAL2014 | Top 53 Music Albums of 1989 | 21/53 | 3 |
| 2026 | culwin | Top 44 Music Albums of 1989 | 24/44 | 2 |
| 2026 | spewventuri | Top 91 Music Albums of the 1980s | 87/91 | 1 |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Top 100 Music Albums of 1989 | 56/100 | 2 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 115 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 435 | |||
Workbook collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 44 members
Workbook 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 89 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 07/25/2026 17:37 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,716 | 70/100 |
| ! | 06/03/2026 23:01 |  Repo | 2,235 | 85/100 |
| ! | 11/28/2025 19:20 |  Kingturtle | 7,579 | 73/100 |
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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.0/100, a mean average of 77.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.1.
Workbook favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 15 members
Workbook forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 08/16/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5406): By skrapoelView latest topic →
Repo 06/03/2026 22:54 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)View all forum mentions
Workbook comments
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Terrific solo effort from the Husker Du alumi. Stand outs include Poision years and Heartbreak a Stranger.
buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/30/2020 15:53 | #254812 | TOP COMMENT
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When a band I love breaks up, most of the time I'm less enamored of the new bands, side projects, and solo endeavors that ensue afterward. There's often something special about the chemistry between band members that makes whatever they were doing unique and special, and it can be difficult for even the most talented musicians and songwriters to recapture the magic. I assumed that would be the case with Hüsker Dü, as Bob Mould and Grant Hart brought such different and complementary energies to that great punk/alternative rock band. But I think Workbook surpasses anything Hüsker Dü ever did. The use of acoustic guitar, paired with the searing distortion-heavy electric lead guitars for soloing, draws attention to Mould's talents as a lyricist in ways that Hüsker Dü's wall of noise tended to obscure. An unexpected and still much-underappreciated album, Workbook is an incredibly consistent collection of songs with many highlights, perhaps the most memorable of which is the scorching guitar work on "Wishing Well."
An excellent solo effort from the former lead singer of Husker Du. The first five tracks are particularly strong, but there is very little drop off as the album goes on. One of the best albums of the eighties.
Bob Mould was always a great songwriter.
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