Transformer
by Lou Reed

Transformer by Lou Reed
Year: 1972
Overall rank: 141st   
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,541 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1972 (6th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1970s (36th)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (141st)

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Product Details
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Lou Reed - Transformer [New Vinyl LP] 150 Gram, Rmst
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LOU REED TRANSFORMER 1972 ROCK LP VINYL ALBUM
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LOU REED Transformer LP Original 1972 RCA Records FIRST PRESS LSP-4807
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Lou Reed bestography

Transformer is ranked as the best album by Lou Reed.

Lou Reed album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (141st)
Transformer
Lower ranked (580th) »
Berlin

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Feb
01
Sun
19:00
THE SAMMY DELEON AND JACKIE WARREN QUARTET, WITH KIP REED & CHRIS BURGE
B Side Lounge, Cleveland Heights, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Feb
04
Wed
20:00
Reed Turchi
Antone's Nightclub, Austin, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Feb
19
Thu
20:00
All You Need Is George - An All-Star Celebration of George Harrison ft. Jackie Greene, Steve Kimock, Pete Lavezzoli, Reed Mathis & More
Sony Hall, New York, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

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Transformer track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 84 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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1.
Average Rating: 87 (348 votes)Comments: View 3
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2.
Average Rating: 82 (299 votes)Comments: View 4
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3.
Track pick (920 - 569 votes)
Average Rating: 92 (569 votes)Comments: View 7
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4.
Average Rating: 83 (299 votes)Comments: View 3
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5.
Track pick (910 - 557 votes)
Average Rating: 91 (557 votes)Comments: View 6
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6.
Average Rating: 81 (276 votes)Comments: View 2
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7.
Track pick (890 - 403 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (403 votes)Comments: View 6
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8.
Average Rating: 80 (266 votes)Comments: View 2
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10.
Average Rating: 82 (276 votes)Comments: View 1
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11.
Average Rating: 81 (279 votes)Comments: View 3
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Transformer rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 141st | 1970s rank: 36th | 1972 rank: 6th

Transformer collection

Transformer ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,541 votes)
   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 1,541 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 !
12/27/2025 23:40 bjorndedrij   9466/100
 
85/100
 !
12/27/2025 04:54 AbsurdCheesecake   33187/100
 
75/100
 !
12/17/2025 12:10 Leginlists   1,02383/100
 
75/100
 !
12/05/2025 23:31 Exist-en-ciel   6,08370/100
 
65/100
 !
11/12/2025 23:55 NYAndreas   1,43243/100

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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 83.3/100, a mean average of 82.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.1.

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Transformer comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 91 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
85/100
From 10/02/2025 16:57 | #311170
Sneaky good album, def tapers off in the second half but great production and deep lyrics carry the album. Thou the tubas on Make Up are a little to cutesy for me. Favorites would be Vicious, Hangin' Round, and Walk on the Wild Side
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/22/2025 23:51 | #310252
This has always been a bit of a slow burner for me. Couple of filler tracks but mainly an album of top notch tunes. Definitely stronger in the front half. 'Perfect Day' being one of the best songs to come out of 1972
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/05/2023 16:00 | #295800
There is some filler on this record but when Lou Reed gets it right it is simply phenomenal on this release. The three classics that are Perfect Day, Walk On The Wild Side and Satellite Of Love are outstanding with all of them still sounding just as fresh and exciting today. The production across the whole of the album is fantastic and this makes it easy to keep revisiting it countless times. Lou Reed's song writing is genius and it is tough to listen to this album and not dig deeper into some of his songs and explore their meanings and stories. His vocal is one of my favourites in music history and this is possibly the best he has sounded on any of his albums. However, there is those weaker tracks which are mediocre or good and for most people I can see why it might make this record feel like a bit of a drag especially nearer the end. Despite this, I love these deep cuts as I just enjoy Reed in this style of music as I think it suits him brilliantly. Overall, this record is a lot fun that also has a large amount of quality backing it up with one of the most important people in music history leading the line demonstrating how versatile and incredible he is.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 12/19/2022 22:53 | #292077
I've heard people say really positive things about this record and Lou too, but I didn't get into it with any expectations. I like that the album has really vivid storytelling and also some of the lines/melodies remind me of newer songs, which shows what influence he had. My favourite tracks have to be Vicious, Perfect Day, Make Up, Satellite of Love and New York Telephone Conversation. My least favourite tracks are probably Andy's Chest and unfortunately the last two tracks that make the albums finish not so interesting as I thought it would be considering how cool the middle part was. It didn't blew me away apart from the songs mentioned, but I got to admit it sounds loose, it's funny and really light on the ears, has good stories also. I'd give it a 7,5 / 10, but it gave me a different experience, because I don't listen to his type of music a lot.
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Rating:  
85/100
From 09/19/2022 19:27 | #289805
Lou Reed veio forte em sua carreira solo já desbravando e criando o glam rock. Genial.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 08/31/2022 03:47 | #289151
Solid album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/07/2022 13:40 | #286071
Massive Lou Reed album which introduced him to many people with the big hit "Walk on the Wild Side". Lots of variety here and Perfect Day is also a classic.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 02/07/2022 13:40 | #280909
Fantastic production on this one. Oerfect Day is wonderful abd Walk On The Wild Side has an amazing tune, Satellite Of Love is really good too. Experimental and catchy at the same time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/08/2021 14:13 | #271444
Lou Reeds best album for me. Really well produced by David Bowie. All tracks are very good, with a few standout perfect songs like perfect day, walk on the wildside and satellite of love. Some funny wacky songs which are still a great listen thanks to great production.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 06/18/2021 15:03 | #270812
see what sticks to the wall not much. exception the magnificent Walk on the Wild side
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1972
1. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie
2. Exile On Main St. by The Rolling Stones
3. Pink Moon by Nick Drake
4. Close To The Edge by Yes
5. Harvest by Neil Young
6. Transformer by Lou Reed
7. Machine Head by Deep Purple
8. Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull
9. Ege Bamyası by Can
10. Foxtrot by Genesis
11. Clube Da Esquina by Milton Nascimento / Lô Borges
12. #1 Record by Big Star
13. Can't Buy A Thrill by Steely Dan
14. Super Fly by Curtis Mayfield
15. Acabou Chorare by Novos Baianos
16. Talking Book by Stevie Wonder
17. Eat A Peach by The Allman Brothers Band
18. Neu! by Neu!
19. Vol 4 by Black Sabbath
20. Argus by Wishbone Ash
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