Transformer (studio album)
by Lou Reed

Transformer by Lou Reed
Year: 1972
Overall rank: 141st   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,539 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
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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Lou Reed - Transformer [New Vinyl LP] 150 Gram, Rmst
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Lou Reed Transformer Speakers Corner Sealed 180g Vinyl AAA
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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

Nov
30
Tue
00:00
Fred Reed: Album Release w/ Best Kept Soul
The Queen, Wilmington, United States. United States
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Dec
02
Tue
18:00
Jamie Reed, Katie Wang, Alexander Knight
Mercury Lounge, New York, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Dec
07
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
 
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Transformer track list

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

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 87 (346 votes)Comments: View 3
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2.
Rating: 82 (297 votes)Comments: View 4
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3.
Track pick
Rating: 92 (567 votes)Comments: View 7
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4.
Rating: 83 (297 votes)Comments: View 3
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6.
Rating: 81 (274 votes)Comments: View 2
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8.
Rating: 80 (264 votes)Comments: View 2
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10.
Rating: 82 (274 votes)Comments: View 1
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11.
Rating: 81 (277 votes)Comments: View 3
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Transformer rankings

Transformer collection

Transformer ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,539 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 1,539 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
65/100
 Report rating
11/12/2025 23:55 NYAndreas  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 91955/100
 
100/100
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11/08/2025 04:00 pranafilms  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 23591/100
 
75/100
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10/29/2025 02:42 MadhattanJack  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 5,21065/100
 
90/100
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10/07/2025 01:50 JacobMullis  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 72388/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
10/04/2025 07:54 robertoveltri  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 74779/100

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 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 |
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Rating:  
85/100
From 10/02/2025 16:57
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
#311170 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/22/2025 23:51
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
#310252 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/05/2023 16:00
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.
#295800 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 12/19/2022 22:53
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.
#292077 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/19/2022 19:27
Lou Reed veio forte em sua carreira solo já desbravando e criando o glam rock. Genial.
#289805 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 08/31/2022 03:47
Solid album
#289151 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/07/2022 13:40
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.
#286071 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 02/07/2022 13:40
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.
#280909 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/08/2021 17:39
Buen disco
#276000 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/08/2021 14:13
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.
#271444 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 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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