The Nylon Curtain
by Billy Joel

The Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel
Year: 1982
Overall rank: 3,926th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 148 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1982 (59th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (583rd)
Award Best albums of all time (3,926th)

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The Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel: Used
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The Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel (Record, 2014)
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Billy Joel - THE NYLON CURTAIN (2008) Columbia, Reissue/Remastered
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Billy Joel bestography

The Nylon Curtain is ranked 7th best out of 26 albums by Billy Joel on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Billy Joel is The Stranger which is ranked number 235 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 6,781.

Billy Joel album bestography « Higher ranked (2,754th)
Piano Man
This album (3,926th)
The Nylon Curtain
Lower ranked (4,656th) »
Storm Front

(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

Mar
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Billy Joel Ultimate World-Class Tribute - Turnstiles
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10
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Billy Joel & Sting
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May
08
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We May Be Right The Billy Joel Tribute Billy Joel Birthday Celebration
The Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, United States. United States
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The Nylon Curtain track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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

The Nylon Curtain rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 3,926th | 1980s rank: 583rd | 1982 rank: 59th

The Nylon Curtain collection

The Nylon Curtain ratings

Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 148 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 148 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
03/07/2026 22:24 BoxFL  Ratings distribution  2,74651/100
 
50/100
 
02/25/2026 05:06 brent13  Ratings distribution  1,91968/100
 
60/100
 
01/24/2026 19:15 Bluedog  Ratings distribution  16573/100
 
50/100
 
01/14/2026 19:29 cicadelic  Ratings distribution  12,24973/100
 
80/100
 
01/09/2026 17:29 Vinyl  Ratings distribution  51780/100

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 10% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.8/100, a mean average of 73.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.2.

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The Nylon Curtain favourites

Showing all 13 members who have added this album as a favourite

The Nylon Curtain comments

Showing all 9 comments |
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From 03/22/2025 09:08 | #308147
Shortlisted for album of the year at the 1983 Grammys. The Winner was Toto IV by Toto
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 03/26/2024 08:49 | #302685
BJ stands so well in line and side by side with the best singer-songwriters of this world, that this album should be ranked higher on any list.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/22/2021 21:44 | #264877
Way underrated piece of work, Goodnight Saigon is a great song about Vietnam. Allentown is a great song about American decline. The B Side is a great tribute to the Beatles. All in all I think this album should be considered Joel's second best and reach the top 500 of any list.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 10/11/2018 14:49 | #222347
A very middle of the road album for Billy Joel, elevated by three of his best songs.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/17/2018 14:54 | #205884
By far Joel's best album, Nylon Curtain is an inspired and eclectic work that takes influence from the Vietnam war, the Beatles and (Of course) drugs.

The best tracks on here are 'Where's the Orchestra', 'Allentown', 'Scandinavian Skies' and 'Laura'
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/26/2016 13:42 | #162652
This is a really good album, almost sounds like a Beatles' tribute/pastiche at times especially on the wonderful Laura, a kind of John Lennon psychedelic ballad, and the drony, Scandinavian skies. The middle eight of surprises sounds just like George Harrison too. The first half of the album is perfect with Joel classics such as the protest song, Allentown, the excellent, pressure and the Vietnam anthem, goodnight Saigon. Second side/half is not as great but room of our own is excellent. There's certainly nothing bad on here, but it does tend to run out of steam before the end. Where's the orchestra, ends the album. It's definitely an interesting album if you're a Beatles fan. A fine Billy Joel album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/19/2014 09:08 | #127384
Billy Joel has a near nervous breakdown on this great album. Give it a listen it's not to bad,
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 09/28/2014 02:55 | #122897
Pressure, Allentown, and Goodnight Saigon are all you really need off this one.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 06/23/2012 23:32 | #45240
Not the hit factory Joel's albums usually are. Nevertheless, this is one of the most poignant records he ever did. All of the tracks are strong here, and I don't there are any songs here that gratuitously "fill" out the set. Allentown could've been written today.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1982
1. Thriller by Michael Jackson
2. The Dreaming by Kate Bush
3. The Number Of The Beast by Iron Maiden
4. Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen
5. Pornography by The Cure
6. 1999 by Prince
7. Avalon by Roxy Music
8. Rio by Duran Duran
9. Love Over Gold by Dire Straits
10. The Nightfly by Donald Fagen
11. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) by Simple Minds
12. Combat Rock by The Clash
13. Imperial Bedroom by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
14. Peter Gabriel (1982) by Peter Gabriel
15. Big Science by Laurie Anderson
16. English Settlement by XTC
17. Screaming For Vengeance by Judas Priest
18. Hex Enduction Hour by The Fall
19. Bad Brains by Bad Brains
20. The Lexicon Of Love by ABC