Blue Lines (studio album)
by Massive Attack

Blue Lines by Massive Attack
Year: 1991
Overall rank: 328th   
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 919 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1991 (11th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1990s (63rd)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (328th)

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MASSIVE ATTACK BLUE LINES Wild Bunch Records WBRCD 1 IMPORT Music Audio Compact
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Massive Attack - Blue Lines [New Vinyl LP] 180 Gram
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Massive Attack bestography

Blue Lines is ranked 2nd best out of 9 albums by Massive Attack on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Massive Attack is Mezzanine which is ranked number 144 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 9,667.

Massive Attack album bestography « Higher ranked (144th)
Mezzanine
This album (328th)
Blue Lines
Lower ranked (1,075th) »
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(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

Dec
31
Wed
21:30
Year of the Idiot with American Idiots
Backporch Stage at House of Blues C, Chicago, United States. United States
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Jan
23
Fri
19:00
Matt Dusk sings Sinatra
Effingham Performance Center, Effingham, United States. United States
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Jan
31
Sat
20:00
Liverpool Legends
McAllen Performing Arts Center, McAllen, United States. United States
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Blue Lines track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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1.
Track pick (870 - 210 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (210 votes)Comments: View 3
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2.
Average Rating: 79 (142 votes)Comments: View 4
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3.
Average Rating: 82 (155 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 83 (152 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Track pick (900 - 272 votes)
Average Rating: 90 (272 votes)Comments: View 6
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7.
Average Rating: 80 (143 votes)Comments: View 1
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Average Rating: 80 (137 votes)Comments: View 1
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9.
Average Rating: 83 (160 votes)Comments: View 1
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Blue Lines rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 328th | 1990s rank: 63rd | 1991 rank: 11th

Blue Lines collection

Blue Lines ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 919 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 919 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 !
5 days ago jtrizzle35   62980/100
 
95/100
 !
11/30/2025 05:43 Kingturtle   6,87972/100
 
80/100
 !
11/24/2025 03:41 Exist-en-ciel   2,73570/100
 
90/100
 !
11/23/2025 08:34 NYAndreas   1,43243/100
 
85/100
 !
11/07/2025 04:38 Hayden   7,35172/100

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 80.1/100, a mean average of 79.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.4.

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Blue Lines comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 53 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 07/17/2025 03:01 | #310184
Here is an album that tries to combine several musical styles. I liked the rapping of the band's main trio, and didn't care so much for the soul on the tracks with guest singers. The music is well executed. Considered the first trip hop album, iconic.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/04/2023 22:33 | #297944
Massively influential maintaining dark moody atmosphere throughout, but not very consistent. The obvious biggest highlight is Unfinished Sympathy and I also really like Safe From Harm and Five Man Army, the rest is good but blends together for me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 04/24/2022 18:01 | #284593
Got a listen to this from 2019 - three outstanding tracks on a good solid album - Safe From Harm, Hymn Of The Big Wheel and the immense Unfished Sympathy. No bad tracks for me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/28/2021 15:42 | #278120
An amazing debut album. Such a unique sound, unparalleled in this genre. Unfinished Sympathy is one of my favourite songs of all time - even the band seemed surprised at how good it was judging by the lyrics at the end of the song - "Don't know where this one came from". I'm also a big fan of the title track. The rest of the album is solid.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/17/2021 11:06 | #275113
Album Rating: 94.00
(846/9)

Released in 1991, it wasn’t until the late 90s when I, as a 16 year old, snuck into pubs and bars with fake ID before stumbling on to the last bus home to be serenaded to sleep by Blue Lines. It used to be my preventative hangover cure and I am still convinced that I’ve never woken up with a sore head after listening to all 45:04 of this brilliance before bedtime.

1. "Safe from Harm” ft. Shara Nelson - 99
2. "One Love" ft. Horace Andy - 91
3. "Blue Lines" - ft. Adrian Thaws (Tricky) - 92
4. "Be Thankful for What You've Got" - 93
5. "Five Man Army” - 97
6. "Unfinished Sympathy" ft. Shara Nelson - 98
7. "Daydreaming" ft. Tricky - 84
8. "Lately" ft. Shara Nelson - 96
9. "Hymn of the Big Wheel" ft. Neneh Cherry & Horace Andy - 94
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/02/2021 22:49 | #271278
Groundbreaking electronica from the Bristol collective. Unlike some pioneering work, however, this sounds great too. Covering jazz-fusion drumming and lovers rock all within the trip-hop parameters, this LP sounds better on every listen.
Rating: Excellent
Best track: Hymn Of The Big Wheel
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 01/28/2021 21:03 | #265230
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (1 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 12/20/2020 23:47 | #262990
THE BEST START FOR A BAND
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 12/15/2020 03:49 | #262714
Overall more mellow than I go for, but relatively listenable.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 07/01/2020 20:36 | #254909
ALL SONGS ARE MY FAV. TRACKS!!!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1991
1. Nevermind by Nirvana
2. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
3. Ten by Pearl Jam
4. Spiderland by Slint
5. Achtung Baby by U2
6. The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
7. Laughing Stock by Talk Talk
8. Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers
9. Metallica by Metallica
10. Screamadelica by Primal Scream
11. Blue Lines by Massive Attack
12. Out Of Time by R.E.M.
13. Badmotorfinger by Soundgarden
14. Dangerous by Michael Jackson
15. Trompe Le Monde by Pixies
16. Temple Of The Dog by Temple Of The Dog
17. Use Your Illusion II by Guns N' Roses
18. Yerself Is Steam by Mercury Rev
19. Woodface by Crowded House
20. Innuendo by Queen
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