Blue Lines
by Massive Attack

Blue Lines by Massive Attack
Year: 1991
Release date: 1991-04-08
Overall rank: 333rd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 929 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1991 (11th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1990s (64th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (333rd)

Listen on Spotify SPOTIFY
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
Massive Attack - Blue Lines [New Vinyl LP] 180 Gram
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
Massive Attack Blue Lines (CD) Album
Condition: Brand New


eBay
eBay
MASSIVE ATTACK BLUE LINES Wild Bunch Records WBRCD 1 IMPORT Music Audio Compact
Condition: Brand New


  My favourite store:  

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 138 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 9,715.

Massive Attack album bestography « Higher ranked (138th)
Mezzanine
This album (333rd)
Blue Lines
Lower ranked (1,088th) »
Protection

(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 Blue Lines on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Blue Lines track list

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

Sort Sort by

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

Blue Lines rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 333rd | 1990s rank: 64th | 1991 rank: 11th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026jonny5244Top 40 Music Albums of 19914/405
2026 timtookyTop 100 Music Albums of the 1990s89/1002
2026jdizzle123456Greatest Electronic Albums of All Time11/50 -
2026cicadelicVox Magazine 50 Albums of 199124/50 -
2026LittleM1971Top 88 Music Albums of 199159/882
2026 AAL2014Top 52 Music Albums of 199134/522
2026FritzTop 12 Music Albums of 19915/123
2026 LedZepHip Hop - ATLiens, Bulletproof Wallets & Labor Days42/100 -
2026 DommeDamianTop 32 Music Albums of 199131/320
2026wizardalienTop 100 Greatest Albums of the 20th Century20/100 -
2026 EyeKanFlyTop 79 Music Albums of 199135/793
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of the 1990s93/1002
2026wizardalienTop 13 Music Albums of 19913/134
2026 RomanelliMy Overall Chart: 1101-120048/100 -
2026joathomeTop 48 Music Albums of 199110/484
2026fabm0All Time Pt 515/100 -
2026 imacgillTop 100 Music Albums of the 1990s61/1008
2026RiveraTop 100 Greatest Music Albums84/10016
2026 HaydenTop 50 Music Albums of 199136/502
2026araidernomoreTop 7 Music Albums of 19914/73
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 744
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 5,087
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Blue Lines collection

Blue Lines ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 929 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 929 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 
05/20/2026 19:48 libbyshuss  Ratings distribution  8179/100
 
85/100
 
05/16/2026 02:28 stareaterogni0n  Ratings distribution  46871/100
 
85/100
 
05/11/2026 18:02 Jakor  Ratings distribution  5,43470/100
 
80/100
 
05/04/2026 11:21 Proghead  Ratings distribution  19083/100
 
100/100
 
04/26/2026 08:08 ASOARE  Ratings distribution  2,27376/100

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 80.2/100, a mean average of 79.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.4.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Blue Lines comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 54 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:  
95/100
From 05/06/2026 10:20 | #314337
Iconic.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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:  
65/100
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)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Blue Lines

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below.
The top comments are featured on our aggregated charts!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
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