Deserter's Songs
by Mercury Rev

Album
Deserter's Songs by Mercury Rev
Year: 1998
Release date: 1998-09-29
Overall rank: 656th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 523 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1998 (9th)
Award Top albums of of the 1990s (110th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (656th)

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Mercury Rev bestography

Deserter's Songs is ranked as the best album by Mercury Rev.

Mercury Rev album bestography « Higher ranked
- This album (656th)
Deserter's Songs Lower ranked (979th) »
Yerself Is Steam

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

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Deserter's Songs 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
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (890 - 134 votes)
Holes
Average Rating: 89 (134 votes)Comments: View 0
2.
Tonite It Shows
Average Rating: 84 (106 votes)Comments: View 1
3.
Endlessly
Average Rating: 84 (101 votes)Comments: View 0
4.
I Collect Coins
Average Rating: 78 (84 votes)Comments: View 0
5.
Track pick (850 - 114 votes)
Opus 40
Average Rating: 85 (114 votes)Comments: View 1
6.
Hudson Line
Average Rating: 82 (88 votes)Comments: View 0
7.
Happy End (The Drunk Room)
Average Rating: 75 (80 votes)Comments: View 0
8.
Track pick (880 - 136 votes)
Goddess On A Hiway
Average Rating: 88 (136 votes)Comments: View 0
9.
Funny Bird
Average Rating: 84 (99 votes)Comments: View 1
10.
Pick Up If You're There
Average Rating: 79 (83 votes)Comments: View 1
11.
Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp
Average Rating: 84 (95 votes)Comments: View 0

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

Deserter's Songs rankings

Deserter's Songs rankings summary
Overall rank: 656th | 1990s rank: 110th | 1998 rank: 9th  Overall chart history
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings).Help Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 3 hours ago)

Deserter's Songs collection

Deserter's Songs ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 523 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 3 ratings for this album.  | Show all 523 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 !		08/27/2026 22:51 Melway94  Ratings distribution  11883/100
 
100/100
 !		08/20/2026 18:45 Jorbaa  Ratings distribution  74278/100
 
80/100
 !		07/20/2026 04:05 Purplepash  Ratings distribution  4,99875/100

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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 79.7/100, a mean average of 78.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.0.


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Deserter's Songs favourites

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Deserter's Songs forum mentions

This album has been referenced 87 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From BestEverAlbums 09/22/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5443): By javicho07
“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s by javicho07 () 1. by (1999) 2. by (1994) 4. by (1991) 7. (1997) 8. by (1997) 9. (1996) 10. (1998) 11. (1998) 12. by (1997) 13. by (1990) 14. (1990) 15. by (1997) 17. by (1996) 18. (1990) 19. by (1993) 20. by by by (1995) 23. by (1997) 24.…”
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From BestEverAlbums 08/23/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5413): By telegram
“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by telegram () 1. by (1972) 2. by (1967) 3. (1980) 4. by (1979) 5. by (2006) 8. (1999) 9. by (1988) 10. by (2004) 11. by (1979) 12. by by (1969) 14. by (2020) 15. by by (2008) 17. by by by (1979) 21. by (1998) 22. by (1983) 23. by (2013) 25. by…”
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From Purplepash 07/20/2026 05:52 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
“What album are you listening to? (cont.)”
View forum topic (5 mentions) →

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Deserter's Songs comments

Showing latest 5 comments | Show all 30 comments |
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Rating:  
90/100
From 06/29/2019 05:24 | #238607 | TOP COMMENT Help Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
The legendary 'Deserters Songs' who's sum is greater than its parts

I became obsessed with this album around the time it came out in 1998 and in many ways I still am obsessed. Need proof I was obsessed ?. I have 3 physical CD copies of 'Deserters Songs' - the original standard CD , a Limited Edition release with Bonus 5 track EP and finally a special numbered release with cardboard cover and post cards included

Why do I love this album so much ? Well much like Neutral Milk Hotels 'In the Aeroplane ..' it has that X factor I struggle to put into words , its weird and wonky and feels old (but isn't ) and is almost perfect

How I feel about 'Deserters Songs' is best encapsulated by the following Grasshopper liner notes from the demo's release 'Deserted Songs'

“As we pulled these Deserted Songs to the surface whatever had been holding us hostage cracked and withered in the blistering power of this music, and these songs allowed us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time… It is the magic of the vibrating universe; the music of the Angels”

As I write this late June 2019 'Deserters Songs' shamefully sits in the 600's on BEA All-Time album list , if ever an album deserved to be in the top 500 this is it


Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 3
Reply
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/03/2019 20:45 | #243361 | TOP COMMENT Help Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
100/100

I think this album is underrated, so much similarity with Soft Bulletin (Flaming Lips) wich is on top 20 (and the best of the decade for me) best of the 1990's and this is #127

Awesome music and lyrics, very atmospheric

Top 20 best albums of the 90's for me (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 2
Reply
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/09/2017 04:08 | #197622 | TOP COMMENT Help Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
Easily their best album Goddess On A Highway, Funny Bird, Holes, Hudson Line & Bottleneck Stomp are some of the best things they have ever delivered. I still prefer Flaming Lips though,as they do this style of music the best.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 2
Reply
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/20/2013 19:49 | #73949 | TOP COMMENT Help Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
Man, this is FANTASTIC. It starts out like a precursor to The Soft Bulletin, but quickly turns into something extra special.

Holes is the best opening song I've heard in a long time.
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From 05/20/2010 01:02 | #11904 | TOP COMMENT Help Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
Opus 40 is a brilliant song. The album got better from that point and held up well to the end. Interesting sound on this one
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) · 2
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Best Albums of  1998
1. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
2. Mezzanine by Massive Attack
3. Moon Safari by Air
4. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
5. Aquemini by OutKast
6. Music Has The Right To Children by Boards Of Canada
7. XO by Elliott Smith
8. Ray Of Light by Madonna
9. Deserter's Songs by Mercury Rev
10. Electro-Shock Blues by Eels