Hard Candy
by Counting Crows
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Counting Crows bestography
Hard Candy is ranked 4th best out of 15 albums by Counting Crows on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Counting Crows is August And Everything After which is ranked number 685 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 2,509.
(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 Hard Candy on YouTube
Hard Candy track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 76 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Hard Candy rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 4 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | joathome | Top 54 Music Albums of 2002 | 14/54 | 4 |
| 2026 |  paladisiac | Top 100 Music Albums of 2002 | 67/100 | 2 |
| 2026 | Steppenwolf666 | Top 98 Music Albums of 2002 | 85/98 | 1 |
| 2026 | sunnydhamm | Top 35 Music Albums of 2002 | 34/35 | 0 |
| 2026 | marco17 | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 31/100 | 70 |
| 2026 | mostlymor | Top 100 Music Albums of 2002 | 95/100 | 0 |
| 2026 | Moondance | Top 100 Music Albums of 2002 | 29/100 | 4 |
| 2025 | baz1860 | Top 47 Music Albums of the 2000s | 28/47 | 9 |
| 2025 | Johnnyo | Top 97 Music Albums of 2002 | 87/97 | 1 |
| 2025 |  bojolpif71 | Top 100 Music Albums of 2002 | 82/100 | 1 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 49 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 199 | |||
Hard Candy collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 45 members
Hard Candy ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 77 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 9 hours ago | Exist-en-ciel | 16,215 | 70/100 |
| ! | 07/26/2025 09:05 | TonySayers61 | 25,900 | 64/100 |
| ! | 06/09/2025 18:24 | jokerman1965 | 120 | 83/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 70.7/100, a mean average of 69.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 70.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.2.
Hard Candy favourites
Showing all 5 members who have added this album as a favourite
Hard Candy forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 06/27/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5356): By marco17
Romanelli 03/20/2026 16:55 in Albums You Added To Your Collection TodayHard Candy comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
I compare Counting Crows to a Hard Candy. You can spin it, twirl it, bite it, and it will still taste sweet, but ultimately it will stubbornly keep its shape and form.
Counting Crows 4th album sounds much like anything that came before. Of the four, it is the most glazed with a pop coating throughout.
Good Time, New Frontier, and Black & Blue are highlights
Good Time figures out how to do a depressing ballad without the Duritz whining
New Frontier is infectious pop and shows another side to the band. Some fans will hate it because it is too pop and happy sounding
It tacks in a little lengthy on the discometer but I think its their 2nd best album narrowly beating out This Desert Life.
The debut and Hard Candy get more spins than their other albums from me. But I stopped listening to this band after Hard Candy
Eastwood 06/01/2015 20:53 | #142821 | TOP COMMENT
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Very good album. Best 10 songs average is 89,7/100 and the album can get very good 90/100. A hit album, I'm counting eight (!) gems: "American girls", "Good time", "If I could...", "Miami", "New frontier", "Black and blue", "4 white stallions" and "Big yellow taxi" all 90/100. And all other songs also good 80-85/100, no lows. Favourite!
Genre: Pop Rock
Most consistent album since their debut. Hailed as a comeback by many at the time of its release. The hidden track became a surprise hit.
Goliath 03/16/2020 17:16 | #248792 | TOP COMMENT
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It's a good album, but most of it is a bit 'safe' and over produced. Good Time is by far the best track.
This album has some gems but the overall construction is just ok. There is a LOT of filler on this record.
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