Lifes Rich Pageant
by R.E.M.

Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M.
Year: 1986
Release date: 1986-07-28
Overall rank: 495th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 769 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1986 (8th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1980s (74th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (495th)

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Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
Lot of 8 REM CDs: Lifes Rich Pageant Monster Not Bad For No Tour Automatic For
Condition: Very Good


eBay
eBay
REM CD Lot 5 CDS Monster Murmur Green Document Life’s Rich Pageant
Condition: Good


eBay
eBay
R.E.M. Lifes Rich Pageant RARE 2016 LIMITD REISSUE Vinyl LP USA STILL SEALED rem
Condition: New


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R.E.M. bestography

Lifes Rich Pageant is ranked 6th best out of 36 albums by R.E.M. on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by R.E.M. is Automatic For The People which is ranked number 45 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 18,957.

R.E.M. album bestography « Higher ranked (479th)
Green
This album (495th)
Lifes Rich Pageant
Lower ranked (541st) »
Reckoning

(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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Lifes Rich Pageant 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.

Lifes Rich Pageant rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 495th | 1980s rank: 74th | 1986 rank: 8th

Lifes Rich Pageant collection

Lifes Rich Pageant ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 769 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 769 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
05/12/2026 12:52 AAL2014  Ratings distribution  3,89675/100
 
60/100
 
05/09/2026 19:15 chriskarman  Ratings distribution  2,85681/100
 
90/100
 
04/30/2026 13:12 ASOARE  Ratings distribution  2,23576/100
 
85/100
 
04/13/2026 19:10 habibi333  Ratings distribution  96073/100
 
75/100
 
03/18/2026 12:02 JamesMowbray  Ratings distribution  5,49969/100

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 79.6/100, a mean average of 78.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.3.

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Lifes Rich Pageant comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 47 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
90/100
From 03/24/2025 00:41 | #308167
Much better on re-listen. I'm just so much more used to this band and there's less pressure on them from me to blow me away like I was hoping they would. Really special.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/24/2024 20:29 | #301445
Starts as finishes as well as anything REM have ever done.

Actually scrub that, starts and ends as good as anything ever. Starting with Hyena though is a run of less spectacular material before the return to greatness of Swan and Superman.

A definite evolution from the more ‘college’ sound of their first 3 albums.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/09/2023 21:38 | #292663
Solid R.E.M. album showing college rock shifting from sound similar to jangle pop to something more original with punk flavour. A lot of beautiful lyrics from more rebellious ones on first couple tracks to more poetic ones like Swan Swan H which is one of my favorites here. I also really love Fall On Me, Cuyahoga, I Believe ane Begin The Begin.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/30/2022 18:03 | #283612
I Like this better than almost any other REM album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 08/24/2021 22:35 | #272806
This is where they really found their sound. Undeniably R.E.M.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 06/18/2020 12:25 | #253803
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -5 votes (0 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 02/10/2019 19:24 | #231744
Outstanding album from one of the decade's best bands. Consistent excellence all the way through.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/03/2019 20:45 | #228774
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (0 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/06/2018 03:46 | #223950
It picks up after the first three tracks, but nothing earth-shattering for me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From 11/03/2018 09:37 | #223765
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (1 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1986
1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
2. Master Of Puppets by Metallica
3. Graceland by Paul Simon
4. So by Peter Gabriel
5. Skylarking by XTC
6. The Colour Of Spring by Talk Talk
7. Reign In Blood by Slayer
8. Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M.
9. Licensed To Ill by Beastie Boys
10. Black Celebration by Depeche Mode