Metal Box (studio album)
by Public Image Ltd.

Album
Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
Year: 1979
Overall rank: 820th   
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 427 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1979 (14th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (176th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (820th)

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Public Image Ltd. bestography

Metal Box is ranked as the best album by Public Image Ltd..

Public Image Ltd. album bestography « Higher ranked
- This album (820th)
Metal Box Lower ranked (2,660th) »
The Flowers Of Romance

(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

Jan
31
Sat
20:00
TWICE [THIS IS FOR] WORLD TOUR IN DALLAS
American Airlines Center, Dallas, United States. United States
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Feb
13
Fri
20:00
Los Angeles Azules - Cumbia Sin Fronteras US Tour
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, United States. United States
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Feb
14
Sat
00:00
Widespread Panic: 2 Day Ticket - Ticket Valid Feb 14 & 15, 2026
Moody Center ATX, Austin, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Metal Box on YouTube

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Metal Box track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Albatross
Average Rating: 82 (72 votes)Comments: View 1
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2.
Memories
Average Rating: 82 (67 votes)Comments: View 0
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3.
Swan Lake
Average Rating: 82 (66 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Poptones
Average Rating: 83 (71 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Careering
Average Rating: 83 (73 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
No Birds
Average Rating: 79 (56 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Graveyard
Average Rating: 78 (60 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
The Suit
Average Rating: 77 (58 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Bad Baby
Average Rating: 76 (58 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Socialist/Chant/Radio 4
Average Rating: 79 (36 votes)Comments: View 0
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Metal Box rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 820th | 1970s rank: 176th | 1979 rank: 14th

Metal Box collection

Metal Box ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 427 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 427 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 !		12/08/2025 16:03 Exist-en-ciel   4,23070/100
 
90/100
 !		11/16/2025 20:23 Brandon8   1,01989/100
 
55/100
 !		11/13/2025 00:02 NYAndreas   1,43243/100
 
90/100
 !		10/10/2025 08:08 melisandre   14989/100
 
85/100
 !		09/20/2025 12:10 videoheadcleaner   12,22785/100

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 4% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.6/100, a mean average of 75.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.3.

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Metal Box comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 27 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:  
60/100
From 04/15/2023 18:11 | #296112
Socialist is the best track on this album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
30/100
From 04/07/2023 04:40 | #295836
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (0 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/08/2023 22:24 | #292634
A decent album but there isn't anything ground breaking that would make it a must listen. It is enjoyable for the most part with the strongest tracks coming right at the beginning. The quality does go down hill the further into the record you go and the music becomes really slow and a bit boring. Overall, it has a few very good tracks but for the majority it is just pretty average.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 06/18/2022 23:11 | #286495
Very unique and interesting album, a metallic and uncompromising post punk sound of it makes it hard to sit through it.
The experimental stuff works only some of the times.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/12/2022 10:48 | #279207
#449 in 1001 Albums listening project. I do not get why it is there. Not for me, I tried, I tried, I tried, I tried, I tried,..
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
5/100
From 10/14/2021 18:34 | #275016
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -7 votes (0 helpful | 7 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 06/28/2021 09:33 | #271112
I understand it's influence, but it is not really my thing...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From 07/23/2019 18:33 | #240266
Favorite Tracks:Albatross, No Birds, Bad Baby
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 03/23/2018 21:47 | #211590
A classic album. A must have.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/23/2018 20:49 | #211586
I've been into weird post-punky side of rock for more than a decade but I finally got this album's vibe just a couple of days ago. As unbelievably amazing as Flowers of Romance is, this one is even better. A milestone album, really. On the same level of unique innovation and inventiveness as TMR or WL/WH. And play damn good all along.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Buy album United States
Best Albums of 1979
1. London Calling by The Clash
2. The Wall by Pink Floyd
3. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
4. Fear Of Music by Talking Heads
5. Off The Wall by Michael Jackson
6. Breakfast In America by Supertramp
7. Entertainment! by Gang Of Four
8. Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
9. Highway To Hell by AC/DC
10. Reggatta De Blanc by The Police
11. Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
12. Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
13. Ambient 1: Music For Airports by Brian Eno
14. Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
15. The B-52's by The B-52's
16. Armed Forces by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
17. Specials by The Specials
18. 154 by Wire
19. Singles Going Steady by Buzzcocks
20. Setting Sons by The Jam
 
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