The Grand Wazoo
by The Mothers
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The Mothers bestography
The Grand Wazoo is ranked 13th best out of 125 albums by Frank Zappa on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Frank Zappa is Hot Rats which is ranked number 238 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 6,570.
(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 The Grand Wazoo on YouTube
The Grand Wazoo track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
The Grand Wazoo rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 2 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Skerns | Top 94 Music Albums of 1972 | 44/94 | 3 |
| 2026 |  Sandrof1969 | Top 40 Music Albums of 1972 | 18/40 | 3 |
| 2026 |  Patman360 | Top 97 Music Albums of 1972 | 89/97 | 0 |
| 2026 | Steppenwolf666 | 1972 8TH 100 | 35/100 | - |
| 2026 |  Fischman | Top 100 Music Albums of 1972 | 54/100 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Kalos | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 47/100 | 11 |
| 2026 | PurpleHazel | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 32/100 | 14 |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Top 74 Music Albums of 1972 | 66/74 | 1 |
| 2026 | stevengnz | Top 100 Music Albums of 1972 | 61/100 | 2 |
| 2026 | saltysurprise | Top 50 Music Albums of 1972 | 24/50 | 3 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 122 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 385 | |||
The Grand Wazoo collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 73 members
The Grand Wazoo 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 171 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/25/2026 21:01 |  spigelwii | 672 | 84/100 |
| ! | 08/08/2026 03:20 | Gussy | 1,261 | 88/100 |
| ! | 05/21/2026 07:14 |  Hayden | 7,943 | 72/100 |
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 is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.5/100, a mean average of 78.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.2.
The Grand Wazoo favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 19 members
The Grand Wazoo forum mentions
LedZep 09/13/2021 13:45 in You must listen to the album below you.The Grand Wazoo comments
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The best Zappa album of the Waka/Jawaka and Hot Rats period, Grand Wazoo is also one of the most underrated within his extensive canon. Although the playing is possibly not as strident or experimental as say the jazz of 'Weasels', it does not enter the realms of kitsch as is the case with the overrated Hot Rats.
Along with Waka/Jawaka, this was made when Zappa was in a wheelchair, severely injured after being pushed by a lunatic into the orchestra pit in London. To me, this is the MUCH better of the two albums. Waka/Jawaka sounds like he was trying to force himself all the way into "jazz," which he never was; the long instrumental pieces there are bland and inauthentic to my ears. This on the other hand is top shelf Zappa.
This and Waka Jawaka are my favourite Frank Zappa albums. I love the free form fusion jazz when I am in the right mood for it. I prefer Zappa's instrumental stuff although I have most of his albums. Depending on my mood, I enjoy most of his stuff, even the outright bizarre.
Only 1 chart and 4 points! Such a Shame. Eat that result...
Musically amazing, another zany masterpiece from a master.
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