The Ascension (studio album)
by Sufjan Stevens

The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens
Year: 2020
Release date: 2020-09-25
Overall rank: 1,586th   
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 294 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 2020 (13th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 2020s (44th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,586th)

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Sufjan Stevens, The Ascension, Ltd Ed, Clear, Colored Vinyl, 2xLP, 2020, NEW
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Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension [New CD]
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Sufjan Stevens bestography

The Ascension is ranked 7th best out of 29 albums by Sufjan Stevens on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Sufjan Stevens is Illinois which is ranked number 43 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 20,378.

Sufjan Stevens album bestography « Higher ranked (930th)
Javelin
This album (1,586th)
The Ascension
Lower ranked (3,506th) »
All Delighted People EP

(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
24
Sat
19:00
Whitney Hanson - Words Never Die Tour 2026
The Regent Theater, Los Angeles, United States. United States
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Jan
29
Thu
19:30
Chris Janson
Brown County Music Center, Nashville, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Jan
24
Sat
20:00
Chayce Beckham
The Showroom at Turning Stone Resor, Verona, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

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The Ascension track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
2.
Average Rating: 83 (91 votes)Comments: View 0
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3.
Average Rating: 84 (99 votes)Comments: View 1
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4.
Average Rating: 77 (80 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Track pick (860 - 96 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (96 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 80 (83 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Average Rating: 80 (79 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
Average Rating: 78 (78 votes)Comments: View 1
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9.
Average Rating: 83 (91 votes)Comments: View 1
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10.
Average Rating: 75 (74 votes)Comments: View 0
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11.
Average Rating: 78 (77 votes)Comments: View 0
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12.
Average Rating: 78 (76 votes)Comments: View 0
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13.
Average Rating: 82 (91 votes)Comments: View 0
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14.
Track pick (870 - 103 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (103 votes)Comments: View 0
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15.
Track pick (870 - 115 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (115 votes)Comments: View 1
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

The Ascension rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,586th | 2020s rank: 44th | 2020 rank: 13th

The Ascension collection

The Ascension ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 294 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 294 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
65/100
 !
11/14/2025 16:34 Exist-en-ciel   2,17570/100
 
60/100
 !
10/21/2025 23:29 stanchoiaz   19676/100
 
85/100
 !
09/29/2025 18:23 covecove   6,46373/100
 
70/100
 !
08/13/2025 04:26 NickD89   88569/100
 
90/100
 !
08/11/2025 04:51 Pienk   67481/100

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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.9/100, a mean average of 76.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.3.

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The Ascension comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 18 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 01/26/2025 02:06 | #307220
Sufjan at his absolute most hypnotic, transcendental, confessional, introverted, aspie self as only Sufjan can do. Not his best record, but there are a good handful of absolute bangers: Sugar, Run Away with Me, Landslide, Tell Me You Love Me, Video Game, and then leaving us with the two epic tracks to close it all out.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/08/2022 01:02 | #286100
I've been listening to this album again ever since those first months after release, and I must say I no longer connect with it that much that I consider it to be a 10/10 (I think my emotional state around that time contributed to my attachment to the themes and sounds on this), but I still think it's a very good record.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/05/2022 17:53 | #283842
Uso extraordinário dos elementos eletrônicos!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/13/2021 17:12 | #273679
Interesting project but lacks consistency in my opinion, its a good album with good production but Sufjan can do it better as we know
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 02/26/2021 22:01 | #266714
Some mixing issues here and there. Best example of that is in the song "Death Star" - those high-pitched bells kind of hurt in the ears XD
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 01/08/2021 20:15 | #264052
Not for me. The lyrics are ok but I don't find anything else very appealing. There are a few moments that I find compelling but for the most part I didn't enjoy this.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/24/2020 23:59 | #263167
This is a very good album! Sufjan is a very talented lyricist and musician no matter what genre he does. I do feel like this album is a bit too long for me or else my rating would be higher.

America is the best song I’ve heard in 2020

9/10
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 11/21/2020 00:07 | #261159
I feel torn. On the one hand beautiful songs, on the other hand experimental sound constructs. Highlight: Sugar
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 11/15/2020 20:43 | #260866
Good album by Sufjan, there is much material for me to digest but some incredibly catchy and memorable moments particularly at the end of the record.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 10/15/2020 13:14 | #259327
One word. Talent. Another cracking record from Sufjan. Love the electronic layering. Some of it is almost too hypnotic.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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