Moving Pictures
by Rush

Moving Pictures by Rush
Year: 1981
Release date: 1981-02-12
Overall rank: 162nd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,308 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Best album of 1981 (1st)
Award Top 50 albums of of the 1980s (21st)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (162nd)

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Rush bestography

Moving Pictures is ranked as the best album by Rush.

Rush album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (162nd)
Moving Pictures
Lower ranked (458th) »
2112

(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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Moving Pictures track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 86 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (900 - 411 votes)
Average Rating: 90 (411 votes)Comments: View 7
3.
Track pick (880 - 351 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (351 votes)Comments: View 12
4.
Track pick (890 - 368 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (368 votes)Comments: View 6

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Moving Pictures rankings

Moving Pictures rankings summary
Overall rank: 162nd | 1980s rank: 21st | 1981 rank: 1st  Overall chart history
(Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). (Last updated: 4 hours ago).
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s21/10016
2026 Robert Anton WilsonTop 24 Music Albums of 19811/245
2026daCriticTop 30 Music Albums of 19814/305
2026bonnequestionTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s54/1009
2026leniadTop 101-200 Greatest Music Albums75/100 -
2026 RockyRaccoonTop 41 Music Albums of 19811/415
2026 RockyRaccoonProgressive Rock4/100 -
2026SethGundeTop 2 Music Albums of 19811/25
2026 paladisiacall-time fav arteests (pts) #001-10064/100 -
2026 ExTeaSeaTop 101 - 200 Greatest Music Albums27/100 -
2026sunnydhammTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s7/10019
2026 RomanelliTop 26 Music Albums of 198111/263
2026javicho07Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s86/1003
2026LittleM1971Top 90 Music Albums of 198190/900
2026culwinTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s33/10014
2026 btener11Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s13/10018
2026 imacgillTop 100 Music Albums of 198123/1004
2026adbrack1988Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s21/10016
2026machiajTop 40 Music Albums of the 1980s8/4017
2026martinthoTop 56 Music Albums of 198135/562
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 1,030
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 8,750
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Moving Pictures collection

Moving Pictures ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,308 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 1,308 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 !
07/23/2026 22:50 xhitmanx  Ratings distribution  1,49377/100
 
75/100
 !
07/21/2026 11:51 Tamthebam  Ratings distribution  23,13569/100
 
100/100
 !
07/19/2026 01:22 henrygreen0203  Ratings distribution  87374/100
 
90/100
 !
06/25/2026 18:01 abbolton  Ratings distribution  7783/100
 
70/100
 !
06/18/2026 02:06 AvalancheGrips  Ratings distribution  77785/100

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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 82.6/100, a mean average of 81.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.3.


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Moving Pictures comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 87 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:  
85/100
From 02/25/2026 17:36 | #313276
Moving Pictures is a good representation of the Rush era. It may be consider their best album by others but I'm still hands down on 2112. "Limelight" and "Tom Sawyer" are among the best progressive rock songs ever.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
45/100
From 07/20/2023 16:15 | #298236
Red Barchetta is great. Overall, not terrible but a bit underwhelming though. But have to say I love Geddy Lee's voice.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/04/2023 10:51 | #295767
This record is a little more inconsistent than I was expecting with around half the tracks being exceptional and the other being mediocre or decent. The first 4 tracks is where this album is at its best with all 4 being instant classics. The musicianship on these songs are just outstanding and its tough not to fall in love with them as soon as you hear them. Just the opening 15 seconds of Tom Sawyer fills me with excitement as I know I am in for one of the best 4 track runs in album history. However, after this we get a slow and lacklustre conclusion that feels quite empty at times. Every time I listen to this album I debate skipping the final 3 tracks as they struggle to captivate me and feel like such a decrease in quality compared to the opening. Vital Signs is the only reason I don't turn it off as that song does have some great moments but it still doesn't compete with their best work. Overall, this does have some of their best work on here but it isn't maintained and so the record lacks consistency and can feel like a disappointment at times.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/24/2023 19:06 | #294399
Clássico!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 09/10/2022 12:50 | #289554
One of the most immaculately produced prog rock albums I've ever heard, and definitely Rush at its best, even the last tracks that people seem to be least excited about, I find them exceptional in their catalogue. The whole album is great and it deserves its place in the prog rock history.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/28/2022 09:19 | #283521
Considered to be the best Rush album by many, I don't see it this way. I like it a lot. The musicians are excellent. They many to make every track interesting at least.

But not all of the tracks are excellent. Some of the mediocre ones bring it down to 8 out of 10 for me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/21/2022 15:29 | #279781
Classic RUSH and one of the great albums of all time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/02/2021 14:15 | #276994
an amazing combination of writing, lyrics, musicianship, style, and beauty. prog rock
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/26/2021 21:11 | #276733
Buen disco prog. Los músicos son buenisimos. Me cuesta un poco aguantar la voz.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 11/04/2021 18:41 | #275869
At its best, this album soars. Limelight and Tom Sawyer are among the best prog rock songs ever recorded, in my opinion.

YYZ shows off Rush’s considerable chops without becoming tedious.

The final three songs, however, are an example of prog rock without a hook. Tough to get through.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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