Low-Life
by New Order

Low-Life by New Order
Year: 1985
Release date: 1985-05-13
Overall rank: 667th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 498 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1985 (12th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (104th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (667th)

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Product Details
Availability

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New Order - Low-life [New CD]
Condition: Brand New


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Low-Life by New Order (CD, 1990) SEALED New
Condition: Brand New


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New Order~’Low-life’(CD 1985) Qwest Records , New Wave, Indie Rock
Condition: Brand New


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New Order bestography

Low-Life is ranked 3rd best out of 31 albums by New Order on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by New Order is Power, Corruption & Lies which is ranked number 253 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 6,298.

New Order album bestography « Higher ranked (593rd)
Substance
This album (667th)
Low-Life
Lower ranked (821st) »
Technique

(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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Low-Life track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 84 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (860 - 142 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (142 votes)Comments: View 1
2.
Track pick (860 - 134 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (134 votes)Comments: View 2
5.
Track pick (860 - 121 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (121 votes)Comments: View 1

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

Low-Life rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 667th | 1980s rank: 104th | 1985 rank: 12th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026matterhornriderTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s54/1009
2026leniadTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s42/10012
2026 videoheadcleanerTop 100 Music Albums of 198583/1001
2026 johnnerTop 100 Greatest Music Albums24/10075
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of 198546/1003
2026Cheboygan74Top 21 Music Albums of 19851/215
2026gregthealienTop 89 Music Albums of the 1980s24/8915
2026UntitledTop 25 Music Albums of 198521/251
2026javicho07Top 16 Music Albums of 19856/163
2026 JMGL95Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s75/1005
2026joathomeTop 35 Music Albums of 198517/353
2026JohnnyoTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s60/1008
2026Drbassexpert24Top 46 Music Albums of the 1980s38/464
2026matterhornriderTop 70 Music Albums of 19856/705
2026brent13Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s62/1008
2026Juneof44Top 50 Music Albums of 198529/502
2026stangetzawayTop 37 Music Albums of 198515/373
2026stanchoiazTop 50 Music Albums of the 1980s48/501
2026cicadelicTop 100 Music Albums of 198554/1002
2026araidernomoreTop 25 Music Albums of the 1980s15/259
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 414
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 2,583
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Low-Life collection

Low-Life ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 498 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 498 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
04/19/2026 19:23 AledJames  Ratings distribution  1,55669/100
 
90/100
 
04/06/2026 09:32 nextorgd  Ratings distribution  1,19284/100
 
80/100
 
03/13/2026 09:14 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,58570/100
 
75/100
 
03/03/2026 21:42 TastyandTemptin  Ratings distribution  3,14372/100
 
90/100
 
03/01/2026 22:22 snailmail500  Ratings distribution  26682/100

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 79.9/100, a mean average of 78.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.2.

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Low-Life comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 19 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:  
70/100
From 01/16/2023 02:19 | #292905
Not the groups best collection of songs with this being quite an inconsistent listen. To begin with the positives I do believe there are 3 fantastic songs on here in Love Vigilantes, The Perfect Kiss and Elegia. All of these songs are amongst the best the group have ever made and I play them outside the album quite frequently. However, the other tracks do seem weak in comparison to these songs. The quality of song writing isn't as good and the music just doesn't get into your head as effectively. At times the sound feels a bit empty and I just can't connect with the music being played. Overall, there is some elite level moments on here but it isn't maintained and there are definitely better albums by New Order out there.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 11/28/2022 22:28 | #291633
This is a great album, I love first 5 tracks. Lyrics on Love Vigilantes are excellently written and touching, I really love The Perfect Kiss and This Time Of Night. Sunrise is a perfectly-executed fusion of synth music with alt rock and Elegia is great synth progressive piece merged with rock (reminds me a bit of Tubular Bells). I quite like Sooner Than You Think and Sub-culture altough they show that vocals are not the strongest part on the record. Last track is definitely the weakest one.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 05/12/2021 00:18 | #269600
The first side is pretty forgettable and boring. The songwriting is not as good as the preceding album. The second side is where it's at, however. The finale is awesome!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 08/22/2019 17:01 | #241525
100/100

Best New Order Album? yes
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 03/09/2019 15:41 | #233312
Favourite track: "Elegia"
Least-liked track: "Face Up"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 09/06/2018 01:22 | #220633
This album offers great guitar play but bad vocals. There are not many really good songs like "The Perfect Kiss" or "Elegia" but even the weaker material always shows glimpses of greatness and the guitar sound of New Order ist very unique. Note that there's also a 12 Inch Mix of "The Perfect Kiss" and a 17 minute version of "Elegia" on the 2008 Collector's Edition of "Low-Life".
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 09/03/2018 22:47 | #220538
It’s difficult to hate them. Even if they sing completely off-key and use the same song structure again and again, they always know to give it a certain spin and throw in a new instrument in to keep your interest.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 08/01/2016 23:07 | #172098
Favoritas: Love Vigilantes, Elegia
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (1 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 06/24/2016 04:44 | #169607
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -7 votes (0 helpful | 7 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/19/2015 15:44 | #144199
Solid album from top to bottom. The one-two punch of "This Time of Night" and "Sunrise" (deliberate back-to-back placement?) is what I keep coming back to.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1985
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4. Meat Is Murder by The Smiths
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