Zen Arcade (studio album) by Hüsker Dü
Condition: Very Good
Hüsker Dü bestography
Zen Arcade is ranked as the best album by Hüsker Dü.
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Zen Arcade track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Zen Arcade rankings
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Zen Arcade collection
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Zen Arcade ratings

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av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 591 ratings for this album.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
35/100 ![]() | 01/08/2025 09:53 | TheWongs | ![]() | 71/100 |
95/100 ![]() | 12/16/2024 09:01 | ![]() | ![]() | 68/100 |
80/100 ![]() | 11/28/2024 03:43 | ![]() | ![]() | 82/100 |
80/100 ![]() | 11/14/2024 15:21 | davidleewrong | ![]() | 81/100 |
25/100 ![]() | 10/22/2024 08:35 | marcoserra1966 | ![]() | 56/100 |
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).
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This album is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.8/100, a mean average of 78.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.0.
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Zen Arcade comments
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It's incredibly poorly produced. Probably one of the worst of SST. But it also expresses the power behind these songs. If they had produced it the way they did Minutemen at the same time, it would be much much better than it already is.

Tracks 5 to 13 are a barrage of Misfits like Hardcore punk. Not for everyone, I can enjoy it but I can also recognize them as songs I wont go back to. That being said, a lot of memorable punk tracks at the start and at the end. Worth a couple listens this record to find the tracks you really like. Other than that, it is a classic punk record so punk fans will love this.
B+
When this record has its high points it is one of the best hardcore punk I've heard (Somewhere, Pink Turns Blue, Turn On The News), but I think it would be so much better if it had only 12 great tracks, not 23 including some pointless ones.

Pilar do rock alternativo.

Highlights:
- Something I Learned Today
- Broken Home, Broken Heart
- Hare Krsna
- Pride
- I'll Never Forget You
- The Biggest Lie
- Masochism World
- One Step at a Time
- Newest Industry
- The Tooth Fairy and the Princess
- Turn On the News
- Reoccurring Dreams

Album of the day, and it`s one of the greatest albums of the decade. The turning point for punk

Two albums came out in 1984 that really helped to make progress in the hardcore punk genre; Double Nickels on the Dime and Zen Arcade. Hüsker Dü's effort is the more aggressive and straightforward of the two and is the one I prefer.
Really good album.
Favorites: Indecision Time; Beyond The Threshold; I'll Never Forget You; Turn On The News.
Its flawed, slightly too long and the audio fidelity is scratchy and staticky, but its those flaws that give it the greater impact. Its a dark brooding masterpiece of existential angst the best ever put to music, its grunge before grunge became a book of clichés. The styles are diverse and varied, which individually don't work in isolation, but when you add it all up create a sonic kaleidoscope that varies in texture and colour. Its cerebral with jagged hooks, its Rage to last a lifetime.
Top 5 tracks
Never Talking to you again
Standing By The Sea
Pink Turns To Blue
Whatever
Turn On The News

The seminal and almost legendary 'Zen Arcade' appears to have taken on a life of its own over the years but its not the panacea many claim it is
For starters its too long coming in at 70 minutes , the middle portion particularly becomes a slog as quite a few tracks being blurring into one
Secondly as a concept album it actually doesn't work . Supposedly telling the tale of a boy who leaves a broken home only to find the outside world is no better , this narrative thread is impossible to follow bar a few slices here and there
Thirdly the track listing has too many ho hum moments with tracks such as "Chartered Trips" , "Dreams Reoccurring" later repeated plus 13 minutes , "Indecision Time" , "Pride" and "Somewhere" as examples
Yet there are some gems to be mined within Zen , I can recommend Harts "Never Talking To You Again" , the weird but good "Hare Krsna" instrumental , the powerful "Standing By The Sea" , the 'Candy Apple Grey' - ish "Pink Turns To Blue" and twin closer's the excellent "Turn On The News" with cool monkey sounds and the full 14 minute "Reoccurring Dream "
Overall I find 'Zen Arcade' better than good but far from great
60/100
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