Pirates
by Rickie Lee Jones

Pirates by Rickie Lee Jones
Year: 1981
Release date: 1981-07-15
Overall rank: 2,506th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 104 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1981 (44th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (380th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,506th)

Listen on Spotify SPOTIFY

Rickie Lee Jones bestography

Pirates is ranked as the best album by Rickie Lee Jones.

Rickie Lee Jones album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (2,506th)
Pirates
Lower ranked (3,081st) »
Rickie Lee Jones

(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

Apr
11
Sat
Chris Cagle
8 Seconds Saloon, Indianapolis, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
03
Fri
Hunter Hayes: The Evergreen Tour
The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Mar
30
Mon
Machine Girl - PsychoWarrior Tour
Summit Music Hall, Denver, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

Listen to Pirates on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Pirates rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,506th | 1980s rank: 380th | 1981 rank: 44th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of 19811/1005
2026 imacgillTop 100 Music Albums of 198144/1003
2026JohnnyoMost listened to albums female (2 B deleted)71/84 -
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s2/10020
2026BorderFreeAndrewTop 100 Music Albums of 198124/1004
2026 RomanelliMy Overall Chart: 501-60041/100 -
2026 RomanelliTop 26 Music Albums of 19817/264
2026 covecoveOverall Chart 301-40072/100 -
2026 zags7000Top 100 Music Albums of 19812/1005
2026SkernsTop 85 Music Albums of 198162/851
2026 RomanelliTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s86/1003
2026JohnnyoGreatest albums of 1981 by Ultimate Record Collector12/55 -
2026 ffudnebbuhTop 100 Greatest Music Albums7/10093
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Greatest Music Albums10/10091
2026stevengnzTop 97 Music Albums of 198169/971
2025skrapoelTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s83/1004
2025WeepingguitarmanTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s96/1001
2025Foxforce5Top 13 Music Albums of 198110/132
2025craabTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s20/10016
2025martinthoTop 54 Music Albums of 198134/542
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 104
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 627
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Pirates collection

Pirates ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 104 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 104 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
03/06/2026 09:22 Leginlists  Ratings distribution  2,81183/100
 
70/100
 
02/24/2026 22:45 machiaj  Ratings distribution  80571/100
 
100/100
 
01/11/2026 14:02 oavaldezi  Ratings distribution  4100/100
 
70/100
 
08/27/2025 17:43 SomethingSpecial  Ratings distribution  1,74282/100
 
75/100
 
08/23/2025 20:25 martintho  Ratings distribution  4,70275/100

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 4% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.3/100, a mean average of 74.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.9.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Pirates favourites

Showing all 13 members who have added this album as a favourite

Pirates comments

Showing all 6 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:  
90/100
From 04/23/2022 07:55 | #284513
A love Rickie-Lee, quite similar in tone and style as Joni, but with some nice new sound and vibes to give it some personal touch. A Very refreshing album and it still sounds up to date even being over 40 years old!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 02/08/2019 01:45 | #231541
Everyone should just take a moment to appreciate this album. It may be a bit of a grower for some but it's stunning.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/06/2017 19:19 | #192154
Excellent second album. Extremely intimate and beautiful. It hasn't quite got the immediacy of the first album but repeated listens brings out it's treasures. A lovely album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/22/2017 17:26 | #183893
Her 2nd album is as good as her debut. This album contains 4 of her greatest songs ever Lucky Guy, Living It Up, We Belong Together & the sprawling Traces of the Western Slopes. The title track is also strong the tracks Woody & Dutch.......and Skeletons although good songs don't quite measure up to the rest of the album. So for me its her 2nd best album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
15/100
From 03/27/2014 20:28 | #107811
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -5 votes (0 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 09/25/2011 19:32 | #27826
classic, although my fav RLJ song is "Runaround" from "the Magazine".
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Pirates

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1981
1. Moving Pictures by Rush
2. Computerwelt by Kraftwerk
3. Discipline by King Crimson
4. Juju by Siouxsie And The Banshees
5. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts by Brian Eno & David Byrne
6. Time by Electric Light Orchestra
7. Faith by The Cure
8. Dare by The Human League
9. Damaged by Black Flag
10. Deceit by This Heat
11. Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones
12. Youth Of America by Wipers
13. Ghost In The Machine by The Police
14. Fire Of Love by The Gun Club
15. The Ascension by Glenn Branca
16. Heaven Up Here by Echo & The Bunnymen
17. Face Value by Phil Collins
18. Killers by Iron Maiden
19. Nightclubbing by Grace Jones
20. Movement by New Order
Back to Top