The Cars
by The Cars

Album
The Cars by The Cars
Year: 1978
Release date: 1978-06-06
Overall rank: 295th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 835 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1978 (3rd)
Award Top 100 albums of of the 1970s (71st)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (295th)

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The Cars bestography

The Cars is ranked as the best album by The Cars.

The Cars album bestography « Higher ranked
- This album (295th)
The Cars Lower ranked (1,885th) »
Heartbeat City

(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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The Cars 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 (870 - 234 votes)
Good Times Roll
Average Rating: 87 (234 votes)Comments: View 1
2.
Track pick (870 - 239 votes)
My Best Friend's Girl
Average Rating: 87 (239 votes)Comments: View 2
3.
Track pick (910 - 296 votes)
Just What I Needed
Average Rating: 91 (296 votes)Comments: View 3
4.
I'm In Touch With Your World
Average Rating: 76 (179 votes)Comments: View 2
5.
Don't Cha Stop
Average Rating: 80 (176 votes)Comments: View 0
6.
You're All I've Got Tonight
Average Rating: 85 (205 votes)Comments: View 1
7.
Bye Bye Love
Average Rating: 84 (189 votes)Comments: View 2
8.
Moving In Stereo
Average Rating: 86 (203 votes)Comments: View 2
9.
All Mixed Up
Average Rating: 83 (185 votes)Comments: View 3

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

The Cars rankings

The Cars rankings summary
Overall rank: 295th | 1970s rank: 71st | 1978 rank: 3rd  Overall chart history
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings).Help Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 6 hours ago)

The Cars collection

The Cars ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 835 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 3 ratings for this album.  | Show all 835 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 !		9 hours ago Svelte8  Ratings distribution  1,90873/100
 
80/100
 !		08/08/2026 22:09 luukvdschepop  Ratings distribution  75075/100
 
70/100
 !		07/31/2026 06:44 MadhattanJack  Ratings distribution  6,01066/100

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 81.1/100, a mean average of 80.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.2.


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The Cars favourites

Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite  | Show all 190 members

Svelte8
abbolton
evstratios
glebrus
Jparce
elcapnsunshine
Iglou2981
rfowler
brent13
machiaj

Forum mentions

This album has been referenced 77 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From BestEverAlbums 08/19/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5409): By bermolder
“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by bermolder () 1. by by by (2001) 4. by (2010) 5. by (1973) 6. (2004) 7. by (2003) 8. by (2014) 9. by (2012) 10. by (2006) 11. by (2008) 12. by (2024) 14. by (1975) 15. by (2006) 16. by (2003) 17. (1975) 18. (1971) 19. by (2016) 20. (1977) 21.…”
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From BestEverAlbums 07/27/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5386): By Antonio-Pedro
“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. by (2019) 2. (1999) 3. by (2000) 4. by (2013) 6. by (2007) 7. by (1989) 8. by (2011) 9. by (2014) 10. by (1998) 11. by by by (1996) 14. (2012) 15. (2012) 16. by (1997) 17. by (2019) 18. by (2022) 19. by by by (2003) 22. (1991) 23. by…”
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From BestEverAlbums 07/26/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5385): By Montpejo
“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. by (1969) 2. by (1979) 3. by (2011) 4. by (2015) 5. (2001) 6. (2006) 7. by (1993) 8. (1977) 9. by (1967) 10. by by by by (1996) 14. (1994) 16. by (1968) 17. (1966) 18. (2014) 19. by (1967) 20. by (2020) 21. by (1993) 22. by by (1969)…”
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The Cars comments

Showing latest 5 comments | Show all 65 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:  
50/100
From 07/08/2025 21:24 | #309993
Catchy pop-rock with some lush guitar, nothing too special after two listens. Just What I Needed is my favourite track on the album. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Reply
Rating:  
85/100
From 05/07/2025 14:18 | #308856
This New Wave sound was different for me at the time and it was the poppy tunes from this album that caught my ear. Wonderful sound and every track a potential hit. I have played this album many times over the years. Never gets old and Moving In Stereo is my favorite on this album. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Rating:  
85/100
From 09/23/2023 21:03 | #299215
This always seems to be forgotten about in the subject of greatest ever debut albums. The opening three songs alone cement that. With the rest of the album also being top quality tracks this is one of the greater albums of the 70's. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Rating:  
100/100
From 08/24/2023 05:26 | #298817
A fantastic new wave record. Not many bands come out of the gate with their strongest record, but the Cars did. Given the strength of their discography, it’s not meant derogatorily either. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Rating:  
5/100
From 03/30/2023 19:10 | #295616
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (0 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of  1978
1. Darkness On The Edge Of Town by Bruce Springsteen
2. Parallel Lines by Blondie
3. The Cars by The Cars
4. This Year's Model by Elvis Costello
5. Die Mensch·Maschine by Kraftwerk
6. Van Halen by Van Halen
7. Music For 18 Musicians by Steve Reich
8. The Kick Inside by Kate Bush
9. Some Girls by The Rolling Stones
10. More Songs About Buildings And Food by Talking Heads