Graceland (studio album) by Paul Simon

Graceland by Paul Simon
Year: 1986
Overall rank: 125th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 1,324 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1986 (3rd)
Award Top 20 albums of the 1980s (16th)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (125th)
Product Details
Availability

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Graceland: 25th Anniversary Edition by Simon, Paul (Record, 2012)
Condition: New


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eBay
Paul Simon - Graceland - A National Treasure | Clear Vinyl | Curator's Choice|
Condition: New


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eBay
Lot of 5 Paul Simon CDs Surprise Graceland Concert In The Park You’re The One
Condition: Good


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Paul Simon bestography

Graceland is ranked as the best album by Paul Simon.

Paul Simon album bestography « Higher ranked This album (125th) Lower ranked (1,055th) »
-GracelandPaul Simon

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Graceland track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Graceland ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 1,324 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 1,324 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
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09/25/2024 21:56 ChingeeFlingee  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 16986/100
 
55/100
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09/25/2024 09:21 bigbeans  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 18479/100
 
55/100
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09/23/2024 19:35 uncaria  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 40583/100
 
70/100
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09/23/2024 01:40 HaterOfTobyFox  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 11981/100
 
90/100
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09/22/2024 15:39 Igtonumama  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 9,02960/100

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).
(*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 81.2/100, a mean average of 80.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.7.

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Graceland comments

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Rating:  
95/100
From 04/04/2024 15:27
Love this album but for some reason it's not in my top 100 but probably should be haha. If I made charts 20+ years ago it definitely would have been. It's very fun and unique, especially for the time it came out.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/21/2024 01:20
A great album. The Boy in the Bubble, You Can Call Me Al, Diamonds On the Soles of Her Shoes, and the title track are all fantastic. His best solo record.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 10/23/2023 20:16
"You Can Call Me Al," "Graceland," and "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" are classics... but few then or now think Paul Simon handled concerns about cultural appropriation or apartheid well.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/10/2023 08:57
This album does a great job at combining South African musical stylings with classic American pop to create some spectacular moments that you will be singing for days after you hear this album. The most infectious of these songs is the huge hit You Can Call Me Al which might be slightly over played today but it still holds up very well. However, the rest of side 2 that follows this song have not held up as well. Homeless and That Was Your Mother comes to mind when thinking of these weaker tracks with both of them feeling insignificant and not having enough quality to captivate me. Despite this, side 1 is a masterpiece from Paul Simon. The music is so full of character and depth which makes it so easy to get lost in this beautiful fusion he has created. The instrumentation is also fantastic for pretty much the whole release with Simon's diverse choices making this an interesting record even in the slower moments that come later on. Overall, if the record could maintain the quality and energy on the first half this would be amongst the best albums ever made but unfortunately this isn't accomplished.
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Rating:  
85/100
From 01/19/2023 23:15
Impressing fusion of western music with south african music makes of this album unique experience. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. It is also quite consistent in terms of quality and songwriting is top-notch.
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Rating:  
85/100
From 08/31/2022 03:46
Solid album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/29/2022 18:33
Bouncy, Bubbly, Beautiful
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/16/2022 18:36
Lyrically, this album covers faith, love, loss (and lost love), race, celebrity, technology, and aging.

Musically, we hear rock, folk, jazz, blues, and traditional African influences.

In other words, I know of no record that better captures the modern American experience. A classic from the moment it was released.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 02/09/2022 08:38
A classic Simon, a reboot for his career, clearly
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Rating:  
80/100
From 01/29/2022 03:29
82.27

Hermosa fusión entre música occidental y un folk que viene desde Sudáfrica. Muy acertadas algunas canciones. Ninguna me ha parecido una obra maestra pero es de valorar lo de Paul Simon en este album. Algunas partes a capella le quedan interesantísimas y esa decisión de inmortalizar la cultura zulu en Graceland le ha quedado precioso. No es necesario que sea uno de tus discos favoritos, pero es uno que definitivamente tienes que escuchar al menos una vez en tu vida.
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Best Albums of 1986
1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
2. Master Of Puppets by Metallica
3. Graceland by Paul Simon
4. So by Peter Gabriel
5. Skylarking by XTC
6. The Colour Of Spring by Talk Talk
7. Reign In Blood by Slayer
8. Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M.
9. Licensed To Ill by Beastie Boys
10. Black Celebration by Depeche Mode
11. EVOL by Sonic Youth
12. Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi
13. Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? by Megadeth
14. Parade by Prince And The Revolution
15. Raising Hell by Run-D.M.C.
16. Somewhere In Time by Iron Maiden
17. Invisible Touch by Genesis
18. Atomizer by Big Black
19. Your Funeral... My Trial by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
20. True Blue by Madonna
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