Black Sea
by XTC
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XTC bestography
Black Sea is ranked 2nd best out of 30 albums by XTC on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by XTC is Skylarking which is ranked number 370 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 4,458.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to Black Sea on YouTube
Black Sea track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Black Sea rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 5 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Tamthebam | Top 100 Music Albums of 1980 | 34/100 | 3 |
| 2026 |  junodog4 | Top 20 Music Albums of 1980 | 10/20 | 3 |
| 2026 | LittleM1971 | Top 91 Music Albums of 1980 | 8/91 | 5 |
| 2026 | Sumbody | Top 41 Music Albums of the 1980s | 30/41 | 6 |
| 2026 | Rich150 | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 35/100 | 65 |
| 2026 | Juneof44 | Top 50 Music Albums of 1980 | 44/50 | 1 |
| 2026 | junodog4 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 80/100 | 4 |
| 2026 |  Leonard | Lets all make a bomb! | 20/38 | - |
| 2026 | juanr1096 | Top 57 Music Albums of 1980 | 11/57 | 4 |
| 2026 |  MadhattanJack | Top 100 Music Albums of 1980 | 1/100 | 5 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 229 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 1,701 | |||
Black Sea collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 104 members
Black Sea ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 242 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/29/2026 12:18 |  ssteve | 2,626 | 76/100 |
| ! | 09/24/2026 13:43 | Tamthebam | 23,402 | 69/100 |
| ! | 06/29/2026 22:52 | villagegreen831 | 154 | 79/100 |
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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.7/100, a mean average of 78.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.9.
Black Sea favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 45 members
Black Sea forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 10/01/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5452): By LittleM1971 BestEverAlbums 09/14/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5435): By flamingyesdeptBlack Sea comments
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I'm not quite sure how this is only rated as XTC's 6th best album on BEA. Perhaps people are listening to the CD reissue which for some strange reason added the bonus tracks Smokeless Zone, Don't Lose Your Temper & The Somnombulist right in the middle of the original track listing instead of tagging them onto the end. Respectable Street is a classic with a timeless English subject matter. Other great tracks follow including Generals & Majors, Love at first sight, Towers of London, the brilliant Burning with Optimism's Flame and the catchy pop of Sgt Rock. (Edited)
Most of the songs that originally convinced me of XTC's greatness come from Black Sea. I loved the meticulous attention to detail. I remember listening to Generals and Majors over and over trying to pick out everything, the humming, the barking, the numerous counter melodies. I loved the unexpected transitions, like where Respectable Street comes crashing back into the chorus on "Sony Entertainment Centers", both changing key and refusing to rhyme! I loved the ridiculous lyrics, the feeble fantasist ramblings of Sgt Rock. "Get the experts at kissing and stuff", is such a perfectly inarticulate lyric. Most of all though I loved the driving infectious rhythms. Living Through Another Cuba, Love at First Sight and even the complex poly-rhythms of Burning with Optimisms Flame defy anyone not to dance to them. The fact that this isn't unanimously considered XTC's crowning glory is a testament to their massive well of talent.
Great album - the singles are strong and the rest are in no way ‘filler’. Certainly their most consistent so far and that’s consistently good. Even the three b-sides on the Apehouse reissue are quality. I think more people need to hear this, I’m sure it should be more highly rated.
joannajewsom 03/29/2018 12:46 | #211909 | TOP COMMENT
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Living Through Another Cuba is incredible.
Jboy56 12/14/2021 14:03 | #277482 | TOP COMMENT
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As an old fart, this is a new band to me, and XTC sounds great. This record is lots of fun.
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