Surfer Rosa (studio album)
by Pixies

Pixies bestography

Surfer Rosa is ranked 2nd best out of 28 albums by Pixies on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Pixies is Doolittle which is ranked number 18 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 31,697.

Pixies album bestography « Higher ranked (18th)
Doolittle
This album (105th)
Surfer Rosa
Lower ranked (429th) »
Bossanova

(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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Surfer Rosa track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 85 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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1.
Track pick (890 - 440 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (440 votes)Comments: View 7
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2.
Average Rating: 85 (373 votes)Comments: View 6
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Average Rating: 82 (335 votes)Comments: View 4
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Average Rating: 83 (346 votes)Comments: View 4
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Track pick (890 - 471 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (471 votes)Comments: View 10
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Average Rating: 86 (388 votes)Comments: View 8
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Track pick (940 - 958 votes)
Average Rating: 94 (958 votes)Comments: View 20
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Average Rating: 85 (341 votes)Comments: View 5
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Average Rating: 81 (331 votes)Comments: View 4
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10.
Average Rating: 80 (322 votes)Comments: View 7
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11.
Average Rating: 83 (344 votes)Comments: View 10
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Average Rating: 79 (311 votes)Comments: View 7
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Average Rating: 83 (320 votes)Comments: View 7
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Surfer Rosa rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 105th | 1980s rank: 13th | 1988 rank: 2nd

Surfer Rosa collection

Surfer Rosa ratings

Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,868 votes)
   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.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 1,868 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 !
11/17/2025 22:17 Exist-en-ciel   2,63070/100
 
80/100
 !
11/14/2025 07:54 zsolti   63881/100
 
60/100
 !
11/13/2025 23:06 NYAndreas   1,43243/100
 
85/100
 !
11/01/2025 15:34 Larcx13   2,84874/100
 
100/100
 !
10/16/2025 21:06 melisandre   14989/100

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 84.4/100, a mean average of 83.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 84.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.6.

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Surfer Rosa comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 112 comments |
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Rating:  
80/100
From 12/18/2023 20:46 | #300542
Listening to the Pixies' 'Surfer Rosa' is like being swept into a whirlwind of energy and unexpected sounds. The album's mix of loud guitars and unique vocals, with some songs feeling calm and others full of shouting, creates a really interesting contrast. It's not like most music I've heard; it has a raw, almost unpolished feel that makes it stand out.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 05/17/2023 21:35 | #297050
Solid album, wonderful production - band sounds great and terrific drum sound in particular - let down (for me) by Black Francis' vocals - too whiney to my ears!! = Highlights: Gigantic, Where Is My Mind?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/19/2023 18:06 | #296220
This is such a high energy album that would go on to influence the majority of music that came out in the 90's, alongside Doolittle, making it a hugely important release. This isn't all there is too this album however as there is so much quality across this release. The two obvious examples are Gigantic and Where Is My Mind? as they both sound so incredibly unique yet are also extremely infectious. They then strengthen the release with songs like River Euphrates, Cactus and Bone Machine which help to bulk up the record. However, there is quite a significant amount of filler on this release especially for the short run time that it has. Most of the skippable songs arrive near the conclusion of the release as well which can make this 33 minute listen feel unnecessarily elongated. Overall, a hugely important album in the history of music that might not be the groups best record but it is a lot of fun to experience time and time again.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/11/2023 19:11 | #295960
Quite influential and revolutionary album, there is some great material on this album like Break My Body, River Euphrates and Bone Machine all of this songs rip and deliver this raw punk energy that clearly influenced grunge and 90s alt rock. Of course we have masterpiece Where Is My Mind? on this record and this song is great both lyrically and sonically. I love it. The biggest problem for me are half-baked tracks and sometimes annoying vocals (on Broken Face and Vamos especially). Overall it is really a solid record with some minor flaws.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/07/2023 04:11 | #295834
While it doesn't quite reach the heights of Doolittle, it brings its own unique sense of relentless aggression and utter weirdness. Less cerebral, more impulsive. Surfer Rosa is an unhinged thrill ride from start to end, and I can definitely see how some would prefer it to its successor. Albini's production, with its pummeling bass and brittle guitars, adds to the blistering experience. "River Euphrates" may just be my single favorite Pixies song. Exhilarating, and addicting; I reach for this album a lot.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 02/06/2023 19:13 | #293658
The sound is so much impactful than on Doolitle, but the song-writting is not as immediate for sure.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
35/100
From 08/22/2022 09:48 | #288815
Don't really "get" this band, but I still enjoyed Doolittle and some of this album. Where is my mind and Gigantic are the highlights, and I like the first two tracks too. It's okay, but as for top 100 albums ever... I just don't see it. Maybe I'm missing something.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/19/2022 03:11 | #279679
Even the comments between songs are great. Raging songs played with punk aggression and virtuoso skill. Contains possibly the greatest alt-rock song ever. Kim and Frank at their interplay best.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/03/2021 11:37 | #275719
Why are the Pixies so good? Surfer Rosa and Doolittle are two of the most influential albums of all time. So many artists have tried to emulate this sound.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 10/04/2021 20:22 | #274678
Libro Where Is my Mind y poco más
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1988
1. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
2. Surfer Rosa by Pixies
3. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk
4. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy
5. ...And Justice For All by Metallica
6. Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman
7. Isn't Anything by My Bloody Valentine
8. Green by R.E.M.
9. Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A
10. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son by Iron Maiden
11. I'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen
12. Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 by The Traveling Wilburys
13. Nothing's Shocking by Jane's Addiction
14. Operation: Mindcrime by Queensrÿche
15. If I Should Fall From Grace With God by The Pogues
16. 16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens
17. Tender Prey by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
18. Viva Hate by Morrissey
19. Starfish by The Church
20. Rattle And Hum by U2
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