Stands For Decibels (studio album)
by The dB's

Stands For Decibels by The dB's
Year: 1981
Overall rank: 6,616th   
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 74 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1981 (119th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (966th)
Award Best albums of all time (6,616th)

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Product Details
Availability

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THE dB's STANDS FOR DECIBELS. SEALED! ONLY 300 MADE! PINK WITH BLUE AND ORANGE!
Condition: New


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The dB's - Stands For Decibels LP Albion ALB 105 EX 1981 UK Rock Power Pop
Condition: Used


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The dB's STANDS FOR DECIBELS German 1981 pressing NM- vinyl LP Albion
Condition: Used


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The dB's bestography

Stands For Decibels is ranked as the best album by The dB's.

The dB's album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (6,616th)
Stands For Decibels
Lower ranked (29,856th) »
Repercussion

(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

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19:30
NASH Presents - BRETT YOUNG: 2.0 TOUR
Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee, United States. United States
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13
Fri
19:30
Lindsey Webster
Birchmere, Alexandria, United States. United States
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Feb
04
Wed
18:00
Lord of The Lost & The Birthday Massacre - The Dark Winter Tour
Summit Music Hall, Denver, United States. United States
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Stands For Decibels track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 75 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Average Rating: 81 (14 votes)Comments: View 0
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2.
Average Rating: 76 (12 votes)Comments: View 0
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3.
Average Rating: 75 (12 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Average Rating: 74 (12 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Average Rating: 72 (11 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 72 (11 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Average Rating: 75 (10 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
Average Rating: 77 (9 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 76 (9 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Average Rating: 75 (9 votes)Comments: View 0
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11.
Average Rating: 76 (9 votes)Comments: View 0
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Stands For Decibels rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 6,616th | 1980s rank: 966th | 1981 rank: 119th

Stands For Decibels collection

Stands For Decibels ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 74 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.
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 74 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
50/100
 !
11/17/2025 00:48 brent13   1,63671/100
 
60/100
 !
09/09/2025 19:29 Olli   6,67264/100
 
65/100
 !
08/09/2024 14:05 JamesMowbray   5,26170/100
 
70/100
 !
04/15/2024 06:54 cicadelic   11,40773/100
 
80/100
 !
12/16/2023 03:57 imacgill   2,55179/100

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 76.7/100, a mean average of 76.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 12.8.

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Stands For Decibels favourites

Showing all 7 members who have added this album as a favourite

Stands For Decibels comments

Showing all 5 comments |
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Rating:  
70/100
From 03/02/2021 21:06 | #266895
A powerpop album with some attempts to experiment. The only thing the experiments sound very dated and also the powerpop sounds a bit clumsy to modern ears. Black In White is not bad but overall the album didn"t really appeal to me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/04/2017 04:56 | #200648
Best Tracks: Espionage, Black And White
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 09/25/2017 21:40 | #198723
A truly unique and (sadly) obscure college rock album, divided by conventional power pop tunes like "Black and White" and more experimental new wave tunes like "Tearjerkin."
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/29/2017 21:05 | #195146
Razor sharp, delightful, adventurous, all that Power Pop ever wanted to achieve and never could. What a great gift to teenage emotions - oh no - to twen emotions maybe even more.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 02/21/2017 18:02 | #186098
One of the more unique power pop albums due to the influence of quirky new wave and experimental pop. Stamey seems to be the band's driving force regarding creativity, but Holsapple's conventional tunes are just as impressive.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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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. Youth Of America by Wipers
12. Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones
13. Fire Of Love by The Gun Club
14. Ghost In The Machine by The Police
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. Movement by New Order
20. Nightclubbing by Grace Jones
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