Honky Tonk Heroes
by Waylon Jennings

Honky Tonk Heroes by Waylon Jennings
Year: 1973
Overall rank: 6,362nd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 94 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1973 (109th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (996th)
Award Best albums of all time (6,362nd)

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Availability

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Waylon Jennings-Honky Tonk Heroes-RCA AFL1-0240- 1970's -Reissue- 1st press
Condition: Used


eBay
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WAYLON JENNINGS - Honky Tonk Heroes - Vinyl LP- 1973 RCA APL1-0240
Condition: Used


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Waylon Jennings “Honky Tonk Heroes” Vinyl LP 1973 Press
Condition: Used


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Waylon Jennings bestography

Honky Tonk Heroes is ranked as the best album by Waylon Jennings.

Waylon Jennings album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (6,362nd)
Honky Tonk Heroes
Lower ranked (14,734th) »
Dreaming My Dreams

(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

May
31
Sun
Long Time Gone, A Deathiversary Tribute to Waylon Jennings feat: The Lonesome Prairie Guests & Friends plus Lenny Kaye, author of the Waylon Jennings Autobiography.
Lucinda's, New York, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

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Honky Tonk Heroes rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 6,362nd | 1970s rank: 996th | 1973 rank: 109th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 zags7000Top 100 Music Albums of 19731/1005
2026 RockyRaccoonCountry/Bluegrass16/92 -
2026craabTop 100 Music Albums of the 1970s100/1000
2026 Patman360Top 100 Music Albums of 197315/1004
2026amirmishaliTop 100 Music Albums of 197310/1005
2026amirmishaliTop 100 Music Albums of the 1970s76/1005
2026 AAL2014Top 100 Music Albums of 197369/1002
2026joathomeTop 40 Music Albums of 197338/400
2026AledJames1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die85/100 -
2026jdizzle123456Greatest Country Albums of All Time7/32 -
2026 RockyRaccoonTop 100 Music Albums of 197330/1004
2025 PasticheTop 33 Music Albums of 197327/331
2025JohnnyoAlbums of the year 1973 by Acclaimed Music46/69 -
2025JohnnyoAlbums of the year 1973 by Ultimate Record Collector24/64 -
2025LI2023Top 40 Greatest Music Albums35/4014
2025AledJamesTop 100 Music Albums of the 1970s45/10011
2025pctrooperTop 74 Greatest Music Albums73/742
2025daCriticTop 37 Music Albums of 197333/371
2025RiveraTop 39 Music Albums of 197328/392
2025BorderFreeAndrewTop 100 Music Albums of 197329/1004
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 101
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 205
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Honky Tonk Heroes collection

Honky Tonk Heroes ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 94 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 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 94 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
01/01/2026 10:44 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  7,70270/100
 
60/100
 
11/26/2025 14:22 Jakor  Ratings distribution  5,14668/100
 
10/100
 
11/23/2025 07:25 NYAndreas  Ratings distribution  1,43344/100
 
75/100
 
08/20/2025 20:26 AledJames  Ratings distribution  1,49569/100
 
80/100
 
02/06/2025 04:15 AAL2014  Ratings distribution  3,63375/100

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 76.4/100, a mean average of 75.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.4.

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Honky Tonk Heroes favourites

Showing all 10 members who have added this album as a favourite

Honky Tonk Heroes comments

Showing all 6 comments |
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(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
75/100
From 03/04/2022 01:05 | #282228
Way more a Billy Joe Shaver album than Waylon's. "Ain't No God In Mexico" is the best here.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/11/2021 15:50 | #271543
wonderful down to earth country and western filled with life lessons
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/13/2018 16:31 | #205398
I think I would have appreciated this one more when I was in lower spirits. Still a great listen, if a little on the slow side.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 03/20/2016 13:55 | #162243
A fine record by an important voice in the country genre.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 07/16/2012 19:11 | #46610
Billy Joe Shaver wrote some damn fine songs, and Waylon delivers the goods singing them. Maybe not quite as important an album as people sometimes say it is, and Waylon probably gets too much credit for the outlaw movement in general, but still a great album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 06/11/2010 23:42 | #12800
This one is often heralded as Waylon's best. It is not. Although a very good album, both the two previous outings (Ladies Love Outlaws, and Lonesome On'ry and Mean) were significantly more interesting.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1973
1. The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
2. Innervisions by Stevie Wonder
3. Houses Of The Holy by Led Zeppelin
4. Selling England By The Pound by Genesis
5. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John
6. Quadrophenia by The Who
7. Band On The Run by Paul McCartney & Wings
8. Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
9. Raw Power by Iggy And The Stooges
10. Future Days by Can
11. (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd) by Lynyrd Skynyrd
12. For Your Pleasure by Roxy Music
13. Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock
14. Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield
15. Closing Time by Tom Waits
16. Berlin by Lou Reed
17. The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle by Bruce Springsteen
18. Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye
19. Artaud by Pescado Rabioso
20. Larks' Tongues In Aspic by King Crimson
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