Pretenders
by Pretenders

Pretenders by Pretenders
Year: 1980
Release date: 1980-01-04
Overall rank: 573rd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 594 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1980 (8th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1980s (88th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (573rd)

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The Singles - Audio CD By Pretenders - GOOD
Condition: Good


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Pretenders–Pretenders–1980 Sire–SRK 6083 Vinyl Record LP
Condition: Used


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The Pretenders - Pretenders (2018 Remaster) [New Vinyl LP] Rmst
Condition: New


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Pretenders bestography

Pretenders is ranked as the best album by Pretenders.

Pretenders album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (573rd)
Pretenders
Lower ranked (1,629th) »
Learning To Crawl

(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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Pretenders track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Pretenders rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 573rd | 1980s rank: 88th | 1980 rank: 8th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 RomanelliTop 36 Music Albums of 198011/364
2026wizardalienTop 11 Music Albums of 19803/114
2026 imacgillTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s58/1009
2026tim0505Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s36/10013
2026sweetnessTop 82 Music Albums of the 1980s30/8213
2026leniadTop 101-200 Music Albums of the 1980s32/44 -
2026 ExTeaSeaTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s38/10013
2026 dihansseTop 75 Music Albums of 198012/754
2026 RomanelliMy Overall Chart: 501-60023/100 -
2026saltysurpriseTop 49 Music Albums of 198046/490
2026lanadeleswiftTop 41 Music Albums of 198022/412
2026BraddlesHendoTop 100 Greatest Music Albums23/10077
2026SkernsTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s3/10020
2026 RasmVTop 50 Music Albums of 198039/501
2026SumbodyTop 41 Music Albums of the 1980s23/419
2026jdizzle123456Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s54/1009
2026RiveraTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s20/10016
2026brent13Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s41/10012
2026 HeliosTop 80 Music Albums of 198022/804
2026cicadelicTop 95 Music Albums of 198021/954
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 507
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 2,922
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Pretenders collection

Pretenders ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 594 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 594 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
50/100
 
03/18/2026 11:17 BoxFL  Ratings distribution  2,76751/100
 
75/100
 
03/13/2026 17:48 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  8,72970/100
 
85/100
 
02/01/2026 20:13 sweetness  Ratings distribution  1,11679/100
 
80/100
 
01/15/2026 00:06 This_is_handsome  Ratings distribution  76979/100
 
65/100
 
12/30/2025 21:18 Milhaud  Ratings distribution  1,89470/100

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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.4/100, a mean average of 77.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.0.

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Pretenders comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 30 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
95/100
From 02/18/2025 15:52 | #307638
Chrissie Hynde's provocative band project rocks as hard as any male dominant group on The Pretenders alt-rock eponymous release. James Honeyman-Scott's multidimensional lead guitar playing is on par with the greats of the time. The bone crunching drumming of Martin Chambers and bassist Peter Farndon round out the rhythm section. "Precious", "Brass in My Pocket" and a Kinks cover song, "Stop Your Sobbing" are the highlights however each song on the album can stand on its own. One of the great debut albums of all time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 11/26/2024 00:30 | #306267
Really enjoyed this. Space Invader is one of my favourite instrumental tracks ever. I also liked Mystery Achievement, Private Life, Brass In Pocket and Up The Neck.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 08/06/2022 16:03 | #288172
Definitely unique album, I like instrumentals, vocals are hit (Brass In Pocket) or miss (The Wait) for me, some tracks are too long (Lovers Of Today, Private Life).
Best tracks: Brass In Pocket, Up The Neck
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 12/02/2021 13:54 | #276976
decent guitar etc and the iconic bass in pocket pop
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 03/25/2021 00:33 | #267704
So damn good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 12/11/2020 18:17 | #262560
Simple, catchy, enjoyable, my favorites are tracks 5 and 8.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/11/2020 16:49 | #262539
Honestly, I like learning to crawl better. In term's of appreciation, this and learning to crawl are the same.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 11/27/2020 16:04 | #261496
It takes a lot of confidence to stick the strongest tracks at the end of your debut album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 07/10/2020 15:59 | #255367
Meh! Brass In Pocket is a great throwback. Rating (72.92)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 04/03/2020 15:19 | #249468
What an album to kick off the 80's! I liked it the first time I heard it, then I liked it better , with each listen.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1980
1. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
2. Closer by Joy Division
3. Back In Black by AC/DC
4. Scary Monsters by David Bowie
5. Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys
6. Peter Gabriel (1980) by Peter Gabriel
7. The River by Bruce Springsteen
8. Pretenders by Pretenders
9. Permanent Waves by Rush
10. Seventeen Seconds by The Cure
11. Making Movies by Dire Straits
12. Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies
13. Sandinista! by The Clash
14. Heaven And Hell by Black Sabbath
15. Ace Of Spades by Motörhead
16. Boy by U2
17. Dirty Mind by Prince
18. Gaucho by Steely Dan
19. Sound Affects by The Jam
20. Get Happy!! by Elvis Costello And The Attractions