Evol
by Sonic Youth

Overall rank: 777th | 1980s rank: 113th | 1986 rank: 11th
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings).(Last updated: 4 hours ago)

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Year	Source	Chart	Rank	Rank Score
2026	shanelovesyou1111	Top 65 Music Albums of 1986	26/65	3
2026	Pastiche	Top 24 Music Albums of 1986	13/24	3
2026	Cheboygan74	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	66/100	7
2026	junodog4	Top 20 Music Albums of 1986	11/20	3
2026	sunnydhamm	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	77/100	5
2026	Romanelli	Top 52 Music Albums of 1986	43/52	1
2026	Purplepash	Top 51 Music Albums of 1986	32/51	2
2026	btener11	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	48/100	11
2026	Johnnyo	Albums of the year 1986 by Acclaimed Music	14/53	-
2026	AledJames	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	100/100	0
		Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in.		417
		Total Rank Score: The total rank score.		2,220

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Evol collection

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Evol ratings

Average Rating:

77/100 (from 537 votes)

Showing latest 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 537 ratings for this album.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Album ratings	Avg. album rating
70/100 !	5 days ago	Siromynian	1,773	74/100
80/100 !	09/10/2026 14:30	robertoveltri	914	79/100
80/100 !	08/27/2026 23:07	Melway94	118	83/100

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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.4/100, a mean average of 76.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.0.

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Evol favourites

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Evol forum mentions

This album has been referenced 57 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.

From

BestEverAlbums 10/01/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5452): By LittleM1971

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by LittleM1971 () 1. by (1989) 2. by by (1984) 4. (1980) 6. by (1988) 7. by (1985) 8. by (1980) 9. by (1986) 10. by (1988) 11. by (1983) 12. (1985) 13. (1989) 14. (1984) 15. by (1980) 16. by (1980) 17. by by (1987) 20. (1982) 21. by (1984)…”

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From

BestEverAlbums 09/07/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5428): By ExTeaSea

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by ExTeaSea () 1. by by (1982) 3. by (1980) 4. (1981) 5. by (1981) 6. by by (1981) 8. by (1980) 9. by by (1985) 11. by (1983) 12. by (1987) 13. by (1986) 15. by (1988) 16. (1986) 17. by by (1982) 20. (1982) 21. by by by by by (1981) 27. by…”

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From

BestEverAlbums 08/05/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5395): By areminder

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. by (1999) 2. (1986) 3. by by (1965) 5. by (1969) 6. by (1988) 7. by by (1999) 9. by (1959) 10. (1977) 11. by (1970) 12. by (1966) 14. (2009) 15. (1977) 16. (1969) 17. by (1969) 20. by (1968) 21. by (1971) 22. by (1968) 23. by (1965) 24.…”

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Evol comments

From

drakonium 04/13/2013 13:19 | #72804 | TOP COMMENT

One of the most interesting records from their incredible discography. There are still a few traces of their noisy beginnings, but not that much actually. There are melodies here. And damn great ones. This may not be the most instantly rewarding of their indie period, but with time, it clearly becomes one of the best.

And the cover is absolutely awesome *o*

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6

Rating:

95/100

From jstreets 04/09/2013 03:22 | #72141 | TOP COMMENT

The first album of their to incorporate rock song structures, though its still quite noisy. This along with the addition of drummer Steve Shelley, began their rapid ascent to indie royalty.

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6

Rating:

95/100

From

RockyRaccoon TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/10/2013 15:50 | #91696 | TOP COMMENT

Mesmerizing. I tried to listen to this for the first time while I was doing something and I had to stop and listen. I almost like this as much as "Daydream Nation", it's really close.

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 5

From ItSaysDilbert 03/12/2015 02:49 | #136587 | TOP COMMENT

"I never gave a damn 'bout the meter man, 'til i was the man who had to read the meters, man" - Mike Watt

Favorite Tracks: Tom Violence, Shadow of a Doubt, Green Light, Secret Girls

8.0
A-

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4

Rating:

90/100

From garycottier TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/03/2016 16:38 | #167714 | TOP COMMENT

A great noisy album that shifts from dark to light, from intense to calm, EVOL, is a great Sonic Youth album before their records became more accessible and straightforward. A fantastic album for the right time and mood.

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3

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