My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
by Brian Eno & David Byrne
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Brian Eno & David Byrne bestography
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts is ranked as the best album by Brian Eno & David Byrne.
(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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My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
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Track
Rating/Comments
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts rankings
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts rankings summary
Overall rank: 650th | 1980s rank: 102nd | 1981 rank: 5th Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 6 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | PurpleHazel | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 15/100 | 17 |
| 2026 |  Pastiche | Top 20 Music Albums of 1981 | 1/20 | 5 |
| 2026 | Rhett | Top 81 Greatest Music Albums | 42/81 | 49 |
| 2026 |  ssteve | Top 34 Music Albums of 1981 | 14/34 | 3 |
| 2026 |  Patman360 | Top 100 Music Albums of 1981 | 4/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | gloriousgoo | Top 99 Greatest Music Albums | 51/99 | 48 |
| 2026 |  JoaoMoreira | Top 49 Music Albums of the 1980s | 19/49 | 13 |
| 2026 | pinkfreud1981 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 62/100 | 8 |
| 2026 |  ERadio | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 78/100 | 5 |
| 2026 |  Romanelli | Top 27 Music Albums of 1981 | 19/27 | 2 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 394 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 2,637 | |||
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My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts collection
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My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 442 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 5 days ago | dronjack | 74 | 39/100 |
| ! | 10/07/2026 21:55 | pharoahstune | 255 | 79/100 |
| ! | 10/04/2026 23:54 | ecocruzr | 259 | 69/100 |
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 76.9/100, a mean average of 76.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.1.
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My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts favourites
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My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts forum mentions
This album has been referenced 86 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From stangetzaway 08/05/2026 12:45 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
“What album are you listening to? (cont.)”
View topic (5 mentions) →From 
BestEverAlbums 06/30/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5359): By PurpleHazel
BestEverAlbums 06/30/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5359): By PurpleHazel“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. by (1963) 2. by (1970) 3. by (1965) 4. (1973) 5. by (2005) 6. (1966) 7. by by (1969) 9. (1974) 10. by (1977) 11. by (1985) 12. by (1983) 13. by (1972) 14. by (1969) 15. by (2013) 16. by (1971) 17. (1968) 18. (1958) 19. by (1967) 20. by…”
(1 mentions across Chart of the Day topics)View latest topic →
From BestEverAlbums 02/05/2025 21:00 in Album of the day (#5162): My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
BestEverAlbums 02/05/2025 21:00 in Album of the day (#5162): My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts“Today's album of the day My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts by Brian Eno & David Byrne ( | ) Year: 1981. Country: Overall rank: 639 Average rating: 77/100 (from 429 votes). Tracks: 1. America Is Waiting 2. Mea Culpa 3. Regiment 4. Help Me Somebody 5. The Jezebel Spirit 6. Qu'ran 7. Moonlight In Glory 8.…”
(4 mentions across Album of the Day topics)View latest topic →
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My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts comments
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From
leMonk 06/18/2019 15:15 | #237784 | TOP COMMENT
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I really did not see this coming. Of course there is a relationship with "Remain in Light" by TH, but the combined talent of Eno / Byrne makes this album the best and most innovative music of 1981. The processing of samples (tape loops, because digital technology was not yet available) is extraordinary. Feverish. The voices of the outside world merge seamlessly with the haunting music.
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From
covecove TOP 100 COMMENTER 07/19/2011 23:55 | #24622 | TOP COMMENT
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covecove TOP 100 COMMENTER 07/19/2011 23:55 | #24622 | TOP COMMENT
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Bizarely adictive, the first 7 tracks are a true odyssey, rhytmical, danceable, weird and yet perfectly contained, then it gets more experimental and closes with Eno at his best, a hugely influential album, radical, complex, well crafted and perfectly executed.
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From
teague TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/18/2020 16:21 | #250175 | TOP COMMENT
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teague TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/18/2020 16:21 | #250175 | TOP COMMENT
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Exactly what I expected from a collaboration between Brian Eno and David Byrne, which is to say that this is nothing short of great. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts has Byrne's fondness for weird funk rhythms and Eno's clear artistic vision. I also don't think sampling was used like this, if at all, in 1981. I've not heard too much buzz about this album, which is sad because I think it's fantastic and fun to listen to.
Also, I'd like to point out that the 2006 artwork for this album sucks and the original cover is way better.
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From
stangetzaway 12/01/2016 23:31 | #179462 | TOP COMMENT
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Wonderful sample driven pastiche heavily influenced by African music and inspired by the novel of the same name. Eno and Bryne are at their peak and this is virtually as good as Remain in Light. 18 track extended cd every bit as pleasurable listening as the original and maybe preferable as it includes tracks slated that were omitted due to legal issues over samples holding up the album's release and subsequent recordings replacing them. This would have sounded like nothing else at the time.
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From
CellarDoor TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/13/2011 19:46 | #23081 | TOP COMMENT
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CellarDoor TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/13/2011 19:46 | #23081 | TOP COMMENT
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I bought the original "uncensored" version of this masterpiece with the "banned" track Qu'ran. Another exotic beauty.
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