Realism
by The Magnetic Fields
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The Magnetic Fields bestography
Realism is ranked 12th best out of 15 albums by The Magnetic Fields on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by The Magnetic Fields is 69 Love Songs which is ranked number 487 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,495.
(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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Realism track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 75 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Realism rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 1 hour ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  johnner | Top 69 Music Albums of the 2010s | 28/69 | 12 |
| 2026 |  AAL2014 | Top 38 Music Albums of 2010 | 29/38 | 1 |
| 2026 | AAL2014 | The Magnetic Fields: So Far.. | 10/10 | - |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Do You Know How To Waltz? Best Albums 2010 | 45/50 | - |
| 2025 | cicadelic | Øyvind Berekvam: Dette er de beste platene i 2010 | 48/69 | - |
| 2025 | johnner | Top 14 Music Albums of 2010 | 2/14 | 5 |
| 2025 | johnner | Best of 2000 - 24 | 26/50 | - |
| 2023 |  Kalos | Top 29 Music Albums of 2010 | 26/29 | 1 |
| 2023 | shanelovesyou1111 | Top 93 Music Albums of 2010 | 28/93 | 4 |
| 2023 | conallmalone | Top 59 Music Albums of 2010 | 44/59 | 1 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 18 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 38 | |||
Realism collection
Showing all 10 members who have this album in their collection
Realism 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 28 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 3 days ago | AAL2014 | 4,331 | 75/100 |
| ! | 06/15/2025 16:43 | PapaShiz86 | 11,778 | 79/100 |
| ! | 11/15/2024 15:19 | davidleewrong | 2,357 | 81/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 67.7/100, a mean average of 63.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 66.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.5.
Realism forum mentions
SleepDealer 02/18/2020 15:49 in What album are you listening to right now?Realism comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
Sandrof1969 02/24/2018 09:58 | #209444
A dieci anni dal capolavoro "69 love songs" e dopo alcuni alti e bassi, la creatura di Stephin Merritt torna ad un ottimo livello, se non di scrittura, almeno di sensibilità musicale. Che è la stessa di dieci anni prima ma che nel disco precedente sembrava essersi smarrita in mezzo alle troppe sperimentazioni. Disco che sembra una danza classica fatta in punta di piedi e a tratti può sembrare stucchevole, ma non è male.
johnner TOP 100 COMMENTER 07/18/2012 00:25 | #46725
Just don't understand why 'Realism' is given such a raw deal - it's great! Interlude, Painted Flower, I Don't Know What to Say, and From a Sinking Boat all display significant depth and elegance to Merritt's songcraft, who seems to get better with time. Love it.
A weak album from a great band.The charm and fun still seem to be there, the songs just aren't as strong as they are on albums like 69 Love Songs and I.
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