Brutal Youth
by Elvis Costello
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Elvis Costello bestography
Brutal Youth is ranked 11th best out of 37 albums by Elvis Costello on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Elvis Costello is This Year's Model which is ranked number 336 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 4,968.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to Brutal Youth on YouTube
Brutal Youth track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 76 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Brutal Youth rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 7 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  AAL2014 | Top 76 Music Albums of 1994 | 67/76 | 1 |
| 2026 |  dihansse | Top 92 Music Albums of 1994 | 15/92 | 4 |
| 2026 | mikepen | Top 34 Music Albums of 1994 | 20/34 | 2 |
| 2026 |  spigelwii | Top 70 Music Albums of the 1990s | 38/70 | 9 |
| 2026 |  Tamthebam | Top 90 Music Albums of 1994 | 67/90 | 1 |
| 2026 |  Helios | Top 100 Music Albums of 1994 | 86/100 | 1 |
| 2026 | Johnnyo | Top 100 Music Albums of 1994 | 33/100 | 3 |
| 2026 | mrmcrook | Top 46 Music Albums of 1994 | 39/46 | 1 |
| 2026 | AAL2014 | Elvis Costello: So Far.. | 5/5 | - |
| 2026 |  paladisiac | Top 100 Music Albums of 1994 | 61/100 | 2 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 74 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 325 | |||
Brutal Youth collection
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Brutal Youth 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 97 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/11/2026 15:32 | AledJames | 1,720 | 69/100 |
| ! | 10/08/2026 22:35 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,486 | 70/100 |
| ! | 09/16/2026 16:25 |  EyeKanFly | 9,059 | 65/100 |
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 70.3/100, a mean average of 69.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 70.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.0.
Brutal Youth favourites
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Brutal Youth forum mentions
neilgee 06/19/2025 13:05 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)Brutal Youth comments
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indieshins 04/28/2018 00:55 | #213784 | TOP COMMENT
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Some filler, but the best songs are really good, making this a very solid addition to Costello's catalogue. Having the Attractions back gives this album an energy that hadn't been heard since their last album together back in 1986, and this is immediately evident on the opener Pony Street. The songs here feature Costello's typically witty lyrics as well. Best songs: Kinder Murder, You Tripped at Every Step, London's Brilliant Parade
This record is so underrated. One of my favorites in his entire catalogue. I get the opinion that the production is less punchy than his earlier stuff, but I like it this way. Very little filler. Excellent all around.
lightmyway TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/13/2012 22:07 | #42256 | TOP COMMENT
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Nothing too memorable, not really interesting aside from one or two songs. (Edited)
Jboy56 03/15/2022 06:47 | #282844 | TOP COMMENT
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Very safe album from Elvis. Album is long and has so many similar songs that it comes tobe a tad tedious listen in just one sitting. (Edited)
Brutal youth, was Elvis Costello's first album with The Attractions for eight years. It was a great decision by Costello to bring them back as it gives an urgency to the tracks not heard since the, blood and chocolate, record. It's a typically fiery album, as you would expect, from The Attractions, and there's none of that bombast of the, spike, and, mighty like a rose, LP's. Brutal youth, was preceded by the, sulky girl, single, his best since, pills and soap. Elsewhere, there's the punchy, kinder murder, the excellent, all the rage, and, London's brilliant parade. Other good tracks are, you tripped at every step, this is hell, and opener, pony street. Brutal youth, doesn't quite get the recognition it deserves, sure, Costello's made better albums, but I would suggest that it's better than all the records he made between, trust, and, blood and chocolate, excluding, imperial bedroom, and, king of America.
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