It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (studio album) by Public Enemy

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy
Year: 1988
Overall rank: 252nd   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 959 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1988 (4th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1980s (31st)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (252nd)
Product Details
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Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back LP 1998 US ORIG
Condition: Used


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Public Enemy It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back Vinyl GD BFW 44303
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Public Enemy bestography

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back is ranked as the best album by Public Enemy.

Public Enemy album bestography « Higher ranked This album (252nd) Lower ranked (679th) »
-It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us BackFear Of A Black Planet

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It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back rankings

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It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 959 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 959 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 Report rating
11 hours ago rubkill  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 29987/100
 
85/100
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09/17/2023 18:36 VanillaBean  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,12679/100
 
90/100
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08/29/2023 12:29 Robmc70  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 93679/100
 
80/100
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08/11/2023 15:27 plasmicmist  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,91676/100
 
85/100
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08/03/2023 19:58 siripii  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 39077/100

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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 79.9/100, a mean average of 77.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 19.8.

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It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 55 comments |
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Rating:  
80/100
From 04/01/2023 16:54
Important album in the history of hip hop, at its best it is raw but original beats and almost punk delivery, that with this lyrics creates atmosphere of a real riot. Unfortunately it's not the most consistent record and between the good stuff there are some interludes that ruin flow of the album a bit. Overall it's an enjoyable listen with vibe unique for its time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 02/27/2023 22:25
This sounds very dated today and the music on here while it might be impressive for the time just doesn't hold up to this day. This leads to a lot of moments that make you tense up a bit as they are so outdated and old fashioned. I also am not a huge fan of the delivery of Flavor Flav and I think he might be a big influence on what makes it such a tough listen. Despite this, the lyrical content is phenomenal and the themes they tackle are important and deserve to be listened to. Chuck D is the leader of this and he really carries this record for me. Overall, this is a record that you have to listen to for its lyrics and significance in music but its lack of musical quality has become evident over time in my opinion.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 06/14/2022 18:21
It’s a testament to how much rap has grown that this groundbreaking album no longer holds up in some respects. One of the best early examples of how to use two very contrasting voices and styles against one another.

Chuck D’s stuff would probably still work today. Flavor Flav (except when vocalizing in contrast to D)…not so much.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 04/26/2022 04:00
Their breakthrough top 10 album in the UK. The best 3 tracks are their top 40 hits, "Rebel Without A Pause"(37), "Bring The Noise"(32) and the iconic "Don't Believe The Hype"(18) which never left my turntable for about a year after release. One of the all time greatest rap albums in history.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 02/21/2022 07:44
Yeah, as good as it gets.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 09/08/2021 15:50
A really important rap album, one of the first to be outwardly political AND angry.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/03/2021 18:51
Documento histórico, muito mais que um álbum!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 12/11/2020 14:24
Genre-defining album, Hip-hop wouldn't be the same without it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/07/2020 12:02
Lyrically this album is amazing. I also know that a lot of work had to be put in those beats, that being said, I have a lot of trouble with some of the sounds. The lyrics make up for it so its still an amazing listen, but i always prefer to go back to EPMD in 88. I rather listen to this record on vinyl and concentrate on Chuck Ds message.
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Rating:  
35/100
From 09/19/2020 22:29
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (0 helpful | 4 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1988
1. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
2. Surfer Rosa by Pixies
3. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk
4. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy
5. ...And Justice For All by Metallica
6. Isn't Anything by My Bloody Valentine
7. Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman
8. Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A
9. Green by R.E.M.
10. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son by Iron Maiden
11. Nothing's Shocking by Jane's Addiction
12. I'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen
13. The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 by The Traveling Wilburys
14. Operation: Mindcrime by Queensrÿche
15. 16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens
16. If I Should Fall From Grace With God by The Pogues
17. Viva Hate by Morrissey
18. Tender Prey by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
19. Starfish by The Church
20. Rattle And Hum by U2
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