The Who By Numbers (studio album)
by The Who
eBay
Condition: New
The Who bestography
The Who By Numbers is ranked 8th best out of 51 albums by The Who on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by The Who is Who's Next which is ranked number 40 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 21,057.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Upcoming concerts
Listen to The Who By Numbers on YouTube
The Who By Numbers track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
The Who By Numbers rankings
MadhattanJack
ExTeaSea
pedro1976
Sandrof1969
RockyRaccoon
Bristoc
Leonard
AAL2014The Who By Numbers collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 182 members
The Who By Numbers 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 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 340 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 21 hours ago | Exist-en-ciel | 4,473 | 70/100 |
| ! | 12/20/2025 22:38 | Devilwoac | 223 | 93/100 |
| ! | 12/12/2025 02:14 | Olli | 6,676 | 64/100 |
| ! | 09/25/2025 08:06 | steve397 | 462 | 75/100 |
| ! | 09/13/2025 08:53 |  Tamthebam | 22,857 | 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 11% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.8/100, a mean average of 74.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.8.
The Who By Numbers favourites
Showing latest 20 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 39 members
The Who By Numbers comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 16 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
This album is full of a lot of quality songs, however there is a definite dip in quality near the middle and end. Most songs on the album are good but there are only a few that are real bangers and they really wouldn't standout when compared with the best tracks in the who's catalogue. It is a very consistent album with no songs being really below average making the album on the whole a joy to listen too. Overall, it isn't their best album but it is nearer the top rather than the bottom.
Classic Who ended with Quadrophenia but I consider this a decent epilogue, even if it sags in the middle.
One of the most underrated albums of all time. Excellent from start to finish.
InsanityPrawnBoy 01/18/2019 04:01 | #229891
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Glitterboiii 07/14/2018 15:20 | #218216
Super underrated! Probably the most personal Who album right next to Quadrophenia. Very confessional lyrics and the band plays with passion. Daltrey really sings the shit out of Pete’s lyrics on this one!
nitomano 01/23/2017 01:10 | #183951
Favoritas: Squeeze Box, Success Story, Imagine A Man, Dreaming From The Waist
Fischman 10/28/2016 16:24 | #177651
I never understood those who love to bash this album. It is chock full o' great cuts and Roger really puts his heart and soul into delivering them.
I know I'm in the minority on this, but I think this is The Who's best album next to Quadrophenia. Highly underrated. Other commenters are correct - it does feel like a Townshend solo album, but Roger's vocals make it much more than just that.
The Who by numbers, is essentially a Pete Townshend solo album in all but name. This is Townshend at his most confessional and self loathing, although Roger Daltrey wraps his tonsils around them with an enthusiastic sincerity, even on some of the more less 'manly' lyrics shall we say. It's a good record with some excellent songs, squeeze box, was the big hit from the album, a jokey country number. Elsewhere there's the opener, slip kid, the excellent, how many friends, and, the self pitying, however much I booze. Best song on the album though is the beautiful, blue,red and grey, a lovely song, one of Townshend's most gorgeous melodies. The playing is great, but as I said earlier, it really does feel like a solo album rather than a band, still, it's a good LP from a band who should have probably called it a day after their last record, quadrophenia.
Best Track: Squeeze Box
Your feedback for The Who By Numbers
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
