Skylarking
by XTC

Skylarking by XTC
Year: 1986
Release date: 1986-10-27
Overall rank: 401st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 645 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1986 (6th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1980s (53rd)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (401st)

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Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
XTC - Skylarking [New Vinyl LP] 200 Gram, UK - Import
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
XTC Skylarking LP Vinyl 1980s Rock Geffen GHS24117
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
XTC Skylarking CD 1986 Geffen CRC Club Edition DIDX 001881 USA Press
Condition: Like New


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XTC bestography

Skylarking is ranked as the best album by XTC.

XTC album bestography « Higher ranked (401st)
Skylarking
This album (401st)
Skylarking
Lower ranked (1,218th) »
English Settlement

(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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Skylarking track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Skylarking rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 401st | 1980s rank: 53rd | 1986 rank: 6th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026stangetzawayTop 35 Music Albums of 198612/353
2026sunnydhammTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s28/10015
2026 AAL2014Top 55 Music Albums of 198610/554
2026jonny5244Top 26 Music Albums of 19862/265
2026matterhornriderTop 56 Music Albums of 19864/565
2026SkernsTop 78 Music Albums of 19868/785
2026Johnnyo1986 by U R C7/17 -
2026 covecoveTop 50 Music Albums of 19861/505
2026matterhornriderTop 101-200 Greatest Music Albums81/100 -
2026 melisandreTop 57 Music Albums of the 1980s12/5716
2026FinkyTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s88/1003
2026leniadTop 101-200 Music Albums of the 1980s25/44 -
2026 RomanelliTop 51 Music Albums of 19867/514
2026 slatsheitMy top 101-201 (not a misprint)76/100 -
2026bonnequestionBest albums from '85 to '944/100 -
2026 PurplepashTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s100/1000
2026bonnequestionMy top 100 from BEA's top 200038/100 -
2026sweetnessTop 82 Music Albums of the 1980s74/822
2026 TakaTop 100 Greatest Music Albums82/10019
2026 videoheadcleanerTop 100 Music Albums of 198639/1003
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 600
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 2,503
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Skylarking collection

Skylarking ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 645 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help 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 645 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 
04/28/2026 13:04 ASOARE  Ratings distribution  2,23576/100
 
85/100
 
03/31/2026 03:11 AngelBecerra  Ratings distribution  1,11978/100
 
80/100
 
03/25/2026 10:06 melisandre  Ratings distribution  26184/100
 
60/100
 
03/19/2026 15:38 JamesMowbray  Ratings distribution  5,43869/100
 
85/100
 
03/17/2026 20:46 SPOTLIGHTKID  Ratings distribution  2797/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.3/100, a mean average of 79.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.3.

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Skylarking comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 38 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)

Rating:  
75/100
From 02/09/2024 00:57 | #301834
Great freak pop record!
Endless inspiration.
There are some obvious influences on a couple songs (McCartney etc) but you can also hear their influence on Blur for instance.
When they hit that perfect pop equilibrium is just great!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/15/2023 15:50 | #292882
I'm not the biggest XTC fan, but this album quite impressed me with a lot of 60s influences and vocal harmonies. I really like the arrangements and first couple of tracks are magnificent, but it suffers of being too long with second half weaker than the first one.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/07/2022 01:08 | #289446
Alright record
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/09/2022 13:23 | #281013
Very Beatlesy, hmm not bad
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 07/01/2021 06:40 | #271197
Pet Sounds in 1980s
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/21/2021 19:23 | #267603
Resgate da loucura sessentista, mas sem se tornar uma caricatura da época. Incrível.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/06/2021 23:42 | #263959
I'm not sure why it took me so long to get to this. Bit of a masterpiece, though I will need to dig in deeper, because I just know this album can offer a lot.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/21/2020 22:43 | #248974
77/100

Pieza interesante y con ligeros destellos de grandeza, los cuales siempre se agradecen.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 05/22/2019 21:04 | #236554
Having just got this on vinyl, I am really happy with my decision. I can tell that this is an album which will reveal more with each listen. Excellent musicianship and production. Quite a diverse album which makes it fresh even in 2019, some thirty plus years after its release. I particularly like the Jazz/Progressive feel of 'Man Who Sailed Around His Soul'. The production is superb throughout the whole album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 10/07/2018 02:03 | #222146
Brilliant production from Todd, excellent songs from the band, and they mesh together wonderfully. The best song on this album is "Dear God," though that's not technically on the album. "Grass," "Ballet for a Rainy Day," and "Earn Enough For Us" are all top tracks as well, and there isn't a weak spot on the record, though it slows down a bit by the second half. Great work by a good band.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1986
1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
2. Master Of Puppets by Metallica
3. Graceland by Paul Simon
4. So by Peter Gabriel
5. The Colour Of Spring by Talk Talk
6. Skylarking by XTC
7. Reign In Blood by Slayer
8. Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M.
9. Black Celebration by Depeche Mode
10. Licensed To Ill by Beastie Boys
11. Evol by Sonic Youth
12. Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi
13. Somewhere In Time by Iron Maiden
14. Parade by Prince And The Revolution
15. Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? by Megadeth
16. Invisible Touch by Genesis
17. Atomizer by Big Black
18. Infected by The The
19. Victorialand by Cocteau Twins
20. True Blue by Madonna