Skylarking
by XTC
Listen & Collect
Complete your collection or upgrade your listening experience.
XTC bestography
Skylarking is ranked as the best album by XTC.
(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 Skylarking on YouTube
Skylarking track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Skylarking rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 4 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  slatsheit | Top 40 Music Albums of 1986 | 5/40 | 5 |
| 2026 | Moondance | Top 100 Music Albums of 1986 | 53/100 | 2 |
| 2026 | stangetzaway | Top 35 Music Albums of 1986 | 12/35 | 3 |
| 2026 |  NickVolos | Top 99 Music Albums of 1986 | 19/99 | 4 |
| 2026 |  eclab | Top 20 Music Albums of 1986 | 3/20 | 5 |
| 2026 | daCritic | Top 32 Music Albums of 1986 | 10/32 | 4 |
| 2026 | TroutMaskGreg | Top 13 Music Albums of 1986 | 11/13 | 1 |
| 2026 | Rich150 | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 36/100 | 64 |
| 2026 |  Norman Bates | Top 85 Music Albums of 1986 | 32/85 | 3 |
| 2026 | bonnequestion | Top 16 Music Albums of 1986 | 1/16 | 5 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 601 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 4,455 | |||
Skylarking collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 285 members
Skylarking 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 647 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 3 days ago | Mrump | 544 | 75/100 |
| ! | 08/03/2026 17:57 | luiz | 63 | 79/100 |
| ! | 07/22/2026 20:09 | daCritic | 4,639 | 73/100 |
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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.2/100, 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.
Skylarking favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 113 members
Skylarking forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 5 days ago in Chart of the day (#5448): By Glitterboiii BestEverAlbums 09/14/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5435): By flamingyesdept BestEverAlbums 08/31/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5421): By Simon_bramhallSkylarking comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
There is no doubt that this is their most accomplished album, in my mind, and as has been said already the track flow seems almost, if not, perfect. Individually all the tracks are 85-95, apart from "Dying", but as a whole it comes into its own and is an album everyone should try. Having said that I don't love it quite as much as I do their debut album, two totally contrasting styles, the best of their melodic pop versus the best of their punk pop, and, old bloke that I am, my heart goes with the early one.
Perhaps my favorite album from 1986. Skylarking is XTC's Sgt. Pepper....literally. Andy Partridge was obviously OD'ing on mid 60s Beatles when he wrote this perfect album. No rock fan's collection should be without this gem!
~SMiLE~ 03/07/2012 15:57 | #37961 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
This album transcends the era in which it was recorded. "Skylarking" has a timeless sound, spacious production, and generous yet temperate orchestral arrangements. Intelligent melodic songs with graceful,lyrical arrangements and expansive detailed instrumentation.This is a joyfully sublime experience.
Sandinistar 10/07/2018 02:03 | #222146 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
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.
These songwriters possess some of the greatest melodic sense of anyone, in any era. Some say Beatlesque, but I find it closer to Brian Wilson. This album is like a cross between Pet Sounds and Odyssey and Oracle, which is high praise. I almost want to dock it a notch for including 'Dear God' after that song caught on in the U.S. But I won't nitpick. 10/10
The top-voted comments get featured on our charts, Album of the Day, and the site newsletter.
