Laughing Stock
by Talk Talk

Laughing Stock by Talk Talk
Year: 1991
Release date: 1991-09-16
Overall rank: 176th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 915 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1991 (7th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1990s (38th)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (176th)

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Product Details
Availability

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Talk Talk - Laughing Stock [New CD]
Condition: Brand New


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Talk Talk Laughing Stock US Cassette 1991
Condition: Like New


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Talk Talk - Laughing Stock - Vinyl Record
Condition: New


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Talk Talk bestography

Laughing Stock is ranked 2nd best out of 13 albums by Talk Talk on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Talk Talk is Spirit Of Eden which is ranked number 128 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 10,131.

Talk Talk album bestography « Higher ranked (128th)
Spirit Of Eden
This album (176th)
Laughing Stock
Lower ranked (413th) »
The Colour Of Spring

(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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Laughing Stock track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 87 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
2.
Track pick (890 - 228 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (228 votes)Comments: View 6
3.
Track pick (900 - 229 votes)
Average Rating: 90 (229 votes)Comments: View 4
5.
Track pick (890 - 218 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (218 votes)Comments: View 8

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

Laughing Stock rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 176th | 1990s rank: 38th | 1991 rank: 7th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026ScrabblerTop 100 Greatest Music Albums56/10045
2026FritzTop 12 Music Albums of 19914/124
2026 flamingyesdeptTop 100 Greatest Artists56/100 -
2026Cheboygan74Top 13 Music Albums of 199111/131
2026TroutMaskGregTop 21 Music Albums of 199118/211
2026bonnequestionMy top 100 from BEA's top 100039/100 -
2026 arthurbittencourtTop 100 Music Albums of the 1990s53/10010
2026joathomeTop 48 Music Albums of 199135/481
2026 TamthebamTop 89 Music Albums of 19914/895
2026 DommeDamianFeb 26: 201-30084/100 -
2026pago82Top 39 Music Albums of 199114/393
2026JakorTop 50 Music Albums of 199142/501
2026 ArthurknightTop 99 Music Albums of 19911/995
2026 BozoTyrannusTop 100 Greatest Music Albums74/10027
2026mianfeiTop 100 Greatest Music Albums20/10078
2026bonnequestionBest Ever Albums - 1 Per Artist61/100 -
2026jdizzle123456Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s57/1009
2026Rm12398Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s68/1007
2026 ObsoleteEntityTop 99 Music Albums of the 1990s22/9916
2026 ForegroundNoiseAround the World Around the World Around the World Around the Wo26/69 -
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 784
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 8,395
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Laughing Stock collection

Laughing Stock ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 915 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 915 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
55/100
 
05/23/2026 09:09 slimharpo  Ratings distribution  1,49169/100
 
95/100
 
05/21/2026 02:27 radio-head  Ratings distribution  52682/100
 
95/100
 
05/19/2026 01:10 golrab67  Ratings distribution  17391/100
 
75/100
 
05/18/2026 14:17 mids  Ratings distribution  93680/100
 
85/100
 
05/16/2026 01:50 stareaterogni0n  Ratings distribution  45371/100

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 83.4/100, a mean average of 82.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.4.

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Laughing Stock comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 81 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:  
100/100
From 07/01/2025 08:48 | #309813
Incredible!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/20/2025 03:01 | #308124
One of the most incredible albums ever put to tape. God bless you Mark Hollis.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 09/06/2023 21:26 | #299008
While I'll always love Spirit of Eden just a touch more, this is simply one of the most beautiful things ever recorded.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 07/07/2023 22:23 | #297987
Absolutely beautiful sounding album that takes you to another dimension. Crowning achievement of their career after improving with every album - incredible band.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/25/2023 14:10 | #295416
What a brilliant record this is. It is complex and full of depth and the music just flows beautifully from track to track. The sound feels so smooth and relaxing that it makes this record such an easy one to revisit frequently and just get completely lost in. It really gives you this feeling of serenity that not many albums can give you which makes it so impressive. Instrumentally, it is delicate but still full of emotion and passion which makes it feel like a deeply personal album. They create a phenomenal mood that they consistently maintain on here as well and it is one of the greatest atmospheres I have ever heard on a record. Despite this, I do think the quality dips on the middle two tracks and they aren't as engaging as the other 4 songs. Overall, an elite display that demonstrates their instrumental quality and makes me excited to listen to more albums by them.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 02/01/2023 05:30 | #293463
My adoration for Laughing Stock has only risen considerably over the years and after many return visits. What’s so beautiful about this record is that it’s almost like an auditory sunset. It’s beautiful and wide spread and more than a little ominous.

Ascension Day, one of my absolute favorite songs, is colorful and boisterous but entrancing and so is the limitlessly hypnotic, but more soothing, New Grass while Runeii closes things out with a true sense of fragile finality. Many listeners say this track is somewhat anticlimactic but if we are to revisit the idea of Laughing Stock sounding like a sunset, Runeii is night fall over the once luscious sonic landscapes we had explored the previous 40 minutes.

This is an album for the ages by a band unlike any other. It’s worth listening to their excellent 5 album discography in chronological order just to put into full context how bat shit it is that Talk Talk ended up where they did sonically by the end of their road.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 02/01/2023 01:59 | #293461
This album is a masterpiece. One of the best of the 90s and of all time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/29/2022 16:26 | #283574
This album has a very unique sound, therefore I just loved it. Moody and jazzy, especially the guitars created a very haunted sonic experience
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 12/21/2021 20:02 | #277758
Disco tranquilo que se deja escuchar y bastante disfrutable
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/31/2021 11:17 | #268011
ALL SONGS ARE MY FAV. TRACKS!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1991
1. Nevermind by Nirvana
2. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
3. Ten by Pearl Jam
4. Spiderland by Slint
5. Achtung Baby by U2
6. The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
7. Laughing Stock by Talk Talk
8. Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers
9. Metallica by Metallica
10. Screamadelica by Primal Scream