Takin' Off
by Herbie Hancock

Takin' Off by Herbie Hancock
Year: 1962
Overall rank: 4,499th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 101 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1962 (15th)
Award Top albums of the 1960s (367th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,499th)

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Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off [New Vinyl LP]
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Herbie Hancock Takin' Off Reissue LP Blue Note ST-84109 Europe Vinyl Record
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Herbie Hancock bestography

Takin' Off is ranked 5th best out of 42 albums by Herbie Hancock on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Herbie Hancock is Head Hunters which is ranked number 526 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,311.

Herbie Hancock album bestography « Higher ranked (2,858th)
Sextant
This album (4,499th)
Takin' Off
Lower ranked (4,499th) »
Takin' Off

(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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Takin' Off rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,499th | 1960s rank: 367th | 1962 rank: 15th

Takin' Off collection

Takin' Off ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 101 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 101 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 
02/15/2026 10:07 Johnnyo  Ratings distribution  9,76777/100
 
90/100
 
01/30/2026 15:31 Steebo  Ratings distribution  54886/100
 
75/100
 
12/21/2025 00:29 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  8,51170/100
 
75/100
 
09/24/2025 15:21 Tamthebam  Ratings distribution  22,96469/100
 
70/100
 
07/08/2025 14:44 TastyandTemptin  Ratings distribution  3,09272/100

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 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.2/100, a mean average of 75.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.0.

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Takin' Off favourites

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Takin' Off comments

Showing all 5 comments |
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From 10/09/2022 01:26 | #290303
A genius steps on to the scene, what a debut album. Stroll into NYC, do a few sessions and, oh yeah, drop a stomping, funky first album and have the first tune get covered and hit the pop charts--hi everybody, I'm going to be doing this kind of thing for the next sixty years (and counting) without ever letting up. Herbie's composition and playing are awesome, but this is also one of my favorite albums to hear Dexter Gordon, who obviously has a bunch of good albums as a leader, but his playing here is super soulful and funky.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 09/29/2022 06:32 | #290040
O this album Herbie starts his long your as one of jazz renovators. I just cant help digging this. So good
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 10/24/2020 20:26 | #259733
65/100

Best tracks: Three Bags Full, The Maze
Worst tracks: Driftin, Alone and I
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/07/2017 02:14 | #202752
Nice jazz. Not too hard, not too soft. This has some great piano work
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 02/12/2017 23:42 | #185489
A great hard bop album by a supreme ensemble.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1962
1. Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music by Ray Charles
2. Howlin' Wolf by Howlin' Wolf
3. Waltz For Debby by Bill Evans Trio
4. Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan
5. Green Onions by Booker T. & The M.G.'s
6. Go by Dexter Gordon
7. Françoise Hardy (Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles) by Françoise Hardy
8. Tijuana Moods by Charles Mingus
9. The Bridge by Sonny Rollins
10. Jazz Samba by Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd
11. Oh Yeah by Charles Mingus
12. Crying by Roy Orbison
13. Coltrane "Live" At The Village Vanguard by John Coltrane
14. Surfin' Safari by The Beach Boys
15. Takin' Off by Herbie Hancock
16. Peter, Paul And Mary by Peter, Paul And Mary
17. Mosaic by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
18. Coltrane by John Coltrane Quartet
19. Sentimentally Yours by Patsy Cline
20. Burnin' by John Lee Hooker