Obscure Alternatives
by Japan
eBay
Condition: Very Good
eBay
Condition: Used
eBay
Condition: Like New
Japan bestography
Obscure Alternatives is ranked 6th best out of 10 albums by Japan on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Japan is Tin Drum which is ranked number 1938 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 851.
(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 Obscure Alternatives on YouTube
Obscure Alternatives track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 76 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Obscure Alternatives rankings
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | LittleM1971 | Top 65 Music Albums of 1978 | 48/65 | 1 |
| 2026 |  Tamthebam | Top 100 Music Albums of 1978 | 66/100 | 2 |
| 2025 |  dihansse | Top 64 Music Albums of 1978 | 49/64 | 1 |
| 2025 |  MadhattanJack | Top 89 Music Albums of 1978 | 37/89 | 3 |
| 2025 | TodFitz | Top 100 Music Albums of 1978 | 37/100 | 3 |
| 2025 |  Igtonumama | Top 100 Music Albums of 1978 | 49/100 | 3 |
| 2025 |  Repo | Top 98 Music Albums of 1978 | 72/98 | 1 |
| 2023 |  MW19704U | Top 100 Music Albums of 1978 | 72/100 | 1 |
| 2023 |  RevolverCB72 | Japan: Best Studio Albums | 5/6 | - |
| 2022 |  craola | Top 20 Music Albums of 1978 | 17/20 | 1 |
| 2021 | emptysquares | Top 52 Music Albums of 1978 | 40/52 | 1 |
| 2020 | Ashmark | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 25/100 | 30 |
| 2020 |  jnfbn | 1978: 100+ | 27/45 | - |
| 2020 | Red0510 | Top 54 Music Albums of 1978 | 49/54 | 1 |
| 2018 | Ashmark | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 24/100 | 15 |
| 2017 |  Ottokar | Top 41 Music Albums of 1978 | 36/41 | 1 |
| 2012 |  btener11 | Top 45 Music Albums of 1978 | 35/45 | 1 |
| 1978 | OOR | Jaarlijst Oor 1978 | 100/100 | 0 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 18 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 66 | |||
Obscure Alternatives collection
Showing all 12 members who have this album in their collection
Obscure Alternatives 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 36 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 01/18/2026 11:29 | Exist-en-ciel | 7,584 | 70/100 |
| ! | 07/12/2024 10:46 | H-sie | 1,115 | 76/100 |
| ! | 04/16/2024 02:35 |  teague | 4,331 | 78/100 |
| ! | 08/17/2023 14:58 | JamesMowbray | 5,355 | 69/100 |
| ! | 05/18/2023 12:52 | RevolverCB72 | 1,808 | 76/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 72.7/100, a mean average of 71.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 72.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 12.4.
Obscure Alternatives favourites
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Obscure Alternatives comments
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AJSki2fly 03/03/2018 14:57 | #210001
As already said a rather different feel from the later Japan offerings, however this albums one not to be missed. Some very well constructed and interesting material, both lyrically and musically. Japan were a truly clever set of lads and very good musicians.
This is a tragically underrated album. Probably because it is nothing like the music that produced their hits. In other words, if you like the band, you don’t like this older stuff, and if you don’t like the band you wouldn’t listen to the older stuff. This album desrves to be judged in isolation. Then it is brilliant. The first few tracks are awesome.
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