Birds Of Fire
by Mahavishnu Orchestra
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Mahavishnu Orchestra bestography
Birds Of Fire is ranked as the best album by Mahavishnu Orchestra.
(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 Birds Of Fire on YouTube
Birds Of Fire track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Birds Of Fire rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 7 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Norman Bates | Top 100 Music Albums of 1973 | 55/100 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Fischman | Top 100 Music Albums of 1973 | 4/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | stevengnz | Top 100 Music Albums of 1973 | 67/100 | 2 |
| 2026 | bonnequestion | Best Instrumental or Jazz Albums | 68/100 | - |
| 2026 | bonnequestion | Top 54 Music Albums of 1973 | 18/54 | 3 |
| 2026 |  RockyRaccoon | Top 100 Music Albums of 1973 | 85/100 | 1 |
| 2026 |  AAL2014 | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 100/100 | 1 |
| 2026 | byuzak | Top 44 Music Albums of 1973 | 31/44 | 2 |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Top 94 Music Albums of 1973 | 57/94 | 2 |
| 2026 | Rm12398 | Top 57 Music Albums of 1973 | 35/57 | 2 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 173 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 444 | |||
Birds Of Fire collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 102 members
Birds Of Fire 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 199 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 04/15/2026 13:44 | RockyRaccoon | 7,234 | 84/100 |
| ! | 02/25/2026 05:02 | brent13 | 2,179 | 66/100 |
| ! | 12/31/2025 17:20 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,887 | 70/100 |
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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 79.6/100, a mean average of 79.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.3.
Birds Of Fire favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 26 members
Birds Of Fire forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 08/15/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5405): By AAL2014 BestEverAlbums 12/01/2020 17:02 in Monthly overall chart movements - November 2020Birds Of Fire comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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A fantastic jazz fusion album that really stunned me on first listen and I have been hooked ever since. The performances on this album are just amazing and some of the solos on here are just astounding. Every instrument seems to be played so well and each has their own individual moment to shine. The music just speaks to you and puts you into a trance like state while the artists guide you through their work. Musically, it is really quite breath taking at times. You can really see the quality on display and they really put their all into this record. There are only one or two weaker tracks that can feel a little slow but other than that it is a thrill ride that enthrals me every time I listen to it. Overall, a very under appreciated album that is pure genius in terms of its composition.
discojets1 06/29/2016 15:10 | #170121 | TOP COMMENT
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I love jazz fusion and this album is one of the best jazz fusion albums there is. My only concern about it is that sometimes it gets to hectic and chaotic. The musicianship is fantastic. John McLaughlin is fantastic, and Billy Cobham is a monster.
AAL2014 TOP 100 COMMENTER 07/20/2015 15:53 | #146099 | TOP COMMENT
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In my opinion one of the great instrumental albums of all time. Certainly a huge influence on the fusion scene back in the early 70's. Billy Cobham's drumming influenced a legion of drummers including Phil Collins in the legendary prog days of Genesis.
Top rock jazz. Great instrumentation and solid grooves make this a classic of the fusion genre.
seb7 07/21/2021 00:14 | #271785 | TOP COMMENT
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the mahavishnu orchestra have never been my favorite band ever, but I can and will appreciate this
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