Goo
by Sonic Youth

Goo by Sonic Youth
Year: 1990
Release date: 1990-06-26
Overall rank: 481st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 787 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1990 (6th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1990s (85th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (481st)

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Sonic Youth bestography

Goo is ranked 2nd best out of 42 albums by Sonic Youth on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Sonic Youth is Daydream Nation which is ranked number 75 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 15,348.

Sonic Youth album bestography « Higher ranked (75th)
Daydream Nation
This album (481st)
Goo
Lower ranked (540th) »
Sister

(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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Goo track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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

Goo rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 481st | 1990s rank: 85th | 1990 rank: 6th

Goo collection

Goo ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 787 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 787 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
02/25/2026 23:31 DaveH68  Ratings distribution  1,36376/100
 
80/100
 
02/24/2026 18:05 Map  Ratings distribution  49981/100
 
80/100
 
02/17/2026 18:05 Timooosterink  Ratings distribution  80372/100
 
100/100
 
02/11/2026 02:51 edguyerrison  Ratings distribution  26573/100
 
75/100
 
01/14/2026 16:45 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  7,75670/100

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 79.8/100, a mean average of 79.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.9.

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Goo comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 38 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:  
80/100
From 07/09/2025 03:36 | #310005
With this album I find it's necessary to let go and embrace the noisiness and distortion, as if the music were trying to put you in a trance, and then I do like it. It helps that their playing is amazing, and nowhere more so than on "Kool Thing". Still not a noise-rock fan, but I like most of this album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/21/2023 08:10 | #297699
Great, a bit more accesible follow-up to Daydream Nation remaining in similar style, but little less noisy. My favorite tracks are Dirty Boots, Song For Karen, Kool Thing and probably the most underrated song here - Disappearer.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 09/30/2021 11:14 | #274468
Dirty Boots is one of my favorite songs of all time. But as the album progresses it doesn't hold my interest in the same way as daydream nation. Obviously I still love it or it wouldn't be getting a 9/10 from me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/11/2021 02:25 | #264179
Sonic Youth were never my favorite, but this was the album that came closest to convincing me I was wrong.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/08/2021 19:51 | #264050
This poppier approach works better for me than Daydream Nation.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 11/28/2020 17:05 | #261571
Very good album but not their best. I like how they paid tribute to Karen Carpenter, that was nice. Good album to break into the '90's.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/11/2020 21:37 | #246721
Great.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 07/20/2019 18:06 | #240045
Favorite Tracks:Dirty Boots, Cinderella's Big Score
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 05/28/2019 20:22 | #236845
I m new to sonic youth I had heard and read about them but never sat down and paid attention well I finally did and look forward to go through their discography
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/20/2018 15:55 | #225294
First 7 tracks are excellent, on par with their best albums. But then comes a 3 track run which sadly isn't as good. Not terrible, but not good enough for SY record. That being said there are a number of underrated songs here, especially the closer Titanium Expose and Mote which are so good. And yes, Dirty Boots is one of their best tracks, incredibly good. All in all another excellent Sonic Youth record.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1990
1. Violator by Depeche Mode
2. Heaven Or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins
3. Nowhere by Ride
4. Rust In Peace by Megadeth
5. Bossanova by Pixies
6. Goo by Sonic Youth
7. Ritual De Lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction
8. Repeater by Fugazi
9. Fear Of A Black Planet by Public Enemy
10. The La's by The La's
11. The Good Son by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
12. Canción Animal by Soda Stereo
13. Reading, Writing And Arithmetic by The Sundays
14. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got by Sinéad O'Connor
15. Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches by Happy Mondays
16. Soundtrack From Twin Peaks by Angelo Badalamenti
17. Ragged Glory by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
18. Painkiller by Judas Priest
19. Facelift by Alice In Chains
20. Flood by They Might Be Giants
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