Narrow Stairs
by Death Cab For Cutie
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Death Cab For Cutie bestography
Narrow Stairs is ranked 3rd best out of 17 albums by Death Cab For Cutie on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Death Cab For Cutie is Transatlanticism which is ranked number 453 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,703.
(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 Narrow Stairs on YouTube
Narrow Stairs track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Narrow Stairs rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 3 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Johnnyo | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | 64/100 | 7 |
| 2026 |  NowhereMan | Death Cab For Cutie - RANKED: | 3/6 | - |
| 2026 | juanr1096 | Top 100 Music Albums of 2008 | 66/100 | 2 |
| 2026 | Hyggevinyl | Top 59 Music Albums of 2008 | 32/59 | 2 |
| 2026 | Drbassexpert24 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | 21/100 | 16 |
| 2026 | sunnydhamm | Top 46 Music Albums of 2008 | 4/46 | 5 |
| 2026 | bonnequestion | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 13/100 | 85 |
| 2026 | blueandthemoon | Top 66 Music Albums of 2008 | 18/66 | 4 |
| 2026 |  ERadio | Top 40 Music Albums of 2008 | 21/40 | 3 |
| 2026 | araidernomore | Top 12 Music Albums of 2008 | 3/12 | 4 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 215 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 1,009 | |||
Narrow Stairs collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 134 members
Narrow Stairs 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 275 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/14/2026 14:54 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,518 | 70/100 |
| ! | 09/10/2026 15:19 | thenamesbaka | 78 | 85/100 |
| ! | 07/31/2026 14:08 | Scrabbler | 293 | 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 is rated in the top 12% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.4/100, a mean average of 73.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.8.
Narrow Stairs favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 40 members
Narrow Stairs forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 08/09/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5399): By chisholm.mattView latest topic →
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Narrow Stairs comments
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The arrangements are well thought out, particularly the duel guitars, and the production is a great example of analogue done right, warm while still retaining clarity and separation. Death Cab are a much better band than people give them credit for and this is their most consistent and varied album.
That's my favortite DCFC album because it makes sense. All the songs just fit together nicely in an overall feel that I really enjoy. This is kind of a minimalist album, the songs are simple yet very well crafted. The mix is top notch. There's no filler in this one!
Death Cab balances on a bittersweet wire. Their previous two efforts leaned towards sweet. Narrow Stairs leans towards bitter.
It sounds claustrophobic and close. Probably intentional given the album's title.
It is consistently good and I will Possess Your Heart is the best creeper song I have ever heard. And one of Death Cab's best.
Bixby Canyon, Grapevine Fires, Twin Sized Bed, and Cath are the other highlights.
The rest of this is good but less accessible than their previous two efforts more in tone than anything else.
The wonder, awe, and possibilities of life in our 20's get replaced with darker themes as we age. Cynicism, reality, and fear of our coming expiration and the regrets of our choices linger as we learn to live and move forward with them. This rears its head on Narrow Stairs making it less accessible if listeners are used to Plans and Transatlanticism's boyish whimsy.
"Narrow Stairs" has some really great songs on it, some good or decent songs on it, and just one or two songs that can be a chore to listen to from time to time. The album is full of homages and references to other music like Wilco and The Beach Boys that come across as nice homages and nods, but they never really make the album better. Songs like "Cath" and "Twin Sized Bed" are the real champions of the album while songs like "You Can Do Better Than Me" and "The Ice is Getting Thinner" are as drawn out as their titles and don't provide the emotional heavy lifting they were supposed to. I like this album and listen to it quite a bit, but I could never call it great.
pearljammer13 TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/14/2012 21:29 | #57920 | TOP COMMENT
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I'm really starting to love this album. There are a few songs that don't do it for me, but most of the album is really great. Your New Twin Sized Bed is the catchiest depressing song I've ever heard. Grapevine Fires is fantastic, as is the opener Bixby Canyon Bridge. My two favorite are probably The Ice Is Getting Thinner, a stunning closer, and Cath... which is just a brilliant song all around.
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