Glass Houses (studio album) by Billy Joel

Glass Houses by Billy Joel
Year: 1980
Overall rank: 1,355th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 294 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1980 (36th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (217th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,355th)
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
Billy Joel Glass Houses CD *New & Sealed* Cracks In Case
Condition: Brand New


eBay
eBay
Billy Joel Glass Houses Vintage Vinyl LP 1980 Columbia Record BL 36384
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
Billy Joel - Glass Houses - Kevin Gray Master
Condition: Used


  My favourite store:  

Billy Joel bestography

Glass Houses is ranked 2nd best out of 25 albums by Billy Joel on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Billy Joel is The Stranger which is ranked number 234 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 7,058.

Billy Joel album bestography « Higher ranked (234th) This album (1,355th) Lower ranked (1,381st) »
The StrangerGlass Houses52nd Street

Upcoming concerts

Jun
21
Sat
19:15
Star Spangled Summer: Turnstiles-The Ultimate Billy Joel Tribute
Daytona Beach Bandshell, Daytona Beach, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Jul
05
Sat
19:00
Billy Joel & Rod Stewart
Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Jul
18
Fri
19:00
Billy Joel & Rod Stewart
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Glass Houses on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Glass Houses track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by

Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Glass Houses rankings

Glass Houses collection

Glass Houses ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 294 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 294 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 Report rating
04/18/2025 12:18 machiaj  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 47372/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
01/16/2025 13:00 Jboy69  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 33979/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
11/27/2024 07:16 slatsheit  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,02481/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
11/24/2024 20:16 mattmaster  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 38380/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
10/27/2024 09:26 zsolti  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 60081/100

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 4% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.6/100, a mean average of 75.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.3.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Glass Houses comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 13 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

From 03/15/2025 11:02
Shortlisted for album of the year at the 1981 Grammys. The winner was the self-titled album by Christopher Cross
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/06/2022 16:00
Solid 80s
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 04/19/2022 23:17
This album never really did much for me. I think it feels a bit less infectious when compared to other releases of his and just a bit bland in terms of choruses. Nothing hooks me and makes me want to come back for more as nothing truly stands out as being exceptional. A lot of it is just decent and it isn't very experimental or edgy. There is little to no filler but I do think that is due to the run time. The vocal performance is great and there are brief glimpses of some enjoyable instrumentation. Overall, this album is a bit boring and not as catchy and fun as his other releases which always held it back in my opinion.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/22/2021 18:08
Pretty solid, fun album here. Nothing groundbreaking but a very enjoyable album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/23/2020 13:19
Great album all around! "Don't Ask My Why" is one of my favorites.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/06/2020 17:48
Side One is terrific, side 2 not so good though, Still Rock n' Roll standout track and I like Leyna.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/05/2016 14:48
Billy Joel's punk/new wave record. It's a much more cynical and angry Joel than on previous albums, and it's an excellent example of a seventies superstar moving into the 'new sound funny' of the eighties. Two of the tracks are off course out and out Joel classics. You may be right, and, especially, it's still rock'n'roll to me, show an artist with still something to say. Other highlights are the cool rock of, I don't want to be alone, the new wavy, just a fantasy, and the brilliant, all for Leyna, possibly the album's best song. Other standouts are, the dirty rock of, close to the borderline, and the flamenco/folk rock of, don't ask me why. For older fans, there's also a couple of nice ballads too. All in all, it's a solid and consistent album, one of Billy Joel's best.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/26/2014 01:44
Solid album, I find some tracks here underrated
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 08/18/2014 19:36
Billy Joel adds a little more rock to his usual brand of pop, relying much less on piano than previous albums. As a pop/rock answer to the punk rock of the time ("it's still rock and roll to me"!), it's a solid album, with a very good first half which falls apart a bit in the 2nd.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 07/11/2014 22:20
This one is actually my favorite Billy Joel album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Glass Houses

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1980
1. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
2. Closer by Joy Division
3. Back In Black by AC/DC
4. Scary Monsters by David Bowie
5. Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys
6. Peter Gabriel III by Peter Gabriel
7. The River by Bruce Springsteen
8. Permanent Waves by Rush
9. Pretenders by Pretenders
10. Making Movies by Dire Straits
11. Seventeen Seconds by The Cure
12. Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies
13. Sandinista! by The Clash
14. Heaven And Hell by Black Sabbath
15. Boy by U2
16. Ace Of Spades by Motörhead
17. Gaucho by Steely Dan
18. Duke by Genesis
19. Dirty Mind by Prince
20. Sound Affects by The Jam
Back to Top