Daydream Nation
by Sonic Youth

Overall rank: 75th | 1980s rank: 10th | 1988 rank: 1st
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings).(Last updated: 6 hours ago)

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Year	Source	Chart	Rank	Rank Score
2026	fabm0	Artists Pt 2	78/100	-
2026	Drbassexpert24	Top 46 Music Albums of the 1980s	45/46	1
2026	spewventuri	Top 91 Music Albums of the 1980s	21/91	16
2026	AledJames	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	81/100	4
2026	blueandthemoon	Top 26 Music Albums of 1988	6/26	4
2026	covecove	Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	28/100	73
2026	AgainstMeAgainstYou	Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	99/100	2
2026	Hayden	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	42/100	12
2026	flamingyesdept	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	59/100	8
2026	cestuneblague	Top 100 Music Albums of 1988	14/100	4
		Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in.		1,595
		Total Rank Score: The total rank score.		14,753

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Daydream Nation collection

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Daydream Nation ratings

Average Rating:

84/100 (from 1,889 votes)

Showing latest 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 1,889 ratings for this album.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Album ratings	Avg. album rating
100/100 !	09/18/2026 22:16	Mrump	538	75/100
85/100 !	09/18/2026 00:04	AvalancheGrips	784	85/100
90/100 !	08/27/2026 23:07	Melway94	118	83/100

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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 83.7/100, a mean average of 82.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.5.

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Daydream Nation favourites

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Daydream Nation forum mentions

This album has been referenced 162 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.

From

BestEverAlbums 09/18/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5439): By joedec

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by joedec () 1. (1989) 2. by (1982) 4. (1990) 5. by (1980) 7. by by (1993) 10. by (1985) 11. by by by (1988) 14. by (1977) 16. by (1987) 17. by (1987) 18. by (1971) 19. by (1979) 20. by (1984) 22. by (1972) 23. by (1979) 24. by (1968) 25. by by…”

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From

BestEverAlbums 09/14/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5435): By flamingyesdept

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by flamingyesdept () 1. by (1980) 2. by (1986) 3. by (1985) 4. by (1984) 6. by (1983) 8. by (1985) 9. (1986) 10. by (1988) 11. (1980) 12. by (1988) 13. (1984) 14. by (1982) 15. by by by (1989) 18. (1980) 19. (1989) 20. by (1985) 22. by…”

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From

BestEverAlbums 08/23/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5413): By telegram

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by telegram () 1. by (1972) 2. by (1967) 3. (1980) 4. by (1979) 5. by (2006) 8. (1999) 9. by (1988) 10. by (2004) 11. by (1979) 12. by by (1969) 14. by (2020) 15. by by (2008) 17. by by by (1979) 21. by (1998) 22. by (1983) 23. by (2013) 25. by…”

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Daydream Nation comments

Rating:

100/100

From liquidbottle 07/12/2024 21:02 | #304270

at first listen a bit boring but after returning I realized it is a true masterpiece (Edited)

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Rating:

80/100

From poirotketchup 11/27/2023 01:57 | #300161

"Daydream Nation" by Sonic Youth blew my mind. The guitar work is wild and the songs are like these epic journeys. (Edited)

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 0

Rating:

90/100

From

AAL2014 TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/05/2023 01:00 | #298977

You just don’t know where these tracks are going or what crazy world of sound they will be introducing and diving into next. I’ve never heard a record quite like Daydream Nation before. (Edited)

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2

Rating:

40/100

From wizardalien 07/14/2023 20:43 | #298122

I thought I would enjoy this, but it just didn't really do anything for me after 2 listens. There are instrumentals in the songs that I like, but the songs just don't go anywhere. The only song I really liked was Kissability. (Edited)

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Rating:

75/100

From Untitled TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/08/2023 22:35 | #296761

If you like dark and edgy atmospheres then this record will be an amazing listen for you. This atmosphere starts right from the first track with the brilliantly heavy Teen Age Riot which instantly sucks you into the music. This is then continued onto the next two songs with the closing stages of The Sprawl being a demonstration of pure brilliance. After this, we get the peak of the record for me which is 'Cross The Breeze. I have to admit it did take me a few listens to truly appreciate this track but once I figured it out I was stunned with how good it was. I got completely lost in this song and it just made me feel a sense of bliss that makes me always play it again when this album finishes. However, I do find the rest of the release to be a little up and down after this initial 4 track run. With the run time as well this does lead to me finding it quite elongated and especially with the final 3 tracks I do find it to drag on a bit. Overall, despite the weaker section near the end, I do believe the first 4 songs to be the perfect embodiment of Sonic Youth making this record a must listen for those tracks alone. (Edited)

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Best Albums of 1988

1. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth

2. Surfer Rosa by Pixies

3. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk

4. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy

5. ...And Justice For All by Metallica

6. Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman

7. Green by R.E.M.

8. Isn't Anything by My Bloody Valentine

9. Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A

10. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son by Iron Maiden