Tracy Chapman
by Tracy Chapman
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Tracy Chapman bestography
Tracy Chapman is ranked as the best album by Tracy Chapman.
(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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Tracy Chapman track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
#
Track
Rating/Comments
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Tracy Chapman rankings
Tracy Chapman rankings summary
Overall rank: 420th | 1980s rank: 61st | 1988 rank: 6th Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 2 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | leniad | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 90/100 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Romanelli | Top 76 Music Albums of 1988 | 3/76 | 5 |
| 2026 |  Tamthebam | Top 100 Music Albums of 1988 | 6/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | Hyggevinyl | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 26/100 | 73 |
| 2026 |  sssvnnn | Top 81 Music Albums of 1988 | 4/81 | 5 |
| 2026 | Hyggevinyl | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 4/100 | 19 |
| 2026 |  zags7000 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 23/100 | 16 |
| 2026 |  neilgee | Top 47 Music Albums of 1988 | 5/47 | 5 |
| 2026 |  ERadio | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 55/100 | 45 |
| 2026 |  rambleon80 | Greatest Music Albums #101 - 200 | 84/100 | - |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 587 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 3,939 | |||
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Tracy Chapman collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 370 members
Tracy Chapman 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 651 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/28/2026 21:03 | luukvdschepop | 798 | 75/100 |
| ! | 09/10/2026 01:14 | AngelBecerra | 1,194 | 78/100 |
| ! | 08/07/2026 00:20 | Trooper44 | 160 | 75/100 |
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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.3/100, a mean average of 76.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.3.
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Tracy Chapman favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 95 members
Tracy Chapman forum mentions
This album has been referenced 190 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 5 days ago in Chart of the day (#5479): By Rhyner
BestEverAlbums 5 days ago in Chart of the day (#5479): By Rhyner“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s by Rhyner () 1. by (1988) 2. by (1983) 3. by (1986) 5. (1984) 6. by (1985) 7. by (1980) 8. by (1986) 9. (1989) 11. by (1985) 12. (1980) 13. by (1985) 14. by (1989) 15. (1986) 16. by (1982) 17. by (1984) 18. by (1988) 19. by (1988) 20.…”
(10 mentions across Chart of the Day topics)View latest topic →
From BestEverAlbums 10/02/2026 08:18 in Monthly overall chart movements - September 2026
BestEverAlbums 10/02/2026 08:18 in Monthly overall chart movements - September 2026“The overall chart is ever changing, and it's difficult to keep up with the detail of what's happening. So, for those people who are interested, this post attempts to show the latest movements - biggest climbers, movers, new entries and leavers for the top 100, 250, 500 & 1000 over the past month,…”
(100 mentions across Monthly Overall Chart Movements topics)View latest topic →
From Johnnyo 08/27/2026 07:53 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
“What album are you listening to? (cont.)”
View topic (19 mentions) →View all forum mentions
Tracy Chapman comments
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Brad1770 TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/29/2017 23:01 | #204107 | TOP COMMENT
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Brad1770 TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/29/2017 23:01 | #204107 | TOP COMMENT
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This album still sounds great today, it currently sits at BEA 501 Overall and 100% deserves to sit inside the top 500
I recall seeing Tracy Chapman live at the zenith of this albums mass popularity. It was at a large many thousand venue & we sat waiting for TC to appear & when she did it was just her, with one microphone, one acoustic guitar and a single chair for the entire gig ( in fact she sat down for the entire performance) . The ultimate intimate gig for a stadium. Needless to say the crowd sat spell bound and you could have heard a pin drop. Oh and Tracy barely spoke 2 words the whole night her shyness was palpable, she just sat on that chair & let her music do the talking. Whenever I hear this album it always takes me back to that night and one of the most unique concerts I ever had the privilege of attending. And yes this is a fantastic album.
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From
albummaster 11/29/2009 20:27 | #7366 | TOP COMMENT
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albummaster 11/29/2009 20:27 | #7366 | TOP COMMENT
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Incredible album, exceptional song-writing, great lyrics, great melody, has it all.
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garycottier TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/03/2016 20:38 | #167757 | TOP COMMENT
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One of the surprise hits of the eighties, Tracy Chapman's debut is a beautiful album of lovely songs. Fast car, is off course a classic, one of the best songs of the 1980's, but there are plenty of other great songs here; talkin' bout a revolution, mountain o' things, for my lover, across the lines, and, for you. Great songs, just a pity Chapman never seemed to able to come any where near it on her other releases. Superb record.
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Romanelli TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/27/2011 20:33 | #31549 | TOP COMMENT
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Romanelli TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/27/2011 20:33 | #31549 | TOP COMMENT
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One of the most impressive debut albums ever made. Loaded with good songs, almost perfect the first time out.
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From
henrygreen0203 11/21/2021 15:28 | #276509 | TOP COMMENT
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Like Mary Chapin-Carpenter and Rosanne Cash, Tracy Chapman was among many female folk singer-songwriters that emerged in the new corporate era who were literary and socially conscious.
It's fitting that her debut was released on the Elektra label, the same label that helped non-mainstream singer-songwriters like Mickey Newbury, Nanci Griffith and Sara Hickman.
This is a really fine debut, well worth your time.
A Side: Fast Car
B Side: Baby Can I Hold You
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