Ben Folds Five
by Ben Folds Five
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Ben Folds Five bestography
Ben Folds Five is ranked 2nd best out of 7 albums by Ben Folds Five on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Ben Folds Five is Whatever And Ever Amen which is ranked number 1435 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,193.
(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 Ben Folds Five on YouTube
Ben Folds Five track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Ben Folds Five rankings
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 | Exist-en-ciel | Top 100 Music Albums of 1995 | 87/100 | 1 |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Les Inrocks Les meilleurs albums 1996 | 15/50 | - |
| 2026 |  Tamthebam | Best of The 90s Pt.2 (101-200) | 42/100 | - |
| 2026 |  zwiebel | Top 85 Music Albums of 1995 | 78/85 | 0 |
| 2026 | lanis | Top 33 Music Albums of 1995 | 22/33 | 2 |
| 2026 |  flamingyesdept | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | 31/100 | 14 |
| 2026 |  Glitterboiii | Top 50 Music Albums of 1995 | 33/50 | 2 |
| 2026 |  MadhattanJack | Top 67 Music Albums of 1995 | 7/67 | 5 |
| 2026 |  videoheadcleaner | Top 70 Music Albums of 1995 | 24/70 | 3 |
| 2026 |  RockyRaccoon | Top 53 Music Albums of 1995 | 1/53 | 5 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 131 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 680 | |||
Ben Folds Five collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 65 members
Ben Folds Five 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 142 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/09/2026 23:38 | daCritic | 4,639 | 73/100 |
| ! | 04/16/2026 22:53 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,857 | 70/100 |
| ! | 02/21/2026 20:57 | Devilwoac | 1,529 | 97/100 |
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 76.9/100, a mean average of 76.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.0.
Ben Folds Five favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 14 members
Ben Folds Five forum mentions
neilgee 04/23/2023 13:56 in What album are you listening to right now?
dihansse 06/15/2017 19:02 in My discoveries per yearBen Folds Five comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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paladisiac TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/13/2011 17:24 | #32827 | TOP COMMENT
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"jackson cannery" is good, but the ben folds five debut album doesn't truly kick in until "philosophy" ("go ahead, you can laugh all you want, but i've got my philosophy"), a sort-of- parody of all the alternative artists taking themselves and their "angst" so serious. They only bring piamo (ben folds), bass & drums, but it doesn't sound like these sounds are lacking at all. "underground" rocks (which starts out "I was never cool in school / I'm sure you don't remember me / and now it's been ten years / I'm still wondering who to be / and I love to mix in circles, / cliques and social coteries, that's me" and ben sings "And we'll be decked / in all black / slamming the pit fantastic / Officer Friendly's little boy's / got a mohawk / and he knows just where we're coming from" even adding in a cowbell, aka cattle call). Ben Folds was the best, most playful piano player since the billy joel & elton john 80s hey day. (tori's good too, but her piano work is more elegant and brooding.) Ben Folds had a way of accessing sentimentality and longing without being sappy, injecting quirkiness in the lyrics and varying the piano arrangements, which shows on numbers like "alice childress", "best imitation of myself" ("i feel like a quote out of context") and "boxing" ("Ambition has given way to / desperation and I / lost the fight for my eyes").
GuitarDan 12/01/2010 22:49 | #16735 | TOP COMMENT
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CONTEXT: Ben Folds Five's debut stood out in the alternative rock scene because it lacked guitars and included wry, humorous lyrics. A breath of fresh air. MUSIC: Ben Folds loves to show off his piano skills, and for the most part, it serves his songs well. The hooks are punctuated by lively drums and aggressive, fuzzed-out bass. LYRICS: Many songs are character studies that also touch on common themes of failure and redemption. HIGHLIGHTS: Philosophy, The Best Imitation of Myself
Between this and Whatever and Ever Amen, this is the better album. I'm surprised I had to add it to the database.
My personal favorite album Ben Folds has done. It best showcases his piano playing skills and displays just the right amount of sarcastic wit and emotional depth. The Last Polka is especially fantastic.
junodog4 TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/27/2013 21:34 | #89507 | TOP COMMENT
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Not quite their peak, but still solid.
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