Sit Down Young Stranger
by Gordon Lightfoot

Sit Down Young Stranger by Gordon Lightfoot
Year: 1970
Overall rank: 17,942nd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 53 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1970 (210th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (2,261st)
Award Best albums of all time (17,942nd)

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GORDON LIGHTFOOT - Sit Down Young Stranger (1970) - 12" Vinyl Record LP - VG
Condition: Used


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GORDON LIGHTFOOT Sit Down Young Stranger VINYL LP (42228) VG+
Condition: Used


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Gordon Lightfoot – Sit Down Young Stranger LP If You Could Read My Mind Reissue
Condition: Used


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Gordon Lightfoot bestography

Sit Down Young Stranger is ranked 5th best out of 30 albums by Gordon Lightfoot on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Gordon Lightfoot is Sundown which is ranked number 6590 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 199.

Gordon Lightfoot album bestography « Higher ranked (16,697th)
The Way I Feel
This album (17,942nd)
Sit Down Young Stranger
Lower ranked (18,462nd) »
Don Quixote

(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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Sit Down Young Stranger track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Sit Down Young Stranger rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 17,942nd | 1970s rank: 2,261st | 1970 rank: 210th

Sit Down Young Stranger collection

Sit Down Young Stranger ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 53 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help 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 53 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 
05/29/2026 15:57 Gedi  Ratings distribution  28083/100
 
35/100
 
04/15/2026 20:32 RemainInLight  Ratings distribution  3,45036/100
 
95/100
 
12/02/2025 21:35 Mr_Shake_Hands_M  Ratings distribution  14759/100
 
85/100
 
11/11/2025 07:50 ootsp  Ratings distribution  13983/100
 
75/100
 
11/01/2025 12:23 Imaybeparanoid  Ratings distribution  7,39671/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.9/100, a mean average of 75.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.5.

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Sit Down Young Stranger favourites

Showing all 4 members who have added this album as a favourite

Sit Down Young Stranger comments

Showing all 3 comments |
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Rating:  
80/100
From 12/28/2022 02:45 | #292271
I loved this album and I had love to the power of infinity and beyond for 'If You Could Read My Mind' ~ such lyrical mystery for the 14 year old me. One of the reasons I wanted to be a songwriter - to be able to write like Gordon and a ton of other songwriting heroes of the early 70's.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 10/18/2016 17:52 | #177095
This album from 1970 is one of the finest folk/rock albums, right up there with Nick Drake and John Martyn during the period. The production is warm and crisp, Ry Cooder and the rest of the band are amazing, and there is not a bad song on the album. Originally titled "Sit Down Young Stranger", the name of the album was changed when "If You Could Read My Mind" became a big hit.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 06/29/2012 04:27 | #45564
If I could read your mind love
What a tale your thoughts could tell
Just like a paperback novel
The kind that drugstores sell
When you reach the part where the heartaches come
The hero would be me
But heroes often fail
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1970
1. Paranoid by Black Sabbath
2. After The Gold Rush by Neil Young
3. All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
5. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon
6. Bitches Brew by Miles Davis
7. Moondance by Van Morrison
8. Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival
9. Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin
10. Fun House by The Stooges