Ys (studio album)
by Joanna Newsom

Ys by Joanna Newsom
Year: 2006
Release date: 2006-11-14
Overall rank: 174th   
Average Rating: 
82/100 (from 855 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 2006 (2nd)
Award Top 50 albums of the 2000s (27th)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (174th)

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Joanna Newsom bestography

Ys is ranked as the best album by Joanna Newsom.

Joanna Newsom album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (174th)
Ys
Lower ranked (355th) »
Have One On Me

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Feb
07
Sat
19:00
Big Time Rush: In Real Life Worldwide
Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, United States. United States
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Jan
17
Sat
19:00
GLAIVE - Y'ALL TOUR
9:30 CLUB, Washington, United States. United States
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Jan
09
Fri
20:30
Slick Rick
Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, United States. United States
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Ys track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 88 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (900 - 256 votes)
Average Rating: 90 (256 votes)Comments: View 3
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2.
Average Rating: 86 (201 votes)Comments: View 1
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Average Rating: 87 (205 votes)Comments: View 3
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Track pick (880 - 216 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (216 votes)Comments: View 3
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Average Rating: 87 (199 votes)Comments: View 1
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Ys rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 174th | 2000s rank: 27th | 2006 rank: 2nd

Ys collection

Ys ratings

Average Rating: 
82/100 (from 855 votes)
   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 855 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 !
12/10/2025 19:02 Exist-en-ciel   3,98670/100
 
75/100
 !
12/07/2025 16:27 Araldo   1,46980/100
 
70/100
 !
11/25/2025 22:07 Andras   22278/100
 
40/100
 !
11/23/2025 09:03 NYAndreas   1,43243/100
 
85/100
 !
10/23/2025 02:07 imacgill   2,55179/100

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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 82.3/100, a mean average of 80.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.4.

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Ys comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 87 comments |
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Rating:  
90/100
From 04/24/2025 04:49 | #308691
Stand-alone musical masterpiece. There is no equal in her genre. And her genre is unique unto herself. She poured all of her beauty and talent into this, please listen everyone!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 10/19/2024 23:29 | #305712
I saw her play a great show in 2010 but had never really listened to her before, or since ad it happens. I always seen her high on lists but took me till now to listen to an album, even though I’m on Spotify every day, fk was I thinking? Some sort of genius thing. I’m in.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 11/14/2023 20:22 | #299984
Enchanting stuff - one gets the sense that this music sort of just effortlessly flows out of Joanna. This does result in some moments of indulgent meandering, but the highlights are stunning.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/25/2023 11:56 | #295414
Another beautiful album from Joanna Newsom who really knows how to make a grand and rich experience for the listener. Her instrumentation is just fantastic as her harp guides us through this album whilst the other instrumentals build upon this. This creates a lush soundscape which is full of depth and layers which means you can revisit this album time and time again and still spot new things. The performances from every musician on here is outstanding and it really feels like you are listening to masters at work. Her sound has come along way with it being more refined and clean on this release and the music feels more cohesive as every song works together so well. Her song writing is excellent again and her vocal delivery is fantastic. Some people may find it too harsh or abrasive but for me it adds an additional edge to the music that provides a nice contrast to the delicate and beautiful instrumentation. Overall, Joanna Newsom is a phenomenal musician and this only adds to this argument with her discography being one of the most consistent in music.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 10/28/2022 04:22 | #290847
really like this album, all of her music. First heard her (Sprout and the bean) in the background of the movie "The strangers'...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/23/2022 22:06 | #287768
It took me a while to get it.

She sounds a bit like Cerys Matthews from Catatonia (the Mulder & Scully song). Not a bad thing. Just a bit unusual.

It took me to the Only Skin track to get used to the style here.

I can see myself listening to this again and getting more of it. And perhaps at one point become enamored with it. It's that kind of album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 02/21/2022 13:44 | #281660
Listeners who do not like Björk, or Kate Bush, beware. I could have liked this album more without her childlike voice. The music was yet pleasing and oozed sentiments and beauty. A difficult combination to many I suppose?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 02/09/2022 00:08 | #280986
A meandering mess. I like my folk music with at least a hint of pop songwriting influence.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (1 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 11/23/2021 21:39 | #276618
I enjoy hearing new music, and I've been on a folk craze lately. This is a pleasant, yet different, sounding batch of alternative-folk songs. The instrumentation, strings, keyboards, and orchestration complement the vocal nicely.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/31/2021 17:46 | #272091
Belíssimo. Imensa força e profundidade! As cordas são extraordinárias!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 2006
1. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys
2. Ys by Joanna Newsom
3. Back To Black by Amy Winehouse
4. Black Holes And Revelations by Muse
5. The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
6. Donuts by J Dilla
7. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me by Brand New
8. 10,000 Days by Tool
9. Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers
10. Sam's Town by The Killers
11. Silent Shout by The Knife
12. The Crane Wife by The Decemberists
13. The Eraser by Thom Yorke
14. Return To Cookie Mountain by TV On The Radio
15. Continuum by John Mayer
16. The Life Pursuit by Belle And Sebastian
17. The Trials Of Van Occupanther by Midlake
18. Modern Times by Bob Dylan
19. Yellow House by Grizzly Bear
20. FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake
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