A
by Jethro Tull
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Jethro Tull bestography
A is ranked 17th best out of 48 albums by Jethro Tull on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Jethro Tull is Aqualung which is ranked number 327 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 5,072.
(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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A track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 75 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
A rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 4 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | steve397 | Top 94 Music Albums of the 1980s | 83/94 | 3 |
| 2026 | Juneof44 | Top 50 Music Albums of 1980 | 34/50 | 2 |
| 2026 |  ExTeaSea | Top 85 Music Albums of 1980 | 57/85 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Fischman | Top 100 Music Albums of 1980 | 5/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | stangetzaway | Top 41 Music Albums of 1980 | 29/41 | 2 |
| 2026 | stevengnz | Top 88 Music Albums of 1980 | 79/88 | 1 |
| 2025 | Fischman | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 35/100 | 13 |
| 2025 | arnellarsen | Top 87 Music Albums of 1980 | 42/87 | 3 |
| 2025 | mostlymor | 1980 Part 2 | 52/98 | - |
| 2025 | steve397 | Top 16 Music Albums of 1980 | 14/16 | 1 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 39 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 122 | |||
A collection
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A 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 86 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 42 hours ago | TheHutts | 2,127 | 76/100 |
| ! | 10/10/2026 16:34 | Artem | 872 | 77/100 |
| ! | 09/03/2026 19:26 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,615 | 70/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 68.4/100, a mean average of 66.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 67.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.2.
A favourites
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A forum mentions
NickVolos 05/25/2020 23:38 in What album are you listening to right now?View all forum mentions
A comments
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Fischman TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/30/2016 20:11 | #179394 | TOP COMMENT
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This album has a fascinating history. This was originally an Ian Anderson solo project in which he employed some, but not all, members of Jethro Tull. The record company released it as a Jethro Tull album rather than an Ian Anderson album which spurred discord within the group.
Corporate marketing and internal squabbles aside, this is an outstanding album, whether you think of it as an Anderson album or a Tull album. Black Sunday is one of Anderson's most biting lyrics, and exceptionally well delivered in spite of the heavy production. Flyingdale Flyer has multi-part vocal harmonies that rival Tull's best. The rest of the album also stands up quite well. (Edited)
This album A (for Anderson) which was meant to be a solo album is normally overlooked in the Tull catalogue. Its not actually bad, and not as keyboard laden as people would have you believe (that honour was saved for Under Wraps). It's a step down from Stormwatch, but still a step up from Broadsword and the Beast.
A lot of people say it doesn't sound like a Tull album. I'd say it does. For some reason it reminds me of War Child, without the highlights (and lowlights) of that album. Put it on when you are playing cards or something and it won't intrude on the game.
This is an underrated Tull album (judging by its position in this chart) and could very easily become one of my Tull favourites. I have waited a long time for this to be re-issued on vinyl and it has been worth the wait. The introduction of a diffrent drummer and keyboard player who also played violin adds a different dynamic.
Compared to other JT albums for my personal taste more at the lower end.
Black Sunday stands out as the shiny diamond of the album.
And Further On, Crossfire and Flyingdale Flyer are really solid numbers. The rest is okay till good but doesnt stick for long.
But at least it was the pioneer for the great Broadsword and the beast.
Totally right. Apart Black Sunday there was other good song. I like Crossfire, Unifor and futher on. A lot of synths but works
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