The Sky Moves Sideways (studio album)
by Porcupine Tree

The Sky Moves Sideways by Porcupine Tree
Year: 1995
Overall rank: 3,303rd   
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 158 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1995 (60th)
Award Top albums of the 1990s (553rd)
Award Best albums of all time (3,303rd)

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Porcupine Tree The Sky Moves Sideways (CD) Album Digipak (UK IMPORT)
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Porcupine Tree The Sky Moves Sideways (CD) Album Digipak
Condition: Brand New


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PORCUPINE TREE - The Sky Moves Sideways 2 x CD Digipak 2010 Kscope Exc Cond!
Condition: Very good


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Porcupine Tree bestography

The Sky Moves Sideways is ranked 7th best out of 46 albums by Porcupine Tree on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Porcupine Tree is Fear Of A Blank Planet which is ranked number 448 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,835.

Porcupine Tree album bestography « Higher ranked (2,867th)
Signify
This album (3,303rd)
The Sky Moves Sideways
Lower ranked (4,234th) »
The Incident

(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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The Sky Moves Sideways track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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2.
Average Rating: 80 (32 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Average Rating: 77 (30 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Average Rating: 79 (26 votes)Comments: View 0
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The Sky Moves Sideways rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 3,303rd | 1990s rank: 553rd | 1995 rank: 60th

The Sky Moves Sideways collection

The Sky Moves Sideways ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 158 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 158 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
09/24/2025 08:31 cicadelic   11,40573/100
 
60/100
 !
07/01/2025 16:44 iann97   1,86574/100
 
40/100
 !
04/13/2025 14:40 RemainInLight   3,15236/100
 
85/100
 !
04/01/2025 19:09 Graeme2   4,88879/100
 
25/100
 !
02/19/2025 23:51 Proto   3,80533/100

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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.6/100, a mean average of 77.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.9.

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The Sky Moves Sideways favourites

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The Sky Moves Sideways comments

Showing all 7 comments |
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Rating:  
10/100
From 01/01/2022 11:59 | #278316
Couldn't get in to this one after a few tries, although I love the band. The best was yet to come for them. I like Dislocated Day and The Moon Touches Your Shoulder, but didn't really enjoy the rest of the songs.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/09/2021 20:33 | #267129
It's always difficult to get into a PT album and normally it takes a few listens to really appreciate it. But this third album (which is often described as the first real PT album) is fairly immediate. It is too many times repeated that it sounds a lot like Wish You Were Here and partly this is also the case but it's certainly more spacey and it hovers a lot between muzak and real heartfelt music which often excels in great guitar solos and melodies. I listened to the very long two CD version which sounds a bit repetitive after a while but I did like it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 05/27/2017 15:42 | #191515
The US release is my favourite version of this album. TSMS (Phase One) -> Stars Die -> Moonloop is just such a perfect way to open the record that I don't think I could listen to it any other way.

This album has so many great moments (especially in the title tracks) and I urge any Porcupine Tree fan who hasn't quite gotten into it yet to give it a few more tries. The bit in the middle of Phase Two with the female vocals followed by the guitar solo gets to me every time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 09/30/2016 14:07 | #176071
Very great album. The sound is fantastic. Guitar solos are epic.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/13/2012 02:42 | #42099
Steven Wilson regrets making this album. Why Mr Wilson? Yes it is obviously a tip to Pink Floyd in its layout. But at least it sounds original (compare this with Voyage 34 which is too close to Another Brick in the Wall IMO). And the songs are brilliant. And it got me interested in Pink Floyd. No regrets from me!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/11/2012 18:33 | #35007
The Sky Moves Sideways is one of the most essential pieces of experimental and progressive rock ever written. By far the highlight of the album is the epic title track, divided into two phases of nearly twenty minutes. Phase one is lyrically and vocally perfect, and the ambient textures and emotion portray by the piece is second to none. The Moon Touches Your Shoulder continues the unique atmosphere, and Moonloop is a fantastic, liquid spacey trip.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 09/14/2011 13:52 | #27468
Pure. Cosmic. Beauty.

Take Doctor Who, Pink Floyd and Ozric Tentacles and throw them in a blender: this is what you get. Contains some of the most poetic lyrical imagery I've ever heard.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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