The Soft Parade (studio album)
by The Doors

The Soft Parade by The Doors
Year: 1969
Overall rank: 1,278th   
Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 568 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1969 (37th)
Award Top albums of the 1960s (132nd)
Award Best albums of all time (1,278th)

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The Doors bestography

The Soft Parade is ranked 6th best out of 48 albums by The Doors on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The Doors is The Doors which is ranked number 28 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 26,949.

The Doors album bestography « Higher ranked (613th)
Waiting For The Sun
This album (1,278th)
The Soft Parade
Lower ranked (4,241st) »
Absolutely Live

(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

Nov
30
Tue
00:00
Doors Tribute by Wild Child
The Canyon Santa Clarita, Santa Clarita, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Dec
05
Fri
20:00
Wild Child - Doors Tribute
Gila River Resorts & Casinos - Wild, Chandler, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Dec
06
Sat
20:00
THE SOFT PARADE: A Tribute To THE DOORS - Jim Morrison Birthday Show
Drom, New York, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to The Soft Parade on YouTube

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The Soft Parade track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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1.
Average Rating: 82 (135 votes)Comments: View 2
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2.
Track pick (880 - 262 votes)
Average Rating: 88 (262 votes)Comments: View 4
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3.
Average Rating: 80 (115 votes)Comments: View 2
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4.
Average Rating: 74 (104 votes)Comments: View 2
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5.
Average Rating: 73 (101 votes)Comments: View 2
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6.
Average Rating: 80 (116 votes)Comments: View 3
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7.
Average Rating: 77 (112 votes)Comments: View 3
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8.
Average Rating: 80 (120 votes)Comments: View 2
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9.
Average Rating: 82 (139 votes)Comments: View 3
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

The Soft Parade rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,278th | 1960s rank: 132nd | 1969 rank: 37th

The Soft Parade collection

The Soft Parade ratings

Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 568 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 568 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
65/100
 !
11/02/2025 04:53 Larcx13   2,84374/100
 
60/100
 !
10/12/2025 19:50 Superunknown   28170/100
 
75/100
 !
09/18/2025 21:03 traistboar   1,43279/100
 
65/100
 !
09/08/2025 01:02 stangetzaway   2,12885/100
 
85/100
 !
08/21/2025 16:03 BroknsocialShawn   26185/100

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 has a Bayesian average rating of 72.9/100, a mean average of 72.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 72.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.2.

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The Soft Parade comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 31 comments |
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Rating:  
55/100
From 04/01/2025 10:12 | #308269
There is one excellent track on this record (Touch Me) but the string arrangements in general just didn't work for me and at this point it did seem like the band had run out of ideas. Thankfully they got their mojo back with the following two releases
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
35/100
From 02/11/2025 01:17 | #307542
Overproduced and very underwhelming. I don't think the Doors even knew where they were going with this dud.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 04/27/2023 16:29 | #296420
The anniversary reissues include the worthy "Who Scared You", the B-side to single "Wishful Sinful".
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/23/2022 21:39 | #279942
I feel to defend this album: the voice of Jim Morrison is a mainwork undependently from the music; overall, even the music is nice to listen, different respect Doors standard, but i did enjoy.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/14/2022 20:10 | #279387
If a band makes a bad album then you have to call it out, even if your a fan. I am a Doors fan and this album is not worthy of their name. Following on from their first two great albums, Waiting in the Sun was a disappointment, mainly as a result of not having enough new material because of constantly touring. But this album was even worse. An attempt to move in a different direction musically and a lack of interest by Morrison resulted in a hotchpot of ideas, sugar coated by uncharacteristic pretentious orchestral arrangements and sub standard song writing from Krieger. If you haven't heard it before then don't bother.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/26/2021 18:59 | #265157
easily the most forgettable doors album. The only stand out track is the finale.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/10/2020 18:45 | #255378
They tried something different.
Touch me nd The Soft Parade are top 5 The Doors songs.
The others' quality depends of your personal view.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 06/06/2020 09:43 | #252931
Excellent musicianship, excellent songs... what's not to like?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/21/2020 23:50 | #247061
The Daft Parade?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From 10/05/2019 18:33 | #243432
Great album despite what people can say. It’s just very different from the others. I like all the songs in it.

Standouts: Touch Me, Wild Child, The Soft Parade
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1969
1. Abbey Road by The Beatles
2. In The Court Of The Crimson King (An Observation By King Crimson) by King Crimson
3. Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin
4. Let It Bleed by The Rolling Stones
5. Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin
6. The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground
7. Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake
8. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
9. In A Silent Way by Miles Davis
10. Hot Rats by Frank Zappa
11. Tommy by The Who
12. The Band by The Band
13. Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
14. Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire by The Kinks
15. The Stooges by The Stooges
16. Crosby, Stills & Nash by Crosby, Stills & Nash
17. Green River by Creedence Clearwater Revival
18. Stand! by Sly & The Family Stone
19. Willy And The Poor Boys by Creedence Clearwater Revival
20. Karma by Pharoah Sanders
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