The Soft Parade (studio album) by The Doors

The Soft Parade by The Doors
Year: 1969
Overall rank: 1,293rd   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 562 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1969 (39th)
Award Top albums of the 1960s (136th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,293rd)

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 29 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 27,550.

The Doors album bestography « Higher ranked (623rd) This album (1,293rd) Lower ranked (4,158th) »
Waiting For The SunThe Soft ParadeAbsolutely Live

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
 
May
23
Fri
21:00
The Doors on Fire - Tribute to The Doors
The Winchester, Lakewood, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
May
29
Thu
20:00
Robby Krieger of The Doors performing the Strange Days album in its entirety
Whisky A Go Go, West Hollywood, 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

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
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2.
Track pick
Rating: 88 (259 votes)Comments: 4
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3.
Rating: 80 (113 votes)Comments: 2
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4.
Rating: 74 (103 votes)Comments: 2
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5.
Rating: 73 (101 votes)Comments: 2
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6.
Rating: 80 (115 votes)Comments: 3
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7.
Rating: 77 (112 votes)Comments: 3
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8.
Rating: 80 (120 votes)Comments: 2
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

The Soft Parade rankings

The Soft Parade collection

The Soft Parade ratings

Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 562 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 562 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 Report rating
10 hours ago ootsp  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 8884/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
05/09/2025 22:48 VictorVale  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,53181/100
 
75/100
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05/06/2025 21:09 steve397  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 43877/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
04/19/2025 23:37 matterhornrider  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4,52081/100
 
60/100
 Report rating
04/19/2025 14:41 EyeKanFly  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 7,46265/100

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 72.9/100, a mean average of 72.0/100, 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
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) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
35/100
From 02/11/2025 01:17
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
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
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) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/14/2022 20:10
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) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/26/2021 18:59
easily the most forgettable doors album. The only stand out track is the finale.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/10/2020 18:45
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
Excellent musicianship, excellent songs... what's not to like?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
55/100
From 01/21/2020 23:50
The Daft Parade?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 10/05/2019 18:33
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
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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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