Music For 18 Musicians
by Steve Reich
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Steve Reich bestography
Music For 18 Musicians is ranked as the best album by Steve Reich.
(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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Music For 18 Musicians track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 86 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Music For 18 Musicians rankings
Music For 18 Musicians rankings summary
Overall rank: 529th | 1970s rank: 116th | 1978 rank: 7th Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 1 hour ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  imimesis | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 10/100 | 91 |
| 2026 |  JoaoMoreira | Top 5 Music Albums of 1978 | 2/5 | 4 |
| 2026 |  arthur237 | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 84/100 | 16 |
| 2026 |  DommeDamian | Top 22 Music Albums of 1978 | 4/22 | 4 |
| 2026 |  ForegroundNoise | Around the World Around the World Around the World Around the Wo | 69/73 | - |
| 2026 |  Hayden | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 15/100 | 17 |
| 2026 | Skerns | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 69/100 | 6 |
| 2026 |  JMGL95 | Top 38 Music Albums of 1978 | 36/38 | 0 |
| 2026 |  flamingyesdept | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 87/100 | 3 |
| 2026 | Exist-en-ciel | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 26/100 | 15 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 306 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 3,274 | |||
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!
Music For 18 Musicians collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 92 members
Music For 18 Musicians 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 337 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 21 hours ago | duelek | 2,158 | 75/100 |
| ! | 5 days ago | imimesis | 2,119 | 81/100 |
| ! | 09/16/2026 22:08 | newt | 813 | 66/100 |
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 is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 81.4/100, a mean average of 80.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.5.
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Music For 18 Musicians favourites
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Music For 18 Musicians forum mentions
This album has been referenced 131 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 09/01/2026 16:00 in Monthly overall chart movements
BestEverAlbums 09/01/2026 16:00 in Monthly overall chart movements“The overall chart is ever changing, and it's difficult to keep up with the detail of what's happening. So, for those people who are interested, this post attempts to show the latest movements - biggest climbers, movers, new entries and leavers for the top 100, 250, 500 & 1000 over the past month,…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 08/28/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5418): By baystateoftheart
BestEverAlbums 08/28/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5418): By baystateoftheart“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by baystateoftheart () 1. by (1966) 2. by (1965) 3. by (1967) 4. by (1972) 5. by (1972) 6. (2015) 7. by (2013) 8. by (1969) 9. (1971) 11. by (2015) 12. by by (2012) 14. (1989) 15. (1970) 16. (2007) 17. by (1964) 18. by (1975) 19. by (1971) 21.…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 08/01/2026 16:00 in Monthly overall chart movements
BestEverAlbums 08/01/2026 16:00 in Monthly overall chart movements“The overall chart is ever changing, and it's difficult to keep up with the detail of what's happening. So, for those people who are interested, this post attempts to show the latest movements - biggest climbers, movers, new entries and leavers for the top 100, 250, 500 & 1000 over the past month,…”
View forum post →Music For 18 Musicians comments
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From
hairymarx1 TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/21/2011 07:03 | #27708 | TOP COMMENT
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Reich's 'pulse music' is repetitive and 'trance'-like that you cannot just allow to wash over you. By allowing yourself to enter fully into the aesthetic, the experience it offers can approach the sublime. It develops a meditative quality, as your engagement with the flow of sound becomes total. This 'minimilist' music is ambitious as it is moving and profound. It's a work that is monumental in scale and perfectly realised that astounds with its originality.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 7
From
ForegroundNoise 11/07/2017 14:00 | #200914 | TOP COMMENT
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ForegroundNoise 11/07/2017 14:00 | #200914 | TOP COMMENT
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Despite being divided into multiple 'sections', Reich's minimalist masterpiece is performed in one take, and so has the curious property of being seemingly immobile and yet constantly washing over you. Listening to the strings undercut the vocals on Section VII has a desperate urgency that is difficult to put into words. Reich's music somehow makes you feel you've heard this a million lifetimes before and will hear it a million lifetimes over again all without uttering a single lyric.
Most of this is copied from the description of the album in my overall chart, do check it out if you have the time!! (Edited)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6
From
19loveless91 TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/11/2013 13:57 | #75808 | TOP COMMENT
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"Minimalism" seems to be an unfortunate term to describe a piece of music, where so much is going on. The only gripe I have with this is that it could be easily cut by about 5-10 mins. Not that it isn't great throughout, but the ideas are the same, so I think the perfect length for this would be 45-50 minutes. But that's really a minor complaint.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 5
From
albumceleste 11/27/2016 17:11 | #179219 | TOP COMMENT
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Vast and deep as an ocean.
Also one of the most influential pieces of music written in the second half of the XXs.
It's everywhere. So much it has become invisible. (Edited)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 5
From
CellarDoor TOP 100 COMMENTER 08/26/2010 23:12 | #14677 | TOP COMMENT
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CellarDoor TOP 100 COMMENTER 08/26/2010 23:12 | #14677 | TOP COMMENT
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A fascinating album ! Beautiful hypnotic pulses throughout - and no electronics (!) Beware though, if you're not used to these kinds of avant-garde classical music loops, you might be in for one hell of a headache !
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4
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