Mermaid Avenue (studio album)
by Billy Bragg & Wilco

Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg & Wilco
Year: 1998
Overall rank: 2,074th   
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 202 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1998 (40th)
Award Top albums of the 1990s (364th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,074th)

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Product Details
Availability

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Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue (CD, 1998) Elektra | w/HYPE | NM Like New
Condition: Like New


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Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue Vol. 2 - CD - 2000 - Electra
Condition: Very Good


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Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2 by Wilco/Billy Bragg (CD, May-2000, Elektra (Label))
Condition: Brand New


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Billy Bragg & Wilco bestography

Mermaid Avenue is ranked as the best album by Billy Bragg & Wilco.

Billy Bragg & Wilco album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (2,074th)
Mermaid Avenue
Lower ranked (10,518th) »
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II

(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

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15
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18:00
Leslie Odom, Jr. with IU Philharmonic Orchestra
Indiana University Auditorium, Bloomington, United States. United States
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Creed Fisher
The Blue Note, Columbia, United States. United States
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Jan
17
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Bane
The Belasco, Los Angeles, United States. United States
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Mermaid Avenue 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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Track
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1.
Average Rating: 81 (39 votes)Comments: View 0
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2.
Track pick (860 - 57 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (57 votes)Comments: View 1
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4.
Average Rating: 80 (32 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Average Rating: 77 (33 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 79 (33 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
Average Rating: 80 (36 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 77 (32 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Average Rating: 81 (32 votes)Comments: View 0
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11.
Average Rating: 82 (34 votes)Comments: View 1
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12.
Average Rating: 79 (35 votes)Comments: View 0
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13.
Average Rating: 80 (35 votes)Comments: View 0
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14.
Average Rating: 80 (33 votes)Comments: View 1
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15.
Average Rating: 81 (34 votes)Comments: View 0
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Mermaid Avenue rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,074th | 1990s rank: 364th | 1998 rank: 40th

Mermaid Avenue collection

Mermaid Avenue ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 202 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 202 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
95/100
 !
12/11/2025 05:43 Kingturtle   7,44173/100
 
90/100
 !
11/10/2025 23:09 Rivera   2,01982/100
 
75/100
 !
10/29/2025 15:39 AAL2014   3,56575/100
 
80/100
 !
09/16/2025 09:38 luigybetis   1,52487/100
 
80/100
 !
09/06/2025 20:10 LittleM1971   5,82181/100

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 77.3/100, a mean average of 77.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 12.4.

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Mermaid Avenue comments

Showing all 8 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 03/04/2022 18:02 | #282267
Keep it simple sweetheart, a good guide for any occasion. Beautiful..
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 11/10/2021 23:41 | #276133
The first three tracks are really fantastic and sell the whole package. Don't overlook "Hesitating Beauty" a deep track which might be the best song on the album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/21/2018 14:58 | #209072
Bragg, Wilco an Guthrie-what a combination. I am just glad this album happened. The result is a clever, political and great sounding album. California Stars, an Walt Whitman’s Neice are my favourite tracks.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 02/18/2018 17:03 | #208694
Questo, al di là di qualche momento di stanchezza, è un disco riuscito, anche se non è tra le vette artistiche di nessuno dei due nomi coinvolti.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/14/2015 20:35 | #149788
Great. But would listen to volume three as well as some great tracks are on that one as well.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/02/2013 05:05 | #66637
Billy Bragg and Wilco got together to record some lyrics by Woody Guthrie that he never recorded before he died. You have to wonder what he would have thought of these, and also what his versions of these songs would have sounded like.

Of course I like the Wilco songs a bit better than the Bragg songs, but they are all good. Natalie Merchant's vocals on "Birds and Ships" are good too. Among my favorite tracks here are "California Stars," "Walt Whitman's Niece" and "One By One."
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 11/21/2012 16:50 | #55587
A very nice, relaxing album. I would especially recommended this if you are into Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/15/2012 21:03 | #35274
Fantastic partnership in re-imagining the work of Woody Guthrie. Wilco offsets the folksy dead-pan approach of Billy Bragg well in alternating tracks. Sometimes it comes close to hitting the mark, and others they hit a home run. Highlights - California Stars, Ingrid Bergman, Christ for President, and especially Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key. Dy-no-mite.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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