Astral Weeks
by Van Morrison

Astral Weeks by Van Morrison
Year: 1968
Release date: 1968-11-29
Overall rank: 70th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,728 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1968 (3rd)
Award Top 20 albums of of the 1960s (17th)
Award Top 100 albums of all time (70th)

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Van Morrison bestography

Astral Weeks is ranked as the best album by Van Morrison.

Van Morrison album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (70th)
Astral Weeks
Lower ranked (172nd) »
Moondance

(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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Astral Weeks track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 87 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (900 - 373 votes)
Average Rating: 90 (373 votes)Comments: View 7
3.
Track pick (890 - 345 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (345 votes)Comments: View 4
6.
Track pick (890 - 334 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (334 votes)Comments: View 4

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Astral Weeks rankings

Astral Weeks rankings summary
Overall rank: 70th | 1960s rank: 17th | 1968 rank: 3rd  Overall chart history
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings).Help Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 2 hours ago)
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026JohnnyoTop 85 Music Albums of 196820/854
2026RiveraTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s2/10020
2026Rm12398Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s28/10015
2026tim0505Top 87 Music Albums of the 1960s16/8717
2026 PurplepashTop 34 Music Albums of 196829/341
2026BurndenAceTop 100 Greatest Music Albums72/10029
2026amirmishaliTop 100 Greatest Music Albums29/10071
2026 jhuikBest/ Favourite Songs of All Time30/100 -
2026sweetnessTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s13/10018
2026mrmcrookTop 61 Music Albums of the 1960s32/6110
2026 zags7000Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s11/10018
2026FritzTop 19 Music Albums of 19685/194
2026 TheDarkOrbTop 3 Music Albums of 19682/33
2026 AAL2014Top 83 Music Albums of 19684/835
2026JohnnyoTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s93/1002
2026 junodog4Top 20 Music Albums of 196810/203
2026ChadMilesTop 99 Greatest Music Albums58/9942
2026blueandthemoonTop 27 Music Albums of 196812/273
2026 CA DreaminTop 50 Music Albums of the 1960s10/5016
2026gregthealienTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s72/1006
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 1,548
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 15,457
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Astral Weeks collection

Astral Weeks ratings

Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,728 votes)
  Ratings distribution 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 1,728 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
19 hours ago TitoVampir  Ratings distribution  11171/100
 
80/100
 !
08/07/2026 07:30 barethman  Ratings distribution  20780/100
 
80/100
 !
06/21/2026 12:06 Neil_71  Ratings distribution  13377/100
 
75/100
 !
06/15/2026 00:49 AvalancheGrips  Ratings distribution  77785/100
 
75/100
 !
06/13/2026 08:47 Milhaud  Ratings distribution  2,13271/100

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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 84.4/100, a mean average of 82.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 84.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.1.


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Astral Weeks comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 139 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 02/27/2026 15:05 | #313347
I recognized songs off this album but don't think I could have told you who the artist was. My guess is he is a little before my time, it's probably going to take some time and multiple plays before I get it. I understand this is his best album and that's why I purchased it. I have to remind myself to not rush to judgment on my view of an album, because music is subjective. Overall, a good musical album with lyrical and instrumental qualities. My favorite songs are "Astral Weeks" and "Madame George". (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 08/06/2025 23:30 | #310431
This album took a long time and multiple listens before it all clicked. It took a while to look past the track "Beside You" that put me off as I find it jazzy avant-garde rubbish. That was enough to soil my view of the whole album. Looking past that though, all other tracks are superb. The lesson learned was don't write certain albums and music off quickly, as sometimes it can take a while before you discover how golden they are. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/20/2025 00:10 | #310217
Simply magical. One of the best albums ever made (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
5/100
From 06/29/2024 20:47 | #304120
Boring boring boring. Just couldn't get into this album (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (1 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 05/18/2023 09:41 | #297055
Another great release from Van Morrison that once again demonstrates his wonderfully diverse instrumentation as well as his poetic lyrics. The two tracks that showcase this the best are Astral Weeks and Madame George. Both are absolute masterpieces and display everything that is phenomenal about Van Morrison as an artist. The music on here is complex with lots for the listener to discover if they would like to explore deeper and it is also relaxed and peaceful which makes for a great record no matter how you like to listen to music. Instrumentally, this record is beautiful with strings, saxophones, flutes and many more making up a fantastic array with all members giving brilliant performances with Van Morrison leading everything with a strong vocal display. Despite this, I do find a few moments on here to be quite slow and that does make the record drag a little for me. A few songs are a little bit weaker than the strong stuff on here with Beside You being probably the lowest point. Overall, a fantastic musical album with loads of lyrical and instrumental quality to give you a thoroughly satisfying listen. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/31/2023 20:59 | #295663
an album that is difficult to understand... first of all, it is without a doubt a masterpiece... an unwary listener who hears this album might hate it... but whoever is aware of its quality and has the necessary time, will discover one of the best albums ever... (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/24/2023 02:35 | #295358
Incredible album. Poetically powerful and emotionally evocative, although some minor flaws are present, as expected with any work. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/14/2023 11:51 | #292834
I can't say that I love this album now, but it slightly grew on me over time and now I really appreciate these peaceful instrumentals and wild vocals, I still get a little tired while listening to this album, but I get enjoyment out of it, that I haven't before (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/15/2022 16:22 | #290500
one of the most emotionally vulnerable and touching albums i've ever listened to, although difficult to understand. while most artists paint with a brush and a canvas, Van does it with words. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
20/100
From 09/27/2022 16:49 | #289999
Beautiful instrumental arrangements, but the vocals, however great, don't match the songs at all. They destroy all the peaceful atmosphere. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)

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