The Sensual World
by Kate Bush

The Sensual World by Kate Bush
Year: 1989
Release date: 1989-10-16
Overall rank: 1,148th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 452 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1989 (15th)
Award Top albums of of the 1980s (177th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,148th)

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KATE BUSH - The Sensual World CD
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Kate Bush – The Sensual World LP 12" Ash Grey Vinyl Record (Indies Only)
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Kate Bush bestography

The Sensual World is ranked 6th best out of 17 albums by Kate Bush on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Kate Bush is Hounds Of Love which is ranked number 53 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 17,844.

Kate Bush album bestography « Higher ranked (1,120th)
Never For Ever
This album (1,148th)
The Sensual World
Lower ranked (1,387th) »
50 Words For Snow

(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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The Sensual World track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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

The Sensual World rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,148th | 1980s rank: 177th | 1989 rank: 15th

The Sensual World collection

The Sensual World ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 452 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 452 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
65/100
 !
07/04/2026 21:46 DommeDamian  Ratings distribution  7,46949/100
 
95/100
 !
06/12/2026 02:54 HoldenM  Ratings distribution  1,83084/100
 
0/100
 !
06/03/2026 14:57 stwhelan  Ratings distribution  836/100
 
60/100
 !
05/14/2026 15:14 Pavloss  Ratings distribution  48850/100
 
85/100
 !
05/11/2026 16:51 Jakor  Ratings distribution  5,43770/100

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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.5/100, a mean average of 76.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.5.

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The Sensual World comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 22 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
95/100
From 06/12/2026 02:55 | #314895
People are sleeping on this one and it's a damn shame.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/08/2024 09:41 | #302904
It took me a while to acknowledge Kate Bushs´ extraordinary talent. This particular release grows on me more with each listen.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/17/2023 18:48 | #296162
Maybe more pop and not as ambitious as her previous albums, but still it is a collection of solid songs with sensual and magical vibe, production is good and her vocal performences are often amazing so I think it's a little underrated.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/06/2022 15:56 | #289330
Great record
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/16/2022 18:52 | #281393
Kate is at her best when keeping her songs small and quiet, like the last song on this album. As soon she makes the songs loud and big, I'm out...hence only 80/100
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/16/2022 18:50 | #281392
Kate is at her best in the moodier and slower songs, when she applying heavier sounds the songs get overblown and big. Smaller and simpler is better like the last song on
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 10/09/2020 17:55 | #259147
This album is only slightly behind Hounds of Love, This woman's work and The Fog are my favourite tracks.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/27/2020 06:39 | #252214
Just brilliant. Only Deeper Understanding sounds a bit dated. Other than that one small criticism, this is a perfect album. Kate's coming of age.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 07/22/2019 14:55 | #240147
Favorite Tracks:Between A Man And A Woman, Never Be Mine
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
It's the sense of grown-up accomplishedness that really makes The Sensual World such a satisfying record. Bush's wild and brilliant experimentation is shaped and directed beautifully here into a more mature and classy record, compared to her previous work.

Less bold than her previous work in terms of not having any real big-hitters, save for the enigmatic track-of-the-same-title opener and the heartbreakingly beautiful ending, yet what it lacks in show it makes up for in detail. It pays dividends to spend time with The Sensual World, especially to pick out certain lines on songs such as the emotional rollercoaster of Love & Anger, the dystopian Deeper Understanding and on the soulful Never Be Mine.

This is Bush as a craftswoman; an artist at her peak not trying to outdo herself or indeed anyone, but just making wonderful, beautiful music as always. The difference now though is that Bush sounds and feels more mature here, revealing a delicate vulnerability in her words and in the tone of her music.

Personal, deep and, for lack of a better word, sensual.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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