Kala
by M.I.A.

Kala by M.I.A.
Year: 2007
Release date: 2007-08-08
Overall rank: 777th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 528 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 2007 (15th)
Award Top albums of of the 2000s (124th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (777th)

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M.I.A. bestography

Kala is ranked as the best album by M.I.A..

M.I.A. album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (777th)
Kala
Lower ranked (1,377th) »
Arular

(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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Kala track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 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.

Kala rankings

Kala rankings summary
Overall rank: 777th | 2000s rank: 124th | 2007 rank: 15th  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: 5 hours ago)

Kala collection

Kala ratings

Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 528 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 3 ratings for this album.  | Show all 528 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
65/100
 !
08/09/2026 01:02 xhitmanx  Ratings distribution  1,60475/100
 
40/100
 !
07/30/2026 18:11 DommeDamian  Ratings distribution  7,74548/100
 
80/100
 !
06/17/2026 23:06 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  15,65070/100

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 7% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.2/100, a mean average of 74.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.4.


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Kala favourites

Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite  | Show all 55 members

Forum mentions

This album has been referenced 30 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From BestEverAlbums 06/25/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5354): By arthurbittencourt
Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ) 1. by (1980) 2. by by (1967) 4. by (1970) 5. by (1996) 6. by (2004) 7. (2025) 9. by (1978) 10. by (1990) 11. by (1979) 12. (2010) 13. by (1972) 14. by (1968) 15. by (1967) 16. by by by (1965) 19. by by (1969) 21. by by by (1983) 24. by…
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From Romanelli 05/24/2026 19:02 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
What album are you listening to? (cont.)
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From BestEverAlbums 02/22/2026 21:00 in Album of the day (#5544): Kala by M.I.A.
Today's album of the day Kala by M.I.A. ( | ) Year: 2007. Country: Discography rank: 1 (out of 9 albums on BEA) Year rank: 16 Decade rank: 128 Overall rank: 791 Average rating: 75/100 (from 525 votes). Tracks: 1. Bamboo Banga 2. Birdflu 3. Boyz 4. Jimmy 5. Hussel (Feat. Afrikan Boy) 6. Mango Pickle…
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Kala comments

Showing latest 5 comments | Show all 25 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:  
95/100
From 03/22/2024 23:57 | #302630
All bangers. All the time. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/23/2022 14:40 | #286616
Um marco da época. Uso extremamente criativo de sons e letras cortantes.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/30/2022 14:02 | #280308
What is the fuss about this album, I really do not get this kind of stuff, just not my jam. I'm more for some root stuff.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
I really think the critics overreacted on this one. Arular was way superior; a lot more simplistic and true to its sound. The 4 minute long skit like 'Mango Pickle Down River' - I know it's not meant as a skit - and the cover 'Jimmy' really don't get me excited from a musical perspective. They are there rather for the message. 'Paper Planes' for that matter was probably also rather lauded by critics for its lyrical content, and ironically got mainstream appeal because of people misunderstanding that lyrical content; a case of critics lauding something for the cultural impact it didn't had. People just liked that it sounded gangster, 'cause hip hop was hot at the moment, don't think for a moment anyone knew what it was about. The cultural impact it actually had could already be found on Arular: a musical impact. You know, that thing that reviewers should be reviewing. Oh, but she references Pixies, nevermind, this album is genius.

Probably the hardest I have ever rolled my eyes at the critics. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 07/19/2019 20:22 | #239872
Favorite Tracks:Bamboo Banga, Bird Flu, Boyz (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

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