On The Impossible Past
by The Menzingers
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The Menzingers bestography
On The Impossible Past is ranked as the best album by The Menzingers.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to On The Impossible Past on YouTube
On The Impossible Past track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 76 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
On The Impossible Past rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 4 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  EyeKanFly | Top 67 Music Albums of 2012 | 59/67 | 1 |
| 2026 |  cestuneblague | Top 100 Music Albums of 2012 | 70/100 | 2 |
| 2026 | henrygreen0203 | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 84/100 | 17 |
| 2026 |  paladisiac | top 65r albums (66), #0201-0300* | 25/77 | - |
| 2026 |  Repo | Top 36 Music Albums of 2012 | 31/36 | 1 |
| 2026 |  foxytreeko | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 16/100 | 84 |
| 2026 | paladisiac | 2010s 65rating (66), #001-100* | 43/76 | - |
| 2026 |  Purplepash | Top 78 Music Albums of 2012 | 31/78 | 3 |
| 2026 | paladisiac | Top 100 Music Albums of 2012 | 45/100 | 3 |
| 2025 |  Igtonumama | Top 100 Music Albums of 2012 | 85/100 | 1 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 52 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 336 | |||
On The Impossible Past collection
Showing all 8 members who have this album in their collection
On The Impossible Past 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 45 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 07/12/2026 00:54 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,656 | 70/100 |
| ! | 11/27/2025 14:20 |  DommeDamian | 7,746 | 48/100 |
| ! | 11/07/2025 14:57 | cicadelic | 13,953 | 73/100 |
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 11% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.7/100, a mean average of 73.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.3.
On The Impossible Past favourites
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Forum mentions
Repo 06/17/2022 16:51 in What album are you listening to right now? EyeKanFly 04/13/2021 18:39 in What album are you listening to right now? Purplepash 11/15/2020 01:25 in What album are you listening to right now?On The Impossible Past comments
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The ratings site Metacritic gives this record a high rating of 93, making it the 22nd highest rating on the whole website, as of 2021, outranking Beyonce's "Lemonade," Kendrick Lamar's "Good Kid..." and White Stripes' "Elephant."
Two years before the heartland rock revival record "Lost in the Dream" by The War on Drugs, The Menzingers released their seminal record "On the Impossible Past." The band is cut from the same cloth as critically acclaimed pop-punk "orgcore" groups like The Gaslight Anthem and Against Me!, which take a melodic and heartfelt approach to their music, culminating in the brilliant "The '59 Sound" and "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" respectively.
On the Impossible Past evokes nostalgia and emotion, with lyrics reflecting on youth. The music takes hints from teenage pop-punk of Saves the Day and the sentimental nostalgic emo of Get Up Kids. But at the heart of every song yo will find joyful melodies, Beatles-esque harmonies, dazzling guitar hooks, and an irresistible punk edge. Every song is a delight, sure to make your heart happy and leave you longing for something you may have not even known you had lost.
Essential.
Career Highlight: Burn After Reading
Gems: Casey, Sun Hotel, Sculptors and Vandals
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