American Stars 'N Bars (studio album)
by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse bestography
American Stars 'N Bars is ranked 24th best out of 94 albums by Neil Young on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Neil Young is After The Gold Rush which is ranked number 84 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 14,754.
(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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American Stars 'N Bars track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
American Stars 'N Bars rankings
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American Stars 'N Bars 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 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 217 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 5 days ago | Araldo | 1,469 | 80/100 |
| ! | 10/12/2025 20:05 |  Superunknown | 281 | 70/100 |
| ! | 08/08/2025 15:31 | iannicolson | 1,020 | 75/100 |
| ! | 07/10/2025 13:34 | mattmaster | 432 | 79/100 |
| ! | 06/19/2025 20:26 | Elauqsapid | 2,711 | 64/100 |
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 16% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.1/100, a mean average of 73.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.7.
American Stars 'N Bars favourites
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American Stars 'N Bars comments
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NowhereMan 12/11/2024 11:03 | #306439
Hey Babe is one of my favourites ditties of his.
OldToad 07/20/2022 04:08 | #287621
It's true this album was assembled from parts, so to speak, but I think it's actually very coherent, and I think it cuts very deep. There's a drunken randiness and meanness to the first side, with a stormy climax. Then you flip the record (you don't have to listen to vinyl, but this was the lp era, and the two-side arc was something they worked with), and it deepens from alcohol to acid, he takes you on a trip, and then he ends with a message: friend, grow your own trip. This is a thoughtful and deeply felt record, is what it sounds like to me, but I guess that's just me.
American Stars n' Bars is a record compiled from several sessions over 3 years, so the result is a record that is a bit of a sample of some of Neil Young's styles. There is some folk, rock, country. A lot of this record has a fun element to it and it sounds fairly raw at times. Will to Love and Like a Hurricane are the essential tracks on this one.
VictorVale 11/14/2020 13:44 | #260791
Belo álbum, consistente... O back vocal e o violão de corda de metal agregaram bastante.
A very mixed album in terms of quality. 'Will To Love' and 'Like A Hurricane' are a fine pair of tracks, but the rest of the album doesn't really come close.
teague 06/14/2020 02:20 | #253500
His worst of the 70s. Still a fine record. Like a Hurricane is the obvious highlight. Hold Back the Tears, Bite the Bullet, and Will to Love being less obvious, but still great in their own right.
ExTeaSea 09/01/2018 21:33 | #220367
I think it's a great Neil Young album, easily one of my top five favorites of his. Don't know why it's ranked this low.
Not one of Neil Young's best albums but certainly a case could be made for it being underrated and overlooked. American stars'n' bars is possibly Young's least essential album of the seventies(maybe, Comes a time), but there is some good stuff here. Will to love, Hold back the tears, and of course, Like a hurricane, are standouts and the rest of the album is fine too. ASNB is a good record, just not a great one.
If you like some country music, then you should like this album. Neil was always trying something different, and it is quiet niece album. My favourite tracks are Star of Bethlehem,Will to love and Like a Hurricane
Not his best record and certainly not his worst. It's worth a listen.
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