The World Won't Listen (compilation album)
by The Smiths

The World Won't Listen by The Smiths
(Compilation album)
Year: 1987
Overall rank: 4,949th   
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 186 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1987 (64th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (729th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,949th)

Listen on Spotify Spotify
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
THE SMITHS - THE WORLD WON'T LISTEN NEW VINYL
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
Rare Australian 28 Track The World Won't Listen The Smiths Gatefold 2 x Vinyl LP
Condition: Used

$319.01


Go to store

eBay
eBay
The Smiths - The World Won't Listen [New Vinyl LP] Rmst
Condition: New


  My favourite store:  

The Smiths bestography

The World Won't Listen is ranked 7th best out of 15 albums by The Smiths on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The Smiths is The Queen Is Dead which is ranked number 16 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 33,868.

The Smiths album bestography « Higher ranked (718th)
Louder Than Bombs
This album (4,949th)
The World Won't Listen
Lower ranked (5,592nd) »
Rank

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Jan
23
Fri
20:00
Girlfriend In A Coma - A Tribute To Morrissey And The Smiths
The Vault at Capital One Hall, Tysons, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Feb
13
Fri
20:00
Headmasters 'The Smiths' Tribute Show
Rumba Cafe, Columbus, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Mar
07
Sat
21:00
The Cure Vs. the Smiths Night
Thunderbird Lounge, Phoenix, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to The World Won't Listen on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

The World Won't Listen track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 84 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Average Rating: 86 (58 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
2.
Average Rating: 85 (46 votes)Comments: View 1
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
3.
Average Rating: 81 (33 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
4.
Track pick (890 - 44 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (44 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
5.
Average Rating: 81 (30 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
6.
Track pick (900 - 102 votes)
Average Rating: 90 (102 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
8.
Track pick (870 - 50 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (50 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
9.
Average Rating: 79 (31 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
10.
Average Rating: 86 (36 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
11.
Average Rating: 80 (32 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
12.
Average Rating: 85 (33 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
13.
Average Rating: 83 (32 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
15.
Average Rating: 81 (30 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
17.
Average Rating: 82 (32 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify

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

The World Won't Listen rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,949th | 1980s rank: 729th | 1987 rank: 64th

The World Won't Listen collection

The World Won't Listen ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 186 votes)
   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 186 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
95/100
 !
11/07/2025 04:32 Hayden   7,36972/100
 
80/100
 !
09/19/2025 06:15 nextorgd   1,12784/100
 
90/100
 !
08/22/2025 12:00 SomethingSpecial   1,73182/100
 
80/100
 !
08/07/2025 01:46 matterhornrider   4,78481/100
 
95/100
 !
03/01/2025 12:33 mash   1,40388/100

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 80.2/100, a mean average of 78.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.4.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

The World Won't Listen favourites

Showing latest 20 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 27 members

The World Won't Listen comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 11 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:  
100/100
From 05/19/2019 00:28 | #236433
Of course this is superior to Louder Than Bombs...it doesn’t contain that truly awful cover version of ‘Golden Lights’ for starters. More importantly it actually gels like an album where as LTB feels very much as a collection of bits and bobs.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
5/100
From 11/14/2016 11:37 | #178399
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (1 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
From 10/15/2016 00:44 | #176900
'How Soon Is Now' is one of the greatest songs ever, and to think it started as a B side!!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
0/100
From 09/16/2016 00:01 | #175054
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -5 votes (1 helpful | 6 unhelpful)
Rating:  
0/100
From 09/15/2016 23:57 | #175053
the comments are so misleading. if you have louder than bombs + their studio albums, you have every track on here except for 1, "Money Changes Everything." and that track isn't even on the vinyl version of this record. and it's an instrumental. and stays too samey to justify its runtime.

in other words, this album is 100% unnecessary fluff. hatful of hollow and louder than bombs aren't even really compilation albums, the smiths don't have any records with those songs on them. well, a few songs overlap but they're alternate versions anyway. this album just sucks. "there is a light that never goes out" doesn't fit in between "shakespeare's sister" and "shoplifters of the world unite." among many, many other gripes that aren't worth my time explaining.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (3 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/07/2016 17:42 | #168123
The best of The Smith's 'compilation' albums. The world won't listen, is full of all those fantastic Morrisey-Marr tracks. Panic, half a person, and, you just haven't earned it yet, baby, are just three highlights from this great album. Just as essential as any of their other records. Brilliant.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 05/12/2015 12:10 | #141346
One of the best compilations of all time. This and Hatful of Hollow are a must for all Smiths fans along with their 4 studio albums. These 6 albums are all you need you don't need to bother with all the other comps. out there.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/06/2015 23:51 | #130944
Fine compilation of some great singles that weren't found in any of The Smiths' four studio albums.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/23/2014 22:54 | #122563
Decent but unnecessary.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (2 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 11/27/2013 12:47 | #94891
Arguably the greatest compilation album I've ever owned. Was my fave album through the 80's
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for The World Won't Listen

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1987
1. The Joshua Tree by U2
2. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
3. Sign "O" The Times by Prince
4. Strangeways, Here We Come by The Smiths
5. You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur
6. Document by R.E.M.
7. Bad by Michael Jackson
8. Music For The Masses by Depeche Mode
9. Sister by Sonic Youth
10. Hysteria by Def Leppard
11. Substance by New Order
12. Kick by INXS
13. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me by The Cure
14. Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths
15. Darklands by The Jesus And Mary Chain
16. Come On Pilgrim by Pixies
17. Diesel And Dust by Midnight Oil
18. Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim
19. Tango In The Night by Fleetwood Mac
20. Tunnel Of Love by Bruce Springsteen
Back to Top