Plague Mass
by Diamanda Galás
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Diamanda Galás bestography
Plague Mass is ranked 4th best out of 17 albums by Diamanda Galás on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Diamanda Galás is Diamanda Galás which is ranked number 4471 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 323.
(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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Plague Mass track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 71 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Plague Mass rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 3 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  cestuneblague | Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 | 6/100 | 5 |
| 2025 |  Tha1ChiefRocka | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 90/100 | 9 |
| 2025 | skrapoel | Top 58 Music Albums of 1991 | 49/58 | 1 |
| 2024 | LosWochos | Top 98 Music Albums of 1991 | 72/98 | 1 |
| 2024 | sonicdiscourse | 1991 To-Do List | 52/77 | - |
| 2023 | cmoshier | Top 100 Music Albums of 1991 | 70/100 | 2 |
| 2022 | babsfanatic87 | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 90/100 | 7 |
| 2015 |  SingingPeasant96 | RYM chart : 100 most...by dejan_malcic | 94/99 | - |
| 2014 |  Torchlin | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | 34/100 | 13 |
| 2014 | desatinoff | Top 40 Greatest Music Albums | 40/40 | - |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 10 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 38 | |||
Plague Mass collection
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Plague Mass 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 18 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 06/21/2026 04:56 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,152 | 70/100 |
| ! | 04/14/2025 16:40 | thepardunk | 2,587 | 69/100 |
| ! | 12/08/2024 22:51 | bcc | 1,132 | 68/100 |
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 74.5/100, a mean average of 75.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 21.0.
Plague Mass favourites
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Plague Mass forum mentions
NoisyBeast 09/21/2018 18:35 in What album are you listening to right now?Plague Mass comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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How do I feel about this album? Hmmm.
1.This album makes me feel something different than any other album. And what is art other than a safe way to practice complex emotions. This stuff is frantic, raw, horrifying, grieving, and then some.
2. What's more, this album makes me think. As a relatively conservative, Christian man, I find an artistic statement this extreme, backed by such extreme pathos and purpose, prods me to introspection. It cuts deep when Galas sings Leviticus Ch 15. It actually makes the passage very vivid, in complete contrast with how I've always seen the Old Testament" law books. Thank you, Galas, for making relevant what I otherwise considered a dull and tedious read.
3. The immediate subject of this release is AIDS, but I feel the work has an even stronger attachment to the deeper contexts of the AIDS epidemic. I think this is too broad a point to cover, except in mere mentioning.
4. Finally, I think there are moments of real beauty. “Let My People Go" is terribly sad, and it is a punch in the gut, but it is beautiful.
This is a record that's impacted me like any profound art should, but, in truth, I rarely visit it.
PS: I generally listen to Gillian Welch's Time (The Revelator) right after this. Kindof a nice detox, if you will.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that this record literally hurt my ears. I found it disturbing to the point of turning it off very soon. Naturally I crept back to this grotesque beast to satisfy my curiosity, but like the first time I discovered scatological pornography it left me feeling deeply discomforted and even a little depressed. Suffice to say, I have little desire to come back to this nasty thing (just like I'm not particularly interested in watching someone shit into another person's mouth). That being said, if people dig this that's fine by me. I just don't understand it.
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