The Black Album
by The Damned

The Black Album by The Damned
Year: 1980
Release date: 1980-11-03
Overall rank: 4,577th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 93 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1980 (80th)
Award Top albums of of the 1980s (657th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,577th)

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The Damned bestography

The Black Album is ranked 3rd best out of 23 albums by The Damned on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The Damned is Damned, Damned, Damned which is ranked number 1455 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,180.

The Damned album bestography « Higher ranked (1,977th)
Machine Gun Etiquette
This album (4,577th)
The Black Album
Lower ranked (6,985th) »
Phantasmagoria

(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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The Black Album rankings

The Black Album rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,577th | 1980s rank: 657th | 1980 rank: 80th  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: 4 hours ago)

The Black Album collection

The Black Album ratings

Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 93 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 93 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
20/100
 !
07/10/2026 04:48 Proto  Ratings distribution  4,27533/100
 
70/100
 !
06/21/2026 13:13 cicadelic  Ratings distribution  13,84673/100
 
100/100
 !
06/11/2026 06:17 joedec  Ratings distribution  11999/100

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 has a Bayesian average rating of 73.2/100, a mean average of 72.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 73.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.4.


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The Black Album favourites

Showing all 6 members who have added this album as a favourite

Forum mentions

This album has been referenced 26 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From MadhattanJack 09/10/2025 09:08 in The same album title but a different artist
One of the most-used titles is "The Black Album": Anyway, there are lots of album titles that have been used multiple times. I could go on for hours!
View forum post →

From neilgee 09/08/2025 16:47 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
What album are you listening to? (cont.)
View forum post →

From Repo 07/29/2024 13:16 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
What album are you listening to? (cont.)
View forum post →

View all forum mentions

The Black Album comments

Showing all 5 comments |
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Rating:  
100/100
Wow! Damn! A masterfully executed elevation of punk rock to daring new heights without sacrificing the core philosophy of the genre. I don’t know how they pulled it off. The first few times I heard it, I just thought “what a great punk record,” but then I started to realize as I listened more carefully that this was way more than just another punk record. (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
I bought this album the day it was released on vinyl. If it had a bigger audience I'm sure the rating would be far higher.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/23/2011 05:45 | #28901
just saw THE DAMNED AT THE SOLD OUT IRVING PLAZA,NYC SHOW FOR THEIR 35TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR...PLAYED THIS ALBUM AND DAMNED,DAMNED,DAMNED IN THEIR ENTIRETY !!!! PHENOMENAL...THEY STILL GOT IT-THE PROFICIENCY...I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ALBUM...FUN,FUN,FUN (Edited)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 05/01/2011 21:01 | #20967
Wait... I don't actually remember listening to this one yet I have given it 8/10! New Rose is on it though and that is a good song.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
Nobody's heard this masterpiece...but the chosen few are aware of it's sonic importance...the first 4 tracks are perhaps the best opening to any album...always underrated for their proficiency this set is remarkable...angry, smart,sarcastic lyrics....recklessly fun rockers...hans zimmer production...dark,haunting lyrical/musical scapes like "dr.jeckyll and mr. hyde" and the monolythic "curtain call"...Captain Sensible is my favorite guitar hero of all time...this band is great and this ambitious effort doesn't miss
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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