Will The Circle Be Unbroken
by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
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The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band bestography
Will The Circle Be Unbroken is ranked as the best album by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
(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 Will The Circle Be Unbroken on YouTube
Will The Circle Be Unbroken track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 76 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Will The Circle Be Unbroken rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 5 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  ERadio | Top 50 Music Albums of 1972 | 28/50 | 2 |
| 2026 |  zags7000 | Best of 1970's 101-200 | 3/5 | - |
| 2026 | fabm0 | List 1972 | 92/100 | - |
| 2026 | Skerns | Top 94 Music Albums of 1972 | 43/94 | 3 |
| 2026 | zags7000 | Overall 501-600 | 89/100 | - |
| 2026 | OFarrio | Top 26 Music Albums of 1972 | 6/26 | 4 |
| 2026 | daCritic | Top 33 Music Albums of 1972 | 17/33 | 3 |
| 2026 |  Helios | Top 60 Music Albums of 1972 | 7/60 | 5 |
| 2026 | Johnnyo | Top 100 Music Albums of 1972 | 38/100 | 3 |
| 2026 |  Patman360 | Top 97 Music Albums of 1972 | 47/97 | 3 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 96 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 392 | |||
Will The Circle Be Unbroken collection
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Will The Circle Be Unbroken 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 102 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/11/2026 22:30 |  travelful | 3,853 | 72/100 |
| ! | 03/26/2026 19:08 |  HoldenM | 1,899 | 84/100 |
| ! | 01/02/2026 21:11 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,858 | 70/100 |
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 74.6/100, a mean average of 73.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.6.
Will The Circle Be Unbroken favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 14 members
Will The Circle Be Unbroken forum mentions
Romanelli 03/10/2026 21:24 in What album are you listening to? (cont.) Romanelli 02/24/2024 14:36 in What album are you listening to right now? Romanelli 07/18/2022 15:58 in Our Country Music ChatWill The Circle Be Unbroken comments
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TheDude85 06/15/2019 18:13 | #237568 | TOP COMMENT
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The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was a precursor and influencer of Country Rock bands like The Eagles, and their sound coalesed on this album. Formed in California a few years earlier as a jug band in the vein of The Grateful Dead, their music drifted further and further toward country and bluegrass as the years rolled on. They recorded this album in Nashville with special guest made up of country and bluegrass legends. When the dust settled they had a triple LP (Double CD) full of material. The version of the title cut (with multiple artists contributing a verse and collective chorus) is probably the definitive version ever recorded. It is worth seeking out. While the style of music is not my cup of tea, my record collection would not be complete without this album.
Romanelli TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/13/2011 15:45 | #19168 | TOP COMMENT
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The Dirt Band was a bunch of country rock hippies who loved the old music. They started asking their idols if they would make guest appearances on their next album, and before they knew it, they had a 3 record monster of great songs and guest appearances from some of the greatest then living legends of country and bluegrass. The guest list is astounding and long, and includes the likes of Roy Acuff, Mother Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Merle Travis, and on and on. The album also introduced fiddle player Vassar Clements to the masses. The songs were all recorded in 1 or 2 takes, and include a lot of pre song dialogue.
This is the ultimate melding of country, bluegrass and rock. An absolute masterpiece.
This is an essential album in traditional country and American roots music...but it is way too long. The band realized this when they released it, so they pressed the first and last side on the same record. These two sides (tracks 1-6 and 33-38) play like a regular length LP. Play those tracks first and if you like what you hear, listen to the rest.
This is as pure as rural music gets.
Jboy56 11/28/2021 09:56 | #276814 | TOP COMMENT
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Bluegrass is not my cup of tea, but I had to admit that this album is a classic example of cooperation in music.
History
This is one of my favorite albums of all time. If you like traditional country music this is a must have set.
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