Street Songs
by Rick James

Street Songs by Rick James
Year: 1981
Overall rank: 3,762nd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 86 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1981 (64th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (561st)
Award Best albums of all time (3,762nd)

Listen on Spotify SPOTIFY
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
Street Songs (2009) • Rick James • NEW/SEALED Vinyl LP Record
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
Rick James Street Songs 1981 Vinyl LP Record
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
Rick James Street Songs Vinyl Record Album LP 1981 Gordy Motown Funk Soul
Condition: Used


  My favourite store:  

Rick James bestography

Street Songs is ranked as the best album by Rick James.

Rick James album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (3,762nd)
Street Songs
Lower ranked (32,723rd) »
Throwin' Down

(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

Mar
27
Fri
The Robert Cray Band
GLC Live at 20 Monroe, Grand Rapids, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Mar
27
Fri
Boy George & Culture Club: Live in Las Vegas
The Venetian Theatre at The Venetia, Las Vegas, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Mar
07
Sat
Aldous Collins Band (18+)
Brighton Music Hall presented by Ci, Boston, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

Listen to Street Songs on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Street Songs track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort Sort by

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

Street Songs rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 3,762nd | 1980s rank: 561st | 1981 rank: 64th

Street Songs collection

Street Songs ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 86 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 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 86 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
02/05/2026 20:07 culwin  Ratings distribution  1,38875/100
 
80/100
 
02/01/2026 20:14 sweetness  Ratings distribution  1,07279/100
 
70/100
 
11/12/2025 23:34 NYAndreas  Ratings distribution  1,43344/100
 
80/100
 
10/23/2025 18:16 Johnnyo  Ratings distribution  9,74677/100
 
80/100
 
09/19/2025 12:00 Norman Bates  Ratings distribution  10,02375/100

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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.4/100, a mean average of 76.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.2.

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

Street Songs favourites

Showing all 10 members who have added this album as a favourite

Street Songs comments

Showing all 5 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)

From 01/31/2019 11:37 | #231054
A solid funky R&B album that never dips in its high quality. From front to back, "Street Songs" is an absolute delight and deserves a lot more attention on this site.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/28/2016 00:01 | #162781
This is RJ's best album. Give it Me Baby and Super Freak are classic dance songs. Ghetto Life and Mr. Policemen are socially conscious funk. Make Love to Me and Fire and Desire are slow jams. This has a lot for everyone and deserves more respect on this site.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 03/03/2015 04:38 | #136042
Jhereko - well done. Just what I was thinking.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 07/11/2011 13:05 | #24261
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/11/2011 02:43 | #24251
Current rap and pop stars can try to brag about how hard they are, but this man not only lived "the life" but bragged about it every moment he could. Pretty much the only things on Rick James' mind are where he's getting his next drink, his next line, and his next girl. He can afford to do this because he had one of the greatest voices and knew how to produce some killer beats. This album contains two of the greatest songs ever, so it's probably fair to say it deserves better than it's getting here.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (6 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Street Songs

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 1981
1. Moving Pictures by Rush
2. Computerwelt by Kraftwerk
3. Discipline by King Crimson
4. Juju by Siouxsie And The Banshees
5. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts by Brian Eno & David Byrne
6. Time by Electric Light Orchestra
7. Faith by The Cure
8. Dare by The Human League
9. Damaged by Black Flag
10. Deceit by This Heat
11. Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones
12. Youth Of America by Wipers
13. Ghost In The Machine by The Police
14. Fire Of Love by The Gun Club
15. The Ascension by Glenn Branca
16. Heaven Up Here by Echo & The Bunnymen
17. Face Value by Phil Collins
18. Killers by Iron Maiden
19. Nightclubbing by Grace Jones
20. Movement by New Order
Back to Top