The Messenger
by Johnny Marr
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Johnny Marr bestography
The Messenger is ranked as the best album by Johnny Marr.
(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 The Messenger on YouTube
The Messenger track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 76 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
The Messenger rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 4 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  serpico | Top 71 Music Albums of the 2010s | 29/71 | 12 |
| 2026 |  imacgill | Top 100 Music Albums of 2013 | 76/100 | 1 |
| 2026 | Skerns | Top 92 Music Albums of 2013 | 18/92 | 4 |
| 2026 |  MadhattanJack | Top 82 Music Albums of 2013 | 45/82 | 2 |
| 2026 | thenat | Top 26 Music Albums of 2013 | 5/26 | 4 |
| 2026 |  nitomano | Top 35 Music Albums of 2013 | 11/35 | 4 |
| 2024 | thenat | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | 32/100 | 14 |
| 2023 |  CharlieBarley | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | 29/100 | 14 |
| 2023 | Chambord | Top 47 Music Albums of the 2010s | 33/47 | 6 |
| 2023 | TheSmiths82-87 | Top 76 Music Albums of the 2010s | 60/76 | 4 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 42 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 179 | |||
The Messenger collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 27 members
The Messenger 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 55 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 06/04/2026 05:02 | nitomano | 2,292 | 71/100 |
| ! | 01/08/2026 12:59 | TonySayers61 | 25,931 | 64/100 |
| ! | 09/15/2025 17:26 |  an-outlaw | 525 | 74/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 72.5/100, a mean average of 71.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 72.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.7.
The Messenger favourites
Showing all 3 members who have added this album as a favourite
The Messenger forum mentions
MadhattanJack 09/14/2025 05:32 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
BasdeWit97 09/24/2014 14:53 in What album are you listening to right now?The Messenger comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
zdwyatt TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/22/2013 19:23 | #88893 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
The Messenger takes the jangly guitar that is Marr's signature and incorporates it with a slightly heavier sound. Or maybe it's just the modern production I am hearing. Either way, the result is a record that is unmistakably English. It's not The Smiths (nothing ever is) but it's worth a listen. (Edited)
Liking it. Fair few of these tunes are getting stuck in my head. Lockdown & I want the heartbeat just two. (Edited)
Secondsoul 03/08/2013 22:21 | #67472 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
Excellent. One of the best albums I've heard this year. (Edited)
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