English Settlement
by XTC
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XTC bestography
English Settlement is ranked 3rd best out of 30 albums by XTC on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by XTC is Skylarking which is ranked number 371 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 4,453.
(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 English Settlement on YouTube
English Settlement track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
English Settlement 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 |  videoheadcleaner | Top 100 Music Albums of 1982 | 33/100 | 3 |
| 2026 | cronadigallina | Top 99 Music Albums of 1982 | 13/99 | 4 |
| 2026 | sunnydhamm | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 29/100 | 14 |
| 2026 |  Tamthebam | Top 100 Music Albums of 1982 | 14/100 | 4 |
| 2026 | Steppenwolf666 | Top 100 Music Albums of 1982 | 58/100 | 2 |
| 2026 | matterhornrider | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 88/100 | 3 |
| 2026 | Tamthebam | Best of The 80s Pt.2 (101-200) | 30/100 | - |
| 2026 | pinkfreud1981 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 40/100 | 12 |
| 2026 | saltysurprise | Top 54 Music Albums of 1982 | 17/54 | 4 |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Top 100 Music Albums of 1982 | 56/100 | 2 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 302 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 1,591 | |||
English Settlement collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 151 members
English Settlement 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 360 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 06/15/2026 13:34 |  VictorVale | 3,900 | 81/100 |
| ! | 03/19/2026 06:54 | cicadelic | 14,075 | 73/100 |
| ! | 03/17/2026 20:46 | SPOTLIGHTKID | 28 | 92/100 |
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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.8/100, a mean average of 77.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.0.
English Settlement favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 46 members
English Settlement forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 3 days ago in Monthly overall chart movements - September 2026 BestEverAlbums 09/14/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5435): By flamingyesdept BestEverAlbums 09/07/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5428): By ExTeaSeaEnglish Settlement comments
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Exemplifies, more than any other XTC album, why I sometimes describe them as the band the Beatles would have been if they'd had to challenge themselves to expand the range of pop music beyond the range already established, before them, by the Beatles. Dense, layered, fussy, but exuberant songs as spiky and nerd-punk as "No Thugs in Our House", as whimsically twerpy as "Down in the Cockpit", as African and anthemic as "Melt the Guns", as prettily angular as "All of a Sudden", as gently haunting as "Runaway", as warped, subtle, and medieval as "Senses Working Overtime", and, when the chorus hits, as overflowing with perfect joy as "Senses Working Overtime".
English Settlement marked the end of an era for XTC. It was the last album they ever performed live and the last to feature long time drummer Terry Chambers. It was here that the band began their slow metamorphosis from Frankenstein Punk to Pastoral Pop. This oncoming identity crisis coupled with extreme recording restriction (26 songs in a mere 28 days!) resulted in a chaotic and oddly vulnerable record. Not every song is a winner, and the production is noticeably less polished than other efforts, but there's a certain magic about English Settlement and tracks like Senses Working Overtime, Knuckle Down and Yacht Dance remain some of the highlights of the bands career.
This is an album that can really grow on you if you let it. The songs are catchy as hell and have the tendency to not leave your head after a while. Definitely my favorite XTC album that I've listened to so far.
Freddie55 TOP 100 COMMENTER 02/21/2010 00:27 | #9383 | TOP COMMENT
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Throw away four tracks and you are left with one of the best albums of the 80s.
HoldenM TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/30/2015 03:02 | #142670 | TOP COMMENT
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Solid release. Maybe my favorite XTC album.
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