Bad Moon Rising
by Sonic Youth
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Sonic Youth bestography
Bad Moon Rising is ranked 7th best out of 43 albums by Sonic Youth on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Sonic Youth is Daydream Nation which is ranked number 74 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 14,801.
(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 Bad Moon Rising on YouTube
Bad Moon Rising track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 76 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Bad Moon Rising rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 1 hour ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Arthurknight | Top 99 Music Albums of 1985 | 32/99 | 3 |
| 2026 |  dihansse | Top 47 Music Albums of 1985 | 43/47 | 1 |
| 2026 |  AfterHours | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 96/100 | 5 |
| 2026 |  cestuneblague | Top 100 Music Albums of 1985 | 21/100 | 4 |
| 2026 | kinginsomniac12 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 76/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | pjr428 | Top 20 Music Albums of 1985 | 19/20 | 1 |
| 2026 |  Norman Bates | Top 100 Music Albums of 1985 | 28/100 | 4 |
| 2026 |  imacgill | Top 100 Music Albums of 1985 | 23/100 | 4 |
| 2026 |  arthurbittencourt | Top 99 Music Albums of the 1980s | 26/99 | 15 |
| 2026 | Cheboygan74 | Top 21 Music Albums of 1985 | 14/21 | 2 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 179 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 707 | |||
Bad Moon Rising collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 73 members
Bad Moon Rising 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 255 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/10/2026 13:50 | stereosanctity | 41 | 77/100 |
| ! | 08/27/2026 23:07 | Melway94 | 118 | 83/100 |
| ! | 08/18/2026 17:24 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,819 | 82/100 |
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 73.1/100, a mean average of 72.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 73.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.9.
Bad Moon Rising favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 14 members
Bad Moon Rising forum mentions
NoisyBeast 12/04/2025 01:27 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
neilgee 10/26/2023 20:11 in What album are you listening to right now? dihansse 02/06/2023 21:06 in My discoveries per yearView all forum mentions
Bad Moon Rising comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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idk why early sonic youth is so underrated, i find it more amusing than the most famous albums
the mixing of this album is great, though confusing as songs begins one minute into the previous one. the soundscape is genius
love it, my key to be a SY fan
Nobodyisemo 11/09/2018 22:05 | #224230 | TOP COMMENT
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More than the sum of its parts. Cluttered and awesome. Songs overlap into each other. The guitar work is imaginative, and still so human despite the alien structures of the songs. (Edited)
One of my least favorite SY releases, there are a few pretty good songs here and there, but overall most of this stuff is pretty boring and forgettable.
Favorite Tracks: Intro/Brave Men Run, I'm Insane, Death Valley '69
Creepy as hell. Loved it.
such an interesting album. creepy and atmospheric. "Brave Men Run (In My Family)" and "Death Valley '69" are among SY's bests and the rest never fails to engage.
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