Bad Moon Rising
by Sonic Youth

Bad Moon Rising by Sonic Youth
Year: 1985
Release date: 1985-03-29
Overall rank: 2,218th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 249 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1985 (28th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (339th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,218th)

Listen on Spotify SPOTIFY

Sonic Youth bestography

Bad Moon Rising is ranked 7th best out of 42 albums by Sonic Youth on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Sonic Youth is Daydream Nation which is ranked number 75 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 15,373.

Sonic Youth album bestography « Higher ranked (1,650th)
Washing Machine
This album (2,218th)
Bad Moon Rising
Lower ranked (2,631st) »
Murray Street

(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
21
Sat
Sebastian Bach -Original Voice of Skid Row
Penn's Peak, Jim Thorpe, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
04
Sat
Not Quite Brothers
High Noon Saloon, Madison, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
17
Fri
Hank Azaria and the EZ Street Band
Ameristar Casino and Hotel, Kansas City, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

Listen to Bad Moon Rising on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Bad Moon Rising rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,218th | 1980s rank: 339th | 1985 rank: 28th

Bad Moon Rising collection

Bad Moon Rising ratings

Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 249 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 249 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 
02/05/2026 11:31 LoxiasV  Ratings distribution  1790/100
 
60/100
 
12/07/2025 18:46 willtoshower  Ratings distribution  1,54372/100
 
85/100
 
11/13/2025 13:58 JamesMowbray  Ratings distribution  5,36169/100
 
65/100
 
10/23/2025 18:10 Elauqsapid  Ratings distribution  2,72064/100
 
60/100
 
06/04/2025 03:21 AAL2014  Ratings distribution  3,63375/100

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 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 16.8.

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

Bad Moon Rising favourites

Showing all 14 members who have added this album as a favourite

Bad Moon Rising comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 14 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)

Rating:  
80/100
From 11/28/2020 17:27 | #261577
Difficult at times, other times you can hear them coming into their own. Highlights are Death Valley '69, Ghost Bitch
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/16/2020 04:52 | #255658
Admittedly their most inaccessible album, but it still has a lot of great moments.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 04/30/2020 23:58 | #250746
A bit of the avant-garde never hurt anyone. I heard this was an influence on Kevin Shields for his MBV masterpiece. I could see that.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/13/2019 04:09 | #229616
Good album.

Favorite tracks: Death Valley '69

B+
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 11/09/2018 22:05 | #224230
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.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 11/03/2017 20:12 | #200510
Best Tracks: Death Valley '69, Brave Men Run (In My Family)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
40/100
From 10/28/2017 01:13 | #200177
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
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/27/2016 00:32 | #169958
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
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/17/2014 19:19 | #127252
Got me into Sonic Youth.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
5/100
From 04/25/2014 22:14 | #110082
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -8 votes (0 helpful | 8 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Bad Moon Rising

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 1985
1. Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
2. Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
3. Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits
4. Meat Is Murder by The Smiths
5. Psychocandy by The Jesus And Mary Chain
6. Songs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears
7. The Head On The Door by The Cure
8. Tim by The Replacements
9. Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout
10. Rum Sodomy & The Lash by The Pogues
11. Misplaced Childhood by Marillion
12. Low-Life by New Order
13. This Is The Sea by The Waterboys
14. New Day Rising by Hüsker Dü
15. This Nation's Saving Grace by The Fall
16. Fables Of The Reconstruction by R.E.M.
17. Little Creatures by Talking Heads
18. Around The World In A Day by Prince And The Revolution
19. Love by The Cult
20. The Dream Of The Blue Turtles by Sting
Back to Top