Phrenology
by The Roots
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The Roots bestography
Phrenology is ranked 4th best out of 15 albums by The Roots on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by The Roots is Things Fall Apart which is ranked number 908 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,909.
(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 Phrenology on YouTube
Phrenology track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Phrenology rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 6 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | blueandthemoon | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | 54/100 | 9 |
| 2026 | mostlymor | Top 100 Music Albums of 2002 | 22/100 | 4 |
| 2026 | Hyggevinyl | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | 58/100 | 9 |
| 2026 | matterhornrider | Top 36 Music Albums of 2002 | 27/36 | 1 |
| 2026 | Exist-en-ciel | Top 100 Music Albums of 2002 | 63/100 | 2 |
| 2026 |  ERadio | Top 70 Music Albums of 2002 | 62/70 | 1 |
| 2026 |  Helios | Top 100 Music Albums of 2002 | 95/100 | 0 |
| 2026 | cicadelic | CultureDose Best Albums 2002 | 5/30 | - |
| 2026 | blueandthemoon | Top 62 Music Albums of 2002 | 8/62 | 4 |
| 2026 |  junodog4 | Top 20 Music Albums of 2002 | 5/20 | 4 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 170 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 533 | |||
Phrenology collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 74 members
Phrenology 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 186 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/05/2026 18:17 | Siromynian | 1,786 | 74/100 |
| ! | 07/20/2026 03:27 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,195 | 70/100 |
| ! | 05/12/2026 15:43 | Jakor | 5,550 | 70/100 |
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 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.0/100, a mean average of 75.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.4.
Phrenology favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 13 members
Phrenology forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 07/10/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5369): By blueandthemoon
NoisyBeast 07/14/2023 00:25 in What album are you listening to right now?
meccalecca 06/19/2014 14:03 in BEA ULL Mecca LeccaPhrenology comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
planetneutral 01/13/2018 03:26 | #205349 | TOP COMMENT
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I wanted to like this much more than I actually did. I wanted them to have more interesting things to say and have more interesting music to say it with.
junodog4 TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/29/2012 15:45 | #41202 | TOP COMMENT
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Thoughtful, cutting, and topical lyrics over funky, varied and creative beats. The Roots are woefully under-appreciated, and this album deserves recognition.
LebowskiRams TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/14/2023 02:30 | #294995 | TOP COMMENT
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This is an incredible album, and laid the groundwork for modern experimental hip hop, and I'd still rate it their fourth-best record. Best discography in hip hop
Lachapelle 12/16/2015 16:06 | #154659 | TOP COMMENT
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The hidden track 'Rhymes And Ammo/Thirsty' is dope too.. Make sure you check that out. Features Talib Kweli.
jhuik TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/31/2014 02:52 | #113346 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
Yup, j-dog, under-appreciated. Guilty as charged. Catching up, though.
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