Time (studio album)
by Electric Light Orchestra

Time by Electric Light Orchestra
Year: 1981
Overall rank: 720th   
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 395 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1981 (6th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (110th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (720th)

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Electric Light Orchestra Time (CD)
Condition: Brand New


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Electric Light Orchestra Cassette Tape Lot Of 6 Discovery Time And Greatest Hits
Condition: Very Good


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ELO Electric Light Orchestra Time 1981 Jet Records FZ 37371 Stereo
Condition: Used


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Electric Light Orchestra bestography

Time is ranked 3rd best out of 42 albums by Electric Light Orchestra on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Electric Light Orchestra is Out Of The Blue which is ranked number 515 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,407.

Electric Light Orchestra album bestography « Higher ranked (563rd)
A New World Record
This album (720th)
Time
Lower ranked (1,278th) »
Eldorado, A Symphony By The Electric Light Orchestra

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Time track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Average Rating: 76 (96 votes)Comments: View 2
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2.
Track pick (860 - 138 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (138 votes)Comments: View 0
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3.
Average Rating: 83 (113 votes)Comments: View 1
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4.
Average Rating: 84 (114 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 78 (95 votes)Comments: View 1
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7.
Average Rating: 81 (96 votes)Comments: View 1
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9.
Average Rating: 79 (93 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Average Rating: 80 (98 votes)Comments: View 0
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11.
Average Rating: 80 (97 votes)Comments: View 1
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12.
Average Rating: 82 (110 votes)Comments: View 3
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13.
Average Rating: 76 (84 votes)Comments: View 1
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Time rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 720th | 1980s rank: 110th | 1981 rank: 6th

Time collection

Time ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 395 votes)
   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 395 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 !
12/24/2025 16:14 Andras   23177/100
 
75/100
 !
11/20/2025 16:39 BurndenAce   1,02077/100
 
85/100
 !
11/12/2025 23:09 NYAndreas   1,43243/100
 
70/100
 !
11/11/2025 15:09 Exist-en-ciel   4,59070/100
 
85/100
 !
10/08/2025 09:44 platus   5,78974/100

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 is rated in the top 4% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.3/100, a mean average of 75.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.6.

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Time comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 38 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:  
100/100
From 08/09/2025 11:41 | #310486
For my opinion Time is:
1. The Best album of 1981
2. The Best album of 1980's
3. The Best album since The Beatles Abbey Road till today
4. The Best concept album of all time
5. Album which contains all great songs
6. One of the best 5 albums of all time
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/23/2024 18:29 | #302641
Why is this rated so low? So, so good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 03/17/2023 18:05 | #295124
Not a bad album but better than On the Third Day, Eldorado or Face the Music? not a chance, ranked way to high.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/07/2022 01:12 | #289462
Great
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/03/2022 13:56 | #289230
I like the sci-fi theme of this album and it shows transition of the ELO to the 80s sound. There are some weak tracks, but most of them are good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/05/2022 07:02 | #284957
This Band surely knows how to make catchy and ingenious pop-rock tunes.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 02/28/2021 13:17 | #266777
Incrível viagem! Um dos melhores da década!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 02/14/2021 14:05 | #266307
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -5 votes (1 helpful | 6 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 08/23/2020 11:59 | #257343
Interesting concept album with lynne piling on synthase, 21st century man is lovely but the vocal effects diminish it for me. Twightlight and hold on tight are the highlights, another heartbreak is instrumental dross.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/17/2020 01:18 | #251605
A "Concept Album". If you can get over how silly the concept is (Jeff Lynne plays a man who gets sent into the future year of 2095 and then hates it and wants to go back), it's a lot of fun, and arguably ahead of the curve on synth driven sci-fi music. I love "Julie Don't Live Here Anymore", which is a bonus track on some reissues of the album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1981
1. Moving Pictures by Rush
2. Computerwelt by Kraftwerk
3. Discipline by King Crimson
4. Juju by Siouxsie And The Banshees
5. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts by Brian Eno & David Byrne
6. Time by Electric Light Orchestra
7. Faith by The Cure
8. Dare by The Human League
9. Damaged by Black Flag
10. Deceit by This Heat
11. Youth Of America by Wipers
12. Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones
13. Fire Of Love by The Gun Club
14. Ghost In The Machine by The Police
15. The Ascension by Glenn Branca
16. Heaven Up Here by Echo & The Bunnymen
17. Face Value by Phil Collins
18. Killers by Iron Maiden
19. Movement by New Order
20. Nightclubbing by Grace Jones
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