Switched-On Bach
by Walter Carlos

Switched-On Bach by Walter Carlos
Year: 1968
Overall rank: 11,199th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
66/100 (from 31 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1968 (146th)
Award Top albums of the 1960s (785th)
Award Best albums of all time (11,199th)

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Product Details
Availability

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Walter Carlos ' Switched-On Bach ' Vinyl LP Album US 1968 Pitman MS 7194
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
Walter Carlos - Switched-On Bach II - OG 1973 Columbia LP + Inner Sleeve Moog VG
Condition: Used


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eBay
Walter Carlos Switched-On Bach II SEALED Vinyl LP 1973 CBS Records KM32659
Condition: New


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Walter Carlos bestography

The best album by Wendy Carlos is Switched-On Bach which is ranked number 11199 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 106.

Walter Carlos album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (11,199th)
Switched-On Bach
Lower ranked (12,113th) »
A Clockwork Orange

(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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Switched-On Bach track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 75 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Switched-On Bach rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 11,199th | 1960s rank: 785th | 1968 rank: 146th
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 videoheadcleanerTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s89/1002
2026Exist-en-cielTop 61 Music Albums of 196856/610
2026jdizzle123456Greatest Electronic Albums of All Time12/50 -
2026 MadhattanJackTop 51 Music Albums of 196835/512
2026 PurplepashTop 29 Music Albums of 196829/290
2025joathomeTop 38 Music Albums of 196837/380
2025stevengnzTop 42 Music Albums of 196830/422
2025JohnnyoAlbums of the year 1968 by Acclaimed Music55/73 -
2024JunomoogmelloTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s100/1000
2024 HeliosTop 40 Music Albums of 19687/404
2024 LiedzeitTop 21 Music Albums of 196815/212
2023 LiedzeitTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s31/10014
2023 sssvnnnMeer Bach (für Clavier)86/86 -
2023 HeliosTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s26/10015
2022UncutUncut: The 500 Greatest Albums of the 1960s (301-400)32/100 -
2021 ListmeisterTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s28/10015
2021 ApplerillTop 46 Music Albums of the 1960s9/4617
2021 desh79Top 50 Music Albums of 196830/502
2021 ListmeisterTop 43 Music Albums of 19684/435
2019emptysquaresTop 23 Music Albums of 19685/234
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 27
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 106
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Switched-On Bach collection

Switched-On Bach ratings

Average Rating: 
66/100 (from 31 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 31 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
12/20/2025 10:00 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,58570/100
 
70/100
 
09/26/2025 04:20 Purplepash  Ratings distribution  4,82375/100
 
90/100
 
01/18/2025 09:49 videoheadcleaner  Ratings distribution  12,30985/100
 
80/100
 
06/26/2023 21:51 Helios  Ratings distribution  6,09770/100
 
60/100
 
05/05/2023 01:04 MadhattanJack  Ratings distribution  5,82966/100

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 65.9/100, a mean average of 63.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 63.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 21.7.

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Switched-On Bach favourites

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Switched-On Bach comments

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Rating:  
60/100
From 09/20/2018 20:11 | #221360
I bought this for a bit of fun really. When it comes to electronic music Tangerine Dream and JM Jarre are my mainstays. Considering the technology at the time and what was achieved with fairly limited equipment this is pretty clever stuff. To quote what Robert Moog contributed to the sleeve notes 'This album is the most stunning breakthrough in electronic music to date'. A bit 'plinky plonky' in execution but that is more down to the available timbres from the early Moog synthesizer. One side is enough in one helping and for me, side two is more accessible, forming a bridge to the more 'modern' music I tend to listen to. Possibly follow up with Black Sabbath to get back to reality!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1968
1. The Beatles (The White Album) by The Beatles
2. Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
3. Astral Weeks by Van Morrison
4. Odessey And Oracle by The Zombies
5. The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks
6. Beggars Banquet by The Rolling Stones
7. White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground
8. Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel
9. Music From Big Pink by The Band
10. At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash
11. Waiting For The Sun by The Doors
12. A Saucerful Of Secrets by Pink Floyd
13. Lady Soul by Aretha Franklin
14. We're Only In It For The Money by The Mothers Of Invention
15. The Notorious Byrd Brothers by The Byrds
16. Cheap Thrills by Big Brother And The Holding Company
17. Os Mutantes by Os Mutantes
18. Wheels Of Fire by Cream
19. Sweetheart Of The Rodeo by The Byrds
20. S.F. Sorrow by The Pretty Things