Lightning Bolt
by Pearl Jam

Lightning Bolt by Pearl Jam
Year: 2013
Release date: 2013-10-11
Overall rank: 3,445th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
70/100 (from 279 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 2013 (70th)
Award Top albums of the 2010s (583rd)
Award Best albums of all time (3,445th)

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PEARL JAM Lightning Bolt
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Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt Vinyl LP 2013 Original Pressing - Gatefold w Booklet
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Pearl Jam bestography

Lightning Bolt is ranked 9th best out of 85 albums by Pearl Jam on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Pearl Jam is Ten which is ranked number 52 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 18,048.

Pearl Jam album bestography « Higher ranked (3,412th)
Dark Matter
This album (3,445th)
Lightning Bolt
Lower ranked (3,842nd) »
Pearl Jam

(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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Lightning Bolt rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 3,445th | 2010s rank: 583rd | 2013 rank: 70th

Lightning Bolt collection

Lightning Bolt ratings

Average Rating: 
70/100 (from 279 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 279 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 
04/25/2026 21:41 Robert Anton Wil  Ratings distribution  1,14184/100
 
75/100
 
02/27/2026 23:19 DaveH68  Ratings distribution  1,36376/100
 
80/100
 
11/25/2025 10:30 robertoveltri  Ratings distribution  84879/100
 
65/100
 
11/21/2025 16:22 Siromynian  Ratings distribution  1,62878/100
 
100/100
 
11/08/2025 08:42 kinginsomniac12  Ratings distribution  54099/100

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 69.5/100, a mean average of 68.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 69.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.0.

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Lightning Bolt favourites

Showing all 10 members who have added this album as a favourite

Lightning Bolt comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 17 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:  
90/100
From 09/03/2019 10:17 | #242154
Very sublime and energetic album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 05/13/2018 11:55 | #214724
This is a low point for me with regards to Pearl jam. Love this band but this really has nothing to offer me. No stand out tracks. Just blah. Very disappointing
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 06/21/2016 04:56 | #169298
Favoritas: Sirens, Pendulum, Mind Your Manners, Sleeping By Myself, Future Days
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/26/2016 18:03 | #164624
Lightning Bolt sounds like a great band doing what they do in a solid way. I rank it 3rd tier Pearl Jam with Binaural and No Code

Its a solid play throughout. No classic songs.

The title track, Sirens, and Mind Your Manners stand out.

Everything else is of high quality that's a good listen if a fan of the band.

Can't help but feel like this band, now in their 50's are hitting the twighlight of their career after the excellent Avocado and Backspacer.

Lightning Bolt reminds you of why this band is so great and its a testament to the longevity of a band that is stayed together (apart from drummers) and stayed good for so long.

But this isn't must have Pearl Jam and I'm aftraid what is to come may never reach great heights again.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/04/2015 16:46 | #152466
Very underrated, like all Pearl Jam records IMO (except Ten, that's a little overrated, just a lil bit).

Maybe better than vs., def better than Vitalogy & the others. Although I like all Pearl Jam albums, they're all in my top 200!

Standout Tracks: 1. Sirens, 2. Getaway, 3. Mind Your Manners, 4. Lightning Bolt
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 09/24/2015 09:16 | #150349
At first I thought it was better. With time it is less impressive. I still think it's good and that it features some beautiful tracks.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/09/2015 13:30 | #145382
Good return for Pearl Jam. Not the more original album, but is still fresh and it rocks!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 05/26/2015 22:35 | #142458
I am bounded to like more and more this album as I listen it... Okay, they did amazing masterpieces over the decades but this is not bad st All.. Sirens is a beautiful e fulfilling song!!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 07/15/2014 17:57 | #116829
Love Pearl Jam. This is my least favorite of their albums. It has a few decent tunes, the rest is bland to me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 05/21/2014 02:11 | #112419
The first five tracks are fine and Pendulum and Yellow Moon are beauties that make the back end worthwhile. Okay, so this is a band past their prime but this is Pearl Jam we're talking about -- one of the best bands ever. And this latest is not their worst; still lots of gas left in this tank.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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