Little Love Affairs
by Nanci Griffith

Little Love Affairs by Nanci Griffith
Year: 1988
Overall rank: 6,071st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 11 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1988 (81st)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (886th)
Award Best albums of all time (6,071st)

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Nanci Griffith - Little Love Affairs [New CD] Alliance MOD
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Nanci Griffith Little Love Affairs So Long Ago Never Mind Outbound Plane #F-G
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Little Love Affairs by Nanci Griffith (CD, 1990, MCA) Country Music Album
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Nanci Griffith bestography

Little Love Affairs is ranked 2nd best out of 23 albums by Nanci Griffith on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Nanci Griffith is The Last Of The True Believers which is ranked number 4644 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 302.

Nanci Griffith album bestography « Higher ranked (4,644th)
The Last Of The True Believers
This album (6,071st)
Little Love Affairs
Lower ranked (7,523rd) »
Other Voices, Other Rooms

(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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Little Love Affairs rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 6,071st | 1980s rank: 886th | 1988 rank: 81st
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 zags7000Top 100 Music Albums of 198877/1001
2026henrygreen0203Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s13/10018
2026Foxforce5Top 100 Greatest Music Albums24/10077
2025Foxforce5Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s8/10019
2025LI2023Top 40 Greatest Music Albums22/4043
2025henrygreen0203Top 55 Music Albums of 19882/555
2025replacementlevelTop 50 Music Albums of 198850/500
2025 O.T.Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s75/1005
2025JohnnyoTop Albums Of 1988 (101 - 200)8/35 -
2024Foxforce5Top 37 Music Albums of 19883/375
2022arnellarsenTop 68 Music Albums of 198815/684
2022 quizkingTop 100 Greatest Music Albums53/10033
2021 O.T.Top 25 Music Albums of 19882/255
2021henrygreen0203Favorite from Each Decade49/68 -
2021henrygreen0203Nanci Griffith Studio Albums Ranked9/18 -
2021henrygreen0203Mickey, Nanci, Bruce and Mary - Complete Discography26/68 -
2021henrygreen0203My Cassette Collection - Vintage, Homemade and Revival49/100 -
1988RockdeluxRockdeLux Discos internationales 198840/602
1988Sounds (UK)Albums Of The Year 198831/502
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 19
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 217
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Little Love Affairs collection

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Little Love Affairs ratings

Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 11 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 11 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 
08/10/2025 04:48 Kingturtle  Ratings distribution  7,54573/100
 
40/100
 
03/15/2023 20:39 Igtonumama  Ratings distribution  10,79163/100
 
75/100
 
02/18/2023 14:07 TonySayers61  Ratings distribution  23,80964/100
 
75/100
 
11/02/2022 15:13 mids  Ratings distribution  92080/100
 
100/100
 
10/07/2021 18:14 henrygreen0203  Ratings distribution  86374/100

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 8% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.1/100, a mean average of 77.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.7.

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Little Love Affairs favourites

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Little Love Affairs comments

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Rating:  
90/100
From 08/18/2021 21:06 | #272641
If love don’t fly on its own free will
It’s gonna catch that outbound plane.

Rip Nanci. My heart is broken.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/01/2021 18:06 | #268064
Little Love Affairs is Nanci Griffith's sixth album and her second on major label MCA. The rollicking folk accompaniment from the Philo records was scrapped on the MCA debut "Lone Star State of Mind" in favor for a more Nashville-friendly sound. Despite their best mainstreaming intentions, that record was strongly a folk album, with light pop and contemporary country touches on the surface. "Little Love Affairs" continues in that dynamic. At its heart, the album is a strong folk album, and even with a few tracks targeted towards contemporary country, the record is Griffith's peak pop-crossover record of substance. Griffith's very best pop songs were the magnificent From a Distance and Trouble in the Fields from the previous album, and most of Little Love Affairs captures that crossover appeal, not as singles, but in album-length form.

MCA's biggest attempt at a commercial hit was the single "Never Mind," written by Nashville songwriter legend Harlan Howard. Griffith performs it so true to its roots that it was probably too country (or folk) for country radio. The follow-up original track Love Found a Halo was also performed in the original style, and just was not glitsy enough to be suitable for country radio.

Perhaps the highlight of the record is Gulf Coast Highway, a very mellow track supported by more mellow tracks like Anybody's Fool and I Knew Love.

Luckily, to save us from getting too sentimental or too traditional, two lovely upbeat "Wish It Would Rain" and "Outbound Plane" save us from inner sentimental turmoil.

Overall, Little Love Affairs has the substance to make it Griffith's finest crossover pop album, rivaling "Late Night Grande Hotel" and maybe "Flyer."

Track Pick: Gulf Coast Highway
Gems: I Knew Love, Outbound Plane, I Wish It Would Rain
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1988
1. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
2. Surfer Rosa by Pixies
3. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk
4. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy
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8. Green by R.E.M.
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19. Starfish by The Church
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