Lightbulb Sun
by Porcupine Tree
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Porcupine Tree bestography
Lightbulb Sun is ranked 5th best out of 47 albums by Porcupine Tree on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Porcupine Tree is Fear Of A Blank Planet which is ranked number 455 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,698.
(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 Lightbulb Sun on YouTube
Lightbulb Sun track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 85 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Lightbulb Sun rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 4 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sonoffatboy | Top 15 Music Albums of the 2000s | 9/15 | 9 |
| 2026 |  zags7000 | Top 100 Music Albums of 2000 | 87/100 | 1 |
| 2026 | Rm12398 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | 69/100 | 6 |
| 2026 | wizardalien | Top 27 Music Albums of 2000 | 10/27 | 3 |
| 2026 | fabm0 | List 2000 Pt 2 | 62/72 | - |
| 2026 | saltysurprise | Top 42 Music Albums of 2000 | 22/42 | 3 |
| 2026 | Rivera | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | 45/100 | 11 |
| 2026 | juanr1096 | Top 69 Music Albums of 2000 | 23/69 | 3 |
| 2026 | wizardalien | Steven Wilson Studio Albums Ranked | 5/18 | - |
| 2026 |  jhuik | Best/ Favourite Songs of All Time | 22/100 | - |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 161 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 807 | |||
Lightbulb Sun collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 89 members
Lightbulb Sun 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 243 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/18/2026 02:03 | dhbarrett | 8,883 | 65/100 |
| ! | 08/17/2026 19:26 | NiceLemon282 | 85 | 84/100 |
| ! | 06/18/2026 10:47 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,610 | 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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.1/100, a mean average of 79.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.9.
Lightbulb Sun favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 33 members
Lightbulb Sun forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 09/17/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5438): By luigybetisView latest topic →
Rhyner 05/02/2024 18:45 in What album are you listening to right now?
baystateoftheart 11/01/2021 02:19 in You must listen to the album below you.View all forum mentions
Lightbulb Sun comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
luigybetis TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/24/2017 20:02 | #184155 | TOP COMMENT
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These tracks independently would be 90/100, but when together they make an album 95/100, it is unbelievable that this album is not among the 500 best of all time. (Edited)
sageamagoo TOP 100 COMMENTER 07/04/2013 22:47 | #80467 | TOP COMMENT
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The last half of the album is superior to the first half, and MAN it takes you through a journey. Russia On Ice and Hatesong are key tracks. (Edited)
jhuik TOP 100 COMMENTER 02/26/2017 00:00 | #186348 | TOP COMMENT
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I've been digging into Steven Wilson's back catalogue and enjoying every minute of every hour. This is unique again and immensely enjoyable. Four Chords is downright catchy! You have to love Rest Will Flow, too. And that title track, too - wow! I think I love this as much as any PT album. Damn it's good! Tracks 1 through 7 can go head to head with any album ever.
I know that SW does not like this record but is my favourite album. Great melodies and his best guitar solo, "Shemovesdown"
LedZep TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/22/2018 21:48 | #213447 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
My favourite Steven Wilson work. Every song is fantastic, usually I don't think he's a lyrical genius but the lyrics here are great, the whole album flows so smoothly... Also my favourite Steven Wilson track, Lightbulb Sun, starts this whole masterpiece. Yes, that's really my favourite.
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