Foxbase Alpha (studio album)
by Saint Etienne

Foxbase Alpha by Saint Etienne
Year: 1991
Overall rank: 2,680th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 137 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1991 (38th)
Award Top albums of the 1990s (465th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,680th)

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Product Details
Availability

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SAINT ETIENNE FOXBASE ALPHA [25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION] [LP] NEW VINYL
Condition: New


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eBay
Saint Etienne Foxbase Alpha CD 1991 Indie Pop Electronic
Condition: Good


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Saint Etienne - Foxbase Alpha - CD 1992 Import W2 26793
Condition: Acceptable


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Saint Etienne bestography

Foxbase Alpha is ranked as the best album by Saint Etienne.

Saint Etienne album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (2,680th)
Foxbase Alpha
Lower ranked (6,742nd) »
So Tough

(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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Foxbase Alpha track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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3.
Rating: 71 (19 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Rating: 80 (23 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Rating: 79 (21 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Rating: 81 (25 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Rating: 79 (19 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Rating: 73 (17 votes)Comments: View 1
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12.
Rating: 81 (19 votes)Comments: View 0
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13.
Rating: 77 (20 votes)Comments: View 0
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Foxbase Alpha rankings

Foxbase Alpha collection

Foxbase Alpha ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 137 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 137 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
95/100
 Report rating
10/06/2025 14:22 BorderFreeAndrew  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 14,32974/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
10/04/2025 03:28 Purplepash  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4,72075/100
 
60/100
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08/30/2025 19:17 Hyggevinyl  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4,15972/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
08/27/2025 17:53 SomethingSpecial  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,72982/100
 
75/100
 Report rating
07/14/2025 05:27 ScottJones  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 9284/100

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 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.1/100, a mean average of 75.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.4.

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Foxbase Alpha comments

Showing all 7 comments |
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Rating:  
75/100
From 07/14/2025 05:27
For dance music some of this is pretty creative. And seems important in the development of trip hop. The high points are terrific and the rest enjoyable. Best "She's the One", "Nothing Can Stop Us", "Kiss and Make Up". Cool '60s retro vibe on a few tracks.
#310105 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 07/20/2019 18:02
Favorite Songs:Only Love Can Break Your Heart, London Belongs To Me
#240038 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/07/2019 18:05
St. Etienne is an English pop band that I find quite original and interesting. The name of the band comes from the football club "AS Saint-Etienne", a French club that I know cause I'm French. The debut album of Saint-Etienne is their best album. "Foxbase Alpha" really offers beautiful melodies and catchy rhythms. The piano is really catchy and dance club in this album. Good work!

8/10

Best track: "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"
#231512 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 02/07/2019 15:18
I love Saint Etienne: their melodicism, accessibility, danceability, cleverness, cool passion and taste. And their impeccable album discography starts with this classy debut.
#231507 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/09/2017 00:54
Chiilled out dance music that veers into pop and more ambient territory with soothing vocals, percussion loops and some samples from british TV shows and 1960s films strangely form an intoxicating portrait of britain in general. "Foxbase Alpha" is cohesive and flows exceptionally well, it's a great debut from Saint Etienne that shows a lot of promise.
#201005 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 10/15/2011 06:10
A modern classic... enough to give you the warm fluffies!
#28478 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 12/18/2009 01:21
Goes from terrible to brilliant to terrible to brilliant again. Surprised its only in one chart too. This ones usually bigged up as a modern classic
#7716 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1991
1. Nevermind by Nirvana
2. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
3. Ten by Pearl Jam
4. Spiderland by Slint
5. Achtung Baby by U2
6. The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
7. Laughing Stock by Talk Talk
8. Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers
9. Metallica by Metallica
10. Screamadelica by Primal Scream
11. Blue Lines by Massive Attack
12. Out Of Time by R.E.M.
13. Badmotorfinger by Soundgarden
14. Dangerous by Michael Jackson
15. Trompe Le Monde by Pixies
16. Temple Of The Dog by Temple Of The Dog
17. Use Your Illusion II by Guns N' Roses
18. Yerself Is Steam by Mercury Rev
19. Woodface by Crowded House
20. Innuendo by Queen
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