I Could Live In Hope
by Low
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Low bestography
I Could Live In Hope is ranked 3rd best out of 20 albums by Low on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Low is Hey What which is ranked number 1080 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,626.
(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 I Could Live In Hope on YouTube
I Could Live In Hope track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
I Could Live In Hope rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 5 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Hayden | Top 50 Music Albums of 1994 | 17/50 | 3 |
| 2026 |  Xxnu99etxX | Top 83 Music Albums of 1994 | 44/83 | 2 |
| 2026 |  DommeDamian | Top 42 Music Albums of 1994 | 31/42 | 1 |
| 2026 |  paladisiac | Top 100 Music Albums of 1994 | 78/100 | 1 |
| 2026 | Untitled | Top 28 Music Albums of 1994 | 17/28 | 2 |
| 2026 | juanr1096 | Top 71 Music Albums of 1994 | 18/71 | 4 |
| 2026 |  dihansse | Top 92 Music Albums of 1994 | 82/92 | 1 |
| 2026 |  Norman Bates | Top 100 Music Albums of 1994 | 10/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Top 100 Music Albums of 1994 | 12/100 | 4 |
| 2026 | Elauqsapid | Top 99 Music Albums of the 1990s | 68/99 | 6 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 265 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 1,543 | |||
I Could Live In Hope collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 71 members
I Could Live In Hope 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 312 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/07/2026 14:00 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,241 | 70/100 |
| ! | 08/07/2026 08:24 |  Gammarus1979 | 631 | 79/100 |
| ! | 07/30/2026 06:09 | Scrabbler | 292 | 76/100 |
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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.8/100, a mean average of 77.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.0.
I Could Live In Hope favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 44 members
I Could Live In Hope forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 10/02/2026 08:18 in Monthly overall chart movements - September 2026View latest topic →
BestEverAlbums 07/08/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5367): By borninhockeytownView latest topic →
Repo 10/04/2023 09:39 in What album are you listening to right now?View all forum mentions
I Could Live In Hope comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Low create mezmerizing psalm-like hypnotic minimilist music that is way ahead of its time. The languid guitar sound, soft harmonies and radiant melodies are modernist variations of the themes first coined by Nick Drake that also hint at the Cowboy Junkies, Luna and Galaxie 500. Key track: Lullaby.
before it came into my life i missed it so bad
Brad1770 TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/28/2018 04:57 | #215690 | TOP COMMENT
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Surprisingly this , Low's debut album, is their number 1 ranked release on BEA . I love this band and I love Slow Core and I'm telling you with full confidence Lows best album is 'Things We Lost In The Fire' from 2001, its a much more mature ,assured and technical superior album than this one
That's not to say this is a bad album , but you can just tell its a band trying to find its feet . And quite frankly a couple of tracks here stink in "Lazy" (I never did like that fat , lazy good for nothing Sarah ) and cover closer "Sunshine" which ends things on a bummer
If your a fan by all means check this album out , other wise take my advice and jump straight to 2001's 'Things We Lost In The Fire '
50/100
This album is always there for me in times of need. Whether I'm having a bad day, my life is falling apart, or I'm just feeling sick and tired, I Could Live In Hope is always there. The unique yet quiet blend of guitar, drums and dreamy vocals always puts me in a trance. No other album makes me feel such longing for love, for another person, than this one. I feel that listening to this album with another person is one of the most intimate things that you could do. Nothing compares to this album when it comes down to emotions. An unbelievably underrated masterpiece.
One of Low's very best albums. Compared to their later releases this one feels much looser and contains more jam like sections; either through post-rock style build ups (lullaby) or lengthy guitar solos (Down). The songwriting indulges dissonance more often than other low albums, and mostly avoids verse-chorus structures in favour of minimalist repetition.
Its also one of their most atmospheric albums; everything is drenched in a dense, murky, watery reverb (and occasional delay and tremolo effects on the guitar), adding to the downbeat mood of the music.
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