Essence
by Lucinda Williams

Essence by Lucinda Williams
Year: 2001
Overall rank: 6,760th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 48 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 2001 (121st)
Award Top albums of the 2000s (1,166th)
Award Best albums of all time (6,760th)

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Essence - Audio CD By Lucinda Williams - GOOD
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Lucinda Williams Essence (Translucent (Vinyl)
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LUCINDA WILLIAMS - 4 Digipak CD Lot -West, Essence, World Without Tears, Honey
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Lucinda Williams bestography

Essence is ranked 5th best out of 25 albums by Lucinda Williams on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Lucinda Williams is Car Wheels On A Gravel Road which is ranked number 749 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 2,301.

Lucinda Williams album bestography « Higher ranked (5,086th)
The Ghosts Of Highway 20
This album (6,760th)
Essence
Lower ranked (6,760th) »
Essence

(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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Essence rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 6,760th | 2000s rank: 1,166th | 2001 rank: 121st
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 TamthebamTop 90 Music Albums of 20013/905
2026 cestuneblagueTop 100 Music Albums of 200187/1001
2026SkernsTop 90 Music Albums of 20016/905
2026SkernsTop 83 Music Albums of the 2000s72/833
2026 zags7000Top 100 Music Albums of 200113/1004
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s11/10018
2026craabTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s55/1009
2026cicadelicTop 100 Music Albums of 200133/1003
2026 imimesisTop 25 Music Albums of 20017/254
2026 covecoveTop 100 Music Albums of 200143/1003
2026henrygreen0203Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s89/1002
2025JohnnyoTop 98 Music Albums of 200118/984
2025henrygreen0203Top 31 Music Albums of 200127/311
2025JohnnyoTop albums of the '00's (201 - 300)44/100 -
2025mostlymorTop 100 Music Albums of 200142/1003
2025 imacgillTop 100 Music Albums of 200184/1001
2025 IgtonumamaTop 100 Music Albums of 200171/1002
2025 TamthebamMy Overall Chart 101- 200 (1953-2020)30/88 -
2024cicadelicRobert Christgau: Dean's List 200116/76 -
2024JohnnyoTop albums of all time by female artists (100 - 200)13/100 -
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 67
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 190
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Essence collection

Essence ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 48 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 48 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 
3 days ago cicadelic  Ratings distribution  12,36573/100
 
90/100
 
01/22/2026 13:26 imimesis  Ratings distribution  2,01881/100
 
95/100
 
12/13/2025 23:03 Kingturtle  Ratings distribution  7,57973/100
 
45/100
 
10/31/2025 05:38 Proto  Ratings distribution  4,11433/100
 
90/100
 
08/29/2025 21:19 Skerns  Ratings distribution  5,07980/100

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 4% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.3/100, a mean average of 77.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.8.

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Essence favourites

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Essence comments

Showing all 2 comments |
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Rating:  
95/100
From 10/13/2014 04:25 | #124283
This album is real mellow but evokes much emotion with the vocal delivery, arrangements & production. I listen to this very frequently. Probably my 2nd fav Lucinda album slightly behind "Car Wheels". Very stripped and sparsely arranged, which suit these songs perfectly. Fav tracks: "Lonely Girls", "Steal Your Love", "Get Right With God", "Essence", "Out OF Touch" & "I Envy The Wind". Least fav "Broken Butterflies". A+ Good listening for some couch sitting lovin with your date. Romance enhancer for sure MEZ
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Rating:  
95/100
From 02/25/2013 23:36 | #66130
Originally my Number One album of 2001, in a year that I saw her live, which may have had some influence on my feelings toward this album. I still love this one, even though it's a change of pace from her classic previous release, Car Wheels. This one is much more bare and subtle than the classic country-rock of Car Wheels. It's typified by "Blue" - as that word also describes the overriding mood of the album.

"Lonely Girls," "Essence," and "I Envy the Wind" also fit in with the melancholy, and are also among Lucinda's better songs.
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