Biograph (compilation album) by Bob Dylan
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Bob Dylan bestography
Biograph is ranked 29th best out of 78 albums by Bob Dylan on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Bob Dylan is Highway 61 Revisited which is ranked number 28 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 28,730.
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Biograph track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
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Biograph rankings
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Biograph collection
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Biograph ratings
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n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 120 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
85/100  | 02/11/2025 16:22 | jokerman1965 | | 84/100 |
90/100 | 12/02/2024 16:59 | cicadelic | | 73/100 |
75/100 | 09/05/2024 09:58 |  Tamthebam | | 69/100 |
100/100 | 05/13/2024 14:31 | javicho07 | | 81/100 |
65/100 | 04/21/2024 06:57 | Tuur | | 67/100 |
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 78.6/100, a mean average of 78.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.5.
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This 3 CD set is unfathomable and unpredictable. Why include the dreadful live version of Baby Blue, but not Blind Willie Mctell? Some really inspired picks, such as the live version of Isis really bring something to the party, but a pointless I Don’t Believe You sounds like filler from a man whose discography is second to none.
If there’s an answer to this bizarre melting pot it probably comes from trying to please all the people, from the Dylan completist to the newbie in search of a bigger greatest hits collection.
In the end it kind of works, the helter skelter nature of the track selection lends a personality to the listening experience….and anyway, how can you fail with Dylan’s catalogue?
Superb collection of Dylan classics and rareties. The precursor to the numerous bootleg series which besides the first one and live 66 you can live without. (Admittedly haven't heard the most recent.) However Biograph is clearly superior to any one of them principally because it had the best apples from the barrel to pick from. Detailed liner notes to every song. Repeat any vaguely serious Dylan fan must have Biograph
A compilation including "Positively 4.th street" is always a gem! Truly a very good collection of significant Dylan songs....
I'm not sure if people are neglecting this album on technical grounds (it includes both live and previously released material). But this is truly a great compilation. I would recommend it both to the uninitiated and to the seasoned Bob Dylan fan. It contains a perfect mix of old and new (as of 1986), live and recorded, released and unreleased, acoustic and full band, and has the ebb and flow of a truly great album.
I don't like to make a habit of including anthologies in my favorite album lists but Dylan's prolific output in the 60s & 70s would have forced me to use 6 of the 50 options to acknowledge "Freewheelin'", "Bringing It All Back Home", "Highway 61", "Blonde on Blonde", "John Wesley Harding" & "Blood on the Tracks." Had I been allocated 100 selections, I given those albums their due, but instead I selected "Biograph", the 1985 issued box-set anthology that does a remarkable job at weaving those albums into a fabric that reveals the true trajectory of Dylan's career.
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