Public Image (studio album) by Public Image Ltd.

Public Image by Public Image Ltd.
Year: 1978
Overall rank: 2,967th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 191 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1978 (54th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (533rd)
Award Best albums of all time (2,967th)

Public Image Ltd. bestography

Public Image is ranked 3rd best out of 18 albums by Public Image Ltd. on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Public Image Ltd. is Metal Box which is ranked number 807 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 2,163.

Public Image Ltd. album bestography « Higher ranked (2,620th) This album (2,967th) Lower ranked (4,923rd) »
The Flowers Of RomancePublic ImageAlbum

Upcoming concerts

Sep
04
Thu
20:00
Mystic Dead
Garcia's at The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, United States. United States
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Oct
29
Wed
20:00
6arelyhuman
August Hall, San Francisco, United States. United States
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Sep
27
Sat
20:00
Braxton Keith
Shreveport Municipal Memorial Audit, Shreveport, United States. United States
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Public Image track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 81 (45 votes)Comments: 1
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2.
Rating: 73 (36 votes)Comments: 1
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3.
Rating: 80 (43 votes)Comments: 0
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4.
Rating: 83 (45 votes)Comments: 0
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5.
Track pick
Rating: 87 (73 votes)Comments: 1
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6.
Rating: 82 (43 votes)Comments: 0
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7.
Rating: 78 (36 votes)Comments: 0
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8.
Rating: 74 (35 votes)Comments: 1
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Public Image rankings

Public Image collection

Public Image ratings

Average Rating: 
75/100 (from 191 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 191 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 Report rating
08/20/2025 07:56 markl73  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 39180/100
 
75/100
 Report rating
08/20/2025 00:47 Ilovesuicide  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 27467/100
 
65/100
 Report rating
06/13/2025 17:46 Invader666  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,62565/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
06/01/2025 03:43 BurndenAce  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 85277/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
05/20/2025 21:15 villagegreen831  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 15077/100

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 9% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.9/100, a mean average of 73.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.5.

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Public Image comments

Showing all 10 comments |
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Rating:  
80/100
From 06/02/2024 02:06
A good recreation of ones self. Apart from 'Public Image', which sounds Pistols-ish, the albums got an dark arty feel about it, full of deep rhythmic bass. A different direction for him that worked.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/26/2023 09:26
I understood this album only from second time.
Here are Avangard from The Residents, Psychedelic from CAN, Punk from Stooges.
Nirvana was conceived on this album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
5/100
From 09/08/2021 17:12
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
From 07/23/2019 18:42
Favorite Tracks:Public Image
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 02/16/2018 20:27
Non mi sono mai sentito meno debitore nei confronti di questo esordio dei P.I.L. rispetto a quanto mi sentissi nei confronti di "Never mind the bollocks"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/09/2017 04:33
Best Tracks: Public Image, Theme
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/05/2015 04:52
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
From 11/20/2014 17:28
The dawn of Post-Punk, along with The Scream by Siouxsie and the Banshees and Real Life by Magazine.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 03/01/2014 17:39
John Lyndon Tried to change.. But wow this change is just too radical. I didn't liked so much as i expected. sometimes it looked boring or depressing but it just need to be re-listened . Sometimes he can back to the old "SP" times, but it hardly happens. There is a great instrumentation on this album, with cutting guitars and a different but great bass. "Public Image" Is one of the biggest and best songs of the 70s though.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 08/05/2012 22:49
This is P.I.L.'s best lp imo, Religion, Public Image, & Annalisa are highlights.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1978
1. Darkness On The Edge Of Town by Bruce Springsteen
2. Parallel Lines by Blondie
3. The Cars by The Cars
4. This Year's Model by Elvis Costello
5. Die Mensch·Maschine by Kraftwerk
6. Van Halen by Van Halen
7. Music For 18 Musicians by Steve Reich
8. Some Girls by The Rolling Stones
9. The Kick Inside by Kate Bush
10. More Songs About Buildings And Food by Talking Heads
11. Dire Straits by Dire Straits
12. Hemispheres by Rush
13. Outlandos D'Amour by The Police
14. 3rd by Big Star
15. Chairs Missing by Wire
16. All Mod Cons by The Jam
17. Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! by Devo
18. The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu
19. Real Life by Magazine
20. Powerage by AC/DC
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