Speak & Spell (studio album) by Depeche Mode

Speak & Spell by Depeche Mode
Year: 1981
Overall rank: 3,283rd   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
70/100 (from 226 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1981 (58th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (498th)
Award Best albums of all time (3,283rd)
Product Details
Availability

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eBay
Depeche Mode 8 CD Lot Ultra Violator Exciter Black Celebration Speak & Spell CDs
Condition: Good


eBay
eBay
Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell Sire Records SRK 3642
Condition: Used


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eBay
Depeche Mode Speak & Spell Album Sire Records 3642-2 1981
Condition: Good


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Depeche Mode bestography

Speak & Spell is ranked 9th best out of 45 albums by Depeche Mode on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Depeche Mode is Violator which is ranked number 107 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 12,385.

Depeche Mode album bestography « Higher ranked (3,205th) This album (3,283rd) Lower ranked (3,877th) »
Memento MoriSpeak & SpellConstruction Time Again

Upcoming concerts

Jun
28
Sat
20:00
Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience
Revolution Concert House & Event Ce, Garden City, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Jun
29
Sun
15:30
Devo, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, New Order, Erasure, Yazoo tributes
Garden Amphitheatre, Garden Grove, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Jul
11
Fri
20:00
Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience
Aztec Theatre, San Antonio, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Speak & Spell on YouTube

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Speak & Spell track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 75 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 80 (59 votes)Comments: 0
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3.
Rating: 77 (48 votes)Comments: 0
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4.
Rating: 73 (43 votes)Comments: 0
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5.
Rating: 73 (45 votes)Comments: 0
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7.
Rating: 78 (50 votes)Comments: 0
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9.
Rating: 68 (41 votes)Comments: 0
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Speak & Spell rankings

Speak & Spell collection

Speak & Spell ratings

Average Rating: 
70/100 (from 226 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 226 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 Report rating
3 days ago idiotican  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,78774/100
 
75/100
 Report rating
06/15/2025 18:10 markl73  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 31081/100
 
60/100
 Report rating
06/04/2025 22:52 Volee  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 29069/100
 
20/100
 Report rating
05/17/2025 05:24 Proto  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,14235/100
 
75/100
 Report rating
05/05/2025 00:33 culwin  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,06776/100

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 has a Bayesian average rating of 70.0/100, a mean average of 69.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 69.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.1.

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Speak & Spell favourites

Showing all 14 members who have added this album as a favourite

Speak & Spell comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 14 comments |
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Rating:  
60/100
From 02/21/2024 07:18
Yeah, pop for onetime ise
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/23/2023 03:05
Powerful synths, I think this could be misjudged and sounded a bit dated a couple years ago, but now that the 80s nostalgia is back, it is clear that the sound here is amazing and it was a great debut.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/20/2020 23:10
A good start
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 10/15/2020 09:21
This shows the way from Kraftwerk to synthpop. It's not an awesome album but it's absolutely interesting.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/05/2017 05:29
This poppy premier welcomes Depeche mode into the eighties and shows a tremendous potential for the band.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 06/05/2016 12:48
Depeche Mode's debut album is full of throwaway pop with Vince Clarke at the helm. Obviously, just can't get enough, is a classic pop song, the rest is a combination of not bad and forgettable. It's funny listening to some of these songs, I mean, can you imagine Depeche Mode playing, what's your name? these days. Not a chance. Overall, speak and spell, is okay for the time and place but Depeche Mode were more of a singles band than an album band at this point.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (3 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 04/30/2016 03:15
JCGE obviously is a killer track. The rest... well it's not vialator, and if you are into synth pop...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/23/2014 22:46
Good debut. Not great, but solid. Dreaming of Me and JCGE are classics.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 03/27/2014 19:50
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (1 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 10/06/2013 21:02
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1981
1. Moving Pictures by Rush
2. Computerwelt by Kraftwerk
3. Discipline by King Crimson
4. Juju by Siouxsie And The Banshees
5. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts by Brian Eno & David Byrne
6. Time by Electric Light Orchestra
7. Faith by The Cure
8. Dare by The Human League
9. Damaged by Black Flag
10. Deceit by This Heat
11. Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones
12. Youth Of America by Wipers
13. Fire Of Love by The Gun Club
14. Ghost In The Machine by The Police
15. The Ascension by Glenn Branca
16. Heaven Up Here by Echo & The Bunnymen
17. Face Value by Phil Collins
18. Killers by Iron Maiden
19. Nightclubbing by Grace Jones
20. Movement by New Order
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