Speak & Spell
by Depeche Mode

Speak & Spell by Depeche Mode
Year: 1981
Overall rank: 3,335th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
70/100 (from 233 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1981 (57th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (497th)
Award Best albums of all time (3,335th)

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Product Details
Availability

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Depeche Mode Speak & Spell CD DVD Sony Music BMG 2018 Collector's Edition
Condition: Very Good


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eBay
Depeche Mode 8 CD Lot Black Celebration, Speak & Spell, Synth-pop Albums
Condition: Good


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Speak & Spell [Rhino US CD/DVD] [Remaster] by Depeche Mode (CD, Jun-2006 2 Disc
Condition: Brand New


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Depeche Mode bestography

Speak & Spell is ranked 9th best out of 46 albums by Depeche Mode on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Depeche Mode is Violator which is ranked number 101 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 12,219.

Depeche Mode album bestography « Higher ranked (2,940th)
Memento Mori
This album (3,335th)
Speak & Spell
Lower ranked (3,855th) »
Construction Time Again

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Mar
14
Sat
STRANGELOVE - THE DEPECHE MODE EXPERIENCE with Special Guest PSYCHEDELIC FURS Tribute PRETTY IN PINK
Gaslamp Long Beach, Long Beach, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
12
Sun
Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Smiths, Morrissey, Yaz, B-52s Tributes - New Wave Spring Fling
Garden Amphitheatre, Garden Grove, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
24
Fri
Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience
Napa Music Hall, Napa, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

Listen to Speak & Spell on YouTube

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Speak & Spell rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 3,335th | 1980s rank: 497th | 1981 rank: 57th

Speak & Spell collection

Speak & Spell ratings

Average Rating: 
70/100 (from 233 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 233 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 
01/08/2026 23:05 Jemegra  Ratings distribution  1676/100
 
45/100
 
01/06/2026 16:09 Proto  Ratings distribution  4,07333/100
 
100/100
 
01/05/2026 16:19 subnam  Ratings distribution  17220/100
 
90/100
 
12/02/2025 18:30 nsanto  Ratings distribution  9082/100
 
65/100
 
11/12/2025 23:31 NYAndreas  Ratings distribution  1,43344/100

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 has a Bayesian average rating of 70.5/100, a mean average of 69.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 70.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.1.

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Speak & Spell favourites

Showing all 16 members who have added this album as a favourite

Speak & Spell comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 15 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
90/100
From 08/31/2025 22:35 | #310773
Wonderful and an underrated album in their discography. It's so fun! Delightful debut album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 02/21/2024 07:18 | #302107
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 | #298289
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 | #262988
A good start
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 10/15/2020 09:21 | #259321
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 | #197301
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 | #167915
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 | #164865
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 | #122546
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 | #107803
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (1 helpful | 5 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. Dare by The Human League
8. Faith by The Cure
9. Damaged by Black Flag
10. Deceit by This Heat
11. Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones
12. Youth Of America by Wipers
13. Ghost In The Machine by The Police
14. Fire Of Love by The Gun Club
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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