The Eternal
by Sonic Youth
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Sonic Youth bestography
The Eternal is ranked 11th best out of 42 albums by Sonic Youth on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Sonic Youth is Daydream Nation which is ranked number 74 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 14,942.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to The Eternal on YouTube
The Eternal track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
The Eternal rankings
(Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). (Last updated: 5 hours ago).
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The Eternal ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 171 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 06/19/2026 03:52 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,356 | 70/100 |
| ! | 06/18/2026 11:16 | cicadelic | 13,546 | 73/100 |
| ! | 02/27/2026 23:41 | DaveH68 | 1,363 | 76/100 |
| ! | 02/24/2026 00:31 | TastyandTemptin | 3,175 | 72/100 |
| ! | 12/05/2025 14:55 | Araldo | 1,472 | 80/100 |
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 71.9/100, a mean average of 70.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 71.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.6.
The Eternal favourites
Showing all 13 members who have added this album as a favourite
The Eternal comments
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Very good final album. Best song is anti-orgasm.
Of all Sonic Youth albums, this one seems to have people split the most.
As a fan of Sonic Youth, I love this album, it's a return to their roots as an indie band but it also has hints of straightforward rock in there too. It's not an essential album for the casual listener, but I would recommend it to any fan of Alternative music, or anyone who enjoys other stuff by SY. The only moment I'll point out on this album that I would show to anyone is "Massage the History", a fantastic ballad that is completely different from anything else SY ever out out, truly one of their best songs.
Favorite Tracks: Anti-Orgasm, Antenna, What We Know, Malibu Gas Station, No Way, Walkin Blue, Massage the History.
C_Krug2009 10/24/2012 21:51 | #53339 | TOP COMMENT
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Best album of the 2000s to me, has some great songs to chill while long boarding
Everything sounds the same. It's the musical equivalent of wet snow.
great album, the best of 2009
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