The Pleasure Principle
by Gary Numan
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Gary Numan bestography
The Pleasure Principle is ranked as the best album by Gary Numan.
(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 Pleasure Principle on YouTube
The Pleasure Principle track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
The Pleasure Principle rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 1 hour ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  videoheadcleaner | videoheadcleaner's 201-300 | 59/100 | - |
| 2026 |  zags7000 | Top 100 Music Albums of 1979 | 43/100 | 3 |
| 2026 |  Glitterboiii | Top 50 Music Albums of 1979 | 36/50 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Squonk007 | Top 33 Music Albums of 1979 | 23/33 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Leonard | Music I listend in 85 | 41/65 | - |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Top 99 Music Albums of 1979 | 42/99 | 3 |
| 2026 |  covecove | Top 50 Music Albums of 1979 | 13/50 | 4 |
| 2026 | leniad | Top 101-200 Greatest 1970s Albums | 34/73 | - |
| 2026 | Johnnyo | Best Electronic / Dance albums of all time by DigitalDreamDoor | 29/100 | - |
| 2026 | videoheadcleaner | Top 100 Music Albums of 1979 | 12/100 | 4 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 236 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 1,091 | |||
The Pleasure Principle collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 121 members
The Pleasure Principle 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 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 279 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/30/2026 08:11 | LammyTS1 | 1,112 | 59/100 |
| ! | 09/30/2026 07:57 |  djrodo | 1,034 | 81/100 |
| ! | 09/07/2026 22:54 | Devilwoac | 1,529 | 97/100 |
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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.4/100, a mean average of 76.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.1.
The Pleasure Principle favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 46 members
The Pleasure Principle forum mentions
Romanelli 07/24/2023 17:26 in The Romanelli Music Diary: The Greatest Hits
BestEverAlbums 05/18/2023 20:00 in Album of the day (#4533): The Pleasure PrincipleThe Pleasure Principle comments
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meccalecca TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/24/2013 15:30 | #74356 | TOP COMMENT
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A major advancement in electronic music with massive influence over a variety of genres, and yet it can't even crack the top 1,000 albums.
Even forty years after it was recorded, this album still has a very unique sound. It was an unusual move to couple such groundbreaking synth sounds with analogue drums but it sure as hell worked here. 'Films' is a personal favourite with the fantastic synth and drums opening. There isn't any track which I don't like, to me, even forty years after its release it still sounds fresh and unique. If you like Berlin era Bowie, Human League, Depech Mode then you will most certainly like this. (Edited)
Nobodyisemo 10/19/2017 21:46 | #199820 | TOP COMMENT
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Much more lush and organic than I than I expected. Expectations: cold, calculated, dire
The lyrics are still a little dire, but the rounded bass tone, full drums and expansive synth tones really make for an imaginative record here. I love the humanizing violin and piano delicately strewn about. A couple of the songs sound a LOT like 'Cars' though, though that made me consider that he may think of the album as a sort of symphony with recurring themes, and that's cool-ish if it's the case. (Edited)
Gary Numan was huge in the late seventies/early eighties, and, the pleasure principle, is the reason why. Obviously heavily influenced by David Bowie's, low, and, heroes, albums, TPP, is an excellent electronic LP. Great songs include, metal, films, and off course, cars, a classic single. TPP, is a great electro album, still sounds great today.
Applerill TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/23/2010 06:28 | #8575 | TOP COMMENT
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DA DA DA DUNT, DA DA DA DA DA DUNT, DA DA DA DA DA DUNT, DA DA NA NA NA NA, IN CARS!!! (DA DUNT, DA DUNT DA DUNT!)
...Really, do I have to say any more?
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