A Dotted Line
by Nickel Creek
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Nickel Creek bestography
A Dotted Line is ranked 3rd best out of 6 albums by Nickel Creek on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Nickel Creek is Nickel Creek which is ranked number 14505 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 80.
(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 A Dotted Line on YouTube
A Dotted Line track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
A Dotted Line rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 3 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Skerns | Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 | 80/100 | 1 |
| 2025 | arnellarsen | Top 89 Music Albums of 2014 | 56/89 | 2 |
| 2025 | arnellarsen | Top 97 Music Albums of the 2010s | 27/97 | 15 |
| 2025 | martintho | Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 | 13/100 | 4 |
| 2023 | sonicdiscourse | 2014 To-Do List | 25/83 | - |
| 2022 |  buzzdainer | Top 100 Music Albums of 2014 | 47/100 | 3 |
| 2021 |  pearljammer13 | Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | 22/100 | 16 |
| 2016 |  zdwyatt | Top 32 Music Albums of 2014 | 25/32 | 1 |
| 2014 | QRO Magazine | Top 30 Albums of 2014 | 19/30 | 2 |
| 2014 | PopMatters | The Best Albums of 2014 | 32/80 | 3 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 10 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 47 | |||
A Dotted Line collection
Showing all 4 members who have this album in their collection
A Dotted Line 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 15 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 07/20/2021 17:27 | tybo7 | 203 | 83/100 |
| ! | 11/18/2020 15:44 | Skerns | 5,219 | 80/100 |
| ! | 03/29/2018 18:18 | devilbry | 158 | 82/100 |
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 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.1/100, a mean average of 78.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 4.6.
A Dotted Line forum mentions
pearljammer13 04/03/2016 13:39 in What album are you listening to right now?
benpaco 12/21/2014 08:39 in The Underrated Albums of 2014A Dotted Line comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/01/2019 19:57 | #242059
I wasn't expecting to like A Dotted Line anywhere near as much as I do. I hadn't loved Nickel Creek's previous progressive bluegrass nearly as much as most people I know, and I actually find Chris Thile to be an annoyingly corny presence (his takeover of A Prairie Home Companion, while bringing in a lot of great musical acts, has made the program as a whole unlistenable for me). What I like about this album is the band's willingness to absorb a harder-edged rock sound into their repertoire, which serves their songwriting approach surprisingly well. "Destination" in particular is a well-written song with strong melodies and virtuoso instrumentation.
zdwyatt TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/09/2015 20:05 | #131164
After a disappointing 2005 release, they went on an indefinite hiatus. Its members enjoyed varying measures of success outside the band, both as solo artists and in collaboration with other bands. Now they've reconvened for the band's 25th anniversary (the members were in grade school when they formed). This, their sixth album, lacks some of what made their 2000 breakout so great, but I'm still enjoying hearing new music from these guys.
pearljammer13 TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/06/2014 12:34 | #108654
What do you know, another masterpiece from Nickel Creek. BEA community, please take notice! And everyone else for that matter. Probably the most talented ensemble I listen to with any frequency.
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