Clear Spot
by Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band

Clear Spot by Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
Year: 1972
Release date: 1972-00-00
Overall rank: 3,024th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 135 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1972 (49th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (535th)
Award Best albums of all time (3,024th)

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Product Details
Availability

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eBay
Clear Spot • Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band • NEW/SEALED Clear 50th RSD
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & THE MAGIC BAND Clear Spot US Reprise 1972 LP Embossed Sleeve
Condition: Used


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eBay
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND THE MAGIC BAND – THE SPOTLIGHT KID / CLEAR SPOT – CD
Condition: Nuovo


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Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band bestography

Clear Spot is ranked 6th best out of 31 albums by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band is Trout Mask Replica which is ranked number 266 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 6,121.

Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band album bestography « Higher ranked (2,594th)
Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)
This album (3,024th)
Clear Spot
Lower ranked (5,054th) »
Ice Cream For Crow

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

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Clear Spot track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Clear Spot rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 3,024th | 1970s rank: 535th | 1972 rank: 49th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of 197243/1003
2026SkernsTop 94 Music Albums of 197280/941
2026 paladisiactop 60r albums (60), #0001-0100*14/66 -
2026LittleM1971Top 62 Music Albums of 197241/622
2026 sssvnnnTom Club (Waits`favs+sound-alikes)22/100 -
2026TroutMaskGregTop 100 Music Albums of the 1970s4/10019
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of 197295/1000
2026TroutMaskGregTop 24 Music Albums of 19721/245
2026 DommeDamianTop 19 Music Albums of 197217/191
2026 HaydenTop 100 Music Albums of 197292/1000
2026 Norman BatesTop 100 Music Albums of 197238/1003
2026TroutMaskGregTop 100 Greatest Music Albums9/10091
2026cicadelicTop 69 Music Albums of 197233/693
2026 sssvnnnTop 100 Music Albums of 197210/1005
2025 Patman360Top 94 Music Albums of 197222/944
2025JohnnyoGreatest albums of the '70's (301 - 400) by U R C19/100 -
2025 zags7000Top 100 Music Albums of 197260/1002
2025 sssvnnnTop 100 Music Albums of the 1970s64/1007
2025 JamethTop 66 Music Albums of 197232/663
2025AraldoTop 100 Greatest Music Albums58/10042
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 114
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 501
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Clear Spot collection

Clear Spot ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 135 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 135 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 
03/19/2026 22:23 Luccaag  Ratings distribution  4785/100
 
45/100
 
03/15/2026 11:06 Vulgarplacards  Ratings distribution  6494/100
 
65/100
 
03/10/2026 11:31 Leginlists  Ratings distribution  3,32182/100
 
70/100
 
02/17/2026 13:53 Pluto11  Ratings distribution  12,13872/100
 
75/100
 
01/03/2026 02:03 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,51370/100

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 is rated in the top 4% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.6/100, a mean average of 74.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.2.

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Clear Spot favourites

Showing all 12 members who have added this album as a favourite

Clear Spot comments

Showing all 5 comments |
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(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
75/100
From 04/25/2023 14:11 | #296371
An easy and palatable album from Captain, nice stuff.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/28/2020 00:40 | #254648
Clear Spot sees Captain Beefheart pursuing his blues rock career he restarted with Mirror Man. This album is the clear peak of said blues career. Subsequent releases are seriously lacking in any sort of personality, which Don Van Vliet had become known for. Clear Spot has some instances of him yowling like a hurt dog, but also contains some of his most nuanced performances, such can be found on songs like Too Much Time and My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains. The balance of the two vocal styles is nice and he maintains it throughout. This is easily one of his best albums.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/24/2019 15:23 | #236667
A fantastic album, possibly my favourite of his. His voice is fantastic throughout and such a funky album! Stand outs are Low Yo Yo stuff, Too Much Time, My Head is My Only House (those lyrics!!) and of course one of his greatest songs ‘Big Eyes Beans From Venus’
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/20/2013 06:59 | #69104
Not the Captain's most consistent effort but in Too Much Time it has a definite career peak, maybe the best soul song of the 70's.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/21/2012 08:49 | #42827
Great album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1972
1. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie
2. Exile On Main St. by The Rolling Stones
3. Pink Moon by Nick Drake
4. Close To The Edge by Yes
5. Harvest by Neil Young
6. Transformer by Lou Reed
7. Machine Head by Deep Purple
8. Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull
9. Ege Bamyası by Can
10. Foxtrot by Genesis
11. Clube Da Esquina by Milton Nascimento / Lô Borges
12. #1 Record by Big Star
13. Can't Buy A Thrill by Steely Dan
14. Super Fly by Curtis Mayfield
15. Acabou Chorare by Novos Baianos
16. Talking Book by Stevie Wonder
17. Eat A Peach by The Allman Brothers Band
18. Vol 4 by Black Sabbath
19. Neu! by Neu!
20. Argus by Wishbone Ash