The Ugly Organ
by Cursive

The Ugly Organ by Cursive
Year: 2003
Release date: 2003-03-04
Overall rank: 4,393rd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 67 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 2003 (89th)
Award Top albums of of the 2000s (754th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,393rd)

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Product Details
Availability

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Cursive - The Ugly Organ *RARE* 2003 Enhanced CD w/ Videos (NM or M-) CD LBJ-51
Condition: Very Good


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Cursive The Ugly Organ CD out of print Rare saddle creek
Condition: Like New


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CURSIVE THE UGLY ORGAN CD ALBUM 2003 ECD ART IS HARD THE RECLUSE SIERRA SCE-51
Condition: Very Good


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Cursive bestography

The Ugly Organ is ranked as the best album by Cursive.

Cursive album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (4,393rd)
The Ugly Organ
Lower ranked (12,031st) »
Domestica

(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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The Ugly Organ rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,393rd | 2000s rank: 754th | 2003 rank: 89th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026OFarrioTop 28 Music Albums of 200310/283
2026 imacgillTop 100 Music Albums of 200381/1001
2026cicadelicLost At Sea: Best Albums 200311/28 -
2026Liks_on_musicTop 86 Greatest Music Albums48/8645
2026AndrasTop 100 Greatest Music Albums52/10048
2026 foxytreekoTop 100 Greatest Music Albums97/1004
2026blueandthemoonTop 83 Music Albums of 200352/832
2026AndrasTop 53 Music Albums of the 2000s25/5311
2026AndrasTop 8 Music Albums of 20037/81
2026 ExTeaSeaTop 100 Music Albums of 200324/1004
2025 cestuneblagueTop 100 Music Albums of 200325/1004
2025PapaShiz86Top 100 Music Albums of 200314/1004
2025 KeatownrodriguezTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s33/10014
2025 KeatownrodriguezTop 100 Greatest Music Albums94/1007
2025 identiferTop 21 Music Albums of 20036/214
2025 BroknsocialShawnTop 77 Greatest Music Albums72/777
2025 BroknsocialShawnTop 50 Music Albums of the 2000s38/505
2025 DommeDamianScaruffi Best Albums of 200346/69 -
2025 IgtonumamaTop 100 Music Albums of 200374/1001
2025 Keatownrodriguez50 States21/35 -
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 67
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 327
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

The Ugly Organ collection

The Ugly Organ ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 67 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 67 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
06/01/2026 09:11 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  12,78270/100
 
90/100
 !
05/29/2026 14:21 Liks_on_music  Ratings distribution  64781/100
 
95/100
 !
12/31/2025 05:08 foxytreeko  Ratings distribution  1,56479/100
 
85/100
 !
08/21/2025 15:50 BroknsocialShawn  Ratings distribution  29185/100
 
90/100
 !
08/21/2025 01:05 identifer  Ratings distribution  96682/100

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 6% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.5/100, a mean average of 76.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.8.

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The Ugly Organ favourites

Showing all 14 members who have added this album as a favourite

The Ugly Organ comments

Showing all 4 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
90/100
From 05/29/2026 14:22 | #314659
Their best.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/26/2019 19:23 | #243100 | TOP COMMENT
My high school band teacher actually introduced me to this album, it was the last thing I was expecting him to recommend but hey, the man's got a good taste, this is a very Brand New esque album that I'm sure will continue to rise up in my list. ALSO, IT CAME OUT MY BIRTH YEAR ALONG WITH EVERY OTHER FREAKING AMAZING ALBUM
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 05/07/2018 02:28 | #214356 | TOP COMMENT
Tim Kasher, singer and eccentric frontman of Cursive, wrote two masterpieces in the course of two years: The Ugly Organ and The Good Life’s Black Out. Both albums display his trademark ironic and self deprecating lyrics. This album is sonically amazing with the addition of Gretta Cohn on cello and a creeping, echo-laden organ. This album has rockers like “Some Red Handed Sleight of Hand” and “Art Is Hard” interspersed with ballads such as “Sierra” and “Driftwood: A Fairy Tale”. The album concludes with a dark and personal song from Kasher by the name of “Staying Alive”. The song is simultaneously haunting, bittersweet, and hopeful. This is an underrated masterpiece and among the best albums of the 2000’s.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/22/2016 20:02 | #164298 | TOP COMMENT
Emotionally raw, musically powerful album. Good end-to-end.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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