Squeezing Out Sparks
by Graham Parker & The Rumour
Listen & Collect
Complete your collection or upgrade your listening experience.
Graham Parker & The Rumour bestography
The best album by Graham Parker is Squeezing Out Sparks which is ranked number 6047 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 223.
(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 Squeezing Out Sparks on YouTube
Squeezing Out Sparks track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Squeezing Out Sparks 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 |  RockyRaccoon | Top 61 Music Albums of 1979 | 40/61 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Glitterboiii | Top 50 Music Albums of 1979 | 48/50 | 0 |
| 2026 | Jakor | Top 100 Music Albums of 1979 | 42/100 | 3 |
| 2026 | stangetzaway | Top 49 Music Albums of 1979 | 30/49 | 2 |
| 2026 |  covecove | Top 50 Music Albums of 1979 | 21/50 | 3 |
| 2026 | matterhornrider | Top 67 Music Albums of 1979 | 35/67 | 2 |
| 2026 |  MadhattanJack | Top 100 Music Albums of 1979 | 49/100 | 3 |
| 2026 |  ERadio | Top 90 Music Albums of 1979 | 34/90 | 3 |
| 2026 |  eclab | Top 22 Music Albums of 1979 | 13/22 | 2 |
| 2026 | Steppenwolf666 | Top 100 Music Albums of 1979 | 71/100 | 2 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 105 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 223 | |||
Squeezing Out Sparks collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 54 members
Squeezing Out Sparks 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 110 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 01/20/2026 16:25 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,120 | 70/100 |
| ! | 11/23/2025 07:28 | NYAndreas | 1,433 | 44/100 |
| ! | 08/22/2025 16:09 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,819 | 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 75.9/100, a mean average of 74.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.0.
Squeezing Out Sparks favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 11 members
Squeezing Out Sparks forum mentions
Romanelli 01/28/2023 20:49 in The Romanelli Music Diary: The Greatest Hits
dihansse 07/19/2018 19:57 in My discoveries per yearSqueezing Out Sparks comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
An underrated artist and underrated album. Squeezing out sparks, is one of the great British LP's of the seventies. Parker and co. create a sound similar to what Elvis Costello would sound like a year or so down the line. SOS, features some fantastic songs, such as, discovering Japan, waiting for the ufos, and the brilliant, you can't be too strong. A superb album then, deserves more credit. (Edited)
Very much underrated. Adding to the fun is backup band The Rumour, in my opinion the best backing band ever. With a.o. Brinsley Schwarz, of the eponymous band. (Edited)
ffudnebbuh TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/01/2009 20:57 | #6516 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
This album is OK, but his real gem is "Heat Treatment" from 1976 on Mercury.. (Edited)
drakonium 03/31/2014 06:02 | #108146 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
Solid record, fun and catchy. Very similar to Elvis Costello, though its classic rock side is much more prominent. The guitarist is excellent. (Edited)
swhaze TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/24/2014 17:46 | #130048 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
This is both Graham Parker's best album and a high point of the late seventies.
The top-voted comments get featured on our charts, Album of the Day, and the site newsletter.
