London Calling
by The Clash

London Calling by The Clash
Year: 1979
Release date: 1979-12-14
Overall rank: 21st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 3,186 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Best album of 1979 (1st)
Award Top 10 albums of of the 1970s (6th)
Award Top 50 albums of all time (21st)

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The Clash bestography

London Calling is ranked as the best album by The Clash.

The Clash album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (21st)
London Calling
Lower ranked (285th) »
The Clash

(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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London Calling track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 86 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (920 - 1023 votes)
Average Rating: 92 (1,023 votes)Comments: View 16
8.
Track pick (890 - 662 votes)
Average Rating: 89 (662 votes)Comments: View 15
19.
Track pick (910 - 784 votes)
Average Rating: 91 (784 votes)Comments: View 11

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

London Calling rankings

London Calling rankings summary
Overall rank: 21st | 1970s rank: 6th | 1979 rank: 1st  Overall chart history
(Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). (Last updated: 2 hours ago).
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026sunnydhammTop 10 Music Albums of 19792/105
2026AbsurdCheesecakeTop 100 Greatest Music Albums28/10072
2026stangetzawayTop 100 Greatest Music Albums3/10095
2026 RomanelliMy Overall Chart: 201-30032/100 -
2026Foxforce5Top 24 Music Albums of 19791/245
2026cicadelicTop 96 Music Albums of 197953/962
2026Turner100Top 40 Greatest Music Albums4/4088
2026 TheDarkOrbTop 62 Music Albums of the 1970s9/6217
2026 PurplepashYa joking? Should've been higher! All Time edition71/100 -
2026 NowhereManTop 100 Greatest Music Albums30/10071
2026bonnequestionTop 23 Music Albums of 19796/234
2026matterhornriderTop 100 Music Albums of the 1970s3/10020
2026 DankelTop 100 Greatest Music Albums2/10093
2026 baystateoftheartTop 98 Music Albums of the 1970s45/9811
2026 ssteveTop 35 Music Albums of 19796/354
2026 serpicoTop 100 Greatest Music Albums30/10071
2026JantjeTop 10 Music Albums of the 1970s1/1020
2026 RockyRaccoonTop 61 Music Albums of 19792/615
2026Musicbuff123Top 36 Music Albums of the 1970s33/362
2026xhitmanxTop 29 Music Albums of 19791/295
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 2,843
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 29,195
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

London Calling collection

London Calling ratings

Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 3,186 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 3,186 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
23 hours ago JoshN125  Ratings distribution  3284/100
 
100/100
 !
07/07/2026 19:10 RobinHall18  Ratings distribution  3992/100
 
100/100
 !
07/02/2026 05:43 serpico  Ratings distribution  87586/100
 
0/100
 !
07/02/2026 01:44 ToadieCoyote  Ratings distribution  3158/100
 
100/100
 !
06/29/2026 22:53 villagegreen831  Ratings distribution  15479/100

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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 86.7/100, a mean average of 85.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 86.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.0.


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London Calling comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 261 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)

From 01/13/2026 21:18 | #312601
Really thoughtless and unimpressive music. Really just noise.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/10/2026 12:40 | #312558
The title -track is one of the best songs ever written . Rest of the album is a mixed bag of different styles ,
not always in a good sense . Plus i don`t consider this `Punk` , these guys can actually play !
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 08/20/2025 23:35 | #310579
A great style of punk rock that incorporates hints of Ska and Reggae into the mix. For a double album, it's stacked with a lot of catchy tunes. (Side 1 is the superior)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/18/2025 16:34 | #309597
IMO, this is the best album of all time. PUNK, ROCK, JAZZ, and more. Rebellion. There is not a bad song on this album. The opening track goes hard, and then the rest of the album is such a many faceted musical odyssey.
This is the 1#. Influenced so many and this album truly holds up.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/10/2024 01:11 | #305963
This album keeps getting better and better with each listen. Absolutely exceptional. 13.5/10. Even the worst track is still good
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
45/100
From 12/17/2023 15:17 | #300518
Don’t understand the hype for this album- it was a struggle for me to get through
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (4 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/19/2023 12:40 | #300034
The best punk album ever made
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (3 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/31/2023 22:53 | #298432
Still as relevant today as it was when it was released. The songs are still powerful and the music is still fresh.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (3 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/22/2023 09:45 | #297155
A unique take on punk music from The Clash where they aren't scared to experiment with their sound resulting in one of the earliest post punk records. I will start with the negatives which is the length of this album as it leads to an elongated listen that does drag near the back end of the second half. The lowest point is probably Lover's Rock and Four Horsemen which could probably both be cut. I can also see the argument for the music on here to be a little repetitive especially for people who aren't massive fans of this type of music. Onto the positives, with one of the major ones being that this is pretty much a greatest hits record. Up until about track 13 we just get hit after hit, except for The Right Profile, with every song being exciting, engaging and infectious. They are all unique and distinctive as well with them maintaining their roots in punk but mixing in other genres and styles to make an interesting fusion. One thing that helps this fusion work is the brilliant instrumental performances from every member of the group as well as some fantastic backing from The Irish Horns. This backing gives extra depth and character to the music with it making it sound rich and pleasing to the ear. The vocal performances are strong as well with them displaying a wide range that suits the style of music perfectly. The main draw to this album for me however, which is what makes it one of my all time personal favourites, is the charm that the group possesses. They just ooze charisma and their aura is infectious which has resulted in this becoming almost a comfort album for me and so while it might not be the greatest album of all time it will always be a special album to me. Overall, the pros far outweigh the cons on here with there being loads of personality and quality to make this one of the most beloved albums of all time as well as one of the greatest.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 04/30/2023 03:35 | #296488
I was expecting some punk rock nonsense. This album actually takes a lot of good stuff from multiple different genres and combines it with decent songwriting and lyrics covering a wide range of themes. Pretty good, but definitely could have cut a few songs.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (2 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

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