The Pink Opaque
by Cocteau Twins

The Pink Opaque by Cocteau Twins
(Compilation album)
Year: 1986
Release date: 1986-01-13
Overall rank: 4,396th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 75 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1986 (59th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (634th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,396th)

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Cocteau Twins The Pink Opaque LP 4AD emc8040 relativity original vinyl compilati
Condition: Used


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Cocteau Twins - Pink Opaque - Cocteau Twins CD VPVG The Cheap Fast Free Post
Condition: Very Good


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Cocteau Twins : Pink Opaque CD Very Clean. Rare.
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Cocteau Twins bestography

The Pink Opaque is ranked 7th best out of 16 albums by Cocteau Twins on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Cocteau Twins is Heaven Or Las Vegas which is ranked number 141 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 9,612.

Cocteau Twins album bestography « Higher ranked (3,477th)
Garlands
This album (4,396th)
The Pink Opaque
Lower ranked (4,733rd) »
Four-Calendar Café

(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 Pink Opaque track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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

The Pink Opaque rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,396th | 1980s rank: 634th | 1986 rank: 59th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026Exist-en-cielTop 61 Music Albums of 19863/615
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of 198658/1002
2026roberto71Top 100 Greatest Music Albums54/10046
2026LittleM1971Greatest Music Albums: 501-6006/100 -
2026 ffudnebbuhTop 100 Greatest Music Albums49/10052
2026SkernsTop 78 Music Albums of 198616/784
2026 Patman360Top 89 Music Albums of 198651/892
2026 PurplepashTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s73/1006
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Greatest Music Albums34/10067
2026LittleM1971Top 89 Music Albums of 198615/894
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s18/10017
2026 neilgeeTop 100 Music Albums of 198619/1004
2025 IgtonumamaTop 100 Music Albums of 198621/1004
2025 CellarDoor4AD Music22/98 -
2025 PurplepashTop 49 Music Albums of 198612/494
2025 Norman BatesTop 84 Music Albums of 198644/842
2025 MadhattanJackTop 68 Music Albums of 198615/684
2025PapaShiz86Top 50 Music Albums of 19853/50 -
2024cmoshierTop 100 Music Albums of 198546/100 -
2023cicadelicL.A. Times HILBURN’S BEST LP’S OF ’8535/99 -
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 42
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 326
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

The Pink Opaque collection

The Pink Opaque ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 75 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 75 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 
03/10/2026 09:28 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,58570/100
 
75/100
 
12/07/2025 19:11 willtoshower  Ratings distribution  1,54372/100
 
75/100
 
11/12/2025 23:47 NYAndreas  Ratings distribution  1,43344/100
 
75/100
 
10/12/2025 06:49 Tamthebam  Ratings distribution  23,07569/100
 
80/100
 
08/20/2025 17:45 RemainInLight  Ratings distribution  3,36636/100

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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.0/100, a mean average of 77.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.7.

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The Pink Opaque favourites

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

The Pink Opaque comments

Showing all 4 comments |
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Rating:  
80/100
From 12/06/2023 03:56 | #300307
I pretty much followed the band from its earliest days and still own most of their early releases on original 4AD vinyl from the 7” singles through to the 12”’s and handful of album’s including this one. And the reason I share this is I think when it comes to early CT works I know it extremely well and can say without hesitation this is the crème de la crème of their pre 90’s work

“Aikea-Guinea” is quite simply their finest work in a stella career & its here in all all its glory, as is“Pearly-Dewdrops” and the under appreciated ‘Musette And Drums’

These days I don’t listen to too much CT music but this one regularly gets a spin on my turntable and that really is the highest compliment I can give
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 08/05/2022 04:45 | #288129
1. The Spangle Maker (from The Spangle Maker EP, 1984)
2. Millimillenary (from Department of Enjoyment V/A Compilation, 1984)
3. Wax and Wane (from Garlands Album, 1982)
4. Hitherto (from Sunburst and Snowblind EP, 1983)
5. Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops (from The Spangle Maker EP, 1984)
6. From the Flagstones (from Sunburst and Snowblind EP, 1983)
7. Aikea-Guinea (from Aikea-Guinea / Kookaburra Single, 1985)
8. Lorelei (from Treasure Album, 1984)
9. Pepper-Tree (from The Spangle Maker EP, 1984)
10. Musette and Drums (from Head Over Heels Album, 1983)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 02/14/2013 03:37 | #65033
It works as an album. Very cohesive. Amazing!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 12/18/2009 21:37 | #6384
This was the first Cocteau Twins album I heard, so I heard this, not as a greatest hits album but as a studio album...it really changed my idea of what pop/rock could be in the way that "Velvet Underground and Nico" did..When I heard "Spangle Maker", I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I think that this is the only album that contains "Spangle Maker",.. Her voice is so supple yet strong, and when I step back and listen to the album objectively, I shouldn't like it, but something it about it draws in, I have probably listened to it every week since 1985. Of course, I didn't know that it was a compilation(I think that it wasn't until 1990 that I found out it was a compilation) when I first heard it, so I have listened to it as a new album. It was available as import only for many years, I guess that might explain why I didn't know that. also, I think that this is the only album that has 'Spangle Maker". I could be wrong. I think that it was originally released as an EP.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1986
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