This Desert Life (studio album)
by Counting Crows

This Desert Life by Counting Crows
Year: 1999
Overall rank: 5,503rd   
Average Rating: 
71/100 (from 112 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1999 (74th)
Award Top albums of the 1990s (913th)
Award Best albums of all time (5,503rd)

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Counting Crows bestography

This Desert Life is ranked 3rd best out of 15 albums by Counting Crows on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Counting Crows is August And Everything After which is ranked number 658 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 2,627.

Counting Crows album bestography « Higher ranked (3,102nd)
Recovering The Satellites
This album (5,503rd)
This Desert Life
Lower ranked (5,503rd) »
This Desert Life

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

Upcoming concerts

Feb
25
Wed
19:30
Counting Crows
Freedom Hall, Louisville, United States. United States
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This Desert Life track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (11 out of 12 tracks have been rated).

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1.
Average Rating: 77 (19 votes)Comments: View 0
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2.
Average Rating: 81 (28 votes)Comments: View 0
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3.
Average Rating: 76 (16 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Average Rating: 77 (13 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Average Rating: 79 (22 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 76 (14 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Track pick (850 - 39 votes)
Average Rating: 85 (39 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
Average Rating: 75 (18 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 72 (12 votes)Comments: View 0
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11.
Average Rating: 76 (2 votes)Comments: View 0
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12.
Average Rating: Not enough dataComments: View 0
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

This Desert Life rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 5,503rd | 1990s rank: 913th | 1999 rank: 74th

This Desert Life collection

This Desert Life ratings

Average Rating: 
71/100 (from 112 votes)
   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 112 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 !
12/04/2025 00:17 mostlymor   6,76579/100
 
65/100
 !
08/22/2025 14:28 SomethingSpecial   1,73182/100
 
100/100
 !
06/09/2025 18:29 jokerman1965   11883/100
 
70/100
 !
03/18/2025 15:18 paladisiac   7,26165/100
 
80/100
 !
03/05/2025 09:20 MarkusN   93378/100

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 has a Bayesian average rating of 71.2/100, a mean average of 70.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 71.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.4.

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This Desert Life favourites

Showing all 9 members who have added this album as a favourite

This Desert Life comments

Showing all 5 comments |
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Rating:  
90/100
From 11/03/2021 13:50 | #275743
I wish Counting Crows had more songs like St. Cadillac.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 05/02/2016 17:30 | #165037
On this website, Counting Crows album's get ranked progressively worse in chronological order and it completely makes sense.

Each album sounds like the last in it's instruments and vocal delivery.

This Desert Life has a similar spirit as the debut and is a tighter album than Recovering the Satellites. That is why I consider it better than Satellite's personally.

But grand scheme, bigger than just my opinion review it lands 3rd best

Colorblind is classically depressing. Hanging Around is memorable single.

Amy Hit the Atmosphere is a better Counting Crow ballad. All My Friends is good.

Mrs. Potters Lullabye is in the vein of other road tripping 5 minute Crow's songs.

Only dud for me is I Wish I was A Girl because I don't wish that and don't relate. And the lyrics are kind of condescending to the gender just because Duritz is complaining he can't do what they do. Poor him

It's a good album but fans like me start to realize that Duritz doesn't want to help himself around his fears of loneliness and depression. He isn't getting any wiser around his place in the world and the music isn't either.

The band doesn't grow and neither does he. Which is sad because in his younger days you relate to his struggles in his lyrics. More than the average rock star you want to root for him to be happy and figure it out.

All the more tragic that he doesnt't, and worse, sounds like he exploits it all to make successful music around his brand he has created.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 02/24/2014 02:40 | #104278
Solid album for sure, though nothing surprising in it at any point, All My Friends is the standout...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/02/2013 02:16 | #66608
One of my favorite bands from the 90's, the third album by the Counting Crows and it sticks in the top 10. The Crows haven't been treated kindly over the past decade, but I'm still a fan, no question. This one wasn't as great as the first two, but it didn't disappoint at all, with great tracks like "Hangin Around" and "Amy Hit the Atmosphere."
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
50/100
From 05/18/2012 01:52 | #42621
It's not bad but I suppose it is a little dull. It sounds basically like the first two but you can tell they're running out of steam.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1999
1. Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós
2. The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips
3. Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers
4. 98.12.28 男達の別れ [98.12.28 Otokotachi No Wakare] by フィッシュマンズ [Fishmans]
5. When The Pawn... by Fiona Apple
6. 13 by Blur
7. Keep It Like A Secret by Built To Spill
8. Summerteeth by Wilco
9. Emergency & I by The Dismemberment Plan
10. American Football by American Football
11. 69 Love Songs by The Magnetic Fields
12. Play by Moby
13. The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails
14. Enema Of The State by Blink-182
15. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory by Dream Theater
16. Showbiz by Muse
17. Slow Riot For New Zerø Kanada by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
18. The Battle Of Los Angeles by Rage Against The Machine
19. Black On Both Sides by Mos Def
20. Mule Variations by Tom Waits
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