The Flowers Of Romance
by Public Image Ltd.
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Public Image Ltd. bestography
The Flowers Of Romance is ranked 2nd best out of 18 albums by Public Image Ltd. on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Public Image Ltd. is Metal Box which is ranked number 861 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 2,015.
(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 The Flowers Of Romance on YouTube
The Flowers Of Romance track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
The Flowers Of Romance rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 6 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  Repo | 1981: Punk | 3/33 | - |
| 2026 |  covecove | Favorite Albums 300-201 | 11/100 | - |
| 2026 | stangetzaway | Top 43 Music Albums of 1981 | 16/43 | 3 |
| 2026 |  arthurbittencourt | Top 99 Music Albums of the 1980s | 96/99 | 1 |
| 2026 |  imacgill | Top 100 Music Albums of 1981 | 27/100 | 4 |
| 2026 | Repo | Top 100 Music Albums of 1981 | 9/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | LittleM1971 | Top 91 Music Albums of 1981 | 78/91 | 1 |
| 2026 | Juneof44 | Top 50 Music Albums of 1981 | 48/50 | 0 |
| 2026 |  Helios | Top 80 Music Albums of 1981 | 61/80 | 1 |
| 2026 | TroutMaskGreg | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 72/100 | 6 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 129 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 536 | |||
The Flowers Of Romance collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 47 members
The Flowers Of Romance 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 135 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/14/2026 06:38 | cicadelic | 14,028 | 73/100 |
| ! | 08/14/2026 10:52 |  RasmV | 2,614 | 73/100 |
| ! | 04/18/2026 19:04 | LittleM1971 | 6,003 | 81/100 |
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 16% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.0/100, a mean average of 73.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.0.
The Flowers Of Romance favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 23 members
The Flowers Of Romance forum mentions
Repo 06/03/2026 02:15 in What album are you listening to? (cont.) imacgill 05/30/2023 22:51 in What album are you listening to right now?
Mercury 01/07/2022 17:55 in Rank 'Em: The Beach BoysThe Flowers Of Romance comments
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I'm reviewing this album because honestly I kind of hate it and want to add a dissenting opinion to all the praise it has gotten.
I think most people are of the opinion that PIL were at the top of their game on Metal Box and I can understand that. Personally I think that Album with Bill Laswell is the best thing Lydon's ever done, and that First Issue was as good a manifesto as this band ever gave. Other people have said though that The Flowers of Romance is their best album and I don't understand this opinion at all. I think I read Jah Wobble as having said once that, looking back, he thought PIL didn't live up to their potential. Basically, I'd say that The Flowers of Romance encapsulates the wasted potential of this band.
What the hell is this album about? You've got two smart guys with good taste in music and what do they create when left to their own devices? A collection of unlistenable, anaemic, metallic-sounding songs with bad lyrics. The only listenable songs on this album are "Banging the Door" and "Home is Where the Heart is". Yes I know that the percussive element in this music shows the influence of african/middle-eastern music and german bands that are more interesting than PIL. I don't care. This album gives me a goddamn headache.
Lydon definitely has a unique vision but he needs other people around to create the actual music. Levene was already beginning to show signs of being washed up and mentally disorganized. Yes it is moderately interesting. Is it good? No. (Edited)
By the time of 'Flowers Of Romance', Lydon had added Martin Atkins on drums at the expense of Jah Wobble on bass. Thus, unlike 'Metal Box' the former rather than the latter play a prominent role. There is an overriding "ethnic" Arabian atmosphere in the sound of the instrumentation, while the backdrop is one of funk syncopation set against Lydon's dark lyrics and chilling voice. The overall effect is a kind of Freudian study that is at the same time nihilistic and harrowing. Key track: Banging The Door.
timtooky 03/28/2014 15:59 | #107901 | TOP COMMENT
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not a bad but mostly annoying, strange album which looks intentional to me. the playful and intense songs don't make much sense in their entirety.
Not as good as Metal Box/Second Edition, but a good release to Public Image Ltd's discography. I like Four Enclosed Walls quite a lot.
best tracks: under the house, banging the door
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