Playing The Angel (studio album)
by Depeche Mode

Playing The Angel by Depeche Mode
Year: 2005
Release date: 2005-10-14
Overall rank: 2,398th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 237 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 2005 (51st)
Award Top albums of the 2000s (402nd)
Award Best albums of all time (2,398th)
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Depeche Mode - Playing The Angel / The 12" Singles - Sealed
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DEPECHE MODE - PLAYING THE ANGEL NEW VINYL
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DEPECHE MODE "Playing The Angel" rare cassette tape ukraine version
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Depeche Mode bestography

Playing The Angel is ranked 7th best out of 45 albums by Depeche Mode on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Depeche Mode is Violator which is ranked number 102 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 12,382.

Depeche Mode album bestography « Higher ranked (1,776th)
Some Great Reward
This album (2,398th)
Playing The Angel
Lower ranked (3,170th) »
Memento Mori

(N.B. Bestographies do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Oct
18
Sat
19:00
Strangelove - The Depeche Mode Experience
Citizens House of Blues Boston, Boston, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Oct
19
Sun
15:30
Bauhaus, Depeche Mode, NIN, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Cure tributes - Dark Waves Tribute Fest #2
Garden Amphitheatre, Garden Grove, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Oct
25
Sat
19:00
NEW WAVE NIGHT (The Smiths, Depeche Mode, New Order Tributes & More)
Hobart Art Theatre, Hobart, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Playing The Angel on YouTube

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Playing The Angel track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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3.
Rating: 81 (49 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Rating: 79 (44 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Track pick
Rating: 87 (100 votes)Comments: View 1
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6.
Rating: 76 (41 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Rating: 77 (41 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Rating: 74 (39 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Rating: 74 (41 votes)Comments: View 0
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11.
Rating: 78 (45 votes)Comments: View 0
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12.
Rating: 77 (41 votes)Comments: View 0
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Playing The Angel rankings

Playing The Angel collection

Playing The Angel ratings

Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 237 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 237 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
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09/24/2025 19:33 heavensin  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 5693/100
 
80/100
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04/28/2025 10:59 Banner  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4,88080/100
 
65/100
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04/10/2025 14:26 cicadelic  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 10,81073/100
 
70/100
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12/05/2024 03:07 dhbarrett  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 7,88465/100
 
80/100
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12/03/2024 11:46 Radiohead76  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 35779/100

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 13% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.4/100, a mean average of 74.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 12.9.

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Playing The Angel comments

Showing all 9 comments |
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Rating:  
90/100
From 06/15/2019 07:54
Hugely underrated. One of, if not, their best album. Strong from start to finish, the complete Depeche Mode sound.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 09/05/2017 05:27
An amazing return to form, Playing the angel shows Depeche mode still has power in its later years. This album captures themes of restructuring life after personal failure and tragedy.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 06/08/2016 15:27
One of those Depeche Mode albums that starts strongly but runs out of steam towards the end. Playing The angel, sees the band trying hard, and some of it works fine in, John the revelator(based on an old blues song), suffer well, and, precious. Maybe the album could have been shortened by a couple of tracks down to ten. Still, when it's good, playing the angel, is fine, but it's just not often enough.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/28/2016 23:12

DM know how to write great music

A bloody great album that deserves a listen
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/06/2015 18:49
Good synthpop/alternative dance/alternative rock album. Best 10 songs average is 84,7/100 and the album can get good 85/100. Best song is "Precious" 90/100, followed by "A pain...", "John the revelator", "Suffer well" and "The sinner in me" all 85/100. Second half is lower, all songs here 75-80/100.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/23/2014 22:45
A great album; better than anything U2 or R.E.M. have done this century. Precious might be their best single since Enjoy the Silence.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 10/21/2013 22:48
Very good.
Best tracks: Precious, Lilian, Suffer Well, I Want It All.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 02/20/2013 14:50
one of the best albums of Depeche Mode
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (2 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
40/100
From 05/08/2012 08:04
A few moments of brilliance, but it feels somewhat uninspired. This album was really good the first time I heard it but never again.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

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