Cosmic Thing (studio album)
by The B-52's

Cosmic Thing by The B-52's
Year: 1989
Overall rank: 2,010th   
Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 207 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1989 (26th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (307th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,010th)

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The B-52s Cosmic Thing Love Shack Reprise 9258541 Germany
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The B-52's Cosmic Thing CD SEALED! 24KT GOLD LTD ED. Audio Fidelity w/Slipcase!
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Cosmic Thing by The B-52s (CD, 1989)
Condition: Very Good


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The B-52's bestography

Cosmic Thing is ranked 2nd best out of 15 albums by The B-52's on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The B-52's is The B-52's which is ranked number 865 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,992.

The B-52's album bestography « Higher ranked (865th)
The B-52's
This album (2,010th)
Cosmic Thing
Lower ranked (2,409th) »
Wild Planet

(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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Cosmic Thing track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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1.
Average Rating: 80 (39 votes)Comments: View 0
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2.
Average Rating: 80 (38 votes)Comments: View 0
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3.
Average Rating: 81 (41 votes)Comments: View 0
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Track pick (850 - 100 votes)
Average Rating: 85 (100 votes)Comments: View 2
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5.
Average Rating: 79 (36 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 85 (70 votes)Comments: View 2
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7.
Average Rating: 78 (35 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
Average Rating: 80 (38 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 80 (33 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Average Rating: 78 (33 votes)Comments: View 0
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Cosmic Thing rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,010th | 1980s rank: 307th | 1989 rank: 26th

Cosmic Thing collection

Cosmic Thing ratings

Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 207 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 207 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
12/07/2025 13:22 Pluto11   11,73272/100
 
65/100
 !
12/07/2025 12:41 Juneof44   2,55269/100
 
100/100
 !
12/05/2025 20:07 Tuur   94767/100
 
10/100
 !
11/28/2025 18:25 Kingturtle   7,44173/100
 
80/100
 !
11/12/2025 23:22 NYAndreas   1,43243/100

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 15% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.2/100, a mean average of 73.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.3.

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Cosmic Thing comments

Showing all 8 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)

Rating:  
15/100
From 04/26/2021 07:34 | #268989
There isn't alot on here for me. I can take away Love Shack and Roam but the rest is poor.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 01/15/2019 03:17 | #229696
I prefer their earlier albums but this is a great album. What makes it a slight miss is that the songs that aren't good are not worth playing. Roam is the best of the 5 songs I listen to
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 05/28/2017 21:24 | #191603
Love Shack is one of my least favourite B52's tracks, Roam one of their best, and that sums this album up for me. A few too many tracks that are shown up a litte too much by the best of the others - Roam, Dry Country - still a decent listen though.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 04/26/2016 06:42 | #164555
I decent, summer album. Check out the two part harmonies with the female singers.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/22/2015 03:30 | #132172
Massive comeback, but still a little inconsistent. Stick with a compilation or their debut.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/08/2013 02:19 | #83482
Right as everyone wrote them off as dead after Ricky Wilson's death and the subsequent failure of the underrated "Bouncing Off The Satellites", they came back bigger than ever. I am partial to the earlier records and admit that "Love Shack" isn't one of my fave B-52's songs but as a whole a very solid album that deserves to be known for more than that one overplayed hit.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/29/2012 14:19 | #41189
Solid album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 06/15/2011 23:54 | #23141
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (1 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1989
1. Doolittle by Pixies
2. Disintegration by The Cure
3. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
4. Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
5. On Fire by Galaxie 500
6. 3 Feet High And Rising by De La Soul
7. Bleach by Nirvana
8. Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails
9. Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty
10. New York by Lou Reed
11. Technique by New Order
12. Like A Prayer by Madonna
13. The Real Thing by Faith No More
14. The Sensual World by Kate Bush
15. Floating Into The Night by Julee Cruise
16. Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson
17. 13 Songs by Fugazi
18. Hats by The Blue Nile
19. Oh Mercy by Bob Dylan
20. Wrong by NoMeansNo
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