The Sounds Of India
by Ravi Shankar

The Sounds Of India by Ravi Shankar
Year: 1958
Overall rank: 9,417th   
Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 54 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1958 (65th)
Award Top albums of the 1950s (286th)
Award Best albums of all time (9,417th)

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The Sounds of India by Ravi Shankar (CD, Jul-1989, Columbia (USA))
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Ravi Shankar The Sounds Of India 1968 LP Columbia CS 9296 Hindustani Sitar
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CD Ravi Shankar The Sound Of Indian Sitar 2 CDs
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Ravi Shankar bestography

The Sounds Of India is ranked 2nd best out of 36 albums by Ravi Shankar on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Ravi Shankar is Music Of India (Three Classical Ragas) which is ranked number 2381 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 670.

Ravi Shankar album bestography « Higher ranked (9,417th)
The Sounds Of India
This album (9,417th)
The Sounds Of India
Lower ranked (14,270th) »
India's Master Musician

(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

Mar
22
Sun
15:00
Ravi Shankar Ensemble
Orchestra Hall - IL, Chicago, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Mar
31
Tue
20:00
The Ravi Shankar Ensemble
Alex Theatre, Glendale, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
06
Mon
19:30
Ravi Shankar Ensemble
Moore Theatre, Seattle, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

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The Sounds Of India track list

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

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2.
Average Rating: 77 (9 votes)Comments: View 1
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3.
Average Rating: 78 (9 votes)Comments: View 1
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Average Rating: 77 (9 votes)Comments: View 1
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5.
Average Rating: 77 (9 votes)Comments: View 1
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The Sounds Of India rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 9,417th | 1950s rank: 286th | 1958 rank: 65th

The Sounds Of India collection

The Sounds Of India ratings

Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 54 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.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 54 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
12/25/2025 01:07 Exist-en-ciel   6,11270/100
 
80/100
 !
12/04/2025 10:35 LedZep   4,86979/100
 
30/100
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11/14/2025 19:50 Jakor   4,91469/100
 
60/100
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11/10/2025 10:51 TonySayers61   23,35464/100
 
75/100
 !
07/07/2025 10:24 djnizzi   2,85880/100

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 73.2/100, a mean average of 72.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 73.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.3.

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The Sounds Of India favourites

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The Sounds Of India comments

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Rating:  
55/100
From 02/06/2021 15:39 | #265912
educational introduction to Indian music by the man who influenced many
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/13/2018 05:20 | #205365
Classical Indian doesn't entrance me quite as much as it used to, but if you're going to listen to anyone, it should probably be Ravi Shankar.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 11/08/2013 18:59 | #91291
Let's face it. Ravi Shankar was pretty much the closest that he could be to "rock star" status as an Eastern musician in the late 60s and early 70s. This virtuoso sitar player from India was one of key ambassadors for Eastern music during this time, thanks in part to an early endorsement from The Beatles. He would later appear at Woodstock to play in front of half a million music fans. This made perfect sense at the time given the influence that Indian music had upon Rock music during the Psychedelic era. This album is a wonderful introduction to Ravi & Indian music in general. His teaching narratives throughout the album are geared to help Western listeners understand the mechanics of this genre. I suppose the styling might wear upon the nerves of some listeners due to their constant drones Ravi improvises over. Those who grasp the brilliance of Ravi's improvisations with fully acknowledge what a BAD ASS he was on this album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/22/2013 00:19 | #62444
It's hard for me to say much about it since I lack the expertise, but it was quite enjoyable and a nice departure from Western music.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1958
1. Blue Train by John Coltrane
2. Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
3. Lady In Satin by Billie Holiday
4. Somethin' Else by Cannonball Adderley
5. Buddy Holly by Buddy Holly
6. Bo Diddley by Bo Diddley
7. Milestones by Miles Davis
8. Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud by Miles Davis
9. Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely by Frank Sinatra
10. Little Richard by Little Richard
11. Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra
12. One Dozen Berrys by Chuck Berry
13. The Everly Brothers by The Everly Brothers
14. Jerry Lee Lewis by Jerry Lee Lewis
15. Basie by Count Basie And His Orchestra & Neal Hefti
16. The Best Of Muddy Waters by Muddy Waters
17. Elvis' Golden Records by Elvis Presley
18. Relaxin' With The Miles Davis Quintet by Miles Davis Quintet
19. Dance Mania by Tito Puente
20. Songs For Distingué Lovers by Billie Holiday
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