Oar
by Alexander Spence
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Alexander Spence bestography
Oar is ranked as the best album by Alexander Spence.
(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 Oar on YouTube
Oar track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Oar rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 4 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  arthurbittencourt | Top 65 Music Albums of the 1960s | 23/65 | 13 |
| 2026 | Steppenwolf666 | 1969 8th chart | 2/19 | - |
| 2026 | Rm12398 | Top 100 Music Albums of 1969 | 24/100 | 4 |
| 2026 | BorderFreeAndrew | Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | 33/100 | 66 |
| 2026 | matterhornrider | Top 81 Music Albums of 1969 | 41/81 | 3 |
| 2026 |  O.T. | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s | 85/100 | 3 |
| 2026 | blueandthemoon | Top 48 Music Albums of 1969 | 41/48 | 1 |
| 2026 | Steppenwolf666 | Pt10 Most expensive records sold on Discogs | 72/98 | - |
| 2026 |  Hayden | Top 100 Music Albums of 1969 | 80/100 | 1 |
| 2026 |  Patman360 | Top 100 Music Albums of 1969 | 32/100 | 3 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 150 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 514 | |||
Oar collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 61 members
Oar 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 129 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/14/2026 09:17 | Johnnyo | 9,944 | 77/100 |
| ! | 07/25/2026 01:46 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,684 | 70/100 |
| ! | 06/09/2026 12:18 |  imimesis | 2,119 | 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 6% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.5/100, a mean average of 74.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.3.
Oar favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 22 members
Oar forum mentions
RoundTheBend 02/10/2020 02:54 in You must listen to the album below you: canon editionOar comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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bland. dour. monotone. folk rock (Edited)
I really like this album. It’s a niche album that reminds me a lot of Syd Barrett’s “The Madcap Laughs”. Coincidentally, both musicians were in similar situations when they made their albums (this one came out a year earlier). Oar isn’t supposed to be a masterpiece. It’s the back story behind the album and the story of Skip Spence that give the album extra mojo, although I do really enjoy the first half and think they are good songs with a lot of character. It’s a great album to listen to on a long car ride in a farmland open road kind of setting if you live in that kind of area. In conclusion, it’s not a spectacular, but it has character and is an enjoyable, easy listen. Weighed Down is my favorite track. (Edited)
sssvnnn 02/21/2019 00:55 | #232277
^strange album...
I´m not convinced..
maybe you should be in a special mood for this.
Crazy more people do not love this one. Beck gave me insight on this album and I will forever love him for remaking this album, but his work can't ever come close to this piece of art! (Edited)
paladisiac TOP 100 COMMENTER 03/01/2018 16:44 | #209853
Psychedelic demos. Take them for what they are. We fly so close.
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