American Fool (studio album)
by John Cougar
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Condition: Used
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John Cougar bestography
American Fool is ranked 3rd best out of 33 albums by John Mellencamp on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by John Mellencamp is Scarecrow which is ranked number 2147 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 760.
(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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American Fool track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 74 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
American Fool rankings
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American Fool 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 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 125 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 5 days ago |  TimBroad04 | 203 | 69/100 |
| ! | 11/12/2025 23:36 | NYAndreas | 1,432 | 43/100 |
| ! | 10/22/2025 22:44 |  EyeKanFly | 8,092 | 65/100 |
| ! | 09/13/2025 15:31 | Sentido | 339 | 83/100 |
| ! | 04/18/2025 23:21 | machiaj | 771 | 71/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 70.9/100, a mean average of 69.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 70.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.7.
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American Fool comments
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Shortlisted for album of the year at the 1983 Grammys. The Winner was Toto IV by Toto
Jboy56 03/26/2024 08:56 | #302687
A great album with 2 absolute classics. The rest of the album is solid, but some of these songs use the same rhythmic patterns, which might make them sound the same.
Still recommended
"Jack and Diane" was his biggest hit, reaching No.25 in the UK, although he only ever had one other top 40 hit.
Greatest commercial success but not the best
timtooky 04/02/2014 20:59 | #108329
two really good tracks and a lot of agreeable folkrock. not exactly what i would call "a gem" - but there is a lot of weaker stuff in 1982.
This needs to be removed. This album is already on the site. We don't want duplicates.
I do prefer the stuff after he added his true surname, but you cannot deny this stuff. Two all time classics on this album and everything is fun good old rock and roll.
jhuik 01/06/2012 00:23 | #34651
Fun stuff. I find Weakest Moments AND Thundering Hearts irresistible.
This is all good stuff, Thundering Hearts is an unknown gem.
Bork 07/12/2010 20:03 | #13452
Mellencamp's greatest album. As always a couple unnecessary tracks (Danger List and Weakest Moments) keep it from masterpiece status, but this is still a gem.
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