Troubadour
by K'naan

Troubadour by K'naan
Year: 2009
Release date: 2009-02-24
Overall rank: 16,648th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
72/100 (from 17 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 2009 (302nd)
Award Top albums of of the 2000s (3,003rd)
Award Best albums of all time (16,648th)

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K'naan bestography

Troubadour is ranked as the best album by K'naan.

K'naan album bestography « Higher ranked
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This album (16,648th)
Troubadour
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Troubadour

(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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Troubadour track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (12 out of 14 tracks have been rated).

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Troubadour rankings

Troubadour rankings summary
Overall rank: 16,648th | 2000s rank: 3,003rd | 2009 rank: 302nd  Overall chart history
(Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). (Last updated: 1 hour ago).
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2025cicadelicRobert Christgau: Dean's List 20097/83 -
2025BurndenAceTop 50 Music Albums of the 2000s45/502
2023Steppenwolf666Top rated albums from each country part 21/11 -
2022maxacareTop 3 Music Albums of 20093/32
2021maxacareTop 93 Greatest Music Albums68/9313
2021 desh79Top 100 Music Albums of 200970/1002
2020amassiniTop 29 Music Albums of 20095/294
2020WayneMCCBC Music's 100 Greatest Canadian Albums, Ever (2019)71/100 -
2019amassiniTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s56/1009
2015 junodog4Top 20 Music Albums of 20099/203
2015 zdwyattTop 55 Music Albums of 200926/553
2015ewhittenburgTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s60/1008
2015ReelBigTophTop 100 Music Albums of 200920/1004
2015 jhuikGreater Toronto! Best Toronto-based Albums Ever18/100 -
2013 JuicyJohnPinkTop 15 Music Albums of 20093/154
2013 GoJetsGoTop 100 Greatest Music Albums58/100 -
2010missreganTop 6 Greatest Music Albums2/6 -
2009Fast 'n' BulbousBest Albums 200916/1004
2009Eye WeeklyCanadian Critics Poll 20096/214
2009Village VoicePazz & Jop: Top 100 Albums of 200935/1003
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 22
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 67
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Troubadour collection

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Troubadour ratings

Average Rating: 
72/100 (from 17 votes)
  Ratings distribution 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 17 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 !
10/31/2025 18:40 Vitetia  Ratings distribution  378100/100
 
75/100
 !
07/29/2024 15:39 BurndenAce  Ratings distribution  1,25376/100
 
80/100
 !
05/16/2024 00:33 javicho07  Ratings distribution  3,08481/100
 
70/100
 !
09/30/2021 10:57 TUFFwith2Effs  Ratings distribution  3475/100
 
90/100
 !
06/06/2020 22:11 maxacare  Ratings distribution  39268/100

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 71.9/100, a mean average of 71.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 71.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.9.


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Troubadour favourites

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Troubadour comments

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Rating:  
70/100
From 09/30/2021 11:01 | #274465
There are some real standouts on the album, but I can't help but feel a slight cringe listening to them now. I get what he's going for, and I'm not against it but sometimes it just feels a bit... I dunno over the top I guess. I find his debut far superior as it delves more thoroughly into his past, and the uplifting moments seem more balanced and less... over the top. Not that he doesn't talk about his past. Fatima is necessary story for him to tell. It's good that he moves on and raps about more everyday topics for life in North America, but I find tracks like I come prepared and Bang Bang to be just decent. I really respect K'naan, but I think it's just sort of the nature of his narrative that his most important material was told first.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 10/24/2013 20:49 | #89143
His politics and message have garnered comparisons to Bob Marley, and I have to admit that his music just makes me feel good, in a similar one-world-solidarity-and-happiness sort of way.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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