Selling England By The Pound
by Genesis

Selling England By The Pound by Genesis
Year: 1973
Release date: 1973-10-12
Overall rank: 125th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,285 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1973 (4th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1970s (34th)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (125th)

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Genesis - Selling England By the Pound [New CD]
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Genesis - Selling England By The Pound [Clear Vinyl] NEW Sealed Vinyl LP Album
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Genesis Selling England By The Pound SD 19277 EX Vinyl, Fair Sleeve, 1973 LP
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Genesis bestography

Selling England By The Pound is ranked as the best album by Genesis.

Genesis album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (125th)
Selling England By The Pound
Lower ranked (251st) »
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

(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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Selling England By The Pound track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 86 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Selling England By The Pound rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 125th | 1970s rank: 34th | 1973 rank: 4th

Selling England By The Pound collection

Selling England By The Pound ratings

Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,285 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 1,285 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
95/100
 
03/30/2026 20:40 Deckard  Ratings distribution  13085/100
 
95/100
 
03/23/2026 04:28 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,26470/100
 
85/100
 
03/11/2026 23:59 bkogz  Ratings distribution  91185/100
 
100/100
 
03/11/2026 07:53 Bilou  Ratings distribution  24100/100
 
85/100
 
03/07/2026 11:34 classicjoe  Ratings distribution  23279/100

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 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 83.8/100, a mean average of 82.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.7.

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Selling England By The Pound favourites

Showing latest 20 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 307 members

Selling England By The Pound comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 95 comments |
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Rating:  
70/100
From 01/25/2026 12:48 | #312801
Firth Of Fifth, besides being one of the greatest 'prog rock' ever, probably has my all time favourite guitar solo in it!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/22/2025 21:11 | #310609
Considered by many to be the best pure Prog record ever made.

"Selling England By The Pound" is composed of 8 tracks, 4 longer and proggier numbers interpolated with 4 short ones, almost like when you eat ginger between sushi pieces, to cleanse the palate.

For me, the main difference between this and other Peter-Gabriel-era Genesis is that while all longer tracks here are superb, some of the highlights are actually the shorter ones.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 06/04/2024 23:03 | #303863
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
35/100
From 01/24/2024 23:03 | #301457
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (0 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 04/10/2023 10:55 | #295911
This is one of the true masterpieces of the prog rock genre. To start with the negatives, this isn't a perfect album as it does have a couple flaws such as the elongation of The Battle Of Epping Forest. However, none of these flaws hold it back significantly and for the most part they are people picking out tiny details that aren't really important. Then there are the positives of this album which is pretty much all of it. Musically, it is absolutely stunning with some of the arrangements on here completely blowing my mind every time I revisit this release. Then there is the instrumentation which is a marvel with this record having some of the greatest prog guitar and drum work I have ever heard. They then build upon this with a diverse array of instruments which are all performed beautifully and add such depth to the music. Their layering is fantastic as well with there being so much for us to explore and discover about the music on here. Then there is the songs as a whole which are beautiful compositions with the peak of this being The Cinema Show and Firth Of Fifth. Finally, you add on top an outstanding vocal display from Peter Gabriel and then you have a cohesive, fulfilling masterpiece that only gets better the more times you hear it. Overall, this is a phenomenal record and it deserves all the praise it receives as it is truly one of the greatest albums of all time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 02/27/2023 14:46 | #294503
Just some amazing rock arrangements. Unlike anything else; uniquely excellent
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/31/2022 03:45 | #289146
Solid album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 08/18/2022 06:00 | #288575
Maybe my favorite album from maybe my favorite band. So much variation on one record where every instrument gets to shine. A true prog classic for anyone!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/17/2022 19:53 | #282951
Very good, very british sounding album, impressive instrumentals, generally great vocals.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/13/2022 08:59 | #279241
I like prog. There are all kinds of variations. Seems like I'm more the Yes, King Crimson and Pink Floyd type.

I do like this album. But I don't love it. It feels self-important.

Having said this, there are highlights on this for sure. I especially like Firth of the Fifth and The Cinema Show.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1973
1. The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
2. Innervisions by Stevie Wonder
3. Houses Of The Holy by Led Zeppelin
4. Selling England By The Pound by Genesis
5. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John
6. Quadrophenia by The Who
7. Band On The Run by Paul McCartney & Wings
8. Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
9. Raw Power by Iggy And The Stooges
10. Future Days by Can
11. (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd) by Lynyrd Skynyrd
12. Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield
13. For Your Pleasure by Roxy Music
14. Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock
15. Closing Time by Tom Waits
16. Berlin by Lou Reed
17. The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle by Bruce Springsteen
18. Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye
19. Artaud by Pescado Rabioso
20. Larks' Tongues In Aspic by King Crimson