Fragile
by Yes

Fragile by Yes
Year: 1971
Release date: 1971-11-12
Overall rank: 263rd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,104 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1971 (11th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1970s (65th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (263rd)

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Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
CD YES Fragile Remaster w Bonus Tracks 2003 US R273789 Elektra LN READ
Condition: Like New


eBay
eBay
Yes Fragile Remastered CD Rock Album 2009 Atlantic R2 73789 Jewel Case Stereo
Condition: Very Good


eBay
eBay
Yes - Fragile VINYL LP ALBUM RECORD Reissue 1977 Prog Rock VG+ Gatefold Classic
Condition: Used


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Yes bestography

Fragile is ranked 2nd best out of 62 albums by Yes on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Yes is Close To The Edge which is ranked number 87 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 13,749.

Yes album bestography « Higher ranked (87th)
Close To The Edge
This album (263rd)
Fragile
Lower ranked (489th) »
The Yes Album

(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

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Indoor Friends , Yes, Chef!, Matthew Lee And The Standbys
Middle East - Upstairs, Cambridge, United States. United States
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21
Sat
Total Mass Retain YES Tribute Band
Daryl's House, Pawling, United States. United States
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Mar
31
Tue
Tejon Street Corner Thieves with Yes Ma'am and Little Foot (21+ Event)
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Fragile track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Fragile rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 263rd | 1970s rank: 65th | 1971 rank: 11th

Fragile collection

Fragile ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,104 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 1,104 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
65/100
 
02/21/2026 18:56 ramontxo21  Ratings distribution  1081/100
 
85/100
 
02/15/2026 21:29 Pluto11  Ratings distribution  12,06472/100
 
100/100
 
02/13/2026 02:02 evstratios  Ratings distribution  18097/100
 
80/100
 
02/06/2026 17:54 Juneof44  Ratings distribution  2,57869/100
 
90/100
 
02/02/2026 07:24 Robert_fripp  Ratings distribution  11285/100

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 83.3/100, a mean average of 82.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.2.

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Fragile comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 58 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 45 hours ago | #313411
Record number 4 and the first with keyboardist Rick Wakeman who replaced Tony Kaye after the group had finished touring their breakthrough record, The Yes Album. The artwork for the album was the band's first to be designed by Roger Dean, who would design many of their future covers.
Long Distance Runaround will be covered in a stunning version in 1996 by Red House Painters.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 05/05/2025 20:11 | #308833
This was very different from what I was listening to at the time. I really enjoyed the composition and arrangement of each song on this album. Roundabout is my favorite song on this album. The artwork on this cover is excellent.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/10/2023 19:10 | #297540
Wonderful collection from a band finding its way. A few of the solo tracks are filler but the band cuts are terrific
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/02/2023 23:00 | #294650
The longer songs are where this record shines with the bookends of the album being the two best tracks in my opinion. Everything in the middle I feel like I could take it or leave it but that opener and closer make this album a must listen. There are some good moments in that middle part but there is also some filler especially with the shorter songs such as the interludes which can feel a little pointless. Musically, it is great and the group once again demonstrate their instrumental prowess by delivering some outstanding performances. Overall, I don't think this is the groups best record but it still has highlights and is instrumentally fantastic.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 08/18/2022 15:42 | #288619
A slightly uneven album with all the interludes but the mega highlights are enough to make this a true classic!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 08/16/2022 11:10 | #288539
One of the band's strongest albums. There is outstanding composition and musicianship on this. The standouts...Heart Of The Sunrise, Roundabout, South Side Of The Sky, We Have Heaven, Long Distance Runaround. Tunes I grew up with and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/26/2022 19:35 | #280141
One of the best prog rock albums I've heard. Roundabout is one of the best songs of all time, Heart Of The Sunrise is pretty great too and I don't mind these shorter tracks.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 04/22/2021 19:40 | #268890
yes top prog rock offering a little dreamy
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/01/2021 20:32 | #266843
interesting. Not my favorite, but pretty good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/09/2021 11:07 | #264093
The three "bigs" are big indeed. The rest is a bit disappointing.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1971
1. Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) by Led Zeppelin
2. Who's Next by The Who
3. Hunky Dory by David Bowie
4. What's Going On by Marvin Gaye
5. Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones
6. Blue by Joni Mitchell
7. Tago Mago by Can
8. Meddle by Pink Floyd
9. L.A. Woman by The Doors
10. Tapestry by Carole King
11. Fragile by Yes
12. Bryter Layter by Nick Drake
13. Master Of Reality by Black Sabbath
14. Aqualung by Jethro Tull
15. Ram by Paul & Linda McCartney
16. Electric Warrior by T. Rex
17. Imagine by John Lennon
18. Maggot Brain by Funkadelic
19. There's A Riot Goin' On by Sly & The Family Stone
20. At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band
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