Atmosphere (track)
by Joy Division
Atmosphere appears on the following album(s) by Joy Division:
- Substance (track #9) (this album) (compilation) (1988)
- The Best Of Joy Division (track #6) (compilation) (2008)
- Heart And Soul (track #24) (compilation) (1997)
- Permanent: Joy Division 1995 (track #15) (compilation) (1995)
- Les Bains Douches 18 December 1979 (track #16) (2001)
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Atmosphere 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).
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Showing latest 3 ratings for this track. | Show all 199 ratings for this track.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 07/07/2026 21:10 |  serpico | 3,959 | 89/100 |
| ! | 04/14/2026 13:08 | Fritz | 4,452 | 84/100 |
| ! | 02/07/2026 23:09 | culwin | 22,988 | 75/100 |
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 tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track is rated in the top 1% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 91.4/100, a mean average of 90.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 92.2/100. The standard deviation for this track is 13.2.
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Atmosphere comments
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DeusExMackia 04/02/2016 18:13 | #163164
Every line is as powerful as the previous. It's heartbreaking and achingly beautiful at the same time. Oddly enough I've always found it's not the words that make you cry, it's that glistening synth chorus that stabs you right where it hurts.
"People like you find it easy"
This is the ultimate Joy Division song, featuring Ian Curtis in a unique mood, bleak but not hopeless as in much of Unknown Pleasures but unusually romantic as well. His anthemic refrain is delivered within the frame of a brilliant production by Martin Hannett that mirrors the artwork of the great "Atmosphere/Dead Souls" single by conveying the sonic equivalent of snowfall in a pine forest. The chord progression that carries this song is basic, and conveys a very simple sense of forward motion, but under the combined weight of Curtis's most vulnerable lyrics, the frosty blurs and chimes of instrumentation that back him up, and the historical implications of Joy Division's last release before their singer's suicide, the aforementioned progression accrues emotional significance.
Romanelli 05/24/2013 15:36 | #77005
Just wow. This is a truly amazing song. Curtis' voice just makes it that much more emotional and deep. You can hear the raw emotion in his vocal.
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