Candle (track)
by Sonic Youth
Candle appears on the following album(s) by Sonic Youth:
- Daydream Nation (track #9) (this album) (1988)
- Screaming Fields Of Sonic Love (track #3) (compilation) (1995)
- Live In Moscow (April, 1989) (track #3) (2019)
- Daydream Nation Live In Glasgow, Scotland 2007 (track #9) (2018)
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Candle 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 5 ratings for this track. | Show all 363 ratings for this track.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 4 days ago |  serpico | 3,569 | 90/100 |
| ! | 07/21/2026 01:13 | Exist-en-ciel | 167,650 | 71/100 |
| ! | 05/17/2026 20:28 | libbyshuss | 963 | 78/100 |
| ! | 01/18/2026 11:43 | wizardalien | 9,810 | 61/100 |
| ! | 10/17/2025 07:20 |  NJ | 991 | 87/100 |
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 88.7/100, a mean average of 87.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.1/100. The standard deviation for this track is 13.5.
Candle favourites
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Candle comments
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When the guitars get real noisy, that's when the song really gets awesome.
This song is one of the most beautiful wonders in Sonic Youth's catalog, the intro riff perfectly sets the tone for a wonderful composition filled with amazing riffing and mesmerizing vocals. Truly essential to their catalog.
DeusExMackia 01/30/2017 12:47 | #184584
Candle is one of those songs that you find to be one of the single most perfect pieces of music ever made, and yet you can't explain to anyone for the life of you why you like it.
I'm still convinced it's the riff on that chorus that keeps bringing me back to it.
nitomano 09/01/2016 04:26 | #173941
Atmosferica, tétrica, alegre y misteriosa, una rara convinación
poppmusic 12/27/2015 06:16 | #155184
Beautiful guitar riff! Reminds me of the mysterious quality of Zep's "Stairway" or ELP's "From the Beginning"
Favorite Sonic Youth song to play on guitar, I love the dynamics of this track!
Jasonconfused 01/22/2013 05:28 | #62464
Wasn't expecting this at this point in the album. Beautiful guitar playing.
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