Bad (track)
by U2

Bad by U2
Year: 1984
From the album The Unforgettable Fire (track #7)
Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 249 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history

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The Unforgettable Fire (10 tracks) « Previous track (#6)
4th Of July
This track (#7)
Bad
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Indian Summer Sky

Bad appears on the following album(s) by U2:


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Bad ratings

Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 249 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 track. | Show all 249 ratings for this track.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberTrack ratingsAvg. track rating
 
80/100
 
12/28/2025 13:32 spinout  Ratings distribution  38,83683/100
 
90/100
 
12/06/2025 08:51 Siromynian  Ratings distribution  16,08270/100
 
75/100
 
11/20/2025 17:24 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  79,42870/100
 
95/100
 
09/23/2025 14:11 VictorVale  Ratings distribution  43,20188/100
 
20/100
 
09/08/2025 18:03 gmessian  Ratings distribution  1,47255/100

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 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 87.2/100, a mean average of 86.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.7/100. The standard deviation for this track is 14.8.

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Bad comments

Showing all 6 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:  
95/100
From 10/17/2023 20:35 | #299526
100% agree with the last commenter, a shivers-inducing song, such a beautiful sentiment
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 02/20/2022 19:21 | #281633
The best vocal performance ever in my book - when Bono sings "I'm wide awake" it gives me goosebumps. Such a beautiful song. 100/100
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 12/07/2021 04:05 | #277192
One of their best songs of the earlier period of their career, and is probably most well known for the 12-minute rendition performed at Live Aid that really solidified U2's reputation as a quality live act
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 08/20/2019 22:38 | #241469
one of the first u2 songs i fell deeply in love with. i've played it to death, and i sometimes avoid it for its simplicity, but damn if it's not a beautiful tune. bono used to wax it. i've always love the lyrics, "if you should ask, and maybe if they tell you what i would say, true colors fly in blue and black. blue silken sky and burning flag."
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 07/17/2019 13:09 | #239763
Simply perfect. I feel like I've overlooked it for years.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 01/14/2018 14:11 | #205485
Maybe the best 80s song by U2. Perfect!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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