Once In A Lifetime (track) by Talking Heads
Year: 1980
From the album Remain In Light (track #4)
Once In A Lifetime appears on the following album(s) by Talking Heads:
- Remain In Light (track #4) (this album) (1980)
- Stop Making Sense (track #6) (1984)
- Popular Favorites 1976-1992 - Sand In The Vaseline (track #14) (compilation) (1992)
- The Best Of Talking Heads (track #9) (compilation) (2004)
- Brick Box Set (track #37) (compilation) (2005)
- Once In A Lifetime: The Best Of- (track #3) (compilation) (1992)
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Once In A Lifetime ratings
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.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
90/100  | 08/08/2025 20:49 |  BroknsocialShawn | | 86/100 |
95/100 | 07/12/2025 14:36 |  ExTeaSea | | 87/100 |
100/100 | 07/06/2025 07:29 |  Igtonumama | | 81/100 |
60/100 | 06/19/2025 02:36 | alexmyst | | 64/100 |
90/100 | 06/14/2025 16:35 | ShenBapiro | | 80/100 |
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 92.7/100, a mean average of 91.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 92.9/100. The standard deviation for this track is 12.6.
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Good enough song, but also ond of those that get more praise than it can hold.
Quite possibly the greatest pop song of all time
Perhaps the best song of 1980. Everything is right: lyrics, unconventional instruments for the lead, catchy chorus. Byrne and Eno pushing each other to a lonely height of pure genius.
Excellent song. Loved this song for years and still as powerful now
Such a catchy song. Even though it gets used in just about every movie, TV show, trailer, and commercial, it never gets old.
Same as it ever was
I'm not a lyric guy but the lyrics here are amazing.
Many artists who have a track on the level of something like Psycho Killer struggle to create another quite of the same caliber. Not Talking Heads. I've put a lot of thought into this and Once In A Lifetime might have a legitimate case for best song of all time. Utterly Brilliant.
hereforashortime 03/09/2017 02:45
Wow, that's all I can say is just WOW
Flay 03/04/2017 15:26
Wonderfully weird, and a serious contender for best song of all time
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