In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
by Neutral Milk Hotel

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
Year: 1998
Release date: 1998-02-10
Overall rank: 17th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 2,973 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Best album of 1998 (1st)
Award Top 10 albums of the 1990s (3rd)
Award Top 20 albums of all time (17th)

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Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [New CD]
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Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea LP 1998 MERGE MRG136 LP-EX/NM
Condition: Used


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NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL In The Aeroplane Over The Sea LP 180 gr Merge MRG136LP
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Neutral Milk Hotel bestography

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is ranked as the best album by Neutral Milk Hotel.

Neutral Milk Hotel album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (17th)
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Lower ranked (996th) »
On Avery Island

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Listen to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea on YouTube

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In The Aeroplane Over The Sea track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 89 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.

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 17th | 1990s rank: 3rd | 1998 rank: 1st
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026UnliveableWiltsTop 100 Greatest Music Albums60/10040
2026bonnequestionBEA Top 500 Reorganized According To My Taste89/100 -
2026Rm12398Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s2/10020
2026jdizzle12345680s-90s7/50 -
2026 PurplepashTop 48 Music Albums of 19982/485
2026 PasticheTop 100 Music Albums of the 1990s1/10020
2026baz1860Top 100 Greatest Music Albums14/10086
2026 luizastTop 40 Greatest Music Albums28/4032
2026 RockdrigoTop 100 Greatest Music Albums4/10094
2026Juneof44Top 50 Music Albums of 199843/501
2026 AAL2014Top 52 Music Albums of 19981/525
2026FritzTop 100 Greatest Music Albums14/10086
2026daCriticTop 100 Music Albums of the 1990s30/10014
2026Drbassexpert24Top 91 Music Albums of the 1990s3/9120
2026araidernomoreTop 6 Music Albums of 19982/64
2026 spigelwiiTop 70 Music Albums of the 1990s1/7020
2026araidernomoreTop 62 Music Albums of the 1990s15/6215
2026Foxforce5Top 18 Music Albums of 19984/184
2026arturoTop 40 Greatest Music Albums8/4080
2026tyleraeppsTop 100 Greatest Music Albums17/10084
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 2,428
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 30,904
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea collection

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea ratings

Average Rating: 
87/100 (from 2,973 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 2,973 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 
3 days ago golrab67  Ratings distribution  17391/100
 
100/100
 
04/30/2026 21:10 snailmail500  Ratings distribution  27382/100
 
70/100
 
04/29/2026 00:08 oilnoilnoilnoil  Ratings distribution  26977/100
 
80/100
 
04/21/2026 17:02 SomethingSpecial  Ratings distribution  1,75482/100
 
85/100
 
04/20/2026 07:48 Liks_on_music  Ratings distribution  59881/100

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 86.9/100, a mean average of 84.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.0/100. The standard deviation for this album is 19.0.

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In The Aeroplane Over The Sea favourites

Showing latest 20 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 831 members

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 432 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
50/100
From 01/30/2026 19:45 | #312903
I don't understand what it is doing at 17 on this list.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/05/2025 20:07 | #311219
A rollercoaster of highly emotional songs which relate to Anne Frank. To be honest, I generally, don't have a clue what Jeff Mangum is singing about, and it doesn't matter as I am sure that Jeff does and level of raw emotion throughout the whole album, make this for me , the greatest vinyl album of all time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/16/2025 07:43 | #310157
One of the greatest albums of all time. Firstly because it isn't just a collection of songs and secondly because it's delivered with a passion.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/08/2025 22:39 | #309994
Once this album gets its claws into you it won’t let go. By the time I’d listened to it 2 or 3 times I knew it was easily a top 10 album. Now after many years of listening to it, it’s a great shout for my favourite album of all time. I keep coming back to it. Also anyone talking about poor vocals just doesn’t get music. Jeff Magnum’s vocals are raw passionate and intense which suits this music perfectly. Couldn’t imagine it any other way.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
5/100
From 07/15/2024 09:02 | #304350
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (3 helpful | 6 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/14/2024 23:56 | #303970
A surrealistic work of musical and lyrical genius. I have never heard anything like it. The themes explored are deeply profound: connection, love, genocide, memory, creation, autonomy, dependence, and weltschmerz.

This is an album worth listening to over and over again. It is one of the greatest works ever put to record and while no song is a hit, the totality of excellent tracks sums greater than its parts, standing as a timeless expression of the human experience in all its pain and glory. 10/10!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (2 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 06/03/2024 08:06 | #303823
Not a bad album, but even after 4 listens, I just don’t get the hype.
Especially the vocals are average at best
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (5 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/18/2024 03:08 | #303043
Embarrassing to admit: I only listened to this album because of all the hype. And the first listen I couldn't see why it got the hype. Next time I heard it, I liked it although I thought it was still over-rated. Third listen I loved it. A case of Emperor's New Clothes? Probably. Most people I know with decent music taste vary from indifference to hostility. But I love it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 12/09/2023 14:22 | #300373
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (0 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
Rating:  
35/100
From 07/25/2023 14:15 | #298335
I don't understand why this album is so highly rated. The songs aren't bad but the album just sounds like a demo tape to me. It could be so much better if the whole thing was re-recorded with a decent producer at the helm. This album just sounds like it was recorded in one take. A lot of work needs to be done on the vocals and the instrumentation for me to want to listen to it repeatedly.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (7 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1998
1. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
2. Mezzanine by Massive Attack
3. Moon Safari by Air
4. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
5. Aquemini by OutKast
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