Bad Moon Rising (studio album) by Sonic Youth

Bad Moon Rising by Sonic Youth
Year: 1985
Overall rank: 2,171st   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 244 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1985 (26th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (331st)
Award Best albums of all time (2,171st)

Sonic Youth bestography

Bad Moon Rising is ranked 7th best out of 39 albums by Sonic Youth on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Sonic Youth is Daydream Nation which is ranked number 74 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 16,422.

Sonic Youth album bestography « Higher ranked (1,588th) This album (2,171st) Lower ranked (2,576th) »
Washing MachineBad Moon RisingMurray Street

Upcoming concerts

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DD Osama, Sugarhill Ddot & Star Bandz: The New Wave Tour 2025
The Masquerade - Hell, Atlanta, United States. United States
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26
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Wayne: Up Close & Personal
Bugsy's Cabaret at Flamingo, Las Vegas, United States. United States
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Apr
28
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Your Neighbors
White Oak Music Hall - Upstairs , Houston, United States. United States
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Bad Moon Rising track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 75 (40 votes)Comments: 0
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5.
Rating: 73 (41 votes)Comments: 0
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6.
Rating: 78 (41 votes)Comments: 0
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Bad Moon Rising rankings

Bad Moon Rising collection

Bad Moon Rising ratings

Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 244 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 244 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 Report rating
17 hours ago thepardunk  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,07770/100
 
50/100
 Report rating
03/25/2025 08:21 CaptainPain  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,08861/100
 
15/100
 Report rating
03/01/2025 14:43 RemainInLight  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,51935/100
 
100/100
 Report rating
02/24/2025 21:26 kinginsomniac12  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 200100/100
 
65/100
 Report rating
11/18/2024 06:53 Sumbody  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,49676/100

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 albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album has a Bayesian average rating of 73.1/100, a mean average of 72.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 73.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.8.

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Bad Moon Rising favourites

Showing all 14 members who have added this album as a favourite

Bad Moon Rising comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 14 comments |
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Rating:  
80/100
From 11/28/2020 17:27
Difficult at times, other times you can hear them coming into their own. Highlights are Death Valley '69, Ghost Bitch
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/16/2020 04:52
Admittedly their most inaccessible album, but it still has a lot of great moments.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 04/30/2020 23:58
A bit of the avant-garde never hurt anyone. I heard this was an influence on Kevin Shields for his MBV masterpiece. I could see that.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/13/2019 04:09
Good album.

Favorite tracks: Death Valley '69

B+
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 11/09/2018 22:05
More than the sum of its parts. Cluttered and awesome. Songs overlap into each other. The guitar work is imaginative, and still so human despite the alien structures of the songs.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 11/03/2017 20:12
Best Tracks: Death Valley '69, Brave Men Run (In My Family)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
40/100
From 10/28/2017 01:13
One of my least favorite SY releases, there are a few pretty good songs here and there, but overall most of this stuff is pretty boring and forgettable.

Favorite Tracks: Intro/Brave Men Run, I'm Insane, Death Valley '69
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 06/27/2016 00:32
idk why early sonic youth is so underrated, i find it more amusing than the most famous albums

the mixing of this album is great, though confusing as songs begins one minute into the previous one. the soundscape is genius

love it, my key to be a SY fan
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/17/2014 19:19
Got me into Sonic Youth.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
5/100
From 04/25/2014 22:14
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -8 votes (0 helpful | 8 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1985
1. Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
2. Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
3. Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits
4. Meat Is Murder by The Smiths
5. Psychocandy by The Jesus And Mary Chain
6. Songs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears
7. The Head On The Door by The Cure
8. Tim by The Replacements
9. Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout
10. Rum Sodomy & The Lash by The Pogues
11. Misplaced Childhood by Marillion
12. Low-Life by New Order
13. This Is The Sea by The Waterboys
14. New Day Rising by Hüsker Dü
15. This Nation's Saving Grace by The Fall
16. Fables Of The Reconstruction by R.E.M.
17. Little Creatures by Talking Heads
18. Around The World In A Day by Prince And The Revolution
19. Love by The Cult
20. The Dream Of The Blue Turtles by Sting
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