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The Rating Project: Cumulative Results

From April 13 to August 9, 2003—plus quite a few sporadic sequels to cover subsequent releases—I ran polls in which I asked my site visitors to rate the songs written and/or performed by the Pet Shop Boys on a scale of 0 to 10 as they compare with each other, with 0 indicating "one of the worst PSB songs ever" and 10 indicating "one of the very best PSB songs."

I fully acknowledge that, taken as a group, these are thoroughly unscientific ratings. It would have been far more valid, for instance, to have presented all of the songs at once and have my site visitors rate them in one fell swoop, so to speak. That, however, would have been a monster survey to complete and even more monstrous for me to manage. And they would all have to be voted on, over and over again, whenever any new songs were released. So as unscientific as the week-by-week process has been, it's far more practical and manageable.

The following table provides the cumulative results of this series of ratings polls. The songs are listed and ranked in descending order based on the average rating they each received. In addition, "album averages" appear near the bottom of this page, followed by a list of various "ratings superlatives and statistics." The songs rated most recently are highlighted in pink.

Rank
Song (listed from highest average rating to lowest)
Average
Rating
% of
voters
ranking
10
% of
voters
ranking
0
1
 Being Boring
8.742
46.5%
0.0%
2
 The Way It Used to Be
8.727
47.8%
0.3%
3
 Can You Forgive Her?
8.650
37.8%
0.0%
4
 Disappointed (Electronic)
8.431
32.8%
0.0%
5
 Left to My Own Devices
8.407
34.6%
0.0%
6
 It's a Sin
8.399
36.9%
0.0%
7
 Shameless
8.286
29.5%
0.7%
8
 Go West
8.217
35.6%
0.0%
9
 Integral
8.173
30.1%
0.3%
10
 West End Girls
8.145
33.3%
1.2%
11
 Always on My Mind
8.062
30.9%
1.2%
12
 Fugitive
7.984
25.7%
0.4%
13
 So Hard
7.956
23.3%
0.0%
14
 Minimal
7.945
21.2%
0.3%
15
 Thursday
7.944
20.0%
0.8%
16
 Getting Away with It (Electronic)
7.912
22.7%
0.0%
17
 Burn
7.911
19.0%
0.2%
18
 Vocal
7.910
25.4%
0.6%
19
 Miserablism
7.904
28.8%
0.7%
20
 Domino Dancing
7.901
24.2%
0.0%
21
 No Time for Tears
7.874
25.2%
1.0%
22
 Your Funny Uncle
7.865
27.2%
0.7%
23
 Will-o-the-wisp
7.862
18.6%
0.7%
24
 After All
7.837
30.6%
1.0%
25
 Leaving
7.834
20.7%
0.2%
26
 Jealousy
7.830
22.6%
0.0%
27
 Love Is a Bourgeois Construct
7.824
27.1%
1.0%
28
 Pandemonium
7.800
22.8%
0.3%
29
 Somebody Else's Business
7.799
24.0%
0.0%
30
 King's Cross
7.792
33.3%
0.6%
31
 Decide
7.776
18.7%
0.8%
32
 So Sorry, I Said
7.754
18.0%
0.0%
33
 Delusions of Grandeur
7.750
23.2%
0.7%
34
 Rent
7.732
22.6%
0.0%
35
 I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
7.728
22.2%
0.0%
36
 What Have I Done to Deserve This?
7.714
22.6%
0.0%
37
 A New Bohemia
7.708
21.3%
0.3%
38
 The Sodom and Gomorrah Show
7.701
17.9%
0.7%
39
 Paninaro
7.688
21.8%
0.0%
40
 Always
7.677
23.3%
0.0%
41
 A Red Letter Day
7.674
21.5%
0.0%
42
 Brick England (with Jean-Michel Jarre)
7.655
15.4%
0.0%
43
 My Night (from Closer to Heaven)
7.644
19.1%
0.0%
44
 Too Many People
7.640
17.8%
0.7%
45
 You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
7.610
23.6%
0.0%
46
 I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More *
7.604
20.3%
0.0%
47
 This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave *
7.604
23.3%
0.0%
48
 For Freedom
7.598
27.2%
1.1%
49
 Closer to Heaven
7.582
15.4%
0.0%
50
 Love etc.
7.563
14.1%
0.2%
51
 Heart
7.536
17.3%
0.0%
52
 One Thing Leads to Another
7.535
17.1%
0.7%
53
 You've Got to Start Somewhere (unreleased)
7.522
14.3%
0.9%
54
 Flamboyant
7.520
16.2%
0.5%
55
 Paninaro '95
7.486
21.7%
0.7%
56
 Love Comes Quickly
7.473
23.0%
1.2%
57
 I'm Not Scared
7.463
14.2%
0.0%
58
 The Dictator Decides
7.451
15.2%
0.4%
59
 For Your Own Good
7.445
20.9%
0.5%
60
 Hallo Spaceboy (duet with David Bowie)
7.438
10.7%
0.0%
61
 The Resurrectionist
7.436
17.2%
0.4%
62
 Yesterday, When I Was Mad
7.428
18.9%
0.0%
63
 Try It (I'm in Love with a Married Man)
7.400
24.0%
2.0%
64
 After the Event
7.398
15.4%
0.8%
65
 Memory of the Future
7.391
16.5%
1.0%
66
 Miracles
7.387
15.1%
0.5%
67
 All Over the World
7.386
15.8%
0.5%
68
 The Theatre
7.378
17.2%
0.6%
69
 Requiem in Denim and Leopardskin
7.375
14.8%
0.7%
70
 In Private
7.370
15.1%
1.7%
71
 Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
7.358
11.1%
0.0%
72
 Call Me Old-Fashioned (from Closer to Heaven)
7.349
10.1%
0.0%
73
 The Truck-Driver and His Mate
7.331
15.9%
0.7%
74
 Liberation
7.328
21.7%
0.0%
75
 Burning the Heather
7.311
14.2%
1.0%
76
 Forever in Love
7.308
13.2%
1.3%
77
 To Step Aside
7.302
18.0%
0.6%
78
 The Patience of a Saint (Electronic)
7.292
10.9%
0.8%
79
 Home and Dry
7.284
9.9%
0.0%
80
 A Face Like That
7.265
12.2%
0.7%
81
 Hit and Miss
7.233
16.7%
0.7%
82
 A Powerful Friend
7.222
12.5%
0.0%
83
 A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi
7.221
13.0%
0.5%
84
 It Always Comes as a Surprise
7.198
16.3%
0.0%
85
 An Open Mind
7.194
11.5%
0.8%
86
 Fluorescent
7.192
12.0%
0.6%
87
 I Didn't Get Where I Am Today
7.185
17.3%
0.6%
88
 Axis
7.182
11.6%
0.4%
89
 Hoping for a Miracle
7.180
15.1%
1.2%
90
 The Squadron
7.163
18.6%
4.8%
91
 Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
7.158
12.1%
1.2%
92
 Bright Young Things
7.149
14.9%
0.5%
93
 For All of Us (from Closer to Heaven)
7.148
19.1%
2.2%
94
 Positive Role Model
7.136
10.7%
0.7%
95
 Feel
7.134
7.6%
0.3%
96
 This Used to Be the Future
7.132
12.4%
0.3%
97
 New London Boy
7.107
12.6%
0.6%
98
 Inside a Dream
7.105
12.0%
0.6%
99
 London
7.099
9.9%
0.0%
100
 More Than a Dream
7.094
10.2%
0.5%
101
 Do I Have To?
7.093
12.9%
0.7%
102
 Nervously
7.088
18.9%
0.6%
103
 Loneliness
7.086
9.5%
0.3%
104
 In His Imagination
7.081
10.7%
1.3%
105
 Was It Worth It? *
7.080
11.1%
0.0%
106
 Somewhere *
7.080
14.5%
0.7%
107
 The Last to Die
7.055
9.7%
0.4%
108
 Indefinite Leave to Remain
7.054
11.9%
0.4%
109
 The Grind
7.042
 23.9% 5.6%
110
 Love Is the Law
7.026
16.6%
1.4%
111
 Between Two Islands
7.026
15.3%
0.7%
112
 The End of the World
7.025
14.5%
0.6%
113
 One Night
7.034
11.4%
0.3%
114
 Say It to Me
6.996
10.7%
0.4%
115
 Hey, Headmaster
6.993
16.4%
0.0%
116
 Suburbia
6.988
13.3%
2.4%
117
 Into Thin Air
6.970
10.1%
0.6%
118
 It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas
6.966
11.6%
0.7%
119
 In the Night
6.965
12.9%
0.0%
120
 Discoteca
6.953
15.7%
0.6%
121
 Time on My Hands
6.951
11.3%
0.0%
122
 I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)
6.950
8.2%
1.4%
123
 The Lost Room
6.944
10.1%
0.4%
124
 Full Steam Ahead
6.940
15.7%
4.8%
125
 Sexy Northerner *
6.938
18.0%
3.3%
126
 The Man Who Has Everything *
6.938
11.2%
0.7%
127
 Here
6.932
16.7%
0.0%
128
 Undertow
6.930
7.8%
0.4%
129
 Some Speculation
6.928
15.1%
0.7%
130
 Why Am I Dancing?
6.927
7.0%
0.6%
131
 It Couldn't Happen Here
6.917
15.5%
0.6%
132
 Dreaming of the Queen
6.906
15.6%
0.6%
133
 My October Symphony
6.899
17.6%
1.9%
134
 She's Madonna (with Robbie Williams)
6.895
12.8%
0.5%
135
 Monkey Business
6.891
11.6%
1.2%
136
 Se A Vida É (That's the Way Life Is)
6.890
10.5%
1.2%
137
 Decadence
6.882
13.4%
0.7%
138
 Luna Park
6.880
10.2%
0.7%
139
 Happy People
6.879
8.8%
1.2%
140
 Nothing Has Been Proved
6.877
10.2%
1.6%
141
 Did You See Me Coming?
6.864
9.7%
0.7%
142
 Young Offender
6.861
12.2%
0.6%
143
 My Girl
6.849
10.9%
0.4%
144
 Listening
6.845
6.2%
0.3%
145
 I Made My Excuses and Left
6.836
10.5%
0.7%
146
 I'm with Stupid
6.832
6.7%
0.7%
147
 We All Feel Better in the Dark
6.823
13.7%
0.7%
148
 I've Got Plans (Involving You)
6.810
7.9%
0.3%
149
 Odessa
6.810
17.9%
2.4%
150
 King of Rome
6.807
12.1%
1.5%
151
 The Pop Kids
6.805
7.1%
0.8%
152
 Invisible
6.789
13.1%
1.5%
153
 Tonight Is Forever
6.782
10.9%
1.2%
154
 Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend
6.773
9.6%
0.7%
155
 Daydreaming (Dusty Springfield)
6.772
6.7%
1.7%
156
 Only the Dark
6.762
10.5%
1.2%
157
 It Must Be Obvious
6.759
11.0%
0.7%
158
 Something Special (from Closer to Heaven)
6.756
5.6%
0.0%
159
 Falling
6.755
6.3%
0.0%
160
 The Survivors
6.750
16.3%
1.7%
161
 If Looks Could Kill *
6.732
12.0%
0.7%
162
 Friendly Fire *
6.732
11.3%
2.0%
163
 Two Divided by Zero
6.727
10.9%
1.2%
164
 The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Clothes On
6.704
13.0%
0.7%
165
 The Clock 10/11/12
6.700
21.7%
5.0%
166
 The Loving Kind
6.696
11.8%
1.5%
167
 A Different Point of View
6.694
7.2%
1.7%
168
 Nyet
6.690
13.8%
3.4%
169
 One in a Million
6.689
10.0%
0.6%
170
 In Slow Motion
6.688
13.9%
0.6%
171
 Out of My System (from Closer to Heaven)
6.686
7.9%
3.4%
172
 To the Battleship
6.679
15.5%
4.8%
173
 How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
6.673
8.2%
0.6%
174
 I Want to Wake Up
6.667
11.9%
0.6%
175
 It's Alright
6.648
12.3%
1.9%
176
 New York City Boy
6.643
17.0%
4.9%
177
 DJ Culture
6.630
6.8%
0.6%
178
 Up Against It *
6.628
9.9%
2.9%
179
 To Speak Is a Sin *
6.628
6.7%
0.6%
180
 Casanova in Hell *
6.624
7.8%
1.4%
181
 Viva la Vida *
6.624
8.1%
2.6%
182
 To the Shore
6.619
16.7%
4.8%
183
 A New Life
6.614
12.9%
0.7%
184
 Dancing in the Dusk
6.600
8.1%
0.6%
185
 A Little Black Dress
6.597
3.6%
0.0%
186
 One More Chance
6.595
13.1%
1.2%
187
 If There Was Love (Liza Minnelli)
6.582
5.9%
0.0%
188
 Twenty-something
6.578
8.3%
2.1%
189
 Don Juan
6.576
9.5%
2.0%
190
 I Get Along
6.574
4.3%
0.0%
191
 Single
6.570
9.3%
1.2%
192
 Absolutely Fabulous
6.568
13.8%
3.3%
193
 Only the Wind
6.553
8.2%
0.0%
194
 "Comrades!"
6.551
18.0%
4.5%
195
 Losing My Mind
6.550
7.5%
0.7%
196
 Vulnerable
6.543
5.8%
0.5%
197
 Twentieth Century
6.542
7.6%
1.1%
198
 Through You
6.527
5.0%
0.6%
199
 It's Just My Little Tribute to Caligula, Darling! (from Closer to Heaven)
6.523
9.0%
1.1%
200
 Inner Sanctum
6.506
6.6%
1.0%
201
 Dancing Star
6.501
4.2%
0.6%
202
 I Will Fall
6.482
6.9%
0.4%
203
 The Ghost of Myself
6.477
10.2%
0.8%
204
 Bolshy
6.471
6.0%
0.4%
205
 The View from Your Balcony
6.455
8.0%
1.4%
206
 To Face the Truth
6.453
7.5%
0.6%
207
 It's Not a Crime
6.440
4.4%
0.3%
208
 Sad Robot World
6.435
6.0%
0.8%
209
 Betrayed
6.420
10.1%
0.7%
210
 The Miracle: The Meeting (reprise)
6.410
16.4%
4.9%
211
 Euroboy
6.390
8.9%
0.0%
212
 I Want You Now (Liza Minnelli)
6.385
3.4%
0.0%
213
 The Samurai in Autumn
6.383
7.4%
1.2%
214
 I Don't Wanna
6.372
5.1%
1.2%
215
 The Meeting
6.371
21.0%
3.2%
216
 Dreamland
6.369
5.9%
1.7%
217
 In Denial
6.368
15.9%
4.9%
218
 The Forgotten Child
6.354
5.7%
1.2%
219
 Occupy Your Mind (Dusty Springfield)
6.351
7.6%
1.7%
220
 Building a Wall
6.348
3.5%
1.3%
221
 Bullet for Narcissus
6.347
4.0%
0.6%
222
 Numb
6.343
8.0%
1.7%
223
 Lies
6.342
7.8%
0.8%
224
 Night Falls
6.341
7.1%
3.5%
225
 Before
6.337
13.4%
2.9%
226
 KDX 125
6.333
6.6%
1.3%
227
 The Secret of Happiness
6.328
9.7%
1.7%
228
 Later Tonight
6.321
9.1%
1.8%
229
 Radiophonic
6.319
8.8%
0.5%
230
 Girls and Boys
6.307
6.5%
1.4%
231
 That's My Impression
6.305
8.2%
2.0%
232
 A Man Could Get Arrested
6.298
10.2%
1.4%
233
 Sense of Time
6.287
3.9%
0.6%
234
 One of the Crowd
6.281
8.2%
2.7%
235
 Break 4 Love
6.277
9.3%
2.0%
236
 Reunion
6.276
5.5%
1.8%
237
 We Came from Outer Space
6.256
6.6%
0.7%
239
 I Want a Lover
6.248
9.1%
1.2%
239
 Jack the Lad
6.241
11.6%
0.0%
240
 The Performance of My Life
6.217
9.4%
2.2%
241
 Don't Drop Bombs (Liza Minnelli)
6.216
5.0%
1.7%
242
 Run Girl Run! (from Closer to Heaven)
6.214
10.1%
2.2%
243
 The Way Through the Woods
6.208
5.3%
2.0%
244
 I Started a Joke
6.188
3.5%
1.9%
245
 Tall Thin Men
6.186
6.3%
0.0%
246
 We're the Pet Shop Boys
6.183
5.7%
3.4%
247
 Up and Down
6.179
4.5%
1.2%
248
 The Clock 4/5/6
6.164
13.1%
4.9%
249
 My Head Is Spinning
6.156
3.9%
0.7%
250
 Breathing Space
6.155
4.3%
2.8%
251
 All or Nothing (Miyuki Motegi)
6.146
1.7%
0.0%
252
 Nightlife
6.144
8.7%
2.7%
253
 Girls Don't Cry
6.142
4.3%
0.5%
254
 Stormy Meetings
6.134
7.3%
4.9%
255
 Was That What It Was?
6.129
6.8%
0.0%
256
 New Boy
6.106
4.9%
0.8%
257
 Everything Means Something
6.093
4.9%
2.3%
258
 Hell
6.089
4.2%
1.0%
259
 I Want a Dog
6.086
4.3%
1.9%
260
 In Bits
6.081
5.2%
1.2%
261
 You Are the One
6.060
5.3%
1.0%
262
 How I Learned to Hate Rock 'n' Roll
6.041
5.8%
0.7%
263
 Casting a Shadow
6.038
7.0%
1.6%
264
 On Social Media 6.036 6.3% 2.2%
265
 Why Don't We Live Together?
6.024
9.1%
2.4%
266
 Drama in the Harbour
6.023
9.8%
3.7%
267
 Wiedersehen 6.019 6.0% 1.5%
268
 The Miracle: Colour and Light 6.018 10.5% 5.3%
269
 A Cloud in a Box 6.011 5.3% 1.1%
270
 The Clock 1/2/3 6.000 15.0% 5.0%
271
 Purple Zone (collaboration with Soft Cell) 5.972 6.1% 0.8%
272
 One-Way Street 5.969 3.7% 0.6%
273
 Psychological
5.962
4.5%
0.3%
274
 At Rock Bottom
5.955
4.2%
2.0%
275
 Baby
5.952
4.6%
0.3%
276
 The Clock 7/8/9 5.950 11.7% 5.0%
277
 Destruction 5.934 8.2% 4.9%
278
 Back to the Grind 5.932 8.5% 5.1%
279
 The Winner 5.931 8.6% 5.2%
280
 Metamorphosis
5.924
11.0%
3.5%
281
 Men and Maggots
5.918
5.9%
3.5%
282
 The Wedding 5.917 16.7% 5.0%
283
 For Every Moment
5.916
6.1%
3.7%
284
 The Competition 5.915 11.9% 6.8%
285
 The Challenge 5.906 7.8% 6.3%
286
 Beautiful People
5.905
2.0%
0.3%
287
 Violence
5.903
6.1%
1.8%
288
 Physical Jerks 5.902 8.2% 4.9%
289
 Nine Out of Ten (from Closer to Heaven)
5.895
1.1%
2.2%
290
 Postscript
5.883
10.6%
3.9%
291
 Help Me 5.873 7.9% 4.8%
292
 Give It a Go
5.872
4.8%
1.8%
293
 The Calm Before the Storm
5.862
2.9%
0.7%
294
 Confidential
5.843
6.5%
3.6%
295
 You Know Where You Went Wrong
5.811
8.2%
2.7%
296
 Birthday Boy
5.790
6.8%
6.2%
297
 Inside
5.785
2.3%
0.3%
298
 No Boundaries
5.762
2.5%
0.8%
299
 One and One Make Five
5.761
4.4%
4.4%
300
 Party in the Blitz
5.749
3.7%
1.8%
301
 I Cried for Us
5.748
4.8%
2.2%
302
 Music for Boys
5.746
6.2%
2.1%
303
 Happiness
5.728
3.3%
2.9%
304
 I Can't Say Goodnight (Liza Minnelli)
5.719
2.5%
2.5%
305
 Risk 5.714 12.7% 6.3%
306
 Shouting in the Evening
5.711
3.8%
3.2%
307
 Believe/Song for Guy
5.709
7.3%
4.2%
308
 Love Life (Alcazar)
5.705
2.5%
1.7%
309
 Your Early Stuff
5.699
2.7%
1.7%
310
 Together
5.698
3.7%
1.7%
311
 Sail Away
5.696
5.5%
1.6%
312
 Ring Road
5.684
3.8%
1.3%
313
 Silver Age
5.679
4.7%
1.6%
314
 Our Daily Bread
5.667
6.9%
3.4%
315
 No More Ballads
5.663
5.3%
2.7%
316
 Ich bin Musik
5.658
2.7%
2.7%
317
 Night Song
5.644
5.7%
2.6%
318
 Shopping
5.637
6.5%
1.2%
319
 Transfer
5.624
3.3%
0.7%
320
 We're All Criminals Now
5.611
2.5%
1.2%
321
 Saturday Night Forever
5.605
8.1%
5.2%
322
 You Choose
5.599
5.6%
5.6%
323
 Screaming
5.595
4.7%
3.9%
324
 Beautiful Laundrette
5.594
5.9%
3.0%
325
 In My House
5.593
5.6%
3.1%
326
 Footsteps
5.588
8.8%
5.5%
327
 The Miracle: Resurrection 5.571 7.1% 5.4%
328
 E-mail
5.562
1.9%
1.2%
329
 The Night I Fell in Love
5.556
8.0%
9.3%
330
 Happiness Is an Option
5.549
6.0%
5.5%
331
 The Living Daylights (aka "James Bond Instrumental #2) (unreleased)
5.545
3.6%
0.9%
332
 Groovy
5.542
3.1%
1.4%
333
 Legacy
5.533
6.1%
3.1%
334
 The Miracle: Revolution 5.527 7.3% 5.5%
335
 Odd Man Out
5.524
4.1%
3.1%
336
 The Miracle: Ceremony 5.491 8.8% 5.3%
337
 Entschuldigung!
5.482
4.8%
4.2%
338
 The Schlager Hit Parade
5.480
2.5%
2.5%
339
 Prologue 5.476 3.2% 4.8%
340
 One Hit Wonder
5.464
3.6%
1.0%
341
 Love Is a Catastrophe
5.463
13.0%
8.1%
342
 Bubadubadubadum (aka "All My Wasted Time") (unreleased)
5.461
7.1%
0.9%
343
 Living in the Past
5.454
2.9%
3.3%
344
 The Dead Can Dance 5.447 0.8% 1.9%
345
 Searching for the Face of Jesus
5.426
4.7%
2.7%
346
 Disco Potential
5.400
6.5%
4.3%
347
 She Pops
5.399
5.2%
2.9%
348
 The Night Is a Time to Explore Who You Are
5.384
2.7%
1.4%
349
 In the Club or in the Queue (unreleased)
5.382
3.6%
1.8%
350
 If Jesus Had a Sister
5.351
2.8%
0.9%
351
 Party Song
5.348
3.5%
2.5%
352
 Kazak
5.340
5.7%
1.9%
353
 Jack and Jill Party (Pete Burns)
5.324
1.7%
3.5%
354
 Gin and Jag
5.322
5.2%
3.4%
355
 Alone Again, Naturally
5.321
3.1%
5.7%
356
 Blue on Blue
5.287
5.3%
1.1%
357
 No Excuse
5.245
2.7%
4.8%
358
 Boy Strange
5.236
6.0%
7.7%
359
 If Love Were All
5.199
4.8%
6.2%
360
 Skeletons in the Closet 5.198 2.5% 2.1%
361
 The White Dress 5.154 1.5% 0.8%
362
 Glad All Over
5.143
3.4%
3.4%
363
 Transparent
5.135
1.2%
1.8%
364
 God Willing
5.134
1.9%
0.8%
365
 Hedonism (from Closer to Heaven)
5.093
2.2%
5.6%
366
 Vampires
5.088
2.2%
3.3%
367
 The Only One
5.066
2.7%
3.3%
368
 Get It Online
5.065
2.6%
3.6%
369
 Electricity
5.064
2.7%
3.4%
370
 What Are We Going to Do About the Rich?
5.051
2.2%
4.4%
371
 Kaputnik
5.028
2.0%
2.4%
372
 Give Stupidity a Chance
4.983
2.7%
5.3%
373
 The Noise (unreleased)
4.962
1.8%
1.8%
374
 Winner
4.957
2.2%
6.5%
375
 Playing in the Streets
4.918
4.1%
2.0%
376
 Angelic Thug
4.907
1.9%
4.6%
377
 Ego Music
4.903
3.3%
5.8%
378
 Cricket Wife
4.902
5.9%
8.6%
379
 Oh, Dear (aka "Walking Down the High Street") (unreleased)
4.879
4.5%
2.7%
380
 Mongrel
4.873
1.9%
3.3%
381
 Opportunities (Reprise)
4.867
2.4%
5.5%
382
 Hold On
4.777
2.5%
8.0%
383
 What Keeps Mankind Alive?
4.763
8.2%
8.2%
384
 Hit Music
4.732
0.6%
1.8%
385
 Generic Jingle
4.729
8.6%
9.4%
386
 Pazzo!
4.698
2.2%
4.1%
387
 Soup
4.668
2.8%
3.7%
388
 The Former Enfant Terrible
4.653
3.3%
4.9%
389
 Motoring
4.599
1.2%
3.1%
390
 Night Sings (Popa's Theme)
4.536
2.1%
5.2%
391
 Tranquilizer (Superchumbo)
4.508
7.4%
7.4%
392
 Oppressive (The Best Gay Possible) 4.466 2.6% 10.9%
393
 Wedding in Berlin
4.447
4.1%
11.2%
394
 Omar's Theme
4.363
2.0%
6.9%
395
 Johnny's Theme
4.360
2.0%
5.0%
396
 Johnny's Dark Side
4.340
2.1%
6.2%
397
 K-Hole (from Closer to Heaven)
4.318
1.1%
10.1%
398
 Clean Air Hybrid Electric Bus
4.317
2.4%
5.2%
399
 Je T'Aime… Moi Non Plus
4.288
4.7%
10.2%
400
 Do the Right Thing (Ian Wright)
4.268
0.8%
4.2%
401
 Wings and Faith
4.132
1.3%
2.5%
402
 Pet Shop Boys (b-side of the original "West End Girls" single)
3.829
3.6%
7.1%
403
 The Sound of the Atom Splitting
3.638
5.4%
23.8%
404
 The Dumpling Song
3.018
1.8%
13.3%

*These songs may appear to be tied in their average ratings, but that's only because the figures are rounded to the nearest thousandth. If we increase the degree of precision, rounding to the nearest hundred-thousandth, the apparent ties are broken. Thus, in each case, one song can be fairly ranked above the other.

Album Averages

Average ratings for albums can be calculated in several different ways. One is the "Average of Song Averages" method: take the average rating for each song on the album and then average those averages together. Another is the "Average of Voter Averages" method: take the average rating for each voter who provided ratings for the songs on that album and then average those averages together. Finally, there's the "Average of All Ratings" method: take every rating for every song that album and then average those ratings together. The following table provides a simple illustration of these methods:

   Song A Song B Song C Voter Averages   
Voter 1
4
7
8
6.333
   
Voter 2
0
5
9
4.667
   
Voter 3
6
10
3
6.333
   
Song Averages
3.333
7.333
6.667
  
 Average of Song Averages
= 5.778
            Average of Voter Averages
= 5.778		 Average of All Ratings
= 5.778

As you can see, all three of these methods produce the same final result.

The following "Average Rating" figures are for each regular "studio" album by the Pet Shop Boys; Discography, PopArt, Disco, Disco 2, and Essential aren't included. Disco 3 is included, however, by virtue of its large number of "new" songs. If a song appears on more than one album (such as "I Want a Dog" on both Introspective and Alternative), its rating is counted in the calculations for both albums.

Ranking
Album
Average Rating
1
 Introspective
7.428
2
 Behaviour
7.282
3
 Electric
7.152
4
 Disco 3
7.141
5
 Very
7.088
6
 Yes
6.975
7
 Actually
6.972
8
 Fundamental
6.852
9
 Nonetheless
6.764
10
 Relentless
6.754
11
 Hotspot
6.644
12
 Please
6.603
13
 Battleship Potemkin
6.595

14

 Bilingual
6.568
15
 Alternative
6.560
16
 Super
6.550
17
 Format
6.482
18
 Nightlife
6.342
19
 Release
6.224
20
 Elysium
6.116
21
 The Most Incredible Thing
5.988

Note that "In My House" is not included in the calculations for Introspective because it is included as part of a medley with "Always on My Mind." The low rating of "In My House" by itself would pull the average rating for the album down to 7.166, thus putting Introspective at a ranking of #2 and elevating Behaviour to first place.

If we were to include Discography in the rankings, its average rating would be 7.653, putting it in the first-place position. After all, it is a "greatest hits" album. Interestingly, PopArt would have an average rating of 7.505—lower than Discography, but still higher than any of the other albums.

One of my site visitors has suggested, however, that these "Average Rating" figures aren't really fair because brief (and often not very popular) tracks like "Opportunities (Reprise)" and "God Willing" are given equal weight to other, longer tracks. Wouldn't it be fairer to "weight" album tracks according to their length? That is, a longer song, which takes up more of the album, would "count more" than a shorter song that takes up less of the album? So he suggested a system whereby the average rating for each song is multiplied by its length (number of seconds), the resulting totals are then added, and that sum is divided by the total number of seconds on the album, resulting in a "Weighted Rating" for each album. (And this allows us to include "In My House" in the calculations for Introspective based on the 2:36 portion of "Always on My Mind/In My House" taken up by that portion of the medley.) The results are not radically different, but we find several very noteworthy shifts in rankings:

Ranking
Album
Weighted
Rating
Shift
1
 Behaviour
7.340
↑
2
 Introspective
7.334
↓
3
 Electric
7.230
–
4
 Very
7.174
↑
5
 Disco 3
7.113
↓
6
 Actually
7.000
↑
7
 Fundamental
6.941
↑
8
 Yes
6.928
↓
9
 Nonetheless
6.805
–
10
 Please
6.774 *
↑
11
 Battleship Potemkin
6.774 *
↑
12
 Relentless
6.763
↓
13
 Hotspot
6.661
↓
14
 Super
6.619
↑
15
 Bilingual
6.589
–
16
 Format
6.537
↑
17
 Alternative
6.527
↓
18
 Elysium
6.398
↑
19
 Nightlife
6.332
↓
20
 Release
6.191
↓
21
 The Most Incredible Thing
6.075
–

*These albums may appear to be tied in their average ratings, but that's only because the figures are rounded to the nearest thousandth. If we increase the degree of precision, rounding to the nearest hundred-thousandth, the apparent tie is broken. Thus one album can be fairly ranked above the other.

Discography ends up with a weighted rating of 7.637, while PopArt winds up with 7.507, thereby parallelling the results of the "unweighted" ratings.

Ratings Superlatives and Statistics

*In a truly scientific poll, conducted scientifically with all of the songs rated at the same time and in which all of the voters made their decisions in a consistent, purely logical manner, the average song rating would theoretically be 5.000. Considering everything, I'd say that an average song rating of 6.415 is surprisingly and gratifying close to that ideal theoretical average of 5.000. Also note that the "median song" and the "average songs" are less than 10 positions apart in the rankings, another fairly good showing for these ratings.


All text on this website aside from direct quotations (such as of lyrics and of other nonoriginal content) is copyright © 2001-2024 by Wayne Studer. All Rights Reserved. All lyrics and images are copyright © their respective dates by their respective owners. Brief quotations and small, low-resolution images are used for identification and critical commentary, thereby constituting Fair Use under U.S. copyright law. Billboard chart data are copyright © their respective dates by Billboard Media, LLC.

 

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