B-Side Guys

The Boomtown Rats

The Boomtown Rats’s albums, ranked by what the critics we trust thought of each one. 4 have a B-Side Breakdown, averaging 68 (D+). See the discography in release order.

What is The Boomtown Rats’ best album?

By the critics, it’s a tie: The Fine Art of Surfacing (1979) and A Tonic for the Troops (1978) each have a B-Side Breakdown of 70 (C-).

Next best: The Boomtown Rats (69). Lowest rated: Citizens of Boomtown (63).

The Boomtown Rats albums ranked

Best to worst by B-Side Breakdown.

  1. 1. The Fine Art of Surfacing (1979): 70 C-
  2. 2. A Tonic for the Troops (1978): 70 C-
  3. 3. The Boomtown Rats (1977): 69 D+
  4. 4. Citizens of Boomtown (2020): 63 D

The Boomtown Rats discography, in release order

The earliest here69The Boomtown Rats, 1977The critics' favorite70A Tonic for the Troops, 1978The latest63Citizens of Boomtown, 2020. 6 points below The Boomtown Rats.

The career, by Breakdown

Every The Boomtown Rats album with a B-Side Breakdown, in release order. Above the dashed line, most critics liked it.

5010075likedThe Boomtown Rats (1977): 69691977A Tonic for the Troops (1978): 70701978The Fine Art of Surfacing (1979): 70701979Citizens of Boomtown (2020): 63632020

Every The Boomtown Rats album we track, oldest first.

  1. 1977Album cover for The Boomtown Rats by The Boomtown RatsThe Boomtown Rats69 D+
  2. 1978Album cover for A Tonic for the Troops by The Boomtown RatsA Tonic for the Troops70 C-
  3. 1979Album cover for The Fine Art of Surfacing by The Boomtown RatsThe Fine Art of Surfacing70 C-
  4. 2020Album cover for Citizens of Boomtown by The Boomtown RatsCitizens of Boomtown63 D

Which critics love The Boomtown Rats, and which don’t

Each outlet’s scores set against the other critics on the same albums. Outlets that scored at least 3 The Boomtown Rats albums.

Warmest on The Boomtown RatsRobert Christgau22 points above the other critics, on average, across 3 albums.Coolest on The Boomtown RatsThe Rolling Stone Album Guide19 points below the other critics, on average, across 3 albums.

Outlet by outlet

Average points above or below the other critics. Tap an outlet for its scores album by album.

Robert Christgau3 albums+22
  1. The Boomtown Rats 197788 vs 60 from 2 others +28
  2. A Tonic for the Troops 197888 vs 65 from 4 others +23
  3. The Fine Art of Surfacing 197981 vs 65 from 2 others +16

All Robert Christgau reviews

AllMusic4 albums−8
  1. The Boomtown Rats 197760 vs 74 from 2 others −14
  2. A Tonic for the Troops 197860 vs 72 from 4 others −12
  3. The Fine Art of Surfacing 197980 vs 66 from 2 others +15
  4. Citizens of Boomtown 202050 vs 70 from 2 others −20

All AllMusic reviews

The Rolling Stone Album Guide3 albums−19
  1. The Boomtown Rats 197760 vs 74 from 2 others −14
  2. A Tonic for the Troops 197860 vs 72 from 4 others −12
  3. The Fine Art of Surfacing 197950 vs 81 from 2 others −31

All The Rolling Stone Album Guide reviews

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