Ágætis Byrjun
by Sigur Rós
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 215 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 198 out of 215
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 215
  3. Negative: 14 out of 215

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  1. FanMorgan
    Jul 9, 2002
    10
    Jesus, I've had this album for a few months now. I don't usually write this kind of thing. Perfect. Like nothing else in the world. Indescribable.
  2. BobR
    Jun 29, 2007
    10
    Gah... this album's making me stay up late - -;;;... but yeah, it's awesome stuff... Catches your attention right from Svefn-g-Englar. Recommended for Radiohead fans. Now i'm attempting to sing along :(..
  3. TrevorT.
    Oct 21, 2001
    10
    Absolutely mesmerising. You will stop what you're doing and listen. You have no choice.
  4. theenemyamongus
    Aug 22, 2010
    10
    im glad it was given the reviews it deserves. definitely one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time
  5. FeatherBlade
    Jun 18, 2012
    10
    Since 'Svefn-g-englar' to 'Avalon', these masters of post-rock can express hundreds of emotions every second of his songs, and although in some songs the words are incomprehensible due to its pronounce in Vonlenska, the musical and expressive quality of this album make it a work that should be heard by all people.
  6. EddieHokie
    Jun 28, 2013
    10
    This is an amazing album. The intro and the closer (Avalon) are excess fat but the meat in the middle is something to sink your teeth into. It is an experience unlike any other.

    If you are a fan of the 3 minute 30 second crafted pop song this probably isn't the thing your looking for. Possible turn offs for some people may be the voice of Jonsi and the "on the surface" plodding these    This is an amazing album. The intro and the closer (Avalon) are excess fat but the meat in the middle is something to sink your teeth into. It is an experience unlike any other.

    If you are a fan of the 3 minute 30 second crafted pop song this probably isn't the thing your looking for.

    Possible turn offs for some people may be the voice of Jonsi and the "on the surface" plodding these songs can seem like they are doing if you aren't looking for subtle changes and shifts.

    One of my all time favorite albums    … Expand
  7. WolfLambert
    Mar 23, 2016
    10
    Probably the best album to ever be recorded. Stunning instrumentation, great vocals, songs that stick with you for the rest of your life and will make you wonder what else mankind can achieve.
  8. bdurmaz
    May 1, 2017
    9
    Seeing this name and the legendary album cover makes me just forget everything, start playing Svefn-g-englar and go on a journey that spans 70 minutes.

    A mesmerising experience.
  9. AlexF.
    Jun 5, 2001
    0
    Over-produced kitschy crap. This space music shite makes me vomit. Most embarassing high-pitch voice of all times.
  10. TimE
    Nov 8, 2005
    7
    Not as good as their mastepiece Takk!!
  11. MichaelS
    Feb 21, 2006
    0
    Painful. Vapid. Useless. Incompetent. Pointless. Worthless. Grotesque. Nauseating. Pathetic. Ridiculous. Coma-inducing. Mind-numbing. Utterly awful. Sheer torture. Causes cancer. Avoid at all costs. What else do you need to know? It's the Worst Album of All Time! This is to music what rust is to astonomy...
  12. JohnF
    Jan 7, 2005
    10
    The first album i've ever listened to, that made me realise maybe music wasn't just entertainment, maybe there was something more at work. This album changed my life!
  13. Mikeh
    Dec 30, 2006
    10
    this is a ridiculously good album. anyone looking for a breath taking direction on rock and shoegaze need look no further, sigur ros have forged one of the most beautiful sounds in modern music history, and even though it feels pretentious to say that, one listen of Svefn-G-Englar justifies any foolish overblown statements. definitely one of my favorite albums of this decade so far.
  14. JuliaA
    Aug 20, 2006
    9
    a good beginning it is...Jonsi,Georg,Kjartan,and Orri are really talented musicians.for some people they might sounded boring,but as for those who love them or trying to,each song got such a revelation of enlightenment.'Flugufrelsarinn' and 'Ny Batteri' are just two of their best cuts
  15. EricH.
    Jan 26, 2002
    9
    I want to say this is embarassing spacey emotional post-shoegazer crap - but then for some reason I get embarassingly emotional everytime I listen to it. I don't know if it's Sigur Ros or my fault.
  16. TylerB.
    May 11, 2002
    10
    i love this album! any idiot would know that this is a must have.
  17. FabioC.
    Sep 5, 2002
    9
    this cd will bring you to outer space, which is, you will discover, an extremely cold place. this record brings you to a white, good feeling. track four and six are unbelievable, they seem to have been made by the instruments themselves, and not by 20years old guys. experimental and simple as a kiss between boys in an open square. great.
  18. JasonL
    Sep 8, 2002
    10
    Myself being an american, I could never imagine anything this amazingly original and breathtaking ever coming from the U.S. Astonishing!
  19. tato
    Jul 30, 2005
    10
    awesome
  20. matta
    Aug 11, 2005
    9
    Great, but I agree with the reviews that say that there is, at times, overkill with the sonic, spacey electronics, etc. That is really the only thing keeping this from being a true masterpiece. As it is though, 90%(hence the 9) is gorgeous.
  21. TalkingHead
    Sep 16, 2005
    10
    I HATE IT! I just can't stop listening to it!
  22. PatrickO
    May 10, 2006
    9
    Spellbinding emotion.
  23. DANIELP
    Jun 2, 2006
    10
    better than anyone on this music style, this cant be compared with radiohead this is pure!!!
  24. FredS.
    May 22, 2001
    9
    This is a briliant album. Beautiful with unintelligble lyrics and shockingly good instumentation lending to undefinable mood music.
  25. SebastianS.
    Jul 25, 2001
    10
    If only you could pronounce the title, you'd tell everyone you know to buy this album now. An uncommonly excellent recording.
  26. JakeM.
    Sep 12, 2001
    10
    This album is a stunning counterpart to its 10 year elder MBV's Loveless. Refined, beautiful, and thoroughly inventive.
  27. JeremyG
    Jan 10, 2004
    10
    This album, more than any other, will evoke spontaneous bursts of emotion in me. For example, I'll just break out in goosebumps at one point, or laugh aloud at another. Not to sound *too* stoner-turned-music-critic... but sometimes it feels very much *above* music. I love wading through it.
  28. JohnM
    Jan 7, 2004
    10
    One of those albums where you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing the first time you heard it. Quite astonishing.
  29. RobertD
    Nov 13, 2005
    10
    There are no exceptions, Sigur Rós' "Àgætis Byrjun" is unlike anything I have ever heard before: it is beautiful, mystical, sensetive and down right excellent! There's noe one like Sigur Rós.
  30. NunoA
    Oct 13, 2005
    10
    Dazzling. Perfect for soundtracking a stary night at the seaside.
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best Album of 2001
19
#19 Most Discussed Album of 2001
39
#39 Most Shared Album of 2001

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Rolling Stone
    80
    They evoke folks as diverse as Led Zeppelin and My Bloody Valentine, but the gently woozy Sigur Ros don't sound like anything or anyone else so much as a classic-rock band bewitched by white magic.
    Read full review
  2. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    Waves of unidentifiable noise, dulcet vibraphone pulses and singer/guitarist Jonsi's ethereal singing (more like some ghostly instrument than any conventional vocal, borne out by Jonsi's fictional 'language', Hopelandish, which he often sings in) mesh to create an elegant, grand music that's equally ambient and epic.
    Read full review
  3. Armchair DJ
    90
    Each song drifts in and out of focus like snatches of street noise on a half-awake Sunday morning - no need to get up, just lie there and listen quietly.
    Read full review
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