Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Austin Chronicle
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
The Guardian
Pitchfork	6.9/10
Q
Record Mirror	3.5/5
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Sounds
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The Top is the fifth studio album by British alternative rock band the Cure, released on 22 May 1984 by record label Fiction. Shortly after its release, the Cure embarked on a major UK tour culminating with a three-night residency at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

After recording a psychedelic album Blue Sunshine for the one-off project the Glove during summer 1983, Robert Smith finished off the year composing and working on two other studio albums at the same time: The Top for the Cure and Hyæna for Siouxsie and the Banshees. Smith was still the official guitarist of the Banshees while he wrote The Top.

For The Top, Smith teamed up with another Cure founding member, Lol Tolhurst, who had given up drums for keyboards, and new drummer Andy Anderson, who had previously performed on the UK top 10 single "The Lovecats". Porl Thompson was credited for playing saxophone on "Give Me It". All the songs are credited by Smith bar three tracks co-written with Tolhurst: "The Caterpillar", "Bird Mad Girl" and "Piggy in the Mirror".

The album's style is eclectic, with Smith using various instruments including violin and flute. "Bird Mad Girl" is in a Spanish style, while "The Wailing Wall" contains Middle Eastern undertones. Sounds critic Jack Barron described the opening track "Shake Dog Shake" as "urbane metal".

The Top was released on 30 April 1984 by record label Fiction. It was a commercial success in the UK, peaking at No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart. "The Caterpillar" was the sole single released from the album.

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