Stands for Decibels is the debut studio album by American power pop band the dB's, released January 15, 1981 by Albion Records.

[2] At the time of its release, the dB's consisted of singer/guitarists Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple, bassist Gene Holder, and drummer Will Rigby.

The album, which was recorded at Blue Rock Studio in SoHo, Manhattan,[4] was dedicated to George Scott III.

[5] In The Village Voice's year-end Pazz & Jop poll, Stands for Decibels was voted by critics as the 26th best album of 1981.

[12] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Chris Woodstra stated: "On their debut, the dB's combined a reverence for British pop and arty, post-punk leanings that alternate between minimalism and a love of quirky embellishment, odd sounds, and unexpected twists; Stands for Decibels is clearly a collegiate pop experiment, but rarely is experimentation so enjoyable and irresistibly catchy.