Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by carpents 
I realized I'm not very good at giving commentary on albums, because I don't always understand why I like what I like. (I can usually tell you why I *don't* like something though, which is more often.) I tried to comment on something relevant, maybe not insightful to the record but explaining why I like it.
- Chart updated: 03/09/2019 20:15
- (Created: 04/06/2016 22:51).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 11 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 32 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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I remember listening to 'Washer' (on cassette, no less) on the way to band practice, and being blown away. We were one of the many bands which heard it and shifted from power-chord garage rock to something deeper. I'm still amazed at how young these guys were when they wrote this music.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,732
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120
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Got this album in the late 90s along with hundreds of other CDs. The first couple listens it felt abrasive. It finally broke through and I connected to the emotion in this album; I still don't even understand what he's saying all the time, but with this album you don't have to.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,524
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Sparse and beautiful.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,353
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An entire album which feels like a nightmare. (In a good way.)
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,818
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The height of the Pixies, and the height of Black Francis, which is a way better name than 'Frank Black'.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,451
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The final third of this album blows me away.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,794
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No one knows what is coming
or who will harvest what we have sown
or how I've been dulling and dumbing
in the service of the heart alone
2 hours of something which defies explanation. It's an extraordinary mixture of instruments and sounds, piano, harp, drums, clapping, sticks rattling, tambourines, horns, strings, something else? My first listen on headphones had my brain twitching from side to side hearing all of the cacophony in amazement of how seamlessly it all works. There are sparse songs too which are hauntingly beautiful and instantly transport me to this strange world that Joanna Newsom creates with tiny twists of phrase.
Her voice is smoother here than on her other works, but like all the random instrumentation it just fits. I wouldn't change a single word.
I was tired of being drunk
My face cracked like a joke
So I swung through here
like a brace of jackrabbits
with their necks all broke
God, you can't drop even one song lest you'd be left with a hollowed-out husk.
I try to reserve enough space to make it all the way through this album, and then feel like starting it right over.
It does not suffice for you to say I am a sweet girl
Or to say you hate to see me sad because of you
It does not suffice to merely lie beside each other
As those who love each other do [First added to this chart: 03/09/2019]
or who will harvest what we have sown
or how I've been dulling and dumbing
in the service of the heart alone
2 hours of something which defies explanation. It's an extraordinary mixture of instruments and sounds, piano, harp, drums, clapping, sticks rattling, tambourines, horns, strings, something else? My first listen on headphones had my brain twitching from side to side hearing all of the cacophony in amazement of how seamlessly it all works. There are sparse songs too which are hauntingly beautiful and instantly transport me to this strange world that Joanna Newsom creates with tiny twists of phrase.
Her voice is smoother here than on her other works, but like all the random instrumentation it just fits. I wouldn't change a single word.
I was tired of being drunk
My face cracked like a joke
So I swung through here
like a brace of jackrabbits
with their necks all broke
God, you can't drop even one song lest you'd be left with a hollowed-out husk.
I try to reserve enough space to make it all the way through this album, and then feel like starting it right over.
It does not suffice for you to say I am a sweet girl
Or to say you hate to see me sad because of you
It does not suffice to merely lie beside each other
As those who love each other do [First added to this chart: 03/09/2019]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,972
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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So sad that he killed himself, I love where this album was going. Elliott Smith was brilliant and haunted, and so is his music.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,381
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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I never got into BTS in the 90s even though I listened to some of them. Maybe it was Doug Martsh's vocals, or the odd song structure. Re-discovered their albums in the 00s and something clicked. If I had to pick one song which encapsulates Built To Spill it would be 'Randy Described Eternity'.
[First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,378
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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I liked Pablo Honey, not initially but after a year or so. Then I loved The Bends, which seemed like a natural progression from Pablo. And then OK Computer came out, and I was amazed. It was anything but a natural progression, but something entirely new built upon their previous work.
Looking back it doesn't seem possible that Radiohead would be a 'one-hit' band, but with the Bends and OK Computer, Radiohead said "we don't care" and changed the game. I'm sure there was pressure for them to make another 'Creep' and I'm glad they didn't. [First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Looking back it doesn't seem possible that Radiohead would be a 'one-hit' band, but with the Bends and OK Computer, Radiohead said "we don't care" and changed the game. I'm sure there was pressure for them to make another 'Creep' and I'm glad they didn't. [First added to this chart: 04/10/2016]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
76,947
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Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 2 | 2% | |
| 1960s | 4 | 4% | |
| 1970s | 7 | 7% | |
| 1980s | 9 | 9% | |
| 1990s | 38 | 38% | |
| 2000s | 23 | 23% | |
| 2010s | 17 | 17% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| The Smiths | 3 | 3% | |
| Built To Spill | 3 | 3% | |
| The Afghan Whigs | 2 | 2% | |
| Suede | 2 | 2% | |
| Neutral Milk Hotel | 2 | 2% | |
| PJ Harvey | 2 | 2% | |
| The Cure | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 23 from 88th to 65th For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver |
| Up 15 from 86th to 71st Paranoid by Black Sabbath |
| Up 8 from 29th to 21st Electro-Shock Blues by Eels |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 15 from 31st to 46th The Hour Of Bewilderbeast by Badly Drawn Boy |
| Down 10 from 25th to 35th American VI: Ain't No Grave by Johnny Cash |
| Down 7 from 17th to 24th The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths |
| New entries |
|---|
 Sprained Ankleby Julien Baker |
| Lush by Snail Mail |
| Stranger In The Alps by Phoebe Bridgers |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
88/100 (from 32 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 32 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
100/100  | 02/27/2020 01:08 | bonnequestion | | 98/100 |
85/100 | 02/26/2020 11:34 |  ssteve | | 92/100 |
95/100 | 02/26/2020 10:51 | Timooosterink | | 90/100 |
75/100 | 02/26/2020 09:52 |  Boltzmann | | 79/100 |
100/100 | 11/11/2019 05:05 | DJENNY | | 100/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 9% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.1/100, a mean average of 89.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.4.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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100/100
From bonnequestion 02/27/2020 01:09
Very interesting chart with nice comments and a lot of personal picks, just like I love them! Good job!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
gidgidi 10/12/2019 14:07
gidgidi 10/12/2019 14:07
Great chart. I feel like I don’t any more explanations, I think I got everything you said here :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From carpents 12/24/2018 23:29
@raadfactoryxny thanks man. Sadly, I think the simplest explanation usually is correct, and Elliott Smith likely killed himself. Agree on the RIP.
I'll grant you Revolver is "listenable" but only "OK" and definitely not one of the best albums ever. Blonde on Blonde, I've tried even recently and can't make it through the album. (Same with Pet Sounds.) It's OK to have different tastes, that's where the color in the world comes from.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
DommeDamian 12/24/2018 11:20
DommeDamian 12/24/2018 11:20
Love the descriptions, love the albums.
PS: We don't know if it was Elliott who took his life away, nonetheless RIP.
PPS: I disagree that Revolver and BoB is unlistenable.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
dihansse 07/25/2018 20:39
dihansse 07/25/2018 20:39
top chart and I put many of those albums on my wishlist
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
ForegroundNoise 07/04/2018 08:29
ForegroundNoise 07/04/2018 08:29
I wouldn't worry about your notes I enjoyed them very much (sometimes less is more!). I adore many of your picks (we have a shared no1!) though maybe the 60s and 70s have been neglected a little? I'm not a massive classic rock head by any means (we also share a general lack of enthusiasm for the big four) but I feel to limit the two combined decades to less than 10 picks seems a little harsh; here's a few of my faves from those decades that maybe you'll enjoy (having looked through your ratings)
Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians
Wire - Pink Flag
Amon Düül II - Yeti
The Red Krayola - The Parable Of Arable Land
King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King (I know this is obvious but it's worth a listen if you haven't reviewed it yet)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
75/100
From 
junodog4 03/09/2018 23:47
junodog4 03/09/2018 23:47
Nice chart.
...but you really need to give Jon Spencer another listen.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
jhuik 05/27/2017 16:16
jhuik 05/27/2017 16:16
Great list. All legit picks. And I love that you added Laura Marling's newest already.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
LedZep 03/29/2017 21:35
LedZep 03/29/2017 21:35
Fav picks: The Cure, PJ Harvey
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
95/100
From brent13 03/27/2017 05:08
Love seeing Polyphonic Spree in there.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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