Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by 
Robert Anton Wilson 
This would stand as my 100 desert island record list - as long as anthology box sets are not allowed of course.
Usually, I showcase albums that I had a "moment" with. A "moment" is a period of at least a month when the album was on repeat and made it almost impossible for me to listen to something else during that period. Sometimes when I discovered a new band late -I often do that, it was a series of album that played on repeat - like when I discovered STP on their second album (both albums were on repeat on a reversible cassette), or when I discovered Muse, they already had 5 albums.
The ordering is not really reliable. True objectivity is a myth. When you feel like listening to music by the Offspring it ranks higher in your gut than Miles Davis or St. Vincent -even if your head tells you that Miles should rank highest!! The gut and the ears listen, the head tries to order things and create a chart that would be be true both to me and to the reality of the "objective" world -But hey! It is not the objective world that gives me goosebumps when I listen to great music.
Chart corrected early 2023, years after the chart was first posted. Not really additions but significant shifts in position. I just realised that some albums that had been extremely significant for me I haven't listened to in a while and do not feel like listening to now. It does not mean they are less important for me, I would still go mad if they were to be "disappeared", but currently they go-to-ness is lower.
Finally, I must admit that I wanted to showcase diversity with my chart, hence why the first 5 albums are not all Pink Floyd;)
- Chart updated: 04/25/2026 21:45
- (Created: 06/05/2011 02:23).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 70 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 121 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 59,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
In the beginning, these guys were blues, then we thought they were folk, then they flirted with electronica to finally win best metal album over Metallica -LOL! Throughout the years, they always were top notch Prog spearheaded by Ian Anderson's flute. Thick as brick, if you haven`t heard it, you haven't heard prog. The TAAB I & II tour was fantastic. Still releasing albums in 2022.
[First added to this chart: 06/10/2011]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,939
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
ELP gave prog its "shameful" label with their over-the-top extravaganza and bigger than life bravado. This is the album that will explain you why. But man! Forget the labeling and play loud, very loud. If this does not get into your bones down to the marrow, well I am sorry for you - it does me. Mean 2016 took 2/3 of ELP away. Save Carl Palmer.
[First added to this chart: 06/10/2011]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,195
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
'Close to the Edge', the song, is my second favorite musical piece of all time. Took me a while to fully get into this album. It was well worth it. 'And You And I' is the ultimate prog test, if you like that song you like prog but if you don't like prog you will hate that song like no other.
[First added to this chart: 08/01/2011]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,463
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
The blueprint for the neo-prog to come. This is the best definition of what a prog album should sound like. I don't like definitions and recipes so albums that follow the pattern I usually don't care for much. I can't be bothered to listen to an imitation when the original is here.
[First added to this chart: 12/19/2011]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,267
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Finally Jim managed to do the blues album he always wanted. As the personalities and lives grew apart in the band, the musical communion did not falter. To be listened to carefully, despite having hits on it, this is NOT a "hit songs" album. This is Jim's testament and his ode of love to the grit and salt of the Earth. This album is the sum of all that came before and is an open door to the future.
Then Jim took a "trip" to Paris. We all knew he would never come back. [First added to this chart: 06/05/2011]
Then Jim took a "trip" to Paris. We all knew he would never come back. [First added to this chart: 06/05/2011]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,831
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Saw the Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience in concert and it reminded me how great Led Zep's repertoire is -as if I needed to be reminded of that;) Their less blues and most rock album. This is basically the album that defines what "rock music" is.
[First added to this chart: 11/07/2011]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,692
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A toss-up between Rain Dogs, Swordfishtrombone and Frank's Wild years which constitute a sort of trilogy of albums and mark the rise of the cooperation between Tom And Kathleen Brennan (his wife). He moves away (not far but still ... away) from the piano-based songwriter and becomes much more experimental with the music, lyrics and themes. Tom Waits was already a cult artist when this trilogy of albums made him unavoidable to any music aficionado.
[First added to this chart: 12/14/2011]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,440
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
A band whose best album always seems to be the last one you've listened to, I could have easily have been swayed to list "Up to Here", "Road Apples", “Day for Night”, “Trouble at the Henhouse” or “Phantom Power” (this last album with the amazing Bobcaygeon). Standard rock sound and very quirky lyrics. I was afraid they would turn country/folk after their 2 debut albums, but they remained rock. Very few weak albums, very few weak songs. RIP Gord Downie.
[First added to this chart: 04/16/2021]
Choosing a Pearl Jam album for this list is to me a cursed endeavour. The best one is always the last one I listened to. Contrary to most people, I do not think of their debut as their strongest (I do not mean that it is weak in any way though). Pearl Jam is one of the only 2 contemporary bands I have been there with at the very start and have never faltered and got their album as soon as they were released. Pearl Jam is such a reliable band, always at the top of their game year after year. Still standing contending for personal best: Vs, Riot Act, Binaural, Yield. Although I consider No Code and Lost Dogs not to be their best for sure these two albums have a special place in my heart and in my listening habits. Return to form with Lightning Bolt (2013) and Gigaton (2020) after two albums I found less inspiring.
[First added to this chart: 06/10/2011]
Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,088
Rank in 1993:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
This is amazing prog from a power trio. Too often, Triumvirat is dubbed by prog heads and critics as the poor man ELP. True, the piano virtuoso of Jürgen Fritz is their main selling point and is in the same vein as Keith Emerson's playing. However, the interplay of bass and the drums on this album is solid. Bass players love this album. This album and its follow-up, Spartacus in 1975, stand strong among the best prog albums of the classic era.
[First added to this chart: 06/10/2011]
Total albums: 100. Page 2 of 10
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 1 | 1% | |
| 1960s | 8 | 8% | |
| 1970s | 41 | 41% | |
| 1980s | 15 | 15% | |
| 1990s | 25 | 25% | |
| 2000s | 6 | 6% | |
| 2010s | 2 | 2% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 2% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| King Crimson | 3 | 3% | |
| Genesis | 3 | 3% | |
| Van Der Graaf Generator | 2 | 2% | |
| Kate Bush | 2 | 2% | |
| U2 | 2 | 2% | |
| R.E.M. | 2 | 2% | |
| The Last Dinner Party | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
47 | 47% | |
 |
35 | 35% | |
| |
9 | 9% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 3 from 48th to 51stTime Out Of Mind by Bob Dylan |
| Down 1 from 27th to 28thSt. Vincent by St. Vincent |
| Down 1 from 28th to 29thMoving Pictures by Rush |
| New entries |
|---|
| From The Pyre by The Last Dinner Party |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 121 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/20/2025 14:45 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,089 | 85/100 | |
| 01/15/2025 17:30 | Exist-en-ciel | 160 | 97/100 | |
| 09/26/2024 09:46 |  Tamthebam | 651 | 85/100 | |
| 04/21/2024 19:50 |  Larcx13 | 1,139 | 86/100 | |
| 03/17/2024 01:07 | mrmcrook | 853 | 92/100 |
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 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.6/100, a mean average of 89.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 10.3.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 20 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 70 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
From Tamthebam 09/26/2024 09:55 | #305429
Tamthebam 09/26/2024 09:55 | #305429
I love the sentiment behind your choices "Albums that were on repeat for a month" that is a brilliant way to measure an albums worth. I need to revaluate some of my choices in my chart !
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From mrmcrook 03/17/2024 01:09 | #302566
Great chart. Enjoyable notes being informative but with the personal touch. Has made me add a few albums to my Wishlist.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From KineticEchoes02 01/08/2024 02:32 | #300979
Loving this chart - great work! Really enjoyed your writeups too. There's a lot I need to check out in here. Very eclectic, great diversity in genres among the classics, and would agree that basically all your prog choices deserve a spot on this list.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Moondance 09/14/2021 00:22 | #273702
I've revisited this chart and have to say that I was engaged with your comments (from 1 - 100) more than any other chart I have checked out on this site. I really liked the personal 'lived' connection between you & the albums and you not being afraid to include outliers (like Samantha Fish).
Good to see one Aussie band make the list. I appreciate the conundrum of including 'After The Goldrush' or 'Harvest'. I've gone for 'Harvest' in my own list.
After revisiting the chart, I have also revisited my ranking.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
rockbluesfolkjaz 09/13/2021 19:40 | #273690
rockbluesfolkjaz 09/13/2021 19:40 | #273690
Very nice list. I can relate to many. The others make me think enough to listen.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Steppenwolf666 03/12/2021 10:16 | #267268
Outstanding. I think I have about 90% of these records because most of them are must have masterpieces.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
StefanR10 09/09/2020 20:01 | #257968
StefanR10 09/09/2020 20:01 | #257968
A really good mixed collection. I find something new but there are some classics here very good selected.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
DommeDamian 09/09/2020 08:23 | #257947
DommeDamian 09/09/2020 08:23 | #257947
RAW list.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
EyeKanFly 02/02/2020 21:41 | #247423
EyeKanFly 02/02/2020 21:41 | #247423
Interesting list. Not a lot from the past 2 decades but what is there is definitely not the expected. Love the explanation of a "moment" - I certainly had one of those when I was introduced to Muse as well!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ExTeaSea 08/26/2018 17:17 | #220127
ExTeaSea 08/26/2018 17:17 | #220127
Happy to see so much prog on a list! You even have Triumvarat!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
