Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by 
Sean 
A revolving and evolving approximation of my music taste, this chart has been under construction since I was 14.
Often times, the album comments will contain a current take, followed by an earlier written take.
- Chart updated: 09/24/2022 17:45
- (Created: 08/06/2011 01:55).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 113 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 137 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Soft & beautiful Pet Sounds is Baroque Pop at its best. It is arguably the best engineered album of all time as the studio innovations were never seen before. Goes deep inside the psyche of the human mind and emotions, certainly more than it lets one in the first listen.
[First added to this chart: 08/05/2011]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,145
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The perfect folk album where everything flows perfectly. The bitterness despair and confusion is all in Highway 61 revisited. The lyrical writing is not only the greatest in rock history, but in a class with James Joyce, Hemingway and Shakespeare for its impact on the reader/listener. Of course as my number 1, there is some unsaid emotional impact on me that cannot be quantified. The feelings from Like A Rolling Stone to Desolation Row are what rise it above the rest of my top 25, all of which could be #1.
[First added to this chart: 08/05/2011]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27,392
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One of Prog Rock's greatest albums and one of the greatest albums of all time. There literally isn't a dull moment in this album and one is never not intrigued. This is definitely Pink Floyd's best album and although Wish You Were Here is great this is really Pink Floyd's masterpiece.
[First added to this chart: 08/08/2011]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
60,119
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No album was as socially important as Sgt. Pepper's as it frequently referenced use of psychedelic drugs as in Lucy in the sky with diamonds and how the new generation is changing in She's Leaving Home. The album finishes with arguably the best song of all time and most complex "Day in a Life" One could put in an argument that Sgt. Peppers is not the best album bc other albums have better songs even other beatles albums have better songs. Well no Beatles or any other album flows as well as this album. It manages to not be eccentric or homogeneous at the same time. If every track was terrible and Day in A life was the only good track it probably would still be considered one of the greatest albums if all time because of its ability to flow. The Beatles were a band that were not by any means a psychedelic band like JME but they managed to make the greatest psychedelic music piece ever.
[First added to this chart: 08/05/2011]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
43,346
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One can see why headphones are tested for Aja. As my girlfriend has said, it sounds like one long song. This can often be a criticism of an album, but my love for Aja does not stand for its' diversity of sound. The musicianship is among the tightest, while the lyricism, especially Deacon Blues, delivers a perfect complement.
[First added to this chart: 12/15/2011]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,017
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The essential Jazz Album. Every song, every note hits you. In such an improvisational art form everything seems perfectly planned. The music plays to my soul. Its mystique leaves one at a lost in describing its power. Favorite track: Blue in Green.
[First added to this chart: 08/07/2011]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22,201
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Comments:
7. (=)
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Soulful, dark, narcissistic, insecure, few of the thousands of adjectives that could be used to describe Kanye's and Hip-Hop's greatest album. Every song is fantastic and while listening one clearly sees how accurate the album's title is. Beautiful, Dark and twisted. In this album two of the deepest songs "Blame Game" and his greatest song "Runaway" a 9 minute epic about how people think about him while the opening 4 tracks really set the dark self-loathing attitude of the album.
One of the greatest case studies of the human ego. Kanye wielded his then suffering reputation to create an album of me against the world. It contains his best beats, his best societal analysis (Gorgeous, So Appalled), and his best humor (Monster, Devil in a New Dress), and introspection (Runaway, Power). The work truly deserves a "toast for the" biggest douchebag of them all. [First added to this chart: 08/05/2011]
One of the greatest case studies of the human ego. Kanye wielded his then suffering reputation to create an album of me against the world. It contains his best beats, his best societal analysis (Gorgeous, So Appalled), and his best humor (Monster, Devil in a New Dress), and introspection (Runaway, Power). The work truly deserves a "toast for the" biggest douchebag of them all. [First added to this chart: 08/05/2011]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22,701
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What it meant to be afraid in 1979 is best described in London Calling the best political album ever made among the topics it alludes to unemployment and nuclear holocaust. I also believe there is a very strong Ska influence on this album excluding the title track London Calling is a part-punk part-reggae album. Literally every track on London Calling is great and it is no wonder why most people consider it the greatest punk album of all time and a large minority considers it the greatest album of all time. I use to think the first album of the double album London Calling was the superior album but songs like the 5:43 minute reggae- jam Revolution Rock or one of my favorite songs of all time "Train In Vain" that it might be the better album. People have always commented on "Gimme Shelter" as the song that best captured the time. Well IMO, no album has or will ever capture a time then London Calling-1979 (May of been 1 one day) Lowest: 3 (For One day 6/1/11) might of been 5 first chart. 7
[First added to this chart: 08/05/2011]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30,931
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The second side of the album is a personal magnum opus for McCartney as he wrote most of it. The Key moment is the Golden Slumbers melody. This is the album that bothers me the most because I want to have it higher than 14 because side 2 is so great but side 1 of the album is one of the Beatles' most inconsistent works and therefore do not hold it in the same regard as most lists.
[First added to this chart: 08/05/2011]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
57,341
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One of the most shocking and innovative hip-hop albums to date. Some of the best rap verses in the last 15 years over Steely Dan and Charles Mingus like beats. Sometimes an album has a certain subject matter (i.e the deterioration of British society, economic hardships with London Calling) which perfectly fits the time of its release. To Pimp A Butterfly is the ultimate black lives matter album in the black lives matter time. I will have a lot of trouble determining which is superior TPAB, or GKMC.
[First added to this chart: 03/16/2015]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,494
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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 | 26 | 26% | |
| 1970s | 32 | 32% | |
| 1980s | 12 | 12% | |
| 1990s | 7 | 7% | |
| 2000s | 6 | 6% | |
| 2010s | 14 | 14% | |
| 2020s | 1 | 1% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Beatles | 5 | 5% | |
| Bruce Springsteen | 5 | 5% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 4% | |
| Bob Dylan | 4 | 4% | |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 3% | |
| Kanye West | 3 | 3% | |
| David Bowie | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| New entries |
|---|
| Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival |
| Leavers |
|---|
| American Beauty by Grateful Dead |
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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 137 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/27/2025 15:04 | DrewHamster | 317 | 79/100 |
| ! | 03/20/2025 17:19 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,104 | 85/100 |
| ! | 11/20/2022 22:43 | Moondance | 476 | 85/100 |
| ! | 11/20/2022 22:34 | henrygreen0203 | 48 | 91/100 |
| ! | 11/20/2022 22:07 | wizardalien | 31 | 88/100 |
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 7% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.3/100, a mean average of 88.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.3.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 113 comments |
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From Moondance 11/20/2022 22:59 | #291451
Somewhere along the line you seem to have shifted Pet Sounds to #1 above Highway 61 ~ unforgiveable (LOL)!
Anyway, your chart overall is cool enough. To me, it seems a bit too 'safe' and I'm not a fan of charts where a large percentage of valuable chart space is devoted to only a small number of artists. While I respect your artist loyalty, there's nothing in your chart to surprise me or to tempt me to go in search of an unknown artist/album.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From henrygreen0203 11/20/2022 22:35 | #291450
Chock full of BEA favorites with several hidden gems thrown in for your discovery. This chart is WELL worth your time.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From samora 11/20/2022 20:30 | #291448
Great list! 30 albums in common, that is a lot! Great to see 4 Dylan albums, and to find two A Tribe Called Quest albums near the end. And well done on the notes!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Larcx13 04/01/2022 14:41 | #283696
Larcx13 04/01/2022 14:41 | #283696
Approaches perfection... Very nice chart.. and I'm not even a big fan of some of these artists but the short descriptions and the quality of your choices can't be disputed.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
seb7 01/16/2022 04:37 | #279440
seb7 01/16/2022 04:37 | #279440
Great notes, extremely thorough, but the actual choices are just... not as diverse as I would like to see
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 0129114 06/24/2020 04:46 | #254360
amazing list, but a bit too much of the boss lol
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
911Turbo 04/26/2020 01:38 | #250521
911Turbo 04/26/2020 01:38 | #250521
When i first looked at your list, i immediately thought to myself "oh brother, another copy cat". but after reading your beautiful descriptions of each album, i have to say, congratulations. You have an incredible list.
I'm very familiar with your albums and i appreciate you taking the time to describe in detail what makes you love that particular album. thankyou
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Julelios 12/17/2019 10:23 | #245745
Julelios 12/17/2019 10:23 | #245745
23 albums in common ! Wow !
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
doubleA 10/08/2019 10:13 | #243517
doubleA 10/08/2019 10:13 | #243517
Usually a list with lots of notes automatically makes me appreciate it lots. That's mostly the case with this one, but I do have a small problem with some of them. It feels like lots of the write-ups boil down to "this album is so great, it has a great history", not adding too much to why YOU like it. This being said, I generally don't have anything major against the notes, some of them are really great. The one for Lonerism for instance really stood out for me, to just name one!
Lots of the picks also seem a bit safe, although I am convinced these are the album's you love. Here are some recommendations that might suit you, whilst still being a slight change of pace:
Have You in my Wilderness by Julia Holster
98.12.28 Otokotachi No Wakare by Fishmans
White Light from the Mouth of Infinity by Swans
Faust IV by Faust
Sov Gott Roe-Mari by International Harvester
Really lovely list nonetheless!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 11/26/2018 09:20 | #225678
ForegroundNoise 11/26/2018 09:20 | #225678
I'd already left a rating on this chart but since it's chart of the day I'll leave a comment. Your notes are so so good; so much detail and I love the way you talk about your favourite albums! The modern inclusions (especially hip hop) mark your taste out from just being a classic rock affair, though I do think there's little in the way of alternative picks (maybe stemming from your focus on your favourite 'big' artists?), I'd be really interested to see what this chart with a 1-album-per-artist rule would look like
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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