Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by eclab

I try to judge albums in a context-independent way - i.e. I don't intend to take originality/influence into account, otherwise "Revolver" or something would be at the top. The best albums, to me, don't have to be influential, nor even especially original or distinctive. They just have to sound great.

• Chart updated: 01/04/2024 03:15
• (Created: 10/12/2011 15:01).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 64 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 115 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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1. (=)

Ys 

 Joanna Newsom

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Pure magic from beginning to end, and easily my favourite album. "Only Skin" and "Emily" are the best two songs I've ever heard, and the other three tracks are amazing.

I can understand if you don't like Joanna's voice; it took me many listens to appreciate it. These days, I would actually contend that she's a superb vocalist, in the same sense as (classic, mid-sixties) Bob Dylan: their vocals are so expressive and genuine, regardless of the harsh timbre.

I can't properly describe how great the lyrics are without resorting to yet more superlatives and flowery language. They're just so good, particularly the vivid imagery. I could imagine that a lot of people might find her language pretentious, but I would say she really knows what she's doing - she's not using a broad vocabulary to try to be impressive.

I've gushed enough at this point, so I'll just add that the instrumentation is beautiful, and the engineering great; Van Dyke Parks and Steve Albini deserve a lot of praise for their roles too.

9.8 [First added to this chart: 10/13/2011]

Year of Release:

2006

Appears in:

749 charts

Rank Score:

9,209

Rank in 2006:

2

Rank in 2000s:

28

Overall Rank:

175

Average Rating:

 82 (827 votes)

Comments:

85

2. (=)

Doolittle 

 Pixies

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I continually find myself getting halfway through this album and feeling like it must be about to end, because it's already had far more quality material by that point than most band's careers. But nope, it's only been about 20 minutes and there's more brilliance to come.

9.6+ [First added to this chart: 12/15/2011]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

2,491 charts

Rank Score:

37,450

Rank in 1989:

1

Rank in 1980s:

2

Overall Rank:

18

Average Rating:

 88 (2,870 votes)

Comments:

289

3. (=)

Highway 61 Revisited 

 Bob Dylan

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It opens with a track so good it started modern rock music and the quality holds up throughout.

9.5 [First added to this chart: 10/13/2011]

Year of Release:

1965

Appears in:

2,310 charts

Rank Score:

31,104

Rank in 1965:

1

Rank in 1960s:

8

Overall Rank:

26

Average Rating:

 89 (2,735 votes)

Comments:

226

4. (=)

Moondance 

 Van Morrison

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If there's a more joyful album than this I'm yet to hear it.

9.5 [First added to this chart: 10/13/2011]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

948 charts

Rank Score:

9,332

Rank in 1970:

7

Rank in 1970s:

42

Overall Rank:

169

Average Rating:

 84 (1,115 votes)

Comments:

74

5. (=)

The Beatles (The White Album) 

 The Beatles

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Despite a few dud tracks, the overall sequence is wonderful (including Revolution 9).

9.5 [First added to this chart: 04/30/2013]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

2,866 charts

Rank Score:

43,272

Rank in 1968:

1

Rank in 1960s:

6

Overall Rank:

13

Average Rating:

 89 (3,731 votes)

Comments:

337

6. (=)

Born To Run 

 Bruce Springsteen

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9.5 [First added to this chart: 05/23/2012]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

1,553 charts

Rank Score:

17,233

Rank in 1975:

3

Rank in 1970s:

20

Overall Rank:

70

Average Rating:

 83 (1,928 votes)

Comments:

131

7. (=)

The Velvet Underground & Nico 

 The Velvet Underground & Nico

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9.5 [First added to this chart: 07/17/2012]

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

2,978 charts

Rank Score:

46,105

Rank in 1967:

2

Rank in 1960s:

4

Overall Rank:

10

Average Rating:

 89 (3,454 votes)

Comments:

350

8. (=)

London Calling 

 The Clash

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9.5 [First added to this chart: 10/13/2011]

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,752 charts

Rank Score:

36,236

Rank in 1979:

1

Rank in 1970s:

5

Overall Rank:

20

Average Rating:

 87 (3,081 votes)

Comments:

256

9. (=)

Astral Weeks 

 Van Morrison

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9.4 [First added to this chart: 10/13/2011]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

1,481 charts

Rank Score:

17,771

Rank in 1968:

3

Rank in 1960s:

17

Overall Rank:

68

Average Rating:

 85 (1,661 votes)

Comments:

135

10. (=)

To Pimp A Butterfly 

 Kendrick Lamar

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9.4 [First added to this chart: 04/05/2015]

Year of Release:

2015

Appears in:

1,775 charts

Rank Score:

37,240

Rank in 2015:

1

Rank in 2010s:

1

Overall Rank:

19

Average Rating:

 89 (2,221 votes)

Comments:

364

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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	1	1%
1960s	18	18%
1970s	28	28%
1980s	12	12%
1990s	14	14%
2000s	9	9%
2010s	17	17%
2020s	1	1%

Artist	Albums	%
The Beatles	6	6%
Bob Dylan	4	4%
Joanna Newsom	4	4%
Van Morrison	3	3%
The Rolling Stones	3	3%
Kendrick Lamar	3	3%
Joy Division	2	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	54	54%
	32	32%
	8	8%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	1	1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 1 from 65th to 64th Automatic For The People by R.E.M.
Up 1 from 64th to 63rd Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles
Up 1 from 63rd to 62nd Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols by Sex Pistols

Biggest fallers
Down 3 from 62nd to 65th In Utero by Nirvana
Down 1 from 67th to 68th Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
Down 1 from 68th to 69th Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend

New entries
Grace by Jeff Buckley

Leavers
Modern Vampires Of The City by Vampire Weekend

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 115 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
85/100	08/04/2023 08:54	Moondance	454	84/100
85/100	08/04/2023 08:47	Tamthebam	550	85/100
100/100	04/01/2022 19:25	leniad	687	85/100
90/100	12/17/2021 12:21	Cytoma	171	90/100
85/100	08/07/2021 12:26	sszwalbenest	30	79/100

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 4% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.0/100, a mean average of 88.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.8.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 10 members who have added this chart as a favourite

arthur237

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  

85/100

From Moondance 12/23/2022 20:25

We have a lot in common and a lot not in common - which is a healthy sign of individual taste. I was somewhat surprised to see that your chart has only 2 Australian artists (both from the 2010's) - when Aussie music has been punching way above its weight since the 1970's!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From leniad 04/01/2022 19:25

just great selections

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From indieshins 03/04/2021 22:34

I have mad respect for any chart that includes Joanna, let alone having Ys as the top album. She's an incredible artist who doesn't always get the love I think she deserves.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From Goliath 12/16/2020 18:27

20 in common, but top ten very different.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From ssimmonds 09/30/2020 23:14

16 in common with mine - one sixth is quite good. My top 10 include Loveless and OK Computer.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From Larcx13 07/31/2020 11:05

Good stuff! Love the Dylan appreciation. I don't like that Kendrick is so high but whatever. 29 albums in common.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From microjude 03/18/2020 19:14

Nice chart. A special nod to all the great Van Morrison picks - especially liked the Veedon Fleece addition. I don’t think I have come across a chart with a split between albums I love vs. albums I loathe (not a Dylan fan but I am weird that way). I have somehow missed Joanna Newsom, but am eager to give the album a try now.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From Ashmark 01/19/2020 23:56

Everyone has there own little idiosyncrasies but I wouldn’t argue with anything on this list. Great job, you are definitely someone to hang and listen to music with.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From Julelios 12/17/2019 10:24

22 albums in common ! Wow !

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From C_Krug2009 11/28/2018 23:37

Joanna is good. Glad you can appreciate Kendrick. You should check out Section.80

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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