Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by weedygonsalez

I'm not including anything by the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, et al because, really, they don't need my love. From a quick glance everything on this site already skews super-heavily toward unconditional love for the (classic) rock greats, so I'll just give them a little holla from this blurb over here. Holla!

Everything from 1 - 25 goes to 11. 21 - 70 are all solid 10s. 70+ are all, at most, only a few decimals or decibels away from perfection.

Bubbling just below the radar:

Albert Ayler - Spiritual Unity
Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign
Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock and Roll
Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica
The Cars - The Cars
Caribou - Andorra
Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
Destroyer - Kaputt
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Donovan - Sunshine Superman
Eric B & Rakim - Paid in Full
The Format - Dog Problems
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach/Demon Days
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters
Jack Rose - Luck in the Valley
James Blackshaw - Cloud of Unknowing
Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Kleenex Girl Wonder - Ponyoak
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
Michael Jackson - Thriller
The O'Jays - Back Stabbers
Ohio Players - Fire/Honey
Okkervil River - Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See/The Stage Names
Sparklehorse - Good Morning, Spider
T Rex - The Slider
T.I. - King
Thelonious Monk - Genius of Modern Music
The Walkmen - Heaven
Weather Report - Heavy Weather
The xx - xx
Yes - Close to the Edge/Fragile
The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II Tha Pharcyde*
The Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady*
The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
R.E.M. - Murmur*
Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
Digital Underground - Sex Packets*
Outkast - Stankonia*
Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings*
Interpol - Antics* (Though if I could combine the top 70% of that album with the top 70% of Turn on the Bright Lights, you'd have one hell of a Top 20 album)

* - Previously on the list, but pushed off for TOTALLY UNDISCLOSED reasons.

• Chart updated: 07/01/2015 04:45
• (Created: 11/07/2011 05:38).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 43 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 69 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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1. (=)

Loveless 

 My Bloody Valentine

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The most beautiful album ever recorded. Put on headphones, turn off your phone, lie down in a dark room, and turn on Loveless. You'll thank me. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2011]

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

2,110 charts

Rank Score:

33,722

Rank in 1991:

2

Rank in 1990s:

4

Overall Rank:

22

Average Rating:

 86 (2,407 votes)

Comments:

308

2. (=)

Mingus Ah Um 

 Charles Mingus

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Almost a tie: Black Saint and the Sinner Lady.

Accessibility is underrated in jazz, and very few of the masters could afford it without sacrificing form. Davis, Mingus, and Coltrane are the big three (of the LP era) when it comes to making jazz that can be appreciated on multiple levels. Mingus Ah Um is the absolute apex of the joining of the academic and popular worlds within jazz. There is plenty to appreciate here from all camps: remarkable variety, intense emotion, and disciplined band-leading are all here. Musicality shares the bill with virtuosity, and the song-based album structure is perfectly utilized. The best jazz record of all time. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2011]

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

643 charts

Rank Score:

7,410

Rank in 1959:

2

Rank in 1950s:

2

Overall Rank:

226

Average Rating:

 84 (709 votes)

Comments:

40

3. (=)

Voodoo 

 D'Angelo

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Through all of R&B's iterations, no one has emerged with as much talent, artistry, and command over attitude and style as D'Angelo. Brown Sugar was the impeccable inception of a brand new school of thought in the genre, but Voodoo is something else entirely. Sometimes it's difficult to admit that mere humans made this album. From start to finish, it's nothing less than a thorough, layered, almost religious experience. It's been clocking up my chart inch by inch over the years for good reason. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2011]

Year of Release:

2000

Appears in:

357 charts

Rank Score:

3,205

Rank in 2000:

11

Rank in 2000s:

92

Overall Rank:

558

Average Rating:

 79 (416 votes)

Comments:

19

4. (=)

Slanted And Enchanted 

 Pavement

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One of my friends told me that he never liked Pavement because they sounded too sloppy. This guy, a guitar purist, really couldn't be more right about Slanted & Enchanted's signature, sloppy sound. It was a DIY, laid back aesthetic so effective that it spawned a tiny genre called indie rock. Luckily, I was too busy paying attention to the album's endless run of incredible hooks to care about what my friend thought. S&E remains the high water mark of the independent music world. Runners up: Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, Brighten the Corners. [First added to this chart: 11/06/2011]

Year of Release:

1992

Appears in:

878 charts

Rank Score:

7,863

Rank in 1992:

3

Rank in 1990s:

42

Overall Rank:

215

Average Rating:

 82 (1,146 votes)

Comments:

86

5. (=)

Illmatic 

 Nas

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The best rap album ever rapped. Track after track of absolute primo rapping, every lyric lands solid and sticks like molasses, and superb production from the best cats in the game. Sometimes perfection is just perfection; what else is there to understand? Runner up: Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother [First added to this chart: 11/06/2011]

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

1,312 charts

Rank Score:

18,467

Rank in 1994:

2

Rank in 1990s:

12

Overall Rank:

65

Average Rating:

 86 (1,536 votes)

Comments:

109

6. (=)

The Monitor 

 Titus Andronicus

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So I decided to release the 2.5 edition of this list because of many albums I realized I had forgotten/discovered/rediscovered since my last major updated, but none more than The Monitor. I might have an unusually strong connection to this album because of my close ties to Soverville, MA, but that don't stop it from being a creation of jawdropping technical finesse through and through and through its enormous suite of songs. From its seven minute opener -- of which I have memorized all seven minutes -- to its seventeen minute closer, every idea of its multiple concepts is communicated clearly, searingly, and with boundness imagination. Never before has a bagpipe sounded so fucking PUNK. [First added to this chart: 07/01/2015]

Year of Release:

2010

Appears in:

206 charts

Rank Score:

1,375

Rank in 2010:

19

Rank in 2010s:

194

Overall Rank:

1,276

Average Rating:

 78 (302 votes)

Comments:

22

7. (=)

All Hail West Texas 

 The Mountain Goats

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Runners up: The Sunset Tree, Zopilote Machine, Hot Garden Stop, Nine Black Poppies, Transcendental Youth, Tallahassee, the songs "Palmcorder Yajna" and "Ox Baker Triumphant," the "Jam Eater Blues" single, virtually anything else John Darnielle has ever written, including his stuff in The Extra Glenns, and just about any bootleg you can get your hands on. Almost never is it true that everything in a musician's body of work is essential. The Mountain Goats are the exception. If you want to ever shoot me a private message, I'll gladly prove my scientific demonstration how he is the greatest singer-songwriter of all time. [First added to this chart: 05/03/2013]

Year of Release:

2002

Appears in:

161 charts

Rank Score:

1,164

Rank in 2002:

26

Rank in 2000s:

241

Overall Rank:

1,493

Average Rating:

 78 (174 votes)

Comments:

9

8. (=)

The Woods 

 Sleater-Kinney

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Sleater-Kinney claimed a new vocabulary for modern rock with each successive album they wrote. Exceptional, clever, subversive, punk, sardonic and venomous and sultry and just a little bit slimy and successful at pretty much every turn they took. And then they wrote The Woods and changed the rock game once more. Filtering their prior sounds through a buzzsaw and cranking it to 12, The Woods is cathartic, punishing, and both. [First added to this chart: 07/01/2015]

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

236 charts

Rank Score:

1,640

Rank in 2005:

18

Rank in 2000s:

168

Overall Rank:

1,076

Average Rating:

 79 (280 votes)

Comments:

13

9. (=)

Since I Left You 

 The Avalanches

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A patchwork of samples that adds up to a seamless, ecstatic whole. Nothing can brew a great mood quicker than listening to this album's first 18 tracks on repeat. Runner up: RELEASE YOUR NEXT ALBUM ALREADY DAMMIT [First added to this chart: 11/15/2011]

Year of Release:

2000

Appears in:

808 charts

Rank Score:

8,821

Rank in 2000:

4

Rank in 2000s:

30

Overall Rank:

184

Average Rating:

 82 (921 votes)

Comments:

68

10. (=)

Paul's Boutique 

 Beastie Boys

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Three MCs and One DJ have said more in the space of these 15+ tracks than hundreds of crab rappers have said in the years since. Laid down over an impeccable tapestry of pitch-perfect, beat-perfect samples, Ad-Rock, Mike D, and MCA (RIP) spit the best rhymes of their life to create some of the best tracks hip-hop has ever seen. I can say unequivocally that "Shadrach" is one of the ten best songs ever made. Intellectual, goofy, and professional all in one; Paul's Boutique is a once-in-a-generation type of album.

Runners up: Hello Nasty, Ill Communication [First added to this chart: 11/06/2011]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

839 charts

Rank Score:

7,235

Rank in 1989:

4

Rank in 1980s:

29

Overall Rank:

237

Average Rating:

 82 (1,009 votes)

Comments:

53

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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	6	6%
1970s	22	22%
1980s	8	8%
1990s	24	24%
2000s	27	27%
2010s	11	11%
2020s	0	0%

Artist	Albums	%
Morphine	1	1%
The Avalanches	1	1%
ボリス [Boris]	1	1%
Can	1	1%
2Pac	1	1%
The Wrens	1	1%
Laurel Halo	1	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	65	65%
	18	18%
	3	3%
	2	2%
	2	2%
	2	2%
	2	2%
Show all

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

New entries
The Bones Of What You Believe by CHVRCHES

Leavers
Antics by Interpol

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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 69 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
100/100	10/14/2018 12:17	DommeDamian	969	90/100
75/100	04/18/2017 21:32	LedZep	1,079	84/100
95/100	01/10/2017 02:13	Seab	2,017	93/100
95/100	10/04/2016 16:56	Mattdup279	107	88/100
80/100	08/29/2016 20:40	sssvnnn	2,828	83/100

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 6% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.5/100, a mean average of 89.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 10.7.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 43 comments |
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Rating:  

100/100

From DommeDamian 10/14/2018 12:17

D'Angelo! Enough said!

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

Rating:  

75/100

From LedZep 04/18/2017 21:36

Very cool chart. Gotta agree with Mingus, Beastie Boys, Mothers of Invention and a several more absolutely top notch albums. Not so much into more hardcore rap though, but the greatest problem is 65% of American albums, not so diverse. Still a superb chart, and bonus points for descriptions. Also great to see the chart without Beatles, Floyd and everything else you've mentioned, although I'd also like to see the chart with those legends included, just for comparison maybe. MR. GRIEVES

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

Rating:  

95/100

From Mattdup279 10/04/2016 16:56

Cool as a cucumber

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

Rating:  

100/100

From sageamagoo 07/15/2016 22:35

This chart is incredible! Surprised I haven't run into it before, so many personal favourites here, along with many that I've heard good things about but haven't actually listened to. Great comments as well.

Any chance you could give me a few recommendations? For you, I suggest The Flaming Lips. Specifically, The Soft Bulletin and Clouds Taste Metallic. They're both excellent records—very different stylistically from one another, but I'm sure you'd enjoy both.

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

Rating:  

100/100

From hippo 10/15/2015 22:21

Awesome chart! I think this was the first time I saw Louis Logic on a chart

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

Rating:  

100/100

From HoldenM 10/15/2015 22:10

Beautiful freakin' chart.

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

Rating:  

90/100

From louisjwyatt 10/15/2015 18:51

This is a rad chart. Don't get some of the rap inclusions, but love seeing the Wrens and Swervedriver here. Good stuff!

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

Rating:  

90/100

From rafalink 10/15/2015 13:25

Nice mix of decades, styles and countrys. We normally don't see this here on BEA.
I don't listen to some the albums that you put on the list, but I get very confortable to read the notes a I'll try to check some of that. I liked to see "Novos Baianos" on the list, great album! If you'd like to check another Brazilian masterpiece, try to listen "Construção" by Chico Buarque.

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

Rating:  

75/100

From platus 10/15/2015 08:15

A very decent chart. Good taste.

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

Rating:  

75/100

From mightyram 05/14/2014 19:41

Not heard a fair few of these but great mix from the decades, styles etc. great comments and clearly lots of passion in the choice. Like it.

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

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