Best Ever Albums

Umbrella Stats

Hayden — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 21:37:46 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 08/18/2026 01:37

Just noticed the update on this AM—
Perfect 😁

Thank you—

Minor annoyances/usability issues

albummaster — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 02:46:53 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 07/30/2026 06:46

AAL2014 wrote:

Very sorry for the confusion. Correct, it’s the same “Yes” confirmation error.

What I was trying to say is that when I uploaded this album, I moderated the album’s year of release (without moderating anything else), clicked yes to confirm and was successful doing so. But then went back to moderate the remainder (album cover and tracklist), clicked yes to confirm and then got the error message on the next page.

Hopefully this helps, apologies again for the confusion!

Thanks for the extra detail, I'll see if I can repro the issue and make a fix. I think it might be a combination of the back button and iOS. I've added an extra safety check before the form is submitted to verify that the 'Yes' confirmation is actually selected. It's possible that, after navigating back, the button still appears selected even though the browser hasn't correctly restored its checked state.

New Release Highlighted Album Adjustment

albummaster — Fri, 3 Jul 2026 04:28:07 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 07/03/2026 08:28

MadhattanJack wrote:

I almost never go to the home page myself... Regardless though, this isn't exactly the best week to be making that change. There may be fewer notable new releases this week than any week in the history of recorded music.

Agree, this time of year is very slow on the new releases front.

Releases by month since the start of 2020s:
Jan - 3,572 - 8.6%
Feb - 3,708 - 8.9%
Mar - 4,112 - 9.9%
Apr - 3,949 - 9.5%
May - 3,879 - 9.3%
Jun - 3,326 - 8.0%
Jul - 2,767 - 6.6%
Aug - 2,859 - 6.9%
Sep - 4,080 - 9.8%
Oct - 4,491 - 10.8%
Nov - 3,415 - 8.2%
Dec - 1,504 - 3.6%
(Total - 41,662)

(This is a very minor change in the scheme of things & the summer lull isn't a bad time to make changes, can roll back/tweak if things go wrong with less impact).

Connecting Forums and Albums

Johnnyo — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 07:38:27 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 06/24/2026 11:38

albummaster wrote:

Thank you for posting, and I enjoy your threads. I hope more people can join in and that forum activity picks up a bit. Unfortunately, we're now entering the usual summer lull when activity tends to drop off slightly, although the site as a whole is busier than it was this time last year.

I'm definitely in favour of ideas that might help improve forum activity. Creating more of a bridge between the forums and the rest of the site is something I've considered before. For example, when someone views an album or artist page, it might be possible to surface related forum discussions.

One challenge is that not every album or artist will have a dedicated discussion, and even when they do, the conversation may no longer be active. There's also the possibility of forum posts mentioning an album only in passing, making them less relevant to the page being viewed. We'd also want to be careful not to cannibalise album comments, so any forum integration would need to complement the existing features rather than compete with them.

That said, even something as simple as a more prominent link to relevant forum discussions along the lines you mentioned could help bring people from the rest of the site into the forums, and it's certainly something I'd be happy to explore.

Thanks AM. All valid points. I think that Anything to make the site more interconnected will drive more discussion and interaction has to be a good thing. I'm happy to be a sounding board for any ideas that you might want to develop.

Personal charts of Live albums

MadhattanJack — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 17:50:21 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 06/15/2026 21:50

dihansse wrote:

All this to say that ex doing a competition on which live album can be considered to be the best by a certain artist would be fun. Different people could take the lead in choosing a band/artist and a weekly thread seems indeed to be a good idea.

I, for one, would probably be up for that. However, you'd have to be careful as to which bands/artists you choose, because some of them have many, many f***-tons of live albums and nobody could possibly have heard all of them, so that might actually be too daunting for people to want to participate. (Several bands have been releasing "official bootleg series" albums lately too, and we seem to have all the Pearl Jam ones but very few of the Bob Dylan ones for some reason.) And there are also going to be bands like The Who, whose "best" live album is, I would say, pretty much predetermined by general acclamation (Live at Leeds, in their case) despite there being several of them to choose from.

Here's a totally non-comprehensive/incomplete list of bands off the top of my head who have ten or more live albums listed on BEA, in order of who has the most:

Grateful Dead 104
Bruce Springsteen & the E St. Band 92
Pearl Jam 70
King Crimson 61
Phish 45
Frank Zappa 45
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard 44
Rolling Stones 36
Neil Young 34
Miles Davis 33
Yes 31
Allman Brothers Band 30
Tangerine Dream 27
Deep Purple 26
John Coltrane 24
David Bowie 23
The Doors 19
Eric Clapton 17
Thelonious Monk 14
Bob Dylan 13
The Who 13
Jimi Hendrix 13
Fairport Convention 13
Pixies 12
Fleetwood Mac 12
Jethro Tull 12
Iggy Pop 12 + ...and the Stooges 7
The Cure 11
Elvis Presley 11
Lynyrd Skynyrd 11
James Brown 10
Joe Bonamassa 10
The Residents 10
U2 10

Meanwhile, XTC currently has only one (though it will soon be two), which is obviously a huge problem for me personally. But you know me, I'll probably manage somehow. 😄

Add a recognized charts

albummaster — Fri, 5 Jun 2026 03:24:56 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 06/05/2026 07:24

Belated welcome to the site and thanks for posting. To add a recognised chart, you first need access to custom charts. The process is to create a custom chart containing the rankings from the external source, give it the same title as the original list, and then flag it for promotion. A moderator can then review it and, if it meets the criteria, promote it to a recognised chart.

Only 'ranked' charts qualify as otherwise points cannot properly be determined/awarded (albums cannot be sequenced properly). The site's points system relies on albums being placed in a specific order. You could still add an unranked chart as a custom chart, but it couldn't be promoted right now without impacting the rankings (this could change in the future, but might lead to the possibility of the site being flooded with too many charts), but I've made a note to allow people to add unranked custom charts (could also be used for other purposes).

Genre charts are possible to be promoted at the moment, but only if the original source is a specialist in that genre. Recognised charts can come from anywhere in the world, but the chart itself needs to be international in scope.

The source also needs to meet minimum notability criteria so that the site doesn't flooded with charts of a dubious nature and maintains a quality threshold. This doesn't necessarily mean the source has to be internationally famous. Some publications are/were hugely influential within their own country, language or genre, even if many users outside that audience haven't heard of them. BEA aims to maintain a global perspective, so this is taken into account when assessing sources.

Incorporating album ratings into rank score

albummaster — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 09:05:29 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 06/03/2026 13:05

Hi Cheddar, thanks for putting so much thought into this and taking time to post. Yes, the general idea has been discussed before, but not for a while. In the background I've spent a lot of time over the years pondering how we could combine ratings and rankings into a unified system. But every time I've gone down that rabbit hole, it always gets too convoluted (whether it's derived from user averages, rank score multiplied by overall average rating etc, there's so many ways to do it).

The core issue with using user averages as a baseline is that it would introduce a "moving target" problem. If you rate five new albums highly tomorrow, your average changes. Suddenly, an album you rated weeks ago might drop below your new average and lose its bonus point through no fault of its own.

There’s also a concern that once you introduce a rule like “above my average = contributes”, people start adjusting how they rate things to influence that threshold. So instead of just reflecting how much they like an album, ratings can start to become about how to influence the scoring system.

On top of that, there's a problem for new users who don't have a big rating history yet, not to mention the fact that everyone scales their ratings differently (a 70 from one person might mean the same as an 85 from somebody else). Some people only rate the albums they like and so average ratings are generally inflated with a low standard deviation (& other people will then rate an album lower than it should be to game the averages). These issues could be solved, but add extra complexity to the overall system and things are relatively simple and easy to understand right now.

I totally agree with the underlying issue being not able to add more than 100 albums into a chart which might cause albums not making the cut to be more buried than they should be, but the more straightforward direction that has been discussed quite a bit before is to allow bigger charts (which preserves the existing logic). Bigger charts are planned to be launched as part of the premium membership scheme and are ready to go in the background once the decks are clear.

(EDIT: Sorry, overlooked your workaround for new users where this only applies to users with X ratings, but other parts still valid about complexity and influencing how users rate items. Moving target issue also remains to a degree depending on qualifying threshold).

Overall Chart History Freeze

albummaster — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 03:48:01 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 06/02/2026 07:48

martintho wrote:

Usually there's about 12 newcomers every month on top 2500. this month: 29! also on top 1000: usually the number is maybe 5 newcomers. this month 12. may I ask why (apologies if the reason has been posted elsewhere)?

Thanks for highlighting, I think it may have partly been due to a calculation glitch a few weeks back, where some scores might have been understated at the end of the last period (due to decade scores not being included). I'd need to check the database to see when the issue was introduced (reported on 6th May, but bug may have been active for a little while before then).

(EDIT: Only stats from 5th and 6th May affected, so wouldn't have had an impact on month-on-month figures which are taken from last day of month (site update on 4th May introduced issue). New entries/leavers this month is an outlier from what I can tell, but happy to spot-check a few albums).

EDIT:
Last month 4 new entries in top 1,000:
Woodface by Crowded House (Rank today: 982 | Last month: 1017 | +35 places)
Aerial by Kate Bush (Rank today: 986 | Last month: 1004 | +18 places)
Band Of Gypsys by Jimi Hendrix (Rank today: 997 | Last month: 1056 | +59 places)
I See A Darkness by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Rank today: 1000 | Last month: 1009 | +9 places)

In April, 6 new entries:
The Hurting by Tears For Fears (Rank today: 956 | Last month: 1012 | +56 places)
Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons (Rank today: 961 | Last month: 1019 | +58 places)
Portishead by Portishead (Rank today: 983 | Last month: 1007 | +24 places)
Shore by Fleet Foxes (Rank today: 995 | Last month: 1005 | +10 places)
Blizzard Of Ozz by Ozzy Osbourne (Rank today: 998 | Last month: 1052 | +54 places)

March - 8 new entries - https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29341
Feb - 8 new entries - https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29263
Jan - 9 new entries - https://www.besteveralbums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29551

I'd need to go further back to see if 12 new entries has ever happened before, but this month seems like an outlier at the moment. In 2026, for the top 1,000, the monthly figures have shown between 4 and 9 new entries each month (before this month).

Song Quote Suggestions

albummaster — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 04:04:51 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 04/13/2026 08:04

Voting is now closed and thanks to everybody for your votes!

The following lyrics, having three or more votes, will be added to the site (20 in total):

(N.B. These will all be verified and tidied-up prior to adding to the site and any duplicates removed).

4 votes
Let me forget about today until tomorrow - Bob Dylan

3 votes
We can find comfort in debauchery - Alvvays
You're the train that crashed my heart - Bat for Lashes
It's easy to see without looking too far that not much is really sacred - Bob Dylan
Ah, but I was so much older then I'm younger than that now - Bob Dylan
The Devil went down to Georgia he was looking for a soul to steal - Charlie Daniels Band
We had no money but I was rich as I could be in my coat of many colors my mama made for me - Dolly Parton
I used to be God-fearing, Now I'm so Frightened. - Elvis Costello
Never get so attached to a poem you forget truth that lacks lyricism - Joanna Newsom
Oh, must you tell me all your secrets when it's hard enough to love you knowing nothing - Lloyd Cole and The Commotions
I wanted to see the world through your eyes until it happened - Phoebe Bridgers
Leading our maggot lives, dreaming of becoming flies - Pram
You took my life before, you'll take my life again - Shame
You're fluent in a language that dies every time you speak - Sound Team
Oh, has the world changed or have I changed? - The Smiths
Life is very long when you're lonely - The Smiths
I know you, and you cannot sing I said, That's nothing, you should hear me play piano - The Smiths
And if you have five seconds to spare then I'll tell you the story of my life - The Smiths
I want the one I can't have and it's driving me mad - The Smiths
A double bed and a stalwart lover, for sure these are the riches of the poor - The Smiths

Question on AI Music

albummaster — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 06:22:49 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 04/10/2026 10:22

This is the latest album which has triggered the AI threshold.

Jane Brown And Yellow Atmosphere Band (2025) by Unreal Rock Songs

This album is currently listed on Apple Music and Spotify. In terms of AI involvement, the following text is copied from the artist's website.

Quote:

"Artificial intelligence is an essential tool for generating sounds, but the entire creative process is mine. I create, review, and finalize the complete musical structure, including riffs, solos, transitions, arrangements, lyrics, and mastering."

Does this cross the line for what constitutes human-created music (and what is the line?) Thought it worthy of discussion to get people's views. If an album is listed across different streaming platforms, is this enough to legitimise a release? (some platforms seem to be softer on AI than others and the above two are probably on the soft side).

Overall track chart

albummaster — Wed, 1 Apr 2026 03:55:39 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 04/01/2026 07:55

ravidal wrote:

Hi, I wanted to know if it is possible to access a .csv file of the top-rated tracks of all time according to the users. It is for a matter of "research", as I want to see how it compares with RYM or AcclaimedMusic and make a ranked voting system. I already did a ranking for albums that I am very satisfied with, but for tracks it is harder as I can only access songs ten at a time which takes a lot of time. What I'd need is a top 10,000 of the tracks, and if possible a "bubbling under" list of every song with rating >83.

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. On the list is to make improvements to the top-rated page (including adding compositions etc) and providing a CSV download, but at the moment this doesn't exist and right now fully focused on the 2026 roadmap (and support/bug-fixing). On a tight schedule (which I'm already falling behind on), intend to reprioritise all open changes once we reach the second half of the year and update the roadmap (if required) to incorporate new additions (the My Charts reorganisation was originally unplanned).

Unable to Edit/Moderate Incorrect Song Titles

albummaster — Mon, 9 Mar 2026 09:14:30 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 03/09/2026 13:14

AAL2014 wrote:

Hello, I’ve noticed a couple times recently that I’m unable to edit song titles from the Album Moderation page.

Does this have something to do with the titles being locked, it says I should be able to edit locked items anyway.

Thanks!

The change was made a few months back as a defensive mechanism as the site had quite a few issues where if the sequence of an album needed to be changed, track titles were being updated (instead of adding a new track or changing the track number). Tracks become read-only if there are existing ratings/comments belonging to a track, so that if a track title is edited it still belongs to the ratings that were given. Data Moderators can still add new tracks, or modify tracks without ratings, but for tracks with member feedback, updates are made via data corrections to main data integrity. (Unfortunately, there's no flawless way to differentiate between minor edits making a spelling correction and other types of edit where the title now represents a different track).

Custom Charts Are A Mess!

albummaster — Sat, 7 Mar 2026 21:53:44 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 03/08/2026 02:53

Romanelli wrote:

Update:

My overall is okay...but there are many discrepancies on looks like all or nearly all custom charts.

Thanks for extra detail, I’ll investigate properly once I’m awake again. Noticed your post while I was in bed, need to check recent chart updates to see what ranks got changed etc (about 20 custom charts showing as updated on the My Charts page).

Only 20 tracks displaying

culwin — Mon, 2 Mar 2026 03:54:30 GMT

Author: culwin

Posted: 03/02/2026 08:54

Thanks looks good �'�

Chart History

albummaster — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:50:00 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 02/27/2026 11:50

flamingyesdept wrote:

All 2174 revisions of my chart have gone!! It's now just the most recent 100. I imagine this was probably a space saving measure...

All the history is still there in the background, but the site is just displaying the 100 most recent edits to prevent the history list getting too bloated. (There are some people with ~8,000 edits of the same chart). (EDIT: I'll check into ways around this).

View all track ratings

albummaster — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:07:56 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 02/27/2026 11:07

flamingyesdept wrote:

For a while, I've been unable to "view all track ratings" at the bottom of a song - it only shows the most recent five ratings

Hi, sorry for problem and thanks for flagging, just deployed a small fix

Release dates prior to 2004 (2026 roadmap)

Johnnyo — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 06:07:42 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 02/21/2026 11:07

Just been back in and done a couple more. We are now down to around 120 so it's going well I think. Planning on doing some more later today

Thoughts on album/chart of the day and daily posts

Johnnyo — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 09:51:24 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 02/19/2026 14:51

CA Dreamin wrote:

As for the Beach Boys and Ozzy threads, we're still only partially through their discographies, so we certainly did not run out things to discuss. The issue is we're still awaiting album write-ups from two users whose names don't need mentioning because we know who they are 😶 .

Fair point. I know that I've been very remiss on the latest Ozzy write up. I feel justifiably rebuked and will try to do it shortly

To be fair, nothing to stop you going onto the next album CAD and I can just catch up. As Richard Dreyfuss famously said in Jaws "Don't wait for me for me"

Clicking on album link gives "The server experienced..

albummaster — Mon, 2 Feb 2026 09:24:15 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 02/02/2026 14:24

paladisiac wrote:

Clicking on any album lnk gives the below error. I just discovered that trying to load an album via the search input also gives the same error.

"
Apologies, an error has occurred
Apologies, an error has occurred loading this page (500):

The server experienced an unexpected error. Please verify the address and try again.
"

Apologies, thanks for reporting, putting out a lot of fires today.

Track ratings

culwin — Sun, 1 Feb 2026 02:19:10 GMT

Author: culwin

Posted: 02/01/2026 07:19

When I first started using this site, I didn't bother rating the tracks. But that's because I was rating/ranking albums I was already pretty familiar with. But at this point, I'm exploring new albums and deeper cuts, and listening to things I've never even heard before. So the only way I can keep track of how good an album really is, is by rating the tracks (yes I can give the album a star rating, but how do you remember which 7/10 album is better when you have 30 of them?). From what I've seen, most users also rate the tracks they know. The "hits", even on popular albums, might have double or triple the ratings that the non-hits/singles have. I think that's fine, especially for the casual person.

If you're asking for a way for a user to make a list (or lists) of best tracks, like top 100 tracks from the 80's, I think that would be fine, but people are going to use the info and tools on this site in different ways.