Overall Chart

Explore the overall rankings of the best albums in history, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
Last updated: 5 hours ago

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OK Computer

Radiohead

"I only really discovered Radiohead 2 jears ago. Didn't like Yorke's voice at first. Then one day stuck in traffic, I listened to OK Computer from beginning to end... I still get goosebumps... the moment when the 'second' Yorke falsetto screams 'You know where you are' towards the end of 'Let Down..." [+] Reply

Steff3n | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +17 votes (23 helpful | 6 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1997

Appears in:

4,467 charts

Rank Score:

59,844

Rank in 1997:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

92 (5,682 votes)

Comments:

864

The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

"I once stated that I thought that this is the only album that really has a claim to the title 'greatest album ever.' I am not really sure that I would phrase that statement with such tenacity and chutzpah now, but I do feel that my point remains viable: There are no other albums out there that ar..." [+] Reply

- kryptos006 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (12 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

4,168 charts

Rank Score:

56,707

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"The world should be grateful the Beatles were ever in its presence. After years of misery, the Beatles said farewell they only way they knew how... releasing an explosion of a creativity onto the world." Reply

tbakeman | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (9 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

3,770 charts

Rank Score:

54,346

Rank in 1969:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"This is my pick for the best ever album. Everything you'd want in an album is here: The perfect ballads ("Here, There And Everywhere" and "For No One"), the perfect rockers ("Taxman", "She Said She Said" and "And Your Bird Can Sing"), brilliant psychedelia ("I'm Only Sleeping", "She Said She Said..." [+] Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

3,623 charts

Rank Score:

46,771

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"This used to be my favorite record, and honestly I still don't really understand how someone couldn't like it. Of course opinions are subjective, but what is to dislike about this record? Even the longer tracks, which some more casual listeners don't find enjoyable in general, are made in the fas..." [+] Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

3,035 charts

Rank Score:

42,176

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

91 (4,098 votes)

Comments:

316

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

David Bowie

"The only album I've ever given a perfect score to on here. Simply the greatest album ever made. Completely incomprehensible that Bowie crafted this alone, I consider that the greatest acheivement in the history of music. If you haven't listened to it yet, do yourself a favor and go for it. I'm ex..." [+] Reply

LoganGrube | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (9 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

3,039 charts

Rank Score:

41,007

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

90 (3,591 votes)

Comments:

305

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles

"I'm not disputing any of that. I think that Sgt. Pepper's is as overblown and self-indulgent of an album as you're likely to find anywhere(and this is coming from someone who is a fan of Yes' "Tales From Topographic Oceans") and I think it gets far, far too much credit for its supposed "revolutio..." [+] Reply

40footwolf | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +13 votes (20 helpful | 7 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

3,519 charts

Rank Score:

40,773

Rank in 1967:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"I had already liked this record, but I thought it wasn't as good as people perceived it out to be. That was until I listened to it in a car journey. The night sky looked so pretty and the sonic waves around me complemented the scenery. I was in a state of awe throughout it. And that's when I unde..." [+] Reply

HazeyTwilight | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +25 votes (26 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2007

Appears in:

2,986 charts

Rank Score:

40,740

Rank in 2007:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (3,984 votes)

Comments:

399

Kid A

Radiohead

"I am just going to throw this out there: In my opinion, this album is a VERY strong candidate for the title "Greatest Album of All Time." I used to say to my friends back when I first got really into Kid A that when I listened to this album, I felt like I was being "saturated with truth." I suppo..." [+] Reply

- kryptos006 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +12 votes (13 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2000

Appears in:

3,238 charts

Rank Score:

39,178

Rank in 2000:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (4,501 votes)

Comments:

564

10.

The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground & Nico

"'The Velvet Underground And Nico' is arguably one of the two most groundbreaking and influential pieces of music ever to have been produced in the entire history of rock music. It is no exaggeration to say that alternative rock music was born the moment the Velvet Underground entered a recording ...""'The Velvet Underground And Nico' is arguably one of the two most groundbreaking and influential pieces of music ever to have been produced in the entire history of rock music. It is no exaggeration to say that alternative rock music was born the moment the Velvet Underground entered a recording studio. Most notably, their influence can be heard in the progressive and new-wave movements of the 1970s through to the post-punk and shoe-gazing movements of the 1980s and 1990s and beyond. The Velvet Underground's approach to their art was not as a commercial enterprise in order to satisfy the aspirations of record company executives and the public relations industry, but was deliberately intended to disturb and unsettle. Their music self-consiously explored the inner depths and recesses of the human pysche. Unlike their mainly pop contemporaries, the Velvet Underground were classically trained musicians who engaged in elongated suites and complex jams. The cultural tradition that the band aligned themselves with was not the jaded faction of the hippy movement, but the progressive movement that was to follow in its wake. The band were as far removed from hippy culture as it was possible to be, but paradoxically were also embedded within it to the extent that, like Frank Zappa, they were able to successfully garner a platform from which they critiqued and challenged the all-pervasive current that dominated it. So although the album was recorded during the time of the hippy movement, their 'darker' programme represented its antithesis. In this sense, they originated the 'pessimistic' strand of psychedelic music (as opposed to San Francisco's optimistic strand). Above all else, they originated a spirit of making music (independent, nihilistic, subversive) that ten years later will be labelled 'punk'. 'The Velvet Underground And Nico' recorded in the spring of 1966, includes an impressive number of masterpieces (mostly penned by Lou Reed and John Cale, and sung by Nico): the cold, spectral, autumnal odes of 'Femme Fatale', 'All Tomorrow's Parties', 'Black Angel's Death Song' and 'Heroin' are particularly stunning. The latter piece symbolizes the dark underbelly of hippydom like no other piece of music has ever done. Its sheer magnificence is unsurpassed. When I first heard this on the radio, I knew from that moment on my life would never be the same again. 'European Son' pounds to a dissonant tribal beat and a cross-fertilization of musical textures add to the incredible mix. A rich decadent spleen imbued with Indian raga, permeates 'Venus In Furs' which is immersed in a dark, almost oppressive atmosphere of decadence and oppulence. German expressionism and French existentialism is evident throughout the entire recording, as is the exhaltation of an epic libido: Each song is exumed with a sexual and fetishistic undercurrent for which no precedent exists in the entire history of music. " [+] Reply

- hairymarx1 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (13 helpful | 6 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

3,065 charts

Rank Score:

37,578

Rank in 1967:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (3,587 votes)

Comments:

356

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Overall Chart composition

Decade	Albums	%

1930s	2	0%
1940s	35	0%
1950s	299	3%
1960s	708	7%
1970s	1,417	14%
1980s	1,397	14%
1990s	1,596	16%
2000s	1,747	17%
2010s	1,978	20%
2020s	821	8%

Artist	Albums	%

Neil Young	43	0%
Bob Dylan	37	0%
The Rolling Stones	35	0%
Miles Davis	33	0%
David Bowie	32	0%
The Beatles	29	0%
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard	25	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	5,021	50%
	2,655	27%
	428	4%
	336	3%
	218	2%
	154	2%
	137	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	9,734	97%
Yes	266	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	9,739	97%
Yes	261	3%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	9,885	99%
Yes	115	1%

Overall Chart chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 4 from 97th to 93rd ★ [Blackstar] by David Bowie
Up 2 from 69th to 67th Songs In The Key Of Life by Stevie Wonder
Up 1 from 101st to 100th All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
Up 1 from 99th to 98th Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan
Up 1 from 96th to 95th Violator by Depeche Mode

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 2 from 71st to 73rd Illmatic by Nas
Down 2 from 79th to 81st Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
Down 2 from 92nd to 94th The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground
Down 2 from 94th to 96th Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Down 2 from 95th to 97th Blond by Frank Ocean

New entries New entries in top 100 since last month
Up 1 from 101st to 100th All Things Must Pass by George Harrison

Leavers Leavers from top 100 since last month
Down 1 from 100th to 101st Surfer Rosa by Pixies

Best Artists of the 1960s

1. The Beatles

2. The Velvet Underground

3. Jimi Hendrix

4. Bob Dylan

5. The Beach Boys

6. The Doors

7. Led Zeppelin

8. The Rolling Stones

9. John Coltrane

10. King Crimson