Listed below are the overall rankings for the best albums in history as determined by their aggregate positions in over 58,000 different greatest album charts on BestEverAlbums.com! (Chart last updated: 3 hours ago).
"The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady is a tense, passionate, fierce album that deals directly with the personal chaos Mingus found in his love life. It is a meticulously composed, multi-layered triumph that continually announces its motifs through a hefty series of deft variations, continually build...""The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady is a tense, passionate, fierce album that deals directly with the personal chaos Mingus found in his love life. It is a meticulously composed, multi-layered triumph that continually announces its motifs through a hefty series of deft variations, continually building in repeating, masterfully executed climaxes while scaling the walls of ecstacy, the depths of despair, the longing, passion, and weakened knees of love, and the "soap operas" of indulging in sin. It does this with a cathartic vigor that magnifies each stream of explosive emotions into a focused, intensely provocative event, giving emphasis to the gradual, rising phrases as if a feast of sensuality and desire were caught in the charging hormones and emotions that spring up in the most irrepressable of love affairs. It exploits the characters as if twisting them around eachother until each is a relentlessly pursued object of affection, left dizzy and exhausted by whetted appetites rung dry, offering bodies succumbed and their minds bent within an enigmatic, inescapable and confounding drama. "[+]Reply
"I think that my vocabulary is not sufficient to convey what this album illustrates in my mind. Its an epic affair. I feel like when I really give in and immerse myself in this record I am sort of confronting and feeling some concept as big as civilization itself. It feel at times like the beginni...""I think that my vocabulary is not sufficient to convey what this album illustrates in my mind. Its an epic affair. I feel like when I really give in and immerse myself in this record I am sort of confronting and feeling some concept as big as civilization itself. It feel at times like the beginning of humanity and at times, the end of it.
Yeah, I am indeed having a hard time describing this. It has lots of parts, some spoken word, some classical soundin' stuff, some noisy stuff, some punky stuff, and just lots of cool as hell stuff. And all this stuff adds up to a great and cohesive and mesmerizing peice of art. The end."[+]Reply
"What an incredible album this is! The emotion and power that is driven across to the listener is mesmerising and the sheer talent on display is fantastic. The energy never slows throughout the whole record and it is extremely powerful and can so easily dominate you. This is mainly due to the inst...""What an incredible album this is! The emotion and power that is driven across to the listener is mesmerising and the sheer talent on display is fantastic. The energy never slows throughout the whole record and it is extremely powerful and can so easily dominate you. This is mainly due to the instrumental performances we get which are just astounding. The highlight of this is the guitar work with the incredible riffs and phenomenal solos we get on tracks like Battery, Orion and of course Master Of Puppets with this being the best song on the album. It is 8 minutes of pure energy and emotion that stuns me every time I listen to it both in the context of the album and outside of it. Then there is the drum work which is brilliantly frantic yet controlled at the same time and make all songs pack that extra punch behind them. I am also a massive fan of the vocal work on this record and it is one of the best metal voices I have ever heard. However, for me I do have to be in a certain mood to listen to an hour worth of metal music as it is difficult to keep up with the intensity. Also, the second half isn't as memorable as the first and it does feel a little bit slower in comparison. Overall, this is one of, if not the best, metal album ever made and it is a must listen for any music fan regardless of whether you like the genre or not. "[+]Reply
"Whilst listening to Blackstar for a second time, I realised something: this is the only Bowie album to not have his face on the cover. That left me feeling that not only was this really the end, but that he was fully aware his end was coming. And if this was his final dance, then he's certainly p...""Whilst listening to Blackstar for a second time, I realised something: this is the only Bowie album to not have his face on the cover. That left me feeling that not only was this really the end, but that he was fully aware his end was coming. And if this was his final dance, then he's certainly pulled it off with the same confidence and conviction that he's always had.
But, just like his passing, the album cover only helps to bring the album into context. This is the last goodbye, and it is constructed with wondrous precision, care and quality.
Musically, it's diverse and most certainly new. Plenty of influences here from a broad range of genres and styles, but it's synthesised in such a way that the resultant sound feels original, crisp and interesting. It's what he's always done best.
The themes in the album now, sadly, make a lot more sense. The lyrics are personal and revealing, sometimes saddening but filled with a sense that he was ready to go. It's certainly gloomy, but by no means dark, definitely enjoyable, with plenty to read into further.
What's more, the overall structure and composition is fantastic. Tony Visconti has once again done an amazing job, and I thoroughly recommend you listen to all the songs on a good pair of headphones at some point. Order wise, the songs flow from one to the other without a hitch, and I'm seriously glad that "I Can't Give Everything Away" is at the end; it's a final twist in the tale, and it's brilliant.
I don't want to let his death get in the way of my verdict for Blackstar, but this is without a doubt the best album since Scary Monsters, and as far as parting gifts go, this is a very good one. Even so long after he began his career, and with his death on the horizon, he managed to reinvent himself just one more time. Whatever this persona comes to be known as, it's certainly the closest we're ever going to get to the man himself.
So long, Thin White Duke. And thank you."[+]Reply
"Blonde is brilliant. That might even be the extent to which I can give my thoughts on this album. That is all. It is just a brilliant album. Ocean takes us on an emotional, dreamy adventure into his own world, and introduces us to a new class of music. The sound of Blonde is experimental without ...""Blonde is brilliant. That might even be the extent to which I can give my thoughts on this album. That is all. It is just a brilliant album.
Ocean takes us on an emotional, dreamy adventure into his own world, and introduces us to a new class of music. The sound of Blonde is experimental without being too experimental, a sonorous and vivid sound scape that molds around his distinctive voice, the focal point of the album.
That soundscape is also carefully built by the songs as the album progresses. Little details, like the odd line or sound, construct the feeling of Blonde with supreme delicacy. And it pays off; interlude tracks like 'Be Yourself' and 'Facebook Story' help to set you up for the real stand-out tracks like 'Solo' and 'Nights'. Once you manage to crack into the mindset of Blonde, this album will make sense, and you'll see the level of quality and genius on show here.
Some have complained that it's too slow and that there isn't enough distinction here - they're missing the point. This album is a journey, and it's able to flow from track to track with sublime ease. This is an incredibly easy album to listen to, yet it has a deep complexity that I haven't witnessed for a long time.
It also obliges you to listen to it multiple times. And you absolutely should - you'll be able to see its strongest points for what they are: some of the best music of this decade, perhaps even ever.
I have no doubt that Blonde is going to be a companion to me for many years to come. It amazes me how much music can captivate you, but it seems to be Frank Ocean's main talent. Despite it being his second full release, he is flaunting talent that we haven't seen in a long time.
And even with how brilliant Blonde is, I still think there's so much more to come. Watch this space; it's only going to get more amazing from here.
92/100"[+]Reply
"My favorite rap album of all time. It's a shame that rap music lost a lot of the raw lyrics and beats that we hear on this record. There is something refreshing about a group of friends rhyming to beats made of mostly piano riffs and simple drums, while making actual intelligent analogies and his...""My favorite rap album of all time. It's a shame that rap music lost a lot of the raw lyrics and beats that we hear on this record. There is something refreshing about a group of friends rhyming to beats made of mostly piano riffs and simple drums, while making actual intelligent analogies and historical references. Wow..the more I think about it, rap sucks these days. Get your overproduced garbage out of here and stop talking about your money and fame. Listen to this record for inspiration! "[+]Reply
"This album was a real shock for me. Funny how their, I think, most accessible album was the most shocking for me. When I looked into VU's music I started with the first album and went in chronological order. After wearing out VU Nico and White Light/White Heat, I wanted more, so I went on the nex...""This album was a real shock for me. Funny how their, I think, most accessible album was the most shocking for me. When I looked into VU's music I started with the first album and went in chronological order. After wearing out VU & Nico and White Light/White Heat, I wanted more, so I went on the next album. Imagine the shock I had when I heard the sweet and delicate "Candy Says", the first track off the third album. Keep in mind, I'm coming straight off of the ear-shattering noise jam "Sister Ray", the last track off of their second album. For me, this is as much of a sign of their greatness as their more influential and groundbreaking works, because it shows that they were much more than a noisy art band. "[+]Reply
"Probably Stevie Wonder's most perfect record. Innervisions, May not be your favourite Wonder LP, and you may not even think it's his best, but it is his one album that ticks all the boxes. It doesn't feel indulgent or overlong, there's no filler, weak tracks or any missteps, it's simply Stevie Wo...""Probably Stevie Wonder's most perfect record. Innervisions, May not be your favourite Wonder LP, and you may not even think it's his best, but it is his one album that ticks all the boxes. It doesn't feel indulgent or overlong, there's no filler, weak tracks or any missteps, it's simply Stevie Wonder firing on all cylinders, making a tight, cohesive and unforgettable LP. Great songs in, living for the city, higher ground, and, all in love is fair. Simply breathtaking. "[+]Reply
"There is an unfathomable amount of varied material here, even more crazy is how much of that material is genuinely good. It took this long for me to commit to the full listen, I knew it would deserve it. The first two discs make for a beautiful listen, the first stretch of 6 songs, and a few othe...""There is an unfathomable amount of varied material here, even more crazy is how much of that material is genuinely good. It took this long for me to commit to the full listen, I knew it would deserve it. The first two discs make for a beautiful listen, the first stretch of 6 songs, and a few other gems scattered throughout in particular. George's voice sounds so good on a number of these tracks.
I can't help but notice a similarity to my all time favorite record, Songs in the Key of Life, another sprawling beauty of a double (plus more) album with similar lyrical themes, album structuring/concepts, and gloriously masterful and varied instrumental arrangements.
There's a lot here for me to sit with for a while but I love it already."[+]Reply
"This is an album that really takes a few listens for you to realise how great it truly is. It was on the 3rd or 4th listen where I just sat there and was like this is incredible. The rich soundscape created throughout the whole record is phenomenal and you really feel engrossed in the atmosphere....""This is an album that really takes a few listens for you to realise how great it truly is. It was on the 3rd or 4th listen where I just sat there and was like this is incredible. The rich soundscape created throughout the whole record is phenomenal and you really feel engrossed in the atmosphere. Vocally the album is amazing and when you pair that with the infectious choruses you have a formula for a brilliance that they put to use on every track. The production and mixing as well is just something to marvel at with the whole record sounding so smooth and clean. Overall, this album is amazing from start to finish and deserves its place among the greatest records ever made. "[+]Reply