20 Golden Greats
by Buddy Holly

20 Golden Greats by Buddy Holly
(Compilation album)
Year: 1978
Overall rank: 10,171st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 140 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1978 (148th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (1,443rd)
Award Best albums of all time (10,171st)

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Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
Buddy Holly - 39 Golden Greats Featuring The Picks [New 2CD] Sealed MINT!
Condition: Brand New


eBay
eBay
BUDDY HOLLY LIVES LP 20 GOLDEN GREATS NM
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS - 20 GOLDEN GREATS - 1978 MCA RECORDS LP - (VG+/VG+)
Condition: Used


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Buddy Holly bestography

20 Golden Greats is ranked 4th best out of 22 albums by Buddy Holly on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Buddy Holly is Buddy Holly which is ranked number 644 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 2,640.

Buddy Holly album bestography « Higher ranked (8,500th)
The Buddy Holly Story
This album (10,171st)
20 Golden Greats
Lower ranked (18,840th) »
Reminiscing

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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20 Golden Greats track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Track pick (860 - 41 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (41 votes)Comments: View 0
2.
Track pick (870 - 34 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (34 votes)Comments: View 0
14.
Track pick (870 - 29 votes)
Average Rating: 87 (29 votes)Comments: View 0

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

20 Golden Greats rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 10,171st | 1970s rank: 1,443rd | 1978 rank: 148th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 MadhattanJackTop 90 Music Albums of 197858/902
2026 swedTop 66 Music Albums of the 1970s66/660
2026 AAL2014Top 96 Music Albums of 197876/961
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of 197822/1004
2026munsonTop 100 Greatest Music Albums45/10055
2025 AAL2014The Greatest Greatest Hits26/30 -
2025matterhornrider55 Favorite Compilation Albums12/55 -
2025munsonTop 36 Music Albums of the 1970s6/3617
2024LosWochosTop 100 Music Albums of 197825/1004
2024 CharlieBarley701-800 Favourite Songs25/100 -
2023KettwigTop 25 Music Albums of 19787/254
2021 samistake2iceTop 17 Music Albums of 197813/171
2021jon5417Top 26 Music Albums of 197820/261
2020caseygowTop 100 Music Albums of 197889/1001
2020 StefanR10Top 100 Music Albums of 197886/1001
2019 kcendsley1Top 99 Greatest Music Albums76/998
2019JganaeTop 40 Greatest Music Albums39/402
2018gufy123456789Top 100 Greatest Music Albums100/1000
2018 21stCenturySchizIf Rolling Stone Magazine did 1 album per Artist Part 160/100 -
2016 Juiceman96Top 90 Music Albums of the 1970s44/9010
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 40
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 119
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

20 Golden Greats collection

20 Golden Greats ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 140 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 140 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 
01/03/2026 04:46 Martini  Ratings distribution  75495/100
 
75/100
 
12/31/2025 04:22 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,69470/100
 
85/100
 
07/04/2025 03:59 Chavin  Ratings distribution  4478/100
 
95/100
 
11/16/2024 03:34 davidleewrong  Ratings distribution  2,35881/100
 
95/100
 
08/16/2024 00:57 TheHutts  Ratings distribution  2,07076/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.2/100, a mean average of 77.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.2.

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20 Golden Greats comments

Showing all 8 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 11/29/2020 07:22 | #261620
Hard to argue with the number of classics Buddy Holly had written before his untimely death.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/27/2020 20:04 | #258785
Podia ter feito ainda tanto pelo rock!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 05/08/2014 03:35 | #111147
Nine Top Ten hits in barely two years and then a fateful flight on a small plane (some claim was called the American Pie) and Buddy Holly entered the realm of rock & roll legend. I consider this album a must have.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 09/10/2013 20:45 | #85667
One of the first albums purchased from the Columbia House Music Club. Can not believe the amount of classic songs included on the album. It is fantastic to see how many of the songs on this album end up being covers for others.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 09/09/2012 18:27 | #50306
It's a shame this is out of print now...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 06/20/2010 02:13 | #13037
GavinB,..I totally agree with you..It would have been great to hear the music he would have made as he matured..I have adored his music since I was 5...The Crickets were the first self contained rock band.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 06/19/2010 01:27 | #13014
Buddy wrote the most beautifully elegant songs of any rock and roller I've ever heard. I wonder what sort of musician he would have grown into, had he not died in that fateful airplane crash in Clear Lake Iowa at age 23 in 1959. In the two short years since he began recording music, Buddy had already written 2 dozen songs that were destined to become American rock and roll classics. No other first generation American rocker (not even Elvis) ever came close to accomplishing what Buddy did in those two short years as a performing recording artist.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 09/28/2009 21:57 | #6403
When I was 4, I asked for "Oh boy" 45 for Christmas, although I was obviously too young to really get Buddy Holly or understand what he was all about, I really liked his "hiccup" vocals, the melody, the simplicity of this song and when I was older, around the time when "Born to run" and "Horses" came out, I really starting getting into his music..you can see how much of his music, everly brothers, elvis is in the music of the Beatles. I like to follow the evolution and progression of pop/rock music from the blues to the present.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1978
1. Darkness On The Edge Of Town by Bruce Springsteen
2. Parallel Lines by Blondie
3. The Cars by The Cars
4. This Year's Model by Elvis Costello
5. Van Halen by Van Halen
6. Die Mensch·Maschine by Kraftwerk
7. Music For 18 Musicians by Steve Reich
8. The Kick Inside by Kate Bush
9. Some Girls by The Rolling Stones
10. More Songs About Buildings And Food by Talking Heads