Top 40 Greatest Music Albums
by 
oldehamme 
Studio albums only. No live albums or greatest hits compilations. This is also limited to rock; no jazz or country. Nothing against them. That's just not the focus here.
This is not a list of my favorite albums. This is my ranking of the best I've heard. There are a few albums here I'm not crazy about -- Pet Sounds, for example -- but I appreciate their artistry and have included them to give the list more depth and diversity than a list of my favorites would allow.
- Chart updated: 07/09/2025 23:45
- (Created: 03/01/2013 07:57).
- Chart size: 40 albums.
There are 7 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 40 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 86 out of 100 (from 9 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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There's no consensus on the issue, but for my money, this is the album that marked the transformation of "rock and roll" into "rock." Dylan had experimented with rock instrumentation on his previous studio album, but this is a mature effort that instantly and forever changed the parameters of popular song lyrics. And Dylan may have been backed by more empathetic musicians on other albums, but this one featured the tightest band of studio aces who ever managed to put up with him: drummer Bobby Gregg (briefly of the Hawks, soon to be the Band), amateur organist Al Kooper, and best of all, firebrand lead guitarist Mike Bloomfield, who had backed Dylan during his electric debut at the Newport Folk Festival. Bloomfield's stinging lead on "Tombstone Blues" transforms a merely great song into a career highlight, for both himself and Dylan -- no small feat.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,407
Rank in 1965:
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A debut album that plays like a greatest hits collection: "Purple Haze," "Manic Depression," "Hey Joe," "The Wind Cries Mary," "Fire," "Foxy Lady"...they're all here. And the rest of the album demonstrates a whole new way to listen to and play rock's predominant instrument, the electric guitar. It's a whole new language for the blues, too, taking the decades-old 12-bar structure and adding beats that stretch the possibilities of both the melody and the lyrics. All three of his studio albums are exceptional, but this one showcases the full measure of the revolutionary ideas he'd been crafting for years and years behind the scenes.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,275
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Many have played faster, many more have played louder, but none have matched the two with as much heart as the Ramones did on this unforgettable debut. 14 songs hurtle along like a runaway subway train, with the whole ride clocking in at just under 30 minutes. But every track is memorable. If Martians landed on Earth tomorrow and demanded to understand rock and roll, we could do a lot worse than to play them The Great Twenty-Eight, Fun House, and this masterpiece.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,899
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For better or worse, "Light My Fire" is the song that's come to define this band's themes and intentions, and that's the weakest song on this remarkable debut. Jim Morrison reached for high drama on every one of these 11 tracks (including two covers and Robbie Krieger's "Light My Fire") and only on "The End" does he stumble into melodrama. Which was kind of the point.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,339
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Albums from rock and roll's pioneer days were crafted by record company executives, not the performers. So perhaps it's unfair to include Elvis' first hits + filler collection on a list like this. But one man's filler is another man's hit, and Elvis' feet never touched the ground between 1954 and 1956. RCA had just purchased Elvis' contract from Sun Records (for the Ruthian sum of $35,000) with a handful of his unreleased Sun recordings to boot, some of which are included here. His one stumble is a watery cover of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti," leaving Elvis sounding about as clueless as Pat Boone. Everywhere else, he triumphs, covering Ray Charles ("I Got a Woman"), Clyde McPhatter ("Money Honey"), and, best of all, transforming a song that had already been a huge hit for Carl Perkins ("Blue Suede Shoes") into his own signature tune. Not for nothing was he the King.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,003
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This album was inescapable in the mid-1980's, partly due to the non-stop barrage of singles that issued forth from it. But it also spawned a legion of imitators -- mostly forgettable invocations of patriotism (for those who didn't get it) or syrupy paeans to the average Joes and Janies of the world (for those who did). But for every indiscriminate fanboy, chanting "U-S-A! U-S-A!" at a stop on Springsteen's endless tour, there was another who really listened to what the man had to say and came to understand that maybe, just maybe, "Morning in America" was a cruel, cynical lie. In the end, for all its radio friendliness, this is the greatest protest album of its time.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,929
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Rock music has not progressed one beat beyond this fearsome album. As a band, the Stooges never sounded better. Producer Don Galluci stripped away as much studio furniture as possible to get a clean, "live" performance from the band, then presciently multi-tracked Ron Asheton's guitar, giving it a fuller and more complex sound than was possible on stage. It's also Iggy Pop's most brilliant vocal performance, veering from a menacing growl to a primal scream and everywhere in between, sometimes within the same song. The term wouldn't be used for a song/album for another three years, but this is where the Stooges showed the world what Raw Power sounded like.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,325
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This is the best soul album of all time. It was Aretha's debut album with Atlantic Records, having saved her from a career of pleasant but forgettable pop/jazz at CBS. It was also the ne plus ultra for the crew of brilliant session players at F.A.M.E. studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They provided tasteful but soulful arrangements that let Aretha unleash the most powerful and most subtle voice in soul music. Her volume often obscured the obvious intelligence that Aretha brought to her songs, with phrasing that made her a songwriter's dream, second perhaps only to Ella Fitzgerald in interpretive judgment.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,253
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It starts simply: one chord, repeated for four bars, a twang of bass and then suddenly you're yanked off the ground and riding Superman's back. Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd trade complex riffs and hairpin solos that match Hendrix for virtuosity and intelligence but sound nothing like him. The sound is rich and heavy on sustain; compare it with the tinny sound of their debut single, "Little Johnny Jewel" (included on recent re-releases of the album) and give credit to Andy Johns, who figured out how to get their live sound down on record without sacrificing precision.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,389
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Another cheat, maybe, but put "Maybelline," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Johnny B. Goode," "Carol," and "Almost Grown" on the same non-greatest hits disc, and the only question can be: Why doesn't this rank higher? The answer: "Hey Pedro," a cringe-inducing Mexican caricature that showed that racism was an equal-opportunity venture in 1960.
[First added to this chart: 03/14/2013]
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,548
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Total albums: 18. Page 1 of 2
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 3 | 8% | |
| 1960s | 14 | 35% | |
| 1970s | 21 | 53% | |
| 1980s | 1 | 3% | |
| 1990s | 1 | 3% | |
| 2000s | 0 | 0% | |
| 2010s | 0 | 0% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 10% | |
| The Beatles | 4 | 10% | |
| The Clash | 2 | 5% | |
| Bruce Springsteen | 1 | 3% | |
| Marvin Gaye | 1 | 3% | |
| The Stooges | 1 | 3% | |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 40 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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Top 40 Greatest Music Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 9 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/14/2016 09:05 | TheSmiths82-87 | 1,829 | 83/100 | |
| 05/13/2013 17:42 |  junodog4 | 712 | 73/100 | |
| 04/17/2013 17:56 |  BasdeWit97 | 448 | 89/100 | |
| 03/30/2013 04:55 |  MCOTho | 48 | 91/100 | |
| 03/27/2013 10:33 | Boo69 | 37 | 81/100 |
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Top 40 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing all 7 comments |
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From 
CA Dreamin 06/23/2014 20:17 | #115092
CA Dreamin 06/23/2014 20:17 | #115092
Very good taste, but according to your ratings, you haven't listened to almost anything since the '70s. Why not?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From junodog4 05/13/2013 17:42 | #76004
junodog4 05/13/2013 17:42 | #76004
Pretty conventional. I'd be more interested in a chart of your favourites.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From MCOTho 03/30/2013 04:55 | #70529
MCOTho 03/30/2013 04:55 | #70529
Kinda cliche but still good taste
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Boo69 03/27/2013 10:36 | #70127
Too heavily focused on 60s and 70s for me. I agree that this was the golden era for albums but there are plenty of records from the last 30 years that should be on a best album list.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
SingingPeasant96 03/22/2013 06:04 | #69493
SingingPeasant96 03/22/2013 06:04 | #69493
It seems pretty conventional,
but nice chart actually.
I just hope you try post-70's.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Jasonconfused 03/09/2013 02:21 | #67499
Jasonconfused 03/09/2013 02:21 | #67499
Already one of my favorite. Can't wait to see it grow.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Cymro2011 03/02/2013 17:10 | #66702
Cymro2011 03/02/2013 17:10 | #66702
Really good chart, looking forward to see this expanded to 100.
Welcome to BEA!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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