Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by TheSmiths82-87 
A maximum of four albums per artist
- Chart updated: 01/18/2022 22:45
- (Created: 03/25/2013 15:38).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 74 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 86 out of 100 (from 154 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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The greatest album ever released! How else can the first on the list be introduced? This truly is the peak of Morrissey and Johnny Marr's careers, both a genius in their own field; Morrissey's words and original vocal delivery and Johnny Marr's endless supply of melodies and great guitar hooks.
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is as chilling in its sadness as it is uplifting in its romanticism.
Cemetry Gates makes it all seem so easy and natural.
Frankly Mr Shankly has one of the funniest lyrics I have ever heard without making the song novelty.
And with Vicar In A Tutu proving that even the very greatest albums still have at least one filler track, this still blows everything else out of the water. This is art.
Best Tracks:
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
I Know It's Over
Cemetry Gates
Frankly Mr Shankly
The Queen Is Dead [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is as chilling in its sadness as it is uplifting in its romanticism.
Cemetry Gates makes it all seem so easy and natural.
Frankly Mr Shankly has one of the funniest lyrics I have ever heard without making the song novelty.
And with Vicar In A Tutu proving that even the very greatest albums still have at least one filler track, this still blows everything else out of the water. This is art.
Best Tracks:
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
I Know It's Over
Cemetry Gates
Frankly Mr Shankly
The Queen Is Dead [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
31,246
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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And this was a debut album?! An incredible collection of people involved - Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Mo Tucker, Nico and Andy Warhol.
There's such a varied palette here of light and shade, in fact at times the shade here is positively as black as the void. On one hand we have the beautiful and touching love song I'll Be Your Mirror and on the other we have the desperate apocalyptic howl of Heroin.
Sterling Morrison once said he was most proud of Venus In Furs as there was nothing that sounded like it either before or since, he was right of course but he could've said that about the whole album.
Best Tracks:
Venus In Furs
Heroin
Waiting For The Man
Sunday Morning
Run Run Run [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
There's such a varied palette here of light and shade, in fact at times the shade here is positively as black as the void. On one hand we have the beautiful and touching love song I'll Be Your Mirror and on the other we have the desperate apocalyptic howl of Heroin.
Sterling Morrison once said he was most proud of Venus In Furs as there was nothing that sounded like it either before or since, he was right of course but he could've said that about the whole album.
Best Tracks:
Venus In Furs
Heroin
Waiting For The Man
Sunday Morning
Run Run Run [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,095
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Comments:
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Dylan’s best album? Well, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde and Blood On The Tracks are all pretty much interchangeable for the podium, all three are masterpieces in songwriting and delivery.
But Highway 61 Revisited has always been my particular favourite; some great songs in the middle, bookended by Like A Rolling Stone and Desolation Row. Both these tracks are over 6 minutes and both are on another level completely. The imagery that flows from the verses of Desolation Row is a delight to the senses and just think of the audacity to put out a 6 minute single in 1965 and then be proved right by having a top ten hit with it.
Best Tracks:
Desolation Row
Like A Rolling Stone
Just Like Tom Thumb Blues
Queen Jane Approximately
Ballad Of A Thin Man [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
But Highway 61 Revisited has always been my particular favourite; some great songs in the middle, bookended by Like A Rolling Stone and Desolation Row. Both these tracks are over 6 minutes and both are on another level completely. The imagery that flows from the verses of Desolation Row is a delight to the senses and just think of the audacity to put out a 6 minute single in 1965 and then be proved right by having a top ten hit with it.
Best Tracks:
Desolation Row
Like A Rolling Stone
Just Like Tom Thumb Blues
Queen Jane Approximately
Ballad Of A Thin Man [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
25,053
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Comments:
Available from
The Clash were one of the greatest bands; they looked the part, they evolved and Joe Strummer could always be relied upon to write some great words, often, words to live your life by.
Songs like Lost In The Supermarket and Clampdown you can really empathise with, whether you were 18 in 1979 or not.
The variety here is staggering, how could a supposed punk band come up with this? Here there is a song and a style for all weathers.
This album still has many elements in common with Sandinista, but where Sandinista was brilliant and shit in almost equal measures, London Calling is just brilliant.
Best Tracks:
London Calling
Spanish Bombs
Death Or Glory
Clampdown
Lost In The Supernarket [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Songs like Lost In The Supermarket and Clampdown you can really empathise with, whether you were 18 in 1979 or not.
The variety here is staggering, how could a supposed punk band come up with this? Here there is a song and a style for all weathers.
This album still has many elements in common with Sandinista, but where Sandinista was brilliant and shit in almost equal measures, London Calling is just brilliant.
Best Tracks:
London Calling
Spanish Bombs
Death Or Glory
Clampdown
Lost In The Supernarket [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,969
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Astral Weeks is a bit like the Velvet Underground & Nico album in the sense that nothing else before or after really sounds anything like it, but whereas the Velvet Underground have been heavily imitated, nothing has really come close to Astral Weeks, and how could it really?
I don’t really know where to begin with this one, it feels like it comes from another world, and yet it still strikes a chord with our everyday life. Van Morrison quickly moved on from this and never got close to it again although he has done some fine work of course.
Just listen to it from start to finish and that is all you need to know about it.
Best Tracks:
Madame George
Beside You
Astral Weeks
Ballerina
Sweet Thing [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
I don’t really know where to begin with this one, it feels like it comes from another world, and yet it still strikes a chord with our everyday life. Van Morrison quickly moved on from this and never got close to it again although he has done some fine work of course.
Just listen to it from start to finish and that is all you need to know about it.
Best Tracks:
Madame George
Beside You
Astral Weeks
Ballerina
Sweet Thing [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,190
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
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An immaculate album, where it has been said many times that every song here could’ve been a single, and indeed a lot of them were singles in the wilderness years between this release and the spectacularly average Second Coming in 1994 as the record company tried to squeeze this masterpiece dry.
The reissue always seems to include Elephant Stone and Fools Gold which are both great songs but for me, don’t really belong here.
From the unmistakable bass intro of I Wanna Be Adored to the closing epic jam of I Am The Resurrection, this is one hell of a ride which in turn has spawned a thousand crap bands in flares and Beatles haircuts. But we forgive them. The Roses I mean, not the crap bands.
Best Tracks:
Made Of Stone
Waterfall
I Wanna Be Adored
I Am The Resurrection
She Bangs The Drums [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
The reissue always seems to include Elephant Stone and Fools Gold which are both great songs but for me, don’t really belong here.
From the unmistakable bass intro of I Wanna Be Adored to the closing epic jam of I Am The Resurrection, this is one hell of a ride which in turn has spawned a thousand crap bands in flares and Beatles haircuts. But we forgive them. The Roses I mean, not the crap bands.
Best Tracks:
Made Of Stone
Waterfall
I Wanna Be Adored
I Am The Resurrection
She Bangs The Drums [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,891
Rank in 1989:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
Like any other double album you care to mention, this could probably have been streamlined into something even more magical than it already is, but there is a certain charm this – it feels quite rough and ragged and almost thrown together, but in a good way of course and it is the antithesis to something like Abbey Road, but for me, this has better songs than Abbey Road or Sgt Peppers.
It is the most balanced Beatles album for individual greatness too, Lennon’s Sexy Sadie, Dear Prudence, Julia, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Revolution etc while McCartney gave us Blackbird and Helter Skelter, and then George delivered While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Best Track:
Sexy Sadie
Dear Prudence
Julia
Revolution
Happiness Is A Warm Gun [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
It is the most balanced Beatles album for individual greatness too, Lennon’s Sexy Sadie, Dear Prudence, Julia, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Revolution etc while McCartney gave us Blackbird and Helter Skelter, and then George delivered While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Best Track:
Sexy Sadie
Dear Prudence
Julia
Revolution
Happiness Is A Warm Gun [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
35,114
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
For years this was my favourite David Bowie album and there are plenty of choices for that accolade, at the moment Ziggy just pips it. But Hunky Dory is an incredible collection of tracks, almost like an early greatest hits collection.
The big single with the big Bowie chorus here is Life On Mars, and the other hits are Changes and the Peter Noone covered Oh You Pretty Things, we also have the Velvet Underground inspired Queen Bitch and the wonderfully dark Bewlay Brothers.
Best Tracks:
Life On Mars
Bewlay Brothers
Kooks
Changes
Quicksand
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2013]
The big single with the big Bowie chorus here is Life On Mars, and the other hits are Changes and the Peter Noone covered Oh You Pretty Things, we also have the Velvet Underground inspired Queen Bitch and the wonderfully dark Bewlay Brothers.
Best Tracks:
Life On Mars
Bewlay Brothers
Kooks
Changes
Quicksand
[First added to this chart: 03/27/2013]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,164
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
I know Paul Morley could review this album a lot better than I ever could; he has been discussing it for the last 35 years though. But there is a reason why people like Paul Morley are still so obsessed with Unknown Pleasures, it is a monumental work of epic proportions which came from four northern working class lads inspired to form a band by the Sex Pistols, that in turn should inspire anyone.
Things are pretty bleak here, in just under a year, Ian Curtis will be dead, and in hindsight, there is plenty of evidence pointing to the way he chose. There is certainly no humour to be found here at all, but it is still a captivating listen, more or less from start to finish. For me the last three tracks are a bit of a let down after what has gone before, unlike Closer where the last three are the best.
Best Tracks:
New Dawn Fades
Disorder
She's Lost Control
Insight
Shadowplay [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
Things are pretty bleak here, in just under a year, Ian Curtis will be dead, and in hindsight, there is plenty of evidence pointing to the way he chose. There is certainly no humour to be found here at all, but it is still a captivating listen, more or less from start to finish. For me the last three tracks are a bit of a let down after what has gone before, unlike Closer where the last three are the best.
Best Tracks:
New Dawn Fades
Disorder
She's Lost Control
Insight
Shadowplay [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,365
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
At this moment in time Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands is my favourite Dylan track, I would normally prefer a song to say everything it possibly can in under 3 minutes but I have to make an exception for this one as it just never lets up and delivers line after line of wonderful poetry.
I suppose this album is a little more accessible than Highway 61 Revisited, as where the epic tracks from Highway 61 like Desolation Row and Like A Rolling Stone were still more or less protest songs, Blonde On Blonde is more concerned with matters of the heart. Songs like Just Like A Woman and I Want You were quite commercial in sound but still distinctively Dylan.
Best Tracks:
Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
Visions Of Johanna
Just Like A Woman
I Want You
One Of Us Must Know Sooner Or Later [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
I suppose this album is a little more accessible than Highway 61 Revisited, as where the epic tracks from Highway 61 like Desolation Row and Like A Rolling Stone were still more or less protest songs, Blonde On Blonde is more concerned with matters of the heart. Songs like Just Like A Woman and I Want You were quite commercial in sound but still distinctively Dylan.
Best Tracks:
Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
Visions Of Johanna
Just Like A Woman
I Want You
One Of Us Must Know Sooner Or Later [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
23,295
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 21 | 21% | |
| 1970s | 36 | 36% | |
| 1980s | 22 | 22% | |
| 1990s | 16 | 16% | |
| 2000s | 4 | 4% | |
| 2010s | 1 | 1% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Bob Dylan | 4 | 4% | |
| The Fall | 4 | 4% | |
| Neil Young | 4 | 4% | |
| Morrissey | 4 | 4% | |
| Van Morrison | 4 | 4% | |
| Radiohead | 4 | 4% | |
| The Beatles | 4 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
Up 9 from 60th to 51st |
Up 7 from 87th to 80th |
Up 2 from 81st to 79th |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 6 from 90th to 96th |
Down 3 from 78th to 81st |
Down 3 from 79th to 82nd |
| New entries |
|---|
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Top 100 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).
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Showing latest 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 154 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/06/2025 12:36 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,089 | 86/100 |
| ! | 08/30/2022 10:53 | Thearei30ee | 17 | 88/100 |
| ! | 08/14/2021 00:25 | stangetzaway | 175 | 89/100 |
Rating metrics:
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).
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This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 86.5/100, a mean average of 86.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 86.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.9.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums forum mentions
This chart has been referenced 4 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 12/11/2021 09:00 in Chart of the day (#3700): By TheSmiths82-87
BestEverAlbums 12/11/2021 09:00 in Chart of the day (#3700): By TheSmiths82-87“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by TheSmiths82-87 () 1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths (1986) 2. The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) 3. Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan (1965) 4. London Calling by The Clash (1979) 5. The Stone Roses by The…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 04/19/2018 08:00 in Chart of the day (#2370): By TheSmiths82-87
BestEverAlbums 04/19/2018 08:00 in Chart of the day (#2370): By TheSmiths82-87“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by TheSmiths82-87 () 1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths (1986) 2. The Velvet Underground And Nico by The Velvet Underground And Nico (1967) 3. Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan (1965) 4. London Calling by The Clash (1979) 5. The Stone Roses by…”
View forum post →From BestEverAlbums 10/12/2015 08:00 in Chart of the day (#1455): By TheSmiths82-87
BestEverAlbums 10/12/2015 08:00 in Chart of the day (#1455): By TheSmiths82-87“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by TheSmiths82-87 () 1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths (1986) 2. The Velvet Underground And Nico by The Velvet Underground (1967) 3. London Calling by The Clash (1979) 4. Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan (1965) 5. Astral Weeks by Van Morrison…”
View forum post →Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
Johnnyo TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/03/2018 12:36 | #204479
Love this chart but what adds considerably is the time taken to comment on the albums. I've tried this on a number of occasions but to be honest, I lack the patience. Cudos.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3
From
Space-Dementia 05/24/2016 02:09 | #166752
Space-Dementia 05/24/2016 02:09 | #166752
I wish I could get into the 80s as much as you have. It seems like there'd be so many bands from that decade that I would love (The Smiths, Joy Division, Tom Waits), but I just can't really get into them. Maybe some day. It's funny how it seems like it takes you super long to finally start to get comfortable with any decade past the 80s. At first there were a few rare tastes of the 90s, and then as I got to the 6th and 7th page finally there started to be more and more traces of more recent music. Interesting.
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From
btener11 04/03/2013 21:14 | #71249
btener11 04/03/2013 21:14 | #71249
I like almost all of your chart, and what I don't like I can at least appreciate. However, your chart is a perfect example of why I limit myself to 2, sometimes 3, albums per artist. I would really like to know more of what you're into after Morrissey, The Clash, Floyd, etc. And, as a huge Smiths fan myself, I find irony in your user name -- some of the nine(!) Moz albums here are examples of why the Smiths should be remembered for what they did between '82 and '87.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
From
garycottier TOP 100 COMMENTER 07/19/2016 16:54 | #171535
Thank you for taking the time to rate my chart. We obviously have very similar tastes. You are obviously a huge Smiths fan, and I love them too, but there just wasn't enough room in my chart for a Smiths album. If I had extended my chart to 200, then, the queen is dead, and, Strangeway's here we come, would have definitely made it, maybe even too, meat is murder. Yours is a fine chart. Thanks again for rating my chart.
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From
SHAUNDUROSE 03/26/2013 21:28 | #70063
A strong selection there, everyone a bona fide classic. Although because DSOTM is in there instead of Wish you Were Here 8/10!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
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