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.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from Morrissey. (Remove this filter)
Undoubtedly Morrissey’s finest solo effort to date, but there are no surprises here, it is simply a great collection of songs, all in a similar vain to the majority of Morrissey’s work. The only unusual track here is possibly Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning, which sees Morrissey’s delivery taking on a hushed whisper.
The stronger tracks are really strong – Now My Heart Is Full, Speedway, Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself and the two singles, anyone of these would have sat proudly alongside the best of the Smiths.
Although there seems to be no filler here; maybe the b-side I’d Love To could’ve been included at the expense of the Lazy Sunbathers or I Am Hated For Loving, but both those tracks are still enjoyable.
This album gave Morrissey a much needed number 1 in the album charts, his first since Viva Hate, it also gave him a UK top ten hit and what is still his biggest US hit single - The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get.
This is the album against which his every subsequent release is compared and to be fair, he wasn’t a million miles away with You Are The Quarry(2004) or World Peace Is None Of Your Business(2014), but this is still the diamond in his solo discography.
Best Tracks:
Now My Heart Is Full
Speedway
Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself
Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning
The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
The stronger tracks are really strong – Now My Heart Is Full, Speedway, Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself and the two singles, anyone of these would have sat proudly alongside the best of the Smiths.
Although there seems to be no filler here; maybe the b-side I’d Love To could’ve been included at the expense of the Lazy Sunbathers or I Am Hated For Loving, but both those tracks are still enjoyable.
This album gave Morrissey a much needed number 1 in the album charts, his first since Viva Hate, it also gave him a UK top ten hit and what is still his biggest US hit single - The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get.
This is the album against which his every subsequent release is compared and to be fair, he wasn’t a million miles away with You Are The Quarry(2004) or World Peace Is None Of Your Business(2014), but this is still the diamond in his solo discography.
Best Tracks:
Now My Heart Is Full
Speedway
Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself
Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning
The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,116
Rank in 1994:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Morrissey's solo debut pretty much carried on where the Smiths left off, it was certainly on a par with Strangeways Here We Come, which had appeared only 6 months prior. This was a very nostalgic collection of songs for Morrissey which very clearly reached back into the early 70's.
Viva Hate was Morrissey's first number 1 album since Meat Is Murder with the Smiths and it spawned two top ten singles in Suedehead and the majestic Everyday Is Like Sunday.
Best Tracks:
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Suedehead
Late Night Maudlin Street
Dial A Cliché
The Ordinary Boys [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Viva Hate was Morrissey's first number 1 album since Meat Is Murder with the Smiths and it spawned two top ten singles in Suedehead and the majestic Everyday Is Like Sunday.
Best Tracks:
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Suedehead
Late Night Maudlin Street
Dial A Cliché
The Ordinary Boys [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1988
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,481
Rank in 1988:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
After the Smiths disbanded in 1987, Morrissey hit the ground running with Viva Hate going straight to the number 1 position and his first two singles hitting the top ten and eclipsing any chart position the Smiths achieved.
Unfortunately things slowed down relatively quickly after a run of half a dozen great singles. We were presented with Kill Uncle in 1991, which I blindly loved at the time, and I still do appreciate it, but I admit it must be viewed as Morrissey's worst album to this day.
Luckily Morrissey then teamed up with Mick Ronson and produced Your Arsenal, Kill Uncle is perhaps a little underrated and does have a delightful quirky humour, but Your Arsenal well and truly blew it out of the water and is still regarded as one of Morrissey's finest solo releases which is up there with his best work both solo and with the Smiths.
Best Tracks:
Seasick, Yet Still Docked
We'll Let You Know
I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday
The National Front Disco
Glamorous Glue [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Unfortunately things slowed down relatively quickly after a run of half a dozen great singles. We were presented with Kill Uncle in 1991, which I blindly loved at the time, and I still do appreciate it, but I admit it must be viewed as Morrissey's worst album to this day.
Luckily Morrissey then teamed up with Mick Ronson and produced Your Arsenal, Kill Uncle is perhaps a little underrated and does have a delightful quirky humour, but Your Arsenal well and truly blew it out of the water and is still regarded as one of Morrissey's finest solo releases which is up there with his best work both solo and with the Smiths.
Best Tracks:
Seasick, Yet Still Docked
We'll Let You Know
I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday
The National Front Disco
Glamorous Glue [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
808
Rank in 1992:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Possibly Morrissey's finest album since 1994, despite charting at number 2 and gaining a high proportion of favourable reviews, it still seems to have been neglected somewhat. It didn't help that Morrissey fell out with the record company and the album did not receive any further promotion and was indeed pretty much disowned by them.
A great collection of songs, although one of the extra tracks on the deluxe edition like Art Hounds or Drag The River should maybe have edged out Earth Is The Loneliest Planet from the original track listing.
Best Tracks:
Oboe Concerto
Istanbul
Staircase At The University
I'm Not A Man
Mountjoy [First added to this chart: 07/24/2014]
A great collection of songs, although one of the extra tracks on the deluxe edition like Art Hounds or Drag The River should maybe have edged out Earth Is The Loneliest Planet from the original track listing.
Best Tracks:
Oboe Concerto
Istanbul
Staircase At The University
I'm Not A Man
Mountjoy [First added to this chart: 07/24/2014]
Total albums: 4. Page 1 of 1
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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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| U2 | 4 | 4% | |
| Bob Dylan | 4 | 4% | |
| The Fall | 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 51stRust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse |
| Up 7 from 87th to 80thAfter The Gold Rush by Neil Young |
| Up 2 from 81st to 79thLifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M. |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 6 from 90th to 96thI'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen |
| Down 3 from 78th to 81stSweet Baby James by James Taylor |
| Down 3 from 79th to 82ndFuneral by Arcade Fire |
| New entries |
|---|
| Moondance by Van Morrison |
| Harvest by Neil Young |
| Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison |
| On The Beach by Neil Young |
| Saint Dominic's Preview by Van Morrison |
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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).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 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 | 85/100 | |
| 08/30/2022 10:53 | Thearei30ee | 17 | 88/100 | |
| 08/14/2021 00:25 | stangetzaway | 174 | 89/100 | |
| 06/14/2021 16:14 |  seb7 | 114 | 91/100 | |
| 11/29/2020 10:32 |  Goliath | 350 | 86/100 |
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).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
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.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From seb7 06/11/2021 17:03 | #270549
seb7 06/11/2021 17:03 | #270549
wow, a whole 10/10 of the top ten of the overall chart, and your own top ten has nothing under the top 100! so original! And, you feature a whole 88 albums sitting within the top 1000.
It did surprise me that you favor the 70s like I do, but it's the same 70s albums that every basic user puts into their chart.
edit: discovered that it's actually 20/20 of the overall chart. Good job, Morrisey Simp
Honestly, I am just salty that you left the 75/100 and left no explanation or comment.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From leniad 11/11/2020 23:16 | #260679
like
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From WillyMac 05/04/2020 17:05 | #250911
I really like your chart and your commentaries. There are 19 albums the same as my chart. It's not just the usual suspects though but things like King of America and The Life Pursuit. Many of your other albums are bubbling under my top 100. Good to see Leonard Cohen getting some love...
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Strattonfox 07/31/2019 20:10 | #240600
A truly excellent chart with some interesting views
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Globe02 07/05/2019 22:29 | #239023
I really enjoyed your write ups for your chart, especially Dark Side.
Cheers!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
gidgidi 06/11/2019 22:23 | #237434
gidgidi 06/11/2019 22:23 | #237434
Nice rock picks, cool chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From hailey 01/28/2019 15:51 | #230899
Pretty great chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Julelios 11/09/2018 13:25 | #224196
Julelios 11/09/2018 13:25 | #224196
Nice chart !
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Medelsvensson 10/29/2018 18:41 | #223510
Medelsvensson 10/29/2018 18:41 | #223510
Where is the hip hop? And the jazz?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From jeffrey-hodgson 10/12/2018 13:06 | #222406
Don't completely agree but interesting choices
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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