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 register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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3. (=)

Highway 61 Revisited 

 Bob Dylan

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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]

Year of Release:

1965

Appears in:

2,310 charts

Rank Score:

31,057

Rank in 1965:

1

Rank in 1960s:

8

Overall Rank:

26

Average Rating:

 89 (2,737 votes)

Comments:

226

10. (=)

Blonde On Blonde 

 Bob Dylan

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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]

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

1,968 charts

Rank Score:

27,782

Rank in 1966:

3

Rank in 1960s:

11

Overall Rank:

31

Average Rating:

 88 (2,331 votes)

Comments:

173

16. (17) 1

Blood On The Tracks 

 Bob Dylan

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How many other recording artists have hit a peak like Dylan did with Blood On The Tracks 13 years after their debut album? This is genius, especially when considering his work in the 60’s was hardly below par. I myself have always considered his best 3 albums to be Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde and then Blood On The Tracks but I really wouldn’t argue with anyone saying this album is his best.

Best Tracks:

If You See Her, Say Hello
Idiot Wind
Tangled Up In Blue
Simple Twist Of Fate
You're A Big Girl Now [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

1,812 charts

Rank Score:

23,567

Rank in 1975:

2

Rank in 1970s:

11

Overall Rank:

41

Average Rating:

 87 (2,133 votes)

Comments:

165

20. (=)

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea 

 Neutral Milk Hotel

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I somehow let this album pass me by for 14 years and had never heard of it until I joined this very site, on here it is almost regarded as the grail, and I can completely understand why.

It is a glorious, sprawling indie racket, and laced with the imagery of Anne Frank's life, it is a very passionate and touching affair. Often the vocals are reaching beyond their limits in a kind of Syd Barrett way, which I like.

I saw Neutral Milk Hotel live earlier this year and it reinforced the feeling that this record is truly timeless.

Best Tracks:

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Holland 1945
Ghost
King Of Carrot Flowers Part 1
Two Headed Boy [First added to this chart: 04/06/2013]

Year of Release:

1998

Appears in:

2,379 charts

Rank Score:

39,454

Rank in 1998:

1

Rank in 1990s:

3

Overall Rank:

16

Average Rating:

 87 (2,870 votes)

Comments:

425

30. (=)

White Light/White Heat 

 The Velvet Underground

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For me the Velvet Underground’s albums decreased ever so slightly in quality as they progressed, therefore this follow up to the debut is my second favourite. To be fair, the only classics here are White Light White Heat and Sister Ray, but seeing as there are only 6 tracks anyway, and Sister Ray takes up almost half the album it pretty much makes the album a classic. Here She Comes Now still deserves a mention, very similar to some of the Nico tracks from the debut but sung beautifully by Lou Reed. Then there is I Heard Her Call My Name, which is a blistering piece of noise that deserves some attention and also the Gift, which is an amusingly grim yarn set to music.

Best Tracks:

Sister Ray
White Light White Heat
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Lady Godiva's Operation [First added to this chart: 03/30/2013]

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

959 charts

Rank Score:

9,957

Rank in 1968:

6

Rank in 1960s:

27

Overall Rank:

158

Average Rating:

 84 (1,381 votes)

Comments:

101

31. (=)

Rain Dogs 

 Tom Waits

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Like Nick Drake, Tom Waits seems to have flown under my radar for so many years, but unlike Nick Drake, Waits has an enormous wealth of treasures to discover. For me, lyrically, I would place him just after Morrissey but up there with Dylan, Cohen, Lou Reed etc – he really is an original beat poet. And the one thing in common with all those lyricists is their sense of humour and the ability to interject this into a song that often takes you by surprise.

I had Swordfishtrombones for about 15 years before I truly appreciated it and I suppose like many, the voice was the main hurdle to begin with, and it is an acquired taste of course. It’s a bit like when you have your first beer, you think how the hell can I ever like this, but then after a while it becomes a big part of your life!

The early albums feature some great songwriting such as Martha, Looking For The Heart Of Saturday Night and Ol’ ’55, the more recent albums still feature some of his greatest tracks like Hoist That Rag, God’s Away On Business and Take It With Me, but for me his greatest period are the trilogy of albums in the 80’s and Rain Dogs is the pick of the bunch. The first 5 songs are incredible and there are still many delights to follow.


Best Tracks:

Tango Till They're Sore
Singapore
Cemetery Polka
Jockey Full Of Bourbon
Time [First added to this chart: 09/29/2014]

Year of Release:

1985

Appears in:

1,115 charts

Rank Score:

13,087

Rank in 1985:

2

Rank in 1980s:

14

Overall Rank:

108

Average Rating:

 84 (1,305 votes)

Comments:

85

36. (=)

The Velvet Underground 

 The Velvet Underground

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Possibly underrated if that can ever be said of the Velvet Underground, as they are held in the highest esteem by critics and your more serious music fan, but of course they never had any commercial success.

This album does not include any anthems like White Light White Heat, Sister Ray, Sweet Jane or anything off the first album. Pale Blue Eyes is possibly the finest track here but there is a consistency throughout the track listing. The songs are more mellow and reflective, of course John Cale had left and taken the drone from his viola with him. There is still not a bad track here, Murder Mystery is a good idea, but is perhaps more interesting than enjoyable, but everything else is great.

Best Tracks:

Pale Blue Eyes
What Goes On
Some Kinda Love
Beginning To See The Light
I'm Set Free [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

1,192 charts

Rank Score:

13,787

Rank in 1969:

6

Rank in 1960s:

23

Overall Rank:

94

Average Rating:

 86 (1,590 votes)

Comments:

115

38. (=)

The Doors 

 The Doors

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The Doors arrived fully formed, three great musicians along with Jim Morrison, the Lizard King who oozed charisma and wrote dark poetry.

And they created this wonderful debut album with almost every track their own work. Jim’s poetry defined the darker songs like The End, The Crystal Ship and Break On Through but the album also included the more commercial Robbie Krieger penned Light My Fire which is of course their biggest hit.

They went on to release another 4 excellent albums but this one for me still has the edge on the others.

Best Tracks:

The End
The Crystal Ship
Break On Through
Light My Fire
Take It As It Comes [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

2,340 charts

Rank Score:

29,091

Rank in 1967:

3

Rank in 1960s:

10

Overall Rank:

30

Average Rating:

 87 (2,764 votes)

Comments:

207

40. (=)

Transformer 

 Lou Reed

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Lou Reed's Bowie produced masterpiece, this was still from the same dark side of the street where the Velvet Underground roamed but it was made a little more alluring for a wider audience. Contains the big three solo songs - Walk On The Wild Side, Satellite Of Love and Perfect Day, but there is also very little filler here, maybe Wagon Wheel.

Best Tracks:

Perfect Day
Walk On The Wild Side
Satellite Of Love
Vicious
Hangin' Round [First added to this chart: 03/30/2013]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,212 charts

Rank Score:

11,137

Rank in 1972:

6

Rank in 1970s:

35

Overall Rank:

137

Average Rating:

 83 (1,509 votes)

Comments:

89

41. (=)

Automatic For The People 

 R.E.M.

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Best Tracks:

Find The River
Nightswimming
Try Not To Breathe
Everybody Hurts
Drive [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]

Year of Release:

1992

Appears in:

1,769 charts

Rank Score:

20,427

Rank in 1992:

1

Rank in 1990s:

6

Overall Rank:

49

Average Rating:

 84 (2,157 votes)

Comments:

174

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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	%
The Smiths	4	4%
The Rolling Stones	4	4%
R.E.M.	4	4%
U2	4	4%
Bob Dylan	4	4%
The Fall	4	4%
Morrissey	4	4%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	55	55%
	30	30%
	10	10%
	4	4%
	1	1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 9 from 60th to 51st Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Up 7 from 87th to 80th After The Gold Rush by Neil Young
Up 2 from 81st to 79th Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M.

Biggest fallers
Down 6 from 90th to 96th I'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen
Down 3 from 78th to 81st Sweet Baby James by James Taylor
Down 3 from 79th to 82nd Funeral 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

Leavers
Is This It by The Strokes
Get Happy!! by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon by James Taylor
Happy Sad by Tim Buckley
Forever Breathes The Lonely Word by Felt

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• BEA Top 100 Reorganized According To My Taste by bonnequestion (2024)

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 154 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
90/100	08/30/2022 10:53	Thearei30ee	18	88/100
95/100	08/14/2021 00:25	stangetzaway	159	89/100
70/100	06/14/2021 16:14	seb7	105	91/100
90/100	11/29/2020 10:32	Goliath	348	86/100
90/100	11/11/2020 23:16	leniad	686	85/100

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 86.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 86.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.0.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites

Showing all 10 members who have added this chart as a favourite

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 74 comments |
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Rating:  

70/100

From seb7 06/11/2021 17:03

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)

Rating:  

90/100

From leniad 11/11/2020 23:16

like

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From WillyMac 05/04/2020 17:05

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)

Rating:  

95/100

From Strattonfox 07/31/2019 20:10

A truly excellent chart with some interesting views

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From Globe02 07/05/2019 22:29

I really enjoyed your write ups for your chart, especially Dark Side.

Cheers!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From gidgidi 06/11/2019 22:23

Nice rock picks, cool chart

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From hailey 01/28/2019 15:51

Pretty great chart!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

75/100

From Julelios 11/09/2018 13:25

Nice chart !

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From Medelsvensson 10/29/2018 18:41

Where is the hip hop? And the jazz?

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

75/100

From jeffrey-hodgson 10/12/2018 13:06

Don't completely agree but interesting choices

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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