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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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:
45,998
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
350
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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:
31,057
Rank in 1965:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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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:
17,738
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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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:
43,256
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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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]
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:
27,782
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Objectively speaking, probably the best Beatles album, it has better songs than Sgt Pepper, it is more concise than the White Album and it doesn't have too many novelty tracks like Abbey Road.
It also has a perfect balance of some gentle McCartney ballads, Lennon's more edgier and experimental tracks and also some of Harrison's finest too.
Best Tracks:
Tomorrow Never Knows
I'm Only Sleeping
And Your Bird Can Sing
Eleanor Rigby
For No One [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
It also has a perfect balance of some gentle McCartney ballads, Lennon's more edgier and experimental tracks and also some of Harrison's finest too.
Best Tracks:
Tomorrow Never Knows
I'm Only Sleeping
And Your Bird Can Sing
Eleanor Rigby
For No One [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
56,944
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Historic and inspiring, but now the dust has settled, it is of course not the best album ever, it is not even the best Beatles album ever.
A Day In The Life is one of the highlights of their career, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds has always been one of my favourites too and the rest are all musically great but sometimes the lyrics can be a little too light.
I started off loving this album almost 30 years ago and then went off it for the best part of a decade and now I am back in love with it, it's funny how our tastes change through time.
Best Tracks:
A Day In The Life
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Fixing A Hole
Getting Better
She's Leaving Home [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
A Day In The Life is one of the highlights of their career, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds has always been one of my favourites too and the rest are all musically great but sometimes the lyrics can be a little too light.
I started off loving this album almost 30 years ago and then went off it for the best part of a decade and now I am back in love with it, it's funny how our tastes change through time.
Best Tracks:
A Day In The Life
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Fixing A Hole
Getting Better
She's Leaving Home [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
50,823
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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There were about 14 or so classic albums released in 1967, this is certainly in the top 2 or 3, but without wishing to sound too cynical, it's hard to imagine people looking back to 2015 in a few decades time and seeing the equivalent to the Velvet Underground, The Beatles, The Doors, Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Kinks, and Leonard Cohen.
But anyway, here we have Leonard Cohen's debut album, his move from published poet to singer-songwriter is seamless, his debut is one of his very best collection of songs. What a piece of work Suzanne is for example, to try and analyse the lyrics would only break the spell of the poetry. Sisters Of Mercy is wonderful as is So Long, Marianne and another favourite of mine would be Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye.
Of course lyrically, Cohen is one of the very best of all time, but where the likes of Dylan have now and again released sub-standard material, Cohen's writing has never diminished throughout his career, you'd be hard pressed to find a throwaway line in his back catalogue. But why not start looking here.
Best Tracks:
Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
Suzanne
Sisters Of Mercy
So Long, Marianne
Stranger Song [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
But anyway, here we have Leonard Cohen's debut album, his move from published poet to singer-songwriter is seamless, his debut is one of his very best collection of songs. What a piece of work Suzanne is for example, to try and analyse the lyrics would only break the spell of the poetry. Sisters Of Mercy is wonderful as is So Long, Marianne and another favourite of mine would be Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye.
Of course lyrically, Cohen is one of the very best of all time, but where the likes of Dylan have now and again released sub-standard material, Cohen's writing has never diminished throughout his career, you'd be hard pressed to find a throwaway line in his back catalogue. But why not start looking here.
Best Tracks:
Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
Suzanne
Sisters Of Mercy
So Long, Marianne
Stranger Song [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,247
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Perhaps Abbey Road shows the genius of the Beatles more than anything else, to be able to produce an album of this quality when the band was falling apart and personalities were clashing is quite remarkable.
For me, it doesn't quite have the songs of Revolver or the White Album, and it doesn't have the flow of Sgt Pepper's but as an album it is still one of the very best.
We have Lennon's brilliant Come Together, McCartney's You Never Give Me Your Money and Golden Slumbers and George Harrison has arguably two of his top three Beatles compositions included here - Something and Here Comes The Sun, not to mention the penultimate track of the medley, Carry That Weight which features harmonies from all four Beatles.
There does appear to be a little something of everything here and it all fits together quite beautifully and marks a fitting end to a wonderful recording career.
Best Tracks:
You Never Give Me Your Money
Come Together
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
Something [First added to this chart: 03/27/2013]
For me, it doesn't quite have the songs of Revolver or the White Album, and it doesn't have the flow of Sgt Pepper's but as an album it is still one of the very best.
We have Lennon's brilliant Come Together, McCartney's You Never Give Me Your Money and Golden Slumbers and George Harrison has arguably two of his top three Beatles compositions included here - Something and Here Comes The Sun, not to mention the penultimate track of the medley, Carry That Weight which features harmonies from all four Beatles.
There does appear to be a little something of everything here and it all fits together quite beautifully and marks a fitting end to a wonderful recording career.
Best Tracks:
You Never Give Me Your Money
Come Together
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
Something [First added to this chart: 03/27/2013]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
65,427
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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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]
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:
Rank Score:
9,957
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 21. Page 1 of 3
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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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4% | |
| The Doors | 4 | 4% | |
| Leonard Cohen | 4 | 4% | |
| The Smiths | 4 | 4% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 4% | |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 4% | |
| U2 | 4 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
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 |
|---|
 Moondanceby 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 Itby 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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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
86/100 (from 154 votes)
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 chart. | Show all 154 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
90/100  | 08/30/2022 10:53 | Thearei30ee | | 88/100 |
 95/100 | 08/14/2021 00:25 | stangetzaway | | 89/100 |
| 70/100 | 06/14/2021 16:14 |  seb7 | | 91/100 |
| 90/100 | 11/29/2020 10:32 |  Goliath | | 86/100 |
| 90/100 | 11/11/2020 23:16 | leniad | | 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 comments
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70/100
From seb7 06/11/2021 17:03
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)
90/100
From leniad 11/11/2020 23:16
like
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
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)
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)
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)
85/100
From 
gidgidi 06/11/2019 22:23
gidgidi 06/11/2019 22:23
Nice rock picks, cool chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From hailey 01/28/2019 15:51
Pretty great chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
75/100
From 
Julelios 11/09/2018 13:25
Julelios 11/09/2018 13:25
Nice chart !
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
Medelsvensson 10/29/2018 18:41
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)
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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| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. The Velvet Underground | |
| 10. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 11. Nirvana | |
| 12. Neil Young | |
| 13. The Smiths | |
| 14. Miles Davis | |
| 15. The Beach Boys | |
| 16. Kanye West | |
| 17. Pixies | |
| 18. R.E.M. | |
| 19. Jimi Hendrix | |
| 20. Bruce Springsteen |