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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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1970s. (Remove this filter)
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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:
36,274
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
256
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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:
22,101
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Comments:
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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:
24,947
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Average Rating:
Comments:
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For many years my favourite Bowie album was Hunky Dory and it is still neck and neck with Ziggy, but really I could've chosen quite a few; Aladdin Sane is not a million miles behind Ziggy or Hunky for quality, and Station To Station does not have a bad song on it and works as a complete piece brilliantly.
Being a bit of a philistine when it comes to instrumentals, I often feel if Heroes and Low were joined together, both were recorded in Berlin within 8 months of each other, and just the vocal tracks were put together then this would be Bowie's best album, in fact, it would be one of the very best by anyone.
But we have Ziggy, which of course is a fine collection of songs, the title track, the classic single Starman and the energy in every other track here is a wonderful thing, a special mention must go to Mick Ronson for his work here too.
Best Tracks:
Ziggy Stardust
Starman
Rock n Roll Suicide
Five Years
Soul Love [First added to this chart: 03/30/2013]
Being a bit of a philistine when it comes to instrumentals, I often feel if Heroes and Low were joined together, both were recorded in Berlin within 8 months of each other, and just the vocal tracks were put together then this would be Bowie's best album, in fact, it would be one of the very best by anyone.
But we have Ziggy, which of course is a fine collection of songs, the title track, the classic single Starman and the energy in every other track here is a wonderful thing, a special mention must go to Mick Ronson for his work here too.
Best Tracks:
Ziggy Stardust
Starman
Rock n Roll Suicide
Five Years
Soul Love [First added to this chart: 03/30/2013]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
50,140
Rank in 1972:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
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I would say this is rather predictably my favourite Pink Floyd album, for many years it would have been Piper At The Gates Of Dawn as when it came to the Floyd I was at first steeped in the world of Syd Barrett only.
Regardless of how good this album sounds, it still amazes me that an album with such themes as death, greed, madness etc could become one of the greatest selling albums in history, usually the big sellers are the sugar coated ones with absolutely nothing to say.
In all fairness, whatever your persuasion, it must be quite difficult to not even slightly appreciate tracks like Time, Money, Breathe, Us And Them and then the final two classics Brain Damage and Eclipse.
Best Tracks:
Time
Money
Brain Damage
Eclipse
Us And Them [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Regardless of how good this album sounds, it still amazes me that an album with such themes as death, greed, madness etc could become one of the greatest selling albums in history, usually the big sellers are the sugar coated ones with absolutely nothing to say.
In all fairness, whatever your persuasion, it must be quite difficult to not even slightly appreciate tracks like Time, Money, Breathe, Us And Them and then the final two classics Brain Damage and Eclipse.
Best Tracks:
Time
Money
Brain Damage
Eclipse
Us And Them [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
71,217
Rank in 1973:
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Average Rating:
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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]
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:
Rank Score:
23,583
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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The Rolling Stones’ masterpiece, it may not be as concise as Let It Bleed or Sticky Fingers but it does contain a vast amount of great tracks. Tracks that hardly ever get mentioned and never feature on compilations like Loving Cup, Sweet Virginia, Torn And Frayed and Let It Loose are all classic Stones' tracks.
It has a rough feel to proceedings, unpolished and natural, it sounds like one of the best rock and roll bands of all time playing live in a basement drenched in alcohol and whatever else was floating around at that time. A classic for sure!
Best Tracks:
Tumbling Dice
Rocks Off
Sweet Virginia
Let It Loose
Torn And Frayed [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
It has a rough feel to proceedings, unpolished and natural, it sounds like one of the best rock and roll bands of all time playing live in a basement drenched in alcohol and whatever else was floating around at that time. A classic for sure!
Best Tracks:
Tumbling Dice
Rocks Off
Sweet Virginia
Let It Loose
Torn And Frayed [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22,618
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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I had Bryter Layter in my collection for years before I truly appreciated the genius that is Nick Drake, although I did enjoy a few tracks from it like Fly and Northern Sky, it never really struck me in the way it now does.
Years later I bought Five Leaves Left and was a little bit more impressed and probably more determined to let it get under my skin. It is a more consistent collection, with no pointless instrumentals interrupting proceedings.
Then Pink Moon was different kettle of fish yet again, more open lyrically, musically stark but some brilliant guitar lines and hooks. The title track is irresistable, Which Will and Road both have wonderful acoustic riffs and the list goes on; Things Behind The Sun, From The Morning, Parasite, Place To Be etc. Nick Drake never made a bad album, but this is the pick of the three.
Best Tracks:
Pink Moon
Which Will
Road
Things Behind The Sun
Place To Be [First added to this chart: 04/15/2013]
Years later I bought Five Leaves Left and was a little bit more impressed and probably more determined to let it get under my skin. It is a more consistent collection, with no pointless instrumentals interrupting proceedings.
Then Pink Moon was different kettle of fish yet again, more open lyrically, musically stark but some brilliant guitar lines and hooks. The title track is irresistable, Which Will and Road both have wonderful acoustic riffs and the list goes on; Things Behind The Sun, From The Morning, Parasite, Place To Be etc. Nick Drake never made a bad album, but this is the pick of the three.
Best Tracks:
Pink Moon
Which Will
Road
Things Behind The Sun
Place To Be [First added to this chart: 04/15/2013]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,146
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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A good proportion of this album is seen as a tribute to Syd Barrett, the title track and in particular the two segments of Shine On You Crazy Diamond have plenty of references to Syd.
Imagine having to produce a follow up to The Dark Side Of The Moon, it must've been quite a daunting task, but in reality Wish You Were Here is just as good, if not better than its predecessor.
Both Gilmour and Wright have stated in the past that this was their favourite Pink Floyd album. The title track would have to be my favourite track in the band's discography.
Best Tracks:
Wish You Were Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts I-V
Have A Cigar
Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts VI-IX
Welcome To The Machine [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
Imagine having to produce a follow up to The Dark Side Of The Moon, it must've been quite a daunting task, but in reality Wish You Were Here is just as good, if not better than its predecessor.
Both Gilmour and Wright have stated in the past that this was their favourite Pink Floyd album. The title track would have to be my favourite track in the band's discography.
Best Tracks:
Wish You Were Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts I-V
Have A Cigar
Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts VI-IX
Welcome To The Machine [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
50,797
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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I admit my top 100 albums is desperately lacking when it comes to female recordings. I am quite ashamed of this, and I do love lots of female artists like Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Kate Bush, The Sundays, Blondie, Echobelly, Amy Winehouse and the Slits.
But Blue by Joni Mitchell is my favourite album by any female artist, there isn't a bad track here and particularly my fave three tracks Little Green, A Case Of You and The Last Time I Saw Richard are pretty much genius, every track has wonderful lyrics, and as the album title suggests, a soothing sorrow permeates throughout these lines.
Best Tracks:
Little Green
A Case Of You
The Last Time I Saw Richard
California
Blue [First added to this chart: 03/30/2013]
But Blue by Joni Mitchell is my favourite album by any female artist, there isn't a bad track here and particularly my fave three tracks Little Green, A Case Of You and The Last Time I Saw Richard are pretty much genius, every track has wonderful lyrics, and as the album title suggests, a soothing sorrow permeates throughout these lines.
Best Tracks:
Little Green
A Case Of You
The Last Time I Saw Richard
California
Blue [First added to this chart: 03/30/2013]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,086
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 36. Page 1 of 4
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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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Radiohead | 4 | 4% | |
| The Beatles | 4 | 4% | |
| David Bowie | 4 | 4% | |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4% | |
| The Doors | 4 | 4% | |
| Leonard Cohen | 4 | 4% | |
| The Smiths | 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 favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 74 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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