Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by Boo69

Hi, I was brought up on a diet of Michael Jackson records and Queen's Greatest Hits but I didn't truly love music until I heard R.E.M. and Radiohead in the mid 90s (when I was at the impressionable age of 15). Music soon became my main focus in life and I began building a collection of brit pop and soft rock records, which I loved at the time but I deem most to be quite average now. It wasn't until the end of the millennium when alot of 'greatest ever album' lists were published in the music press that I began to open my eyes (and ears) to older music. I began to purchase as many of these 'classic' records as I could regardless of what style of music it was. Some records I struggled with but mostly I found these records to justify their 'classic' status and I had a great time discovering them. It shaped my taste in music, and you'll see from my list that I like blues influenced guitar bands and male and female singer songwriters but ultimately I like any music that moves or connects with me regardless of style.

This list represents my favourite albums in my collection. I do give some weight to how influential or important an album was but generally this list contains the albums that I like to listen to the most or have had the biggest impact on my life. Albums will move up or down the list occasionally as I will re-assess it from time to time but the top 10 is pretty much set in stone. I have not applied a one album per artist rule or ignored the perceived classics just to be different, so the majority of this list will be familiar to other BEA members with a similar sized collection. Please feel free to give recommendations as I am always on the look out for new artists. I will add comments to each album gradually (as time permits).

• Chart updated: 04/27/2013 22:09
• (Created: 03/25/2013 17:29).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

• Summary
• Composition
• Ratings
• Favourites
• Comments
• Your feedback

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1. (=)

OK Computer 

 Radiohead

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After being besotted with The Bends I couldn't wait for this album to be released and it didn't disappoint when it did. At the time I still preferred it's predecessor but over time I have come to appreciate this album more. It's a popular album on BEA, but it's popular for a reason...it's brilliant.
Favourite songs: Paranoid Android, Lucky [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1997

Appears in:

4,423 charts

Rank Score:

63,537

Rank in 1997:

1

Rank in 1990s:

1

Overall Rank:

1

Average Rating:

 92 (5,637 votes)

Comments:

855

2. (=)

The Dark Side Of The Moon 

 Pink Floyd

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If I had grown up with this album it would probably be my No1. It is as close to perfect as any album has ever come, from the front cover, to the lyrics, the order of the songs, and of course the music. It flows beautifully and has some quite beautiful moments. It still sounds more modern than most records released today and it's themes are just as relevant.
Favourite songs: Time, The Great Gig In The Sky [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

4,134 charts

Rank Score:

60,060

Rank in 1973:

1

Rank in 1970s:

1

Overall Rank:

2

Average Rating:

 92 (5,331 votes)

Comments:

592

3. (=)

Forever Changes 

 Love

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A classic example of an album that I wasn't expecting much from but ultimately being blown away when I heard it. It's a perfect summer record, why it didn't sell in the millions I'll never know but the fact that it always charts on 'greatest ever album' lists despite it's relatively low sales speaks volumes.
Favourite songs: Andmoreagain, You Set The Scene [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

1,503 charts

Rank Score:

15,370

Rank in 1967:

5

Rank in 1960s:

19

Overall Rank:

77

Average Rating:

 85 (1,633 votes)

Comments:

151

4. (=)

Closer 

 Joy Division

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Recorded before but released after the death of singer Ian Curtis, this album is a suicide note in both it's lyrics and music. It is however both beautiful and moving, and made all the more real by his death. The second half of the album is truly astonishing. An album that should be in everyone's collection.
Favourite songs: The Eternal, Decades [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1980

Appears in:

1,518 charts

Rank Score:

15,209

Rank in 1980:

2

Rank in 1980s:

11

Overall Rank:

79

Average Rating:

 85 (1,924 votes)

Comments:

126

5. (=)

The Bends 

 Radiohead

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The first album that truly blew me away and made me realise how good music could be. It barely left my CD player for over a year. Twelve great songs sequenced perfectly. It's probably the most perfect set of accessible rock tunes that also bring out deep emotion and feeling.
Favourite songs: Fake Plastic Trees, Street Spirit [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1995

Appears in:

2,681 charts

Rank Score:

29,129

Rank in 1995:

1

Rank in 1990s:

4

Overall Rank:

22

Average Rating:

 87 (3,924 votes)

Comments:

316

6. (=)

Marquee Moon 

 Television

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Like Forever Changes this is a record that deserved to sell in the millions and yet despite it's relatively small audience it always seems to have a place in 'best album' lists. For any fans of guitar music I would implore them to listen to this record as it is a guitar lovers dream, full of solo's, but more importantly great songs.
Favourite songs: Marquee Moon, Torn Curtain [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

1,809 charts

Rank Score:

20,137

Rank in 1977:

3

Rank in 1970s:

12

Overall Rank:

44

Average Rating:

 86 (1,898 votes)

Comments:

149

7. (=)

Little Earthquakes 

 Tori Amos

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Albums by female singers are quite often sneered at by the male buying public. Whether this is because they struggle to relate to the lyrics or they feel embarrassed to listen to them I don't know. It's probably a bit of both but by not listening to them they are missing out on some beautiful music and non more so than Tori Amos' debut. Tori has an exceptional and quite beautiful voice and her piano playing can be compared to the very best in history. This is a very personal record but has a mood and beauty to it that I have yet to find on any other record.
Favourite songs: Winter, Mother [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1992

Appears in:

428 charts

Rank Score:

2,875

Rank in 1992:

8

Rank in 1990s:

99

Overall Rank:

594

Average Rating:

 79 (555 votes)

Comments:

34

8. (=)

Who's Next 

 The Who

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All 4 band members were on their top form on this record. The songs are great, with several anthems that seem set to be timeless. A great album to play loud and rock out to.
Favourite songs: Baba O'Riley, Behind Blue Eyes [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

2,191 charts

Rank Score:

21,050

Rank in 1971:

2

Rank in 1970s:

10

Overall Rank:

40

Average Rating:

 86 (2,566 votes)

Comments:

201

9. (=)

Wish You Were Here 

 Pink Floyd

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How do you follow up an album as critically and comercially successful as Dark Side Of The Moon? I don't think Pink Floyd could have done a much better job. Shine On You Crazy Diamond is a fantastic tribute to Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett and the songs in between are great too. Like it's predecessor the songs flow perfectly encouraging the listener to take in the whole album. No band has ever understood the art of album making better than Pink Floyd. As with most Floyd records I find it's best to listen to it through a set of headphones.
Favourite songs: Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Wish You Were Here [First added to this chart: 03/25/2013]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

3,011 charts

Rank Score:

44,698

Rank in 1975:

1

Rank in 1970s:

2

Overall Rank:

5

Average Rating:

 91 (4,056 votes)

Comments:

314

10. (=)

Unknown Pleasures 

 Joy Division

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Not as emotive as it's follow up but equally as depressing and sombre. Joy Division knew how to reach into a dark place in all of us but they also knew how to write a song and this is full of remarkable and original examples of songwriting. Don't ignore Joy Division's other material either as they wrote many great songs that didn't appear on their albums.
Favourite songs: New Dawn Fades, She's Lost Control [First added to this chart: 03/26/2013]

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

1,988 charts

Rank Score:

21,808

Rank in 1979:

3

Rank in 1970s:

9

Overall Rank:

38

Average Rating:

 86 (2,337 votes)

Comments:

190

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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Country	Albums	%
	58	58%
	30	30%
	6	6%
	2	2%
	2	2%
	1	1%
	1	1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts

Title	Source	Type	Published	Country
Overall Top 100 Ranked Correctly	Mother Nature's Son	Custom chart	2014
Top British Albums of All-Time	nas062080	Custom chart	2013
Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums	Virgin	Overall chart	1998
TOP 100 IN THE FUTURE	exileonthehell	Custom chart	2016
ranking the overall top 100	OKC1	Custom chart	2016
BEA forum regulars top 100	HigherThanTheSun	Custom chart	2014
Overall for yours truly	RoundTheBend	Custom chart	2020
BEA top 100 reranked - 2020	LedZep	Custom chart	2023
BEA's Top 100 - The Correct Order	babyBlueSedan	Custom chart	2020
Re-Ranking BEA's Top 100	sunnydhamm	Custom chart	2020

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 28 ratings for this chart.

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• Rating
• Date updated
• Member

Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
85/100  !	03/21/2025 10:36	SomethingSpecial	1,104	85/100
95/100  !	03/28/2017 00:37	Seab	2,005	93/100
85/100  !	11/17/2016 09:21	TheSmiths82-87	1,831	83/100
90/100  !	11/02/2016 22:59	vruslov	582	89/100
90/100  !	01/18/2016 19:10	Applerill	974	75/100

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 86.0/100, a mean average of 86.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 86.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.3.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 11 comments |
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Rating:  

80/100

From greatson 11/11/2015 16:59 | #152807

Great classical Chart!
It could become a bit more adventurous...

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

Rating:  

85/100

From Oselju 06/04/2015 09:59 | #142991

Morissette just before Carole King ??? ;)

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Rating:  

95/100

From BraddlesHendo 11/15/2014 02:14 | #127004

Have some similar choices great stuff

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Rating:  

90/100

From daveybaker 05/01/2013 07:07 | #74897

Great chart, extra 5pts for the descriptions.

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

Rating:  

95/100

From meccalecca 04/25/2013 19:58 | #74437

I give you a 95/100 just for including the first two Magazine albums.

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

Rating:  

90/100

From MrFrogger 04/25/2013 01:24 | #74404

I really like this, great job man!

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Rating:  

80/100

From quadrophenia17 04/17/2013 03:46 | #73552

Great chart, especially the descriptions!

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Rating:  

95/100

From armoury 04/02/2013 14:53 | #71105

Patti Smith and Neil Young have both been in my chart previously and I adore Patti Smith's lyrics, even saw her last year, but neither of them exhilarate me quite as much as other's in my chart. Really like your chart, love the British influence

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Rating:  

100/100

From drakonium 03/27/2013 23:22 | #70239

Many good things, some "meh" albums, but anyway, Love at number 3 is always good in my book :-)

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

Rating:  

90/100

From SingingPeasant96 03/27/2013 15:54 | #70184

I like your chart!

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