Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ThePoodleBites 
My favorite albums of all time; this list is defined simply by what I, from what I have thus so far heard, consider to be the greatest works of art and most enjoyable works of music ever created.
- Chart updated: 11/15/2019 07:45
- (Created: 04/07/2013 00:00).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 25 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 47 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 53,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Buy album 
- #Sponsored
Pink Floyd's quintessential concept album is a perfect representation of the poisonous influences from a modern, Western society. The beautifully symbolic lyrics shine through the darkness without suggesting a solution to any of the issues discussed within. From the beginning heartbeat crescendo (which grows to encompass all the themes of the album) to the final quote ("There is no Dark Side Of The Moon, really ... matter of fact, it's all dark"), Floyd touches upon various destructive societal norms and attempts to illuminate the relatively dark shadow of our culture.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2013]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
71,317
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
580
Buy album
- #Sponsored
The 13th Floor Elevators were Texas' true innovators during the 1960's. Their story is tragic but their music is legendary; their second record on the infamous teal-colored International Artists label, 'Easter Everywhere,' is truly an epic masterwork. The existential "Slip Inside This House" which starts the album is simply the band's best track and arguably one of the best of the decade. The raw energy of "Levitation" and Bob Dylan's favorite version of his song "Baby Blue" also highlight the album. "Nobody to Love," guitarist Stacy Sutherland's highlight, is one of the most amazing soundscapes created in rock music; the final two tracks constitute one of the best album endings ever produced. Although every commercial CD of this is inferior (the master tapes have been destroyed), check out an original vinyl rip (there's a great "Audiophile Edition" on YouTube).
[First added to this chart: 02/22/2016]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
810
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Frank Zappa's three-act rock opera "Joe's Garage, Acts I, II, & III" demonstrates a perfect balance of humor, satire, and seriousness while demonstrating strong capability through extremely complex musical undertones. The musical destruction of everything builds to a sarcastic climax reminiscent of Country Joe & The Fish. Through suddenly changing musical passages, beautiful ballads, and stunning guitar solos, Zappa's amazing masterwork tells of what will happen when music is made illegal - and more importantly, why.
[First added to this chart: 02/04/2014]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
The Summer of Love, 1967. Sgt. Pepper, the VU & Nico, and countless other classics were debuted that year, yet Forever Changes stands as one of the most genuine, if not the most metaphysical of them all. Psychedelic rock? Definitely. But the 'garage' side of psychedelia, the '13th Floor Elevators' side if you will, takes a back seat to the raga rock, mind-bending lyrical humor and Arthur Lee's timeless, unique observations. Bryan MacLean's "Alone Again Or" is one of the most mind-numbing, beautiful pieces of music ever recorded. "Old Man," "The Red Telephone," "Bummer In The Summer," "Live And Let Live" (including the infamous snot line), and of course, "You Set The Scene," one of the most perfect album-enders ever cut. Lee, a black musician in the '60s, had every right to be pissed off at the society he lived in. Instead, however, he gave the world one of the most shockingly relevant, revolutionary, and contemplative recordings of all time. 'Forever Changes' is a true psychedelic classic.
[First added to this chart: 01/03/2014]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,160
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Brain Wilson's work "Pet Sounds" is often rated highly due to its use of strange percussion equipment and, at the time, avant-garde compositions in terms of popular music. It is also referenced as a prime influence of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper." What most commentators miss, though, is the absolute pureness of emotion and beauty in the music of this album. No other Beach Boys album beforehand had quite as realist stories containing such relatable emotions. Few groups have ever achieved the soaring harmonies of the Beach Boys, and few pop albums have ever had pieces as musically rich as the cuts on both sides of the album. Above all, The Beach Boys' beautiful melodies are at their greatest here - perfectly in pitch and together, they sing without the slightest of our modern day autotune (can you imagine that!?).
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2013]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
45,093
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Oh, Andy, won't you please come home? The VU & Nico has maintained not only a cult status for almost fifty years, but also a place in every music enthusiast's heart for creativity and poignancy. It is often quoted that although VU & Nico only sold around 30,000 copies on its first issue, it was so influential that just about every person who bought it started a band. "Sunday Morning" begins the album with beauty unequaled in 1967, while the song after it describes the purchase of an extremely addictive narcotic. A psychedelic masterpiece, VU & Nico boasts "Heroin," arguably the Velvet's best song, best composition about escapism, and best two-chord song ever composed, "Venus In Furs," an ode to sadomasochism, and many other counterculture topics that established Lou Reed and John Cale in the music scene forever.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
46,082
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
The Mothers of Invention's (or The Muthers, as they intended to be called) debut is satirical, soulful, and insanely ambitious. Noted as one of the first concept albums and the world's first double-album rock debut, Zappa made his appearance in the underground scene here, where he would stay for the majority of his career. The rock opera deviates from psychedelia to doo-wop to avant-garde experimentalism and back to R&B again. 'Freak Out!' has maintained its status as a complex and beautiful album for decades and still deserves all the praise it receives.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2013]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,764
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
What can be said about the good Captain that has not already been said? Wild, loud, complex, and somehow full of soul that no other album has ever been able to equal, Beefheart's masterwork, produced by Frank Zappa, demonstrated what was possible in a rock-context. Through the repetitious themes and inspiring poetry, The Magic Band turned the face of rock inside out and broke any and all standards that had ever or will ever been made. Equally worked on by John French, TMR stands today as a complex picture, almost as Ornette Coleman's "The Shape Of Jazz To Come" was shown in 1959.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2013]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,121
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
When Neil Young decided to go solo from his days with CSN, he did so by creating an influential and multifaceted country-rock masterpiece. The album features Neil's thoughtful guitar work, beautiful falsetto, and emotionally personal songwriting one would expect from a Neil Young album, all accompanied by occasionally an orchestra, or a piano, or a harmonica ... It even added to the album's folk-lore when Graham Nash explained how Neil introduced him to the album on his lake. All in all, Harvest is a quintessential piece of nostalgia that every musician should have stuck up their nose.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2013]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,211
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
My top pick from the American private press scene comes from the astounding mid-'70s rural rock group Relatively Clean Rivers, whose sole album is one of the greatest ever recorded in its style. Rivers was lead by one Phil Pearlman, southern California journeyman who rejected common standards of life in favor of a more Earthy lifestyle, and so too is his music, which sounds like a journey across the rural United States with a pocked full of enough grass to stay high for the whole strange trip. There's vibes of Neil Young and Grateful Dead, but really Rivers is its own masterwork, a noteworthy environmental statement that unfortunately seems to have disappeared mostly without a trace.
[First added to this chart: 10/29/2019]
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1960s | 49 | 49% | |
| 1970s | 38 | 38% | |
| 1980s | 4 | 4% | |
| 1990s | 4 | 4% | |
| 2000s | 1 | 1% | |
| 2010s | 1 | 1% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Pink Floyd | 5 | 5% | |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 3 | 3% | |
| Neil Young | 3 | 3% | |
| The Velvet Underground | 3 | 3% | |
| The Beatles | 3 | 3% | |
| Frank Zappa | 3 | 3% | |
| The Beach Boys | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| New entries |
|---|
 Dawning Of The Dayby Our Generation |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Praise And Prayerby Our Generation |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s by ThePoodleBites (2017)
- Top 92 Music Albums of the 1960s by pdapperens (2015)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s by glynspsa (2023)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s by
btener11 (2012) - Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s by
discojets1 (2020) - Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s by
Captain_Dude (2012) - Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s by henriknaess (2016)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s by vmp (2014)
- Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by McMac333 (2016)
- Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s by toast223 (2021)
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
87/100 (from 47 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 47 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
100/100  | 02/25/2022 13:57 |  IlMala | | 95/100 |
100/100 | 09/05/2020 04:31 |  Rhyner | | 99/100 |
95/100 | 09/04/2020 22:40 |  jnfbn | | 96/100 |
95/100 | 09/04/2020 21:49 |  desh79 | | 93/100 |
90/100 | 09/04/2020 17:32 | Szyfman | | 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 is rated in the top 17% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 87.3/100, a mean average of 87.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 9.9.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing all 5 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 25 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
95/100
From 
Larcx13 09/04/2020 11:22
Larcx13 09/04/2020 11:22
Frank Zappa up there!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
StefanR10 05/30/2020 20:44
StefanR10 05/30/2020 20:44
I like it because there are so much music from the 60s and 70s one of the best times for music. So i give you a high up for the choice.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
salahshoori 12/16/2019 14:35
salahshoori 12/16/2019 14:35
Amazing list. I'll be checking this list a lot for material to listen to.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From Steppenwolf666 11/02/2019 21:03
Great stuff. My kind of music.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From manurock 01/06/2018 19:50
High quality comments and some nice choices. You clearly know the classics. Maybe you can try and include some >2000 albums you also enjoy apart from Radiohead's?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
ObsoleteEntity 01/06/2018 17:15
ObsoleteEntity 01/06/2018 17:15
Wonderful chart. Great comments up to #25. You speak of lack of recognition: the Captain falls into that category. He is certainly off-putting at first listen, but his genius comes out with additional listens. Agree or disagree?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
CharlieBarley 01/06/2018 11:21
CharlieBarley 01/06/2018 11:21
Fabulous chart.
I really need to get into Zappa, I've only heard Hot Rats and I liked it. Psychedelic music I love and experimental is interesting.
Wish the notes had carried on but the ones that are there are great, Very enthusiastic. Love this.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Drzozzy 02/15/2017 18:58
Any chart with Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys in it is alright with me
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
NoeSSS 08/29/2016 01:06
NoeSSS 08/29/2016 01:06
Nice
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
sssvnnn 08/28/2016 19:15
sssvnnn 08/28/2016 19:15
I love the Chart.
I´m too young to have been part of the music scene in the end of the 60´s...but maybe that was the best time for good music.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.