Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by henrygreen0203 
100 artists, 100 albums released between the 1950s-2020s. I unashamedly love the music of American "hillbillies" playing rock music (the literal meaning of "rockabilly") but I also like singer-songwriter country-folk, power-pop, alternative rock and alternative R&B.
I include my ratings and my recommendations.
I hope you discover something here that you never dreamed you would enjoy!
- Chart updated: 04/18/2024 21:45
- (Created: 04/26/2013 16:15).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 43 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 67 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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My favorite male-fronted American band of the 2020s.
GENRE: Emo
The lyrics are a major downer, but the music has an interesting uplifting feel to it, almost anthemic.
RECOMMENDED
Track: Losers [First added to this chart: 03/01/2020]
GENRE: Emo
The lyrics are a major downer, but the music has an interesting uplifting feel to it, almost anthemic.
RECOMMENDED
Track: Losers [First added to this chart: 03/01/2020]
4
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My favorite male-fronted American band of the 2010s.
GENRE: Punk Rock / Heartland Rock
O nostalgia, where art thou? The Menzingers make a perfect blend of pop punk and heartland rock. This is irresistible.
ESSENTIAL
Track: Good Things / Burn After Writing
FURTHER LISTENING: After the Party, Hello Exile, Rented World [First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
GENRE: Punk Rock / Heartland Rock
O nostalgia, where art thou? The Menzingers make a perfect blend of pop punk and heartland rock. This is irresistible.
ESSENTIAL
Track: Good Things / Burn After Writing
FURTHER LISTENING: After the Party, Hello Exile, Rented World [First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
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On Bleed American, Jimmy Eat World were one of the rare underground bands that were able to take their music to the mainstream without compromising their sound and independent spirit.
[First added to this chart: 07/22/2021]
Year of Release:
2001
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,659
Rank in 2001:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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GENRE: Punk Rock
Wow, this massively influential album lives up to its name. With the help of famed producer Rob Caballo, the sound is clean, yet still jagged. Although the angsty lyrics may make you cringe, the songs are just spectacular.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Fireman
B-Side: Accident Prone [First added to this chart: 08/01/2021]
Wow, this massively influential album lives up to its name. With the help of famed producer Rob Caballo, the sound is clean, yet still jagged. Although the angsty lyrics may make you cringe, the songs are just spectacular.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Fireman
B-Side: Accident Prone [First added to this chart: 08/01/2021]
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My favorite male-fronted American band of the 1980s.
GENRE: Alternative Rock
This album is a brilliant mess, but the heart on sleeve approach pays off and the songs will hit you where it hurts the most.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Bastards of Young
B-Side: Swingin' Party
FURTHER LISTENING: Pleased to Meet Me, Don’t Tell a Soul, Let It Be [First added to this chart: 08/12/2021]
GENRE: Alternative Rock
This album is a brilliant mess, but the heart on sleeve approach pays off and the songs will hit you where it hurts the most.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Bastards of Young
B-Side: Swingin' Party
FURTHER LISTENING: Pleased to Meet Me, Don’t Tell a Soul, Let It Be [First added to this chart: 08/12/2021]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,044
Rank in 1985:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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My favorite male-fronted American band of the 1970s.
GENRE: Country Rock
What do you do when your founding songwriter (Richie Furay) leaves the band? You carry on with the members you have and ask the pedal steel player if he writes any good shit.
Although the band was originally birthed from the remains of Buffalo Springfield, no members remained at this point, yet the energy of the debut is recaptured here with some exceptional songwriting from three core members of Poco: Paul Cotton, Timothy B. Schmit and Rusty Young. THIS is what I think about when I want to listen to Poco. It’s a delicious blend of West Coast acoustic folk ballads, luscious harmonies, blissed out hard rockers a la Neil Young and a touch of Southern Rock jamming a la Allman Brothers.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
PAUL COTTON: Western Waterloo
RUSTY YOUNG: High and Dry
TIM SCHMIT: Whatever Happened to Your Smile
FURTHER LISTENING: Crazy Eyes, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, Good Feelin’ to Know, Legend [First added to this chart: 09/19/2023]
GENRE: Country Rock
What do you do when your founding songwriter (Richie Furay) leaves the band? You carry on with the members you have and ask the pedal steel player if he writes any good shit.
Although the band was originally birthed from the remains of Buffalo Springfield, no members remained at this point, yet the energy of the debut is recaptured here with some exceptional songwriting from three core members of Poco: Paul Cotton, Timothy B. Schmit and Rusty Young. THIS is what I think about when I want to listen to Poco. It’s a delicious blend of West Coast acoustic folk ballads, luscious harmonies, blissed out hard rockers a la Neil Young and a touch of Southern Rock jamming a la Allman Brothers.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
PAUL COTTON: Western Waterloo
RUSTY YOUNG: High and Dry
TIM SCHMIT: Whatever Happened to Your Smile
FURTHER LISTENING: Crazy Eyes, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, Good Feelin’ to Know, Legend [First added to this chart: 09/19/2023]
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My favorite male-fronted American band of the 1960s.
GENRE: Baroque Pop
Somewhat similar in sound to Pet Sounds and early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, a la West Coast 1960s, but this album has some excellent guitar-driving back-tracks that aren't completely washed away in overproduction, making it fresh and enjoyable.
ABOVE AVERAGE
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Walk Away Renee
B-Side: She May Call You Up Tonight [First added to this chart: 04/05/2014]
GENRE: Baroque Pop
Somewhat similar in sound to Pet Sounds and early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, a la West Coast 1960s, but this album has some excellent guitar-driving back-tracks that aren't completely washed away in overproduction, making it fresh and enjoyable.
ABOVE AVERAGE
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Walk Away Renee
B-Side: She May Call You Up Tonight [First added to this chart: 04/05/2014]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
45,108
Rank in 1966:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
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GENRE: Traditional Bluegrass
Carter and Ralph Stanley performed in the most well-rounded group in the early bluegrass era, forging the perfect blend of slick bluegrass playing with a strong hold on high lonesome singing, gospel proclamation and some excellent original songs written by Carter that channeled the power and sorrow of Hank Williams' best songs.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7” Single:
A-Side: Think of What You’ve Done
B-Side: Clinch Mountain Backstep
FURTHER LISTENING: Complete Columbia Recordings (compilation), Complete Mercury Recordings (compilation) [First added to this chart: 08/15/2022]
Carter and Ralph Stanley performed in the most well-rounded group in the early bluegrass era, forging the perfect blend of slick bluegrass playing with a strong hold on high lonesome singing, gospel proclamation and some excellent original songs written by Carter that channeled the power and sorrow of Hank Williams' best songs.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7” Single:
A-Side: Think of What You’ve Done
B-Side: Clinch Mountain Backstep
FURTHER LISTENING: Complete Columbia Recordings (compilation), Complete Mercury Recordings (compilation) [First added to this chart: 08/15/2022]
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GENRE: Progressive Country
Influential outlaw singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury demonstrates that spirit and soul, not trucks and twang, make for a great country soul song. Cortelia Clark and San Francisco Mabel Joy, in particular, are like any other country/folk songs I have ever heard.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Why You Been Gone So Long
B-Side: Cortelia Clark
FURTHER LISTENING: An American Trilogy compilation, In a New Age, After All These Years [First added to this chart: 03/08/2021]
Influential outlaw singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury demonstrates that spirit and soul, not trucks and twang, make for a great country soul song. Cortelia Clark and San Francisco Mabel Joy, in particular, are like any other country/folk songs I have ever heard.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Why You Been Gone So Long
B-Side: Cortelia Clark
FURTHER LISTENING: An American Trilogy compilation, In a New Age, After All These Years [First added to this chart: 03/08/2021]
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GENRE: Bakersfield Sound
This album shows Owens at the threshold between his straightforward honky-tonk sound and his playful "freight train" sound, with lyrics about love and heartbreak. It's basically Buddy Holly with more twang.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Roll Out the Red Carpet
B-Side: Cinderella
FURTHER LISTENING: Buck Em: 1955-1967 (compilation), Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat, Before You Go / No One But You, You’re for Me, Open Up Your Heart [First added to this chart: 04/27/2021]
This album shows Owens at the threshold between his straightforward honky-tonk sound and his playful "freight train" sound, with lyrics about love and heartbreak. It's basically Buddy Holly with more twang.
ESSENTIAL
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Roll Out the Red Carpet
B-Side: Cinderella
FURTHER LISTENING: Buck Em: 1955-1967 (compilation), Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat, Before You Go / No One But You, You’re for Me, Open Up Your Heart [First added to this chart: 04/27/2021]
Total albums: 65. Page 1 of 7
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 12 | 12% | |
| 1960s | 13 | 13% | |
| 1970s | 13 | 13% | |
| 1980s | 13 | 13% | |
| 1990s | 13 | 13% | |
| 2000s | 12 | 12% | |
| 2010s | 12 | 12% | |
| 2020s | 12 | 12% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Sister Rosetta Tharpe | 1 | 1% | |
| Beach Bunny | 1 | 1% | |
| Lee Hazlewood | 1 | 1% | |
| Slobberbone | 1 | 1% | |
| أم كلثوم [Umm Kulthum] | 1 | 1% | |
| Adele | 1 | 1% | |
| Lydia Loveless | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
65 | 65% | |
 |
17 | 17% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 65th to 66th Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today by Slobberbone |
| Down 1 from 66th to 67th CopingMechanism by Willow (US) |
| Down 1 from 67th to 68th In Absentia by Porcupine Tree |
| New entries |
|---|
 Crazy Ex-Girlfriendby Miranda Lambert |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Lungsby Florence + The Machine |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
87/100 (from 67 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 67 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 06/09/2023 15:56 |  Applerill | | 75/100 |
| 100/100 | 11/16/2022 00:40 |  Arthurknight | | 89/100 |
| 75/100 | 11/15/2022 04:32 | Mmorrison22 | | 77/100 |
| 90/100 | 07/18/2022 04:40 | leniad | | 85/100 |
| 85/100 | 10/16/2021 14:54 |  Tamthebam | | 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 87.1/100, a mean average of 86.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 87.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 14.3.
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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 43 comments |
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85/100
From Johnnyo 12/24/2023 14:42
Like the chart a lot. Just out of interest, was the 12 or 13 per decade deliberate or a happy coincidence?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From Arthurknight 11/16/2022 00:40
Arthurknight 11/16/2022 00:40
really nice unapologetic taste; nice to be reminded about nanci griffith too
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
75/100
From Mmorrison22 11/15/2022 04:32
lot's of stuff I haven't heard of - love the inclusion of Meat Puppets & Rina Sawayama!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From leniad 07/18/2022 04:41
changing my opinion, interesting chart !!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Goliath 07/04/2021 14:52
Goliath 07/04/2021 14:52
There are non-US artists as well, just saying.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
70/100
From 
Jbalbinolr 05/02/2021 23:11
Jbalbinolr 05/02/2021 23:11
Don't know many of the albums in here, this'be a tough one to visit, pretty eclectic indeed.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From Johnnyo 03/28/2020 09:52
Excellent chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From 
salahshoori 01/24/2020 10:47
salahshoori 01/24/2020 10:47
Great chart! There's lots of albums that I have to check from your chart, and isn't that the goal of sharing our taste?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From pctrooper 09/24/2019 00:52
Certainly quite an original chart. Nice stuff.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
75/100
From 
Paule 05/03/2019 20:54
Paule 05/03/2019 20:54
Good chart idea! Even though I am personally not that into americana, some solid albums can be found here.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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