Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by ihwar2000 
This is a mirror of the toplist from my web site, which is dedicated to rating and comparing albums and artists. To be able to compare albums of different genres I have written my own rating formula, which is based on weighed song ratings. The result is presented as a percentage with two decimal places.
I'm currently reevaluating my entire database of albums with a more thorough rating process, which means that this list is bound to change. I'm of course also always searching for new interesting music.
- Chart updated: 01/04/2022 13:15
- (Created: 05/09/2013 18:08).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 31 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 create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Available from 
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,433
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
55,537
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,027
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,331
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Year of Release:
1990
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,075
Rank in 1990:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,805
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/10/2013]
Year of Release:
1993
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,918
Rank in 1993:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 1 | 1% | |
| 1960s | 6 | 6% | |
| 1970s | 29 | 29% | |
| 1980s | 23 | 23% | |
| 1990s | 25 | 25% | |
| 2000s | 11 | 11% | |
| 2010s | 5 | 5% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| David Bowie | 7 | 7% | |
| Yes | 6 | 6% | |
| Clannad | 4 | 4% | |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 3% | |
| Radiohead | 3 | 3% | |
| Iron Maiden | 3 | 3% | |
| Kate Bush | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
48 | 48% | |
| |
21 | 21% | |
| |
12 | 12% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
Up 19 from 68th to 49th |
Up 19 from 52nd to 33rd |
Up 19 from 44th to 25th |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 5 from 46th to 51st |
Down 5 from 59th to 64th |
Down 5 from 60th to 65th |
| New entries |
|---|
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | ihwar2000 | 1970s decade chart | 2018 | |
| Top 67 Music Albums of the 1990s | ihwar2000 | 1990s decade chart | 2018 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | JPin8497 | Overall chart | 2025 | |
| Top 82 Music Albums of the 1980s | ihwar2000 | 1980s decade chart | 2018 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | alert23 | Overall chart | 2025 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | Manso | Overall chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | KineticEchoes02 | Overall chart | 2025 |  |
| BEA Top 100 Reorganized According To My Taste | bonnequestion | Custom chart | 2026 | |
| Album Closers |  AAL2014 | Custom chart | 2024 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | gelud | Overall chart | 2014 | |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 47 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/20/2025 22:41 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,088 | 86/100 |
| ! | 11/26/2022 19:49 | Nkelleyslc | 113 | 91/100 |
| ! | 11/25/2022 23:25 |  DommeDamian | 1,003 | 89/100 |
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 86.7/100, a mean average of 86.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 86.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.6.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums forum mentions
This chart has been referenced 5 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 11/25/2022 09:00 in Chart of the day (#4049): By ihwar2000
BestEverAlbums 11/25/2022 09:00 in Chart of the day (#4049): By ihwar2000“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by ihwar2000 () 1. Close To The Edge by Yes (1972) 2. The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd (1973) 3. The Story Of I by Patrick Moraz (1976) 4. The Dreaming by Kate Bush (1982) 5. Lore by Clannad (1996) 6. Station To Station by David Bowie…”
(5 mentions across Chart of the Day topics)View latest topic →
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
From
quadrophenia17 01/20/2015 18:05 | #132044
Good mix of the obscure and the relevant
Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2
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From
dougotto 01/20/2015 20:56 | #132064
dougotto 01/20/2015 20:56 | #132064
interesting and unique although its somewhat unvaried. cool nonetheless
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From
CharlieBarley 01/10/2017 16:49 | #182179
CharlieBarley 01/10/2017 16:49 | #182179
Very good chart, eclectic and with artists from all round the world. Good to see Abba in with heavy metal!! The band I want to get into is Clannad. I have their greatest hits and several Enya albums but have never heard their studio albums. Gotta try Yes as well. I know none of their albums. Anyway a very good chart. Check out mine, dude.
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From
Moondance 11/25/2022 10:08 | #291553
An intriguing mixed bag of albums & artists ~ I liked some of your bold top 100 choices (like Jethro Tull's 'Minstrel In The Gallery'), along with strong recognition of your home country artist/albums. However, overall I didn't find your chart inspiring, especially when almost 30% of valuable top 100 chart space was devoted to only 7 artists.
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From
replacementlevel 08/26/2013 17:37 | #84541
I can't tell if you really love prog rock or if prog rock albums just score well by your formula, since they tend to have fewer songs and filler is embedded within otherwise excellent songs, rather than separated and subject to lower song ratings.
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