Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by 
Norman Bates 
- Chart updated: 08/27/2016 07:45
- (Created: 05/29/2009 21:18).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 108 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 168 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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[First added to this chart: 10/31/2011]
Year of Release:
2011
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,727
Rank in 2011:
Rank in 2010s:
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Average Rating:
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Available from
[First added to this chart: 10/31/2011]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,488
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Rank in 1970s:
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Average Rating:
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Available from
[First added to this chart: 08/09/2010]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,065
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[First added to this chart: 08/09/2010]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,309
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[First added to this chart: 08/09/2010]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
14,631
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Average Rating:
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Available from
[First added to this chart: 10/31/2011]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,061
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Average Rating:
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Available from
[First added to this chart: 08/09/2010]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,606
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Average Rating:
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[First added to this chart: 10/31/2011]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,419
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
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Available from
[First added to this chart: 10/31/2011]
Available from
[First added to this chart: 08/09/2010]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,097
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Rank in 1990s:
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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 | 5 | 5% | |
| 1960s | 21 | 21% | |
| 1970s | 32 | 32% | |
| 1980s | 10 | 10% | |
| 1990s | 22 | 22% | |
| 2000s | 8 | 8% | |
| 2010s | 2 | 2% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Nick Drake | 2 | 2% | |
| John Coltrane | 2 | 2% | |
| Charles Mingus | 2 | 2% | |
| The Velvet Underground | 2 | 2% | |
| Cat Power | 2 | 2% | |
| Tim Buckley | 2 | 2% | |
| The Beach Boys | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
55 | 55% | |
 |
24 | 24% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
| |
4 | 4% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
Down 1 from 53rd to 54th |
Down 1 from 54th to 55th |
Down 1 from 55th to 56th |
| New entries |
|---|
| Leavers |
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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 168 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 01/15/2025 17:32 | Exist-en-ciel | 165 | 97/100 |
| ! | 01/27/2022 10:36 |  IlMala | 178 | 95/100 |
| ! | 08/24/2021 22:40 |  DriftingOrpheus | 78 | 91/100 |
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 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.5/100, a mean average of 89.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.7/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 10.8.
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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 14 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
bestdressed 03/23/2016 01:16 in Who has the best chart?
bestdressed 03/23/2016 01:16 in Who has the best chart?“Other than Scarruffi's chart I like , , and I like their overall taste in music especially their jazz selections.”
View topic (2 mentions) →From 
BestEverAlbums 01/09/2016 09:00 in Chart of the day (#1544): By Norman Bates
BestEverAlbums 01/09/2016 09:00 in Chart of the day (#1544): By Norman Bates“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Norman Bates () 1. The Smile Sessions by The Beach Boys (2011) 2. Pink Moon by Nick Drake (1972) 3. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys (1966) 4. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division (1979) 5. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane (1965) 6. The Black Saint…”
(5 mentions across Chart of the Day topics)View latest topic →
From Anonymous 07/12/2014 21:20 in User Pick #108: Pithecanthropus Erectus [Norman Bates]
“Chart: Rank on User's Chart: 15 Year: 1956 Rank on BEA Overall: 1,415 Average Rating: 80/100 Summary Info: A studio album by jazz musician, Charles Mingus. Details on the implementation and chart selection process of "User Pick of the Day" can be found [url= and [url= respectively. A chart…”
View post →View all forum mentions
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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From
Norman Bates 06/14/2014 21:49 | #114487
Norman Bates 06/14/2014 21:49 | #114487
No, exactly 50% were recorded before 79. 50% after. If you consider the hisrtory of recorded music, that's pretty welle balanced I should think.
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From
JoaoMoreira 01/02/2014 20:48 | #99550
JoaoMoreira 01/02/2014 20:48 | #99550
Really nice mixture of jazz and "indie"... Love Supreme is also one of my all-time favs.
Also it's nice to see Gastr Del Sol' Camoufleur place in the upper 50... i'm a big fan of O'Rourke's music.
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From
Jimmy Dread TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/09/2016 17:50 | #156171
Jimmy Dread TOP 100 COMMENTER 01/09/2016 17:50 | #156171
BEA without Norm is like listening to music without ears. This chart is as ace is he is. C'est formidable! :)
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From
Facetious 02/15/2012 15:48 | #36931
Facetious 02/15/2012 15:48 | #36931
8) Cool chart. Especially how you ranked White Light as the best VU album.
Plus, you have TMR, Neu '75, Suicide, B&A Science, Tago Mago, The Beatles, Faust IV, Loveless, Madcap, Highway 61, etc.
All great choices. *applause* This was even better than I had expected.
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From
Hayden TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/22/2025 07:57 | #311417
Hayden TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/22/2025 07:57 | #311417
Molina's got a new one up her sleeve too— couple weeks or so I think— looking forward to it. Argentina is underrepresented on that chart... fact I've only squeezed five albums from there compared to Bolivia's seven, etc, etc... sometimes 100 entries just isn't enough. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of that chart is Brazil, but Brazil's Brazil, and I just can't do anything about that—
& I'm not familiar with Totó la Momposina! Colombie seems like it could be up my alley, it'll be going in the evergrowing, ridiculously endless queue (you'd think this would get shorter over time, but)— I know Susana Baca, but strangely I've yet to hear her s/t (which seems to be her 'big one')— I was in Lima this time last year for their Day of Creole Song, which had some great vibes for a day celebrating traditional music (mind, they mix it with Halloween, which was unexpectedly big too). Def a different side of Peru's sound compared with the typical huayno, etc, and a genre that's prime didn't land on wax as much as it should have... (a la fado).
I've been thinking of giving the chart a slight fresh coat of paint after a deeper dive into my lesser-listened countries in central America (El Salvador, Honduras, Belize), but haven't quite been hitting the jackpot with gems from there.
Peru's a great country to discover music from, and one of the more underappreciated spots in South America. Possibly because it isn't as rhythmic and 'Latin' sounding as Cuba, Brazil, Colombia, etc— it leans much more towards that European melancholy than say... samba— entire country just never really gets its flowers—
Always appreciate the recs though, and I look forward to the day your main gets an update ;)— (Edited)
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