Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by 
babyBlueSedan 
My favorite albums, or "The 100 albums I'd keep if iTunes had a capacity of 100 albums."
The theme of this update, as with the past couple, is upheaval. Every time I update this I claim to be moving new favorite up higher while still stubbornly putting albums I used to love but never listen to anymore near the top. I won't know for sure if I've been more successful this time around until I update this again. But I hope that this current iteration shook things up a bit and added a bit more variety, even if that variety is in the form of albums most people have heard of. I've tried to include as many artists and genres where possible, partially because I want to appear more interesting than I actually am, but in the end this is still very rock and pop oriented. In particular, this iteration makes obvious my current love of plaintive folk/singer-songwriter stuff.
I've also relaxed my artist limits just a bit to highlight the artists I really love, but I still couldn't include everything I wanted because spots are so limited. In some cases I decided what to include based on what I wanted to write about. I recommend checking out my decade charts for more deep cuts.
Also, I appreciate all the kind and generous comments - they're my main motivation for updating this every couple years or so.
- Chart updated: 05/30/2020 02:15
- (Created: 07/31/2013 04:33).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 98 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 94 out of 100 (from 152 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from At The Drive-In. (Remove this filter)
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Like walking out of the Trojan Horse to find the city already sacked and realizing no one will remember you
It's really funny that At The Drive In take their name from a Poison song because I don't think there's any way a rock band could be less like Poison. OK, that's obviously untrue (most soft rock is more different and I'm sure there's a rock band called Antidote out there), but it made for a good opening line. And even more than that a way to jump into the reason I keep coming back to this album after all these years. And that reason is At The Drive In's crazy, surreal, nonsensical lyrical stylings.
Well, there are other reasons I keep listening as well. One of the reasons I like post hardcore is that it channels the aggression and energy of punk into a more musically diverse, engaging experience. Listening to tons of power chords and two minute songs creates a certain bombastic atmosphere but it tends not to have any staying power. On this album, however, At The Drive In channel this punk spirit and create a set of well-developed songs that cover tons of different emotions. The despair of tracks like Invalid Litter Dept pairs perfectly with the unhinged weirdness of One Armed Scissor. "True fans" or whatever will tell you the production ruins this album; after years of recording live in the studio the band decided to make a much more polished album, one that even includes *gulp* keyboards on a couple tracks. And Phil Spector-esque cracks of thunder on Quarantined. But honestly I think the production makes this album better - despite their previous album feeling more in your face, the production here better compliments their lyrics.
There are all kinds of topics covered on this album, and some of them are ridiculously off the wall. Enfilade is a song about kidnappings and ransoms that features a leopard and hyena as characters (the hyena is voiced by Iggy Pop). One Armed Scissor is a random list of inside jokes by the band that somehow ends up sounding profound at the end with the "will you get this letter...I write to remember" parts. And that's not even the best example of the band getting deep; despite the cryptic lyrics there are some heavy songs on this thing. Pattern Against User is about drug addiction - "hypodermic people poking fun at the living" - and Quarantined is about war - "binoculars watch cardboard town". Invalid Litter Dept is definitely the highlight though; it's a song about the murder of a bunch of Mexican women that perfectly captures the way the band's nonsensical lyrics start to make sense. I don't know how to spin a pimp, nor how to be intravenously polite, nor what a cobblestone curfew is. But there's something about "and they made sure that their obituaries showed pictures of smokestacks" that speaks clear as day. [First added to this chart: 08/04/2013]
It's really funny that At The Drive In take their name from a Poison song because I don't think there's any way a rock band could be less like Poison. OK, that's obviously untrue (most soft rock is more different and I'm sure there's a rock band called Antidote out there), but it made for a good opening line. And even more than that a way to jump into the reason I keep coming back to this album after all these years. And that reason is At The Drive In's crazy, surreal, nonsensical lyrical stylings.
Well, there are other reasons I keep listening as well. One of the reasons I like post hardcore is that it channels the aggression and energy of punk into a more musically diverse, engaging experience. Listening to tons of power chords and two minute songs creates a certain bombastic atmosphere but it tends not to have any staying power. On this album, however, At The Drive In channel this punk spirit and create a set of well-developed songs that cover tons of different emotions. The despair of tracks like Invalid Litter Dept pairs perfectly with the unhinged weirdness of One Armed Scissor. "True fans" or whatever will tell you the production ruins this album; after years of recording live in the studio the band decided to make a much more polished album, one that even includes *gulp* keyboards on a couple tracks. And Phil Spector-esque cracks of thunder on Quarantined. But honestly I think the production makes this album better - despite their previous album feeling more in your face, the production here better compliments their lyrics.
There are all kinds of topics covered on this album, and some of them are ridiculously off the wall. Enfilade is a song about kidnappings and ransoms that features a leopard and hyena as characters (the hyena is voiced by Iggy Pop). One Armed Scissor is a random list of inside jokes by the band that somehow ends up sounding profound at the end with the "will you get this letter...I write to remember" parts. And that's not even the best example of the band getting deep; despite the cryptic lyrics there are some heavy songs on this thing. Pattern Against User is about drug addiction - "hypodermic people poking fun at the living" - and Quarantined is about war - "binoculars watch cardboard town". Invalid Litter Dept is definitely the highlight though; it's a song about the murder of a bunch of Mexican women that perfectly captures the way the band's nonsensical lyrics start to make sense. I don't know how to spin a pimp, nor how to be intravenously polite, nor what a cobblestone curfew is. But there's something about "and they made sure that their obituaries showed pictures of smokestacks" that speaks clear as day. [First added to this chart: 08/04/2013]
Year of Release:
2000
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,560
Rank in 2000:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
25Total albums: 1. Page 1 of 1
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 4 | 4% | |
| 1970s | 9 | 9% | |
| 1980s | 8 | 8% | |
| 1990s | 23 | 23% | |
| 2000s | 28 | 28% | |
| 2010s | 28 | 28% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Modest Mouse | 3 | 3% | |
| Songs: Ohia | 2 | 2% | |
| Sufjan Stevens | 2 | 2% | |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 2% | |
| Kanye West | 2 | 2% | |
| Carissa's Wierd | 1 | 1% | |
| At The Drive-In | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 44 from 79th to 35th E•Mo•Tion by Carly Rae Jepsen |
| Up 35 from 45th to 10th Songs About Leaving by Carissa's Wierd |
| Up 29 from 76th to 47th The Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 32 from 57th to 89th Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney |
| Down 29 from 26th to 55th The Suburbs by Arcade Fire |
| Down 29 from 52nd to 81st Crack The Skye by Mastodon |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favorite Album Covers | babyBlueSedan | Custom chart | 2018 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | babyBlueSedan | 2000s decade chart | 2021 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | babyBlueSedan | 2010s decade chart | 2021 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | bkogz | Overall chart | 2021 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  Mattdup279 | Overall chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | blackflag29 | Overall chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | babyBlueSedan | 1990s decade chart | 2021 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | gravityrider999 | Overall chart | 2019 |  |
| BEA Forum Regulars' Top 100 (2015) |  HigherThanTheSun | Custom chart | 2015 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  ledemoncleaner | Overall chart | 2018 | |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
94/100 (from 152 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 152 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
100/100  | 03/25/2025 19:59 | DrewHamster | | 79/100 |
100/100 | 01/15/2025 16:18 | Exist-en-ciel | | 99/100 |
100/100 | 06/25/2024 09:53 |  ssteve | | 92/100 |
90/100 | 01/16/2023 22:04 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
90/100 | 05/21/2022 09:11 |  Timestarter | | 90/100 |
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 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 93.7/100, a mean average of 93.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 94.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.6.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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90/100
From Johnnyo 01/16/2023 22:05
Great chart and the work that has gone into each entry. Wow! Brilliant stuff
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From leniad 08/31/2021 21:02
good writing and good taste
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From weyesgroove 09/29/2020 16:32
cool chart man. love the descriptions.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
Keatownrodriguez 10/28/2019 21:19
Keatownrodriguez 10/28/2019 21:19
Any chart with this much time put into it is so cool to me
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From pctrooper 10/04/2019 19:23
These notes are so detailed and helpful for advocating your choices. You must really know how to listen to music and listen to it hard. Great albums, too.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From eharrell 07/24/2019 00:02
Best Chart ever
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From tk421ucopy 07/23/2019 19:24
incredible. you have a different taste in music, but wow these descriptions are prime
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
DommeDamian 07/23/2019 12:00
DommeDamian 07/23/2019 12:00
Is there a limit of how much inspiration, this chart can give?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From xXhermitXx 10/18/2018 04:05
Holy crap what a chart, have a bunch in common with me and a whole list of new ones to check out, i also loved your descriptions.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
jdenny2018 10/18/2018 01:19
jdenny2018 10/18/2018 01:19
This is one of the most amazing things I've ever read
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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