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 149 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 Songs: Ohia. (Remove this filter)
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Like walking down a long dirt road. You work at a consulting firm in New York but secretly wish you lived in a small town in the rural Midwest
The inspiration for that summary came from a camping trip I took the summer I discovered this album. I took a few days off from my technology-focused job and went camping up north for a long weekend. As we drove around, I threw the Country genre from my iPod on shuffle because I thought it would fit the scenery, and at the time that included this album (lol). There are a lot of songs I associate with that trip years later, from Lucinda Williams to Sturgill Simpson, but this album might have the biggest association. While I enjoyed my job, it was draining to spend that much time in front of a computer, and being in a small town surrounded by people who spent much of their days outside, who lived on the shore of a Great Lake and were only minutes away from being on or in the lake at any moment, filled me with a bit of jealousy.
There's an irony here of course, as The Magnolia Electric Co is not an album about wanting to go back to your roots or find solace in rural life. It's the opposite. Jason Molina's discography around this time period is filled with songs informed by the life and hardships of the Rust Belt, and it's on "Almost Was Good Enough" that this becomes most explicit. In his mournful, barrel-aged voice that sounds like it could be coming out of that old bird on the album cover, he half sings / half scoffs, "Did you really believe that everyone makes it out? Almost no one makes it out." This then isn't an album about connecting with the nature and industry that helped birth you - it's about feel consumed by it, about being surrounded by past reminders of things you've done with no way to move on because you're tied to a single place. But I guess as long as you can relate to that - to wanting to become someone different, someone better - this album will have a lot to relate to regardless of whether you're moving in or against the direction Molina intended.
After all, there's enough here that's left open to interpretation. Molina isn't the kind of songwriter to tie an idea directly to a place or a time. Instead, he fills them with familiar references, stringing together ideas to paint a picture. Some of his favorite tropes make appearances here, such as birds ("I'll streak his blood across my beak. Dust my feathers with his ash"), ghosts ("I was riding with the ghost" / "A tall shadow dressed the way secrets always dress when they want everyone to know that they're around"), and the full moon ("Beneath this full moon heart"). Molina also always had a fascination with American history, particularly the civil war, and American folk tales make an appearance here as well with the references to John Henry; this one bridges eras together as Molina begs Henry to break his heart and "Swing the heaviest hammer you got, knock this one out of the park," therefore connecting legends of one era with America's past time of the modern age (and I doubt this was intentional, but baseball, particularly the Negro Leagues, was known for spawning legends the size of John Henry - look up Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, or Cool Papa Bell and you'll find any number of legends that rival that of John Henry). These are all fairly broad, or at least commonly used, images, but somehow they speak to something specific, something universal.
It was silly of me to label this "country" back in the day, but it's undoubtedly connected to the folk and country tradition of American music. On the bonus track "The Big Game is Every Night," Molina sings about Hank Williams passing the American music torch to Bob Dylan, who you can only assume passed it to Neil Young and then perhaps directly to Molina, as Neil Young is the easiest comp for the music here. The band's live albums in particular are very indebted to Crazy Horse, and songs like the opener have that feel of a moderately paced rocker that still sounds best when lying spread eagle on the floor. "Riding with the Ghost" is the closest thing to a rocker here, and on the other end of the spectrum you have the nearly slowcore "Peoria Lunchbox Blues," which is the weakest song but has indispensable vocals from Scout Niblett. And of course there's the centerpiece, "Old Black Hen," which features some classic country twang, husky vocals from Lawrence Peters (I love Molina's voice and the fact that he doesn't sing on two songs on this album, and it's better for it, is really something), and lyrics that could make this a classic country tune about the blues. The climax comes near the end of "John Henry," as Molina wails "Boy what you gonna do with your heart in two?" and the song morphs in the outro from "Farewell Transmission." In that way the closer, "Hold On Magnolia," is the comedown, a weary song about feeling like your time is up but being oddly content about it. I don't have any tattoos, but if I ever decide to get one it will be of the owl on this cover. If there was room, which there wouldn't be because they're too lengthy, I'd include a line from this song. There are plenty to choose from:
"Hold on, Magnolia to that great highway moon. No one has to be that strong, but if you're stubborn like me I know what you're trying to be."
"Hold on, Magnolia, I know what a true friend you've been. In my life I have had my doubts, but tonight I think I've worked it out with all of them."
"Hold on, Magnolia, I hear that station bell ring. You might be holding the last light I see before the dark finally gets ahold of me."
I could quote this album for hours. I haven't even mentioned "Just Be Simple," where the first verse + chorus is one of the highlights of the album. Or pointed out that the opening track seals the fate of the album by being named "Farewell Transmission." Or said how "Almost Was Good Enough" speaks for itself. Or commented on Steve Albini's crisp production, or how the album was recorded in his basement with guitars from his early noise rock days. Or how "Farewell Transmission" was recorded in a single take with no rehearsal. It's as if the album was meant to be, a feeling that was floating in the air over an old Lake Erie factory and was finally inhaled and then exhaled again by the man who I really believe is the best songwriter of all time. [First added to this chart: 10/06/2018]
The inspiration for that summary came from a camping trip I took the summer I discovered this album. I took a few days off from my technology-focused job and went camping up north for a long weekend. As we drove around, I threw the Country genre from my iPod on shuffle because I thought it would fit the scenery, and at the time that included this album (lol). There are a lot of songs I associate with that trip years later, from Lucinda Williams to Sturgill Simpson, but this album might have the biggest association. While I enjoyed my job, it was draining to spend that much time in front of a computer, and being in a small town surrounded by people who spent much of their days outside, who lived on the shore of a Great Lake and were only minutes away from being on or in the lake at any moment, filled me with a bit of jealousy.
There's an irony here of course, as The Magnolia Electric Co is not an album about wanting to go back to your roots or find solace in rural life. It's the opposite. Jason Molina's discography around this time period is filled with songs informed by the life and hardships of the Rust Belt, and it's on "Almost Was Good Enough" that this becomes most explicit. In his mournful, barrel-aged voice that sounds like it could be coming out of that old bird on the album cover, he half sings / half scoffs, "Did you really believe that everyone makes it out? Almost no one makes it out." This then isn't an album about connecting with the nature and industry that helped birth you - it's about feel consumed by it, about being surrounded by past reminders of things you've done with no way to move on because you're tied to a single place. But I guess as long as you can relate to that - to wanting to become someone different, someone better - this album will have a lot to relate to regardless of whether you're moving in or against the direction Molina intended.
After all, there's enough here that's left open to interpretation. Molina isn't the kind of songwriter to tie an idea directly to a place or a time. Instead, he fills them with familiar references, stringing together ideas to paint a picture. Some of his favorite tropes make appearances here, such as birds ("I'll streak his blood across my beak. Dust my feathers with his ash"), ghosts ("I was riding with the ghost" / "A tall shadow dressed the way secrets always dress when they want everyone to know that they're around"), and the full moon ("Beneath this full moon heart"). Molina also always had a fascination with American history, particularly the civil war, and American folk tales make an appearance here as well with the references to John Henry; this one bridges eras together as Molina begs Henry to break his heart and "Swing the heaviest hammer you got, knock this one out of the park," therefore connecting legends of one era with America's past time of the modern age (and I doubt this was intentional, but baseball, particularly the Negro Leagues, was known for spawning legends the size of John Henry - look up Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, or Cool Papa Bell and you'll find any number of legends that rival that of John Henry). These are all fairly broad, or at least commonly used, images, but somehow they speak to something specific, something universal.
It was silly of me to label this "country" back in the day, but it's undoubtedly connected to the folk and country tradition of American music. On the bonus track "The Big Game is Every Night," Molina sings about Hank Williams passing the American music torch to Bob Dylan, who you can only assume passed it to Neil Young and then perhaps directly to Molina, as Neil Young is the easiest comp for the music here. The band's live albums in particular are very indebted to Crazy Horse, and songs like the opener have that feel of a moderately paced rocker that still sounds best when lying spread eagle on the floor. "Riding with the Ghost" is the closest thing to a rocker here, and on the other end of the spectrum you have the nearly slowcore "Peoria Lunchbox Blues," which is the weakest song but has indispensable vocals from Scout Niblett. And of course there's the centerpiece, "Old Black Hen," which features some classic country twang, husky vocals from Lawrence Peters (I love Molina's voice and the fact that he doesn't sing on two songs on this album, and it's better for it, is really something), and lyrics that could make this a classic country tune about the blues. The climax comes near the end of "John Henry," as Molina wails "Boy what you gonna do with your heart in two?" and the song morphs in the outro from "Farewell Transmission." In that way the closer, "Hold On Magnolia," is the comedown, a weary song about feeling like your time is up but being oddly content about it. I don't have any tattoos, but if I ever decide to get one it will be of the owl on this cover. If there was room, which there wouldn't be because they're too lengthy, I'd include a line from this song. There are plenty to choose from:
"Hold on, Magnolia to that great highway moon. No one has to be that strong, but if you're stubborn like me I know what you're trying to be."
"Hold on, Magnolia, I know what a true friend you've been. In my life I have had my doubts, but tonight I think I've worked it out with all of them."
"Hold on, Magnolia, I hear that station bell ring. You might be holding the last light I see before the dark finally gets ahold of me."
I could quote this album for hours. I haven't even mentioned "Just Be Simple," where the first verse + chorus is one of the highlights of the album. Or pointed out that the opening track seals the fate of the album by being named "Farewell Transmission." Or said how "Almost Was Good Enough" speaks for itself. Or commented on Steve Albini's crisp production, or how the album was recorded in his basement with guitars from his early noise rock days. Or how "Farewell Transmission" was recorded in a single take with no rehearsal. It's as if the album was meant to be, a feeling that was floating in the air over an old Lake Erie factory and was finally inhaled and then exhaled again by the man who I really believe is the best songwriter of all time. [First added to this chart: 10/06/2018]
Year of Release:
2003
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,330
Rank in 2003:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
13
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Like walking into your barn to ties up the horses as the world's slowest tornado looms in the distance
With Magnolia Electric Co (the album and the band) Jason Molina's music finally started to resemble something like country. I say "finally" because up until then it had been oddly reminiscent of country without sounding anything like country musically. First you have Molina's voice, which is spacious and a commanding presence in his music. Then you have his lyrics, which often involve themes of isolation, small towns, and trying hard not to give up. These things combine with the sparse, sometimes twangy music to produce something that feels primitive and slightly archaic. To be clear, if this is country music, it's a warped and mostly unrecognizable version. But it's close enough that you can't miss it.
If there is one artist that I wish I had had a chance to see live, it's definitely Molina. Just imagine hearing one of these songs live, spending more time waiting for the next guitar strum or drum beat than actually hearing them. Some of these songs are so slow I'm sure you'd be able to hear people breathing between beats. But when those guitar strums come in, there's no better feeling in the world, and you hope the next one doesn't come too soon as to ruin that feeling. And while some of these songs are highlighted by other instruments (a piano on "Tigress," a mournful organ on "Being in Love") that skeletal structure carries most of the album. It's a twangy country song stretched out thin, like taffy.
I also love how Molina writes his lyrics. He likes to tell stories, but there are no narratives here to be found. Instead, his stories are often told through related thoughts that feel more like one-liners than parts of a song. "Lioness," my favorite song here, finds the narrator hoping to fall so in love that it feels like getting ripped apart by a lioness. But this is never explicitly said, only hinted at by lines like the genuis
"Want my last look to be the moon in your eyes
Want my heart to break, if it must break, in your jaws
Want you to lick my blood off your paws"
Repetition is also a key to his lyrics (see "I'm getting weaker!" on opener "The Black Crow"), as is the pace at which the lyrics are delivered. Each syllable falls on its own, isolated from anything else. But again, you're not exactly hoping he goes faster, especially when he's dropping lines like these from "Being in Love":
"Being in love means you are completely broken
And put back together. The one piece that was yours
Is beating in your lover's breast
She says the same thing about hers." [First added to this chart: 05/29/2020]
With Magnolia Electric Co (the album and the band) Jason Molina's music finally started to resemble something like country. I say "finally" because up until then it had been oddly reminiscent of country without sounding anything like country musically. First you have Molina's voice, which is spacious and a commanding presence in his music. Then you have his lyrics, which often involve themes of isolation, small towns, and trying hard not to give up. These things combine with the sparse, sometimes twangy music to produce something that feels primitive and slightly archaic. To be clear, if this is country music, it's a warped and mostly unrecognizable version. But it's close enough that you can't miss it.
If there is one artist that I wish I had had a chance to see live, it's definitely Molina. Just imagine hearing one of these songs live, spending more time waiting for the next guitar strum or drum beat than actually hearing them. Some of these songs are so slow I'm sure you'd be able to hear people breathing between beats. But when those guitar strums come in, there's no better feeling in the world, and you hope the next one doesn't come too soon as to ruin that feeling. And while some of these songs are highlighted by other instruments (a piano on "Tigress," a mournful organ on "Being in Love") that skeletal structure carries most of the album. It's a twangy country song stretched out thin, like taffy.
I also love how Molina writes his lyrics. He likes to tell stories, but there are no narratives here to be found. Instead, his stories are often told through related thoughts that feel more like one-liners than parts of a song. "Lioness," my favorite song here, finds the narrator hoping to fall so in love that it feels like getting ripped apart by a lioness. But this is never explicitly said, only hinted at by lines like the genuis
"Want my last look to be the moon in your eyes
Want my heart to break, if it must break, in your jaws
Want you to lick my blood off your paws"
Repetition is also a key to his lyrics (see "I'm getting weaker!" on opener "The Black Crow"), as is the pace at which the lyrics are delivered. Each syllable falls on its own, isolated from anything else. But again, you're not exactly hoping he goes faster, especially when he's dropping lines like these from "Being in Love":
"Being in love means you are completely broken
And put back together. The one piece that was yours
Is beating in your lover's breast
She says the same thing about hers." [First added to this chart: 05/29/2020]
Total albums: 2. 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% | |
| Sleater-Kinney | 1 | 1% | |
| Cloud Nothings | 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 |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
94/100 (from 149 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 149 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
90/100  | 01/16/2023 22:04 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
90/100 | 05/21/2022 09:11 |  Timestarter | | 90/100 |
 100/100 | 09/11/2021 15:03 |  AvalancheGrips | | 89/100 |
95/100 | 08/31/2021 21:02 | leniad | | 85/100 |
100/100 | 04/28/2021 09:45 |  DriftingOrpheus | | 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 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 93.6/100, a mean average of 93.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 94.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.6.
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Showing latest 20 members who have added this chart as a favourite | Show all 43 members
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
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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| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. The Velvet Underground | |
| 10. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 11. Nirvana | |
| 12. Neil Young | |
| 13. The Smiths | |
| 14. Miles Davis | |
| 15. The Beach Boys | |
| 16. Kanye West | |
| 17. Pixies | |
| 18. R.E.M. | |
| 19. Jimi Hendrix | |
| 20. Bruce Springsteen |