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 Red House Painters. (Remove this filter)
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Like walking through a park in autumn, then blinking and realizing you're actually sitting home alone on a cold winter day
I owe this album a lot. No, it didn't get me through a tough time, and while I find it very relatable there was never a time when I felt like every word was speaking to me. Rather, this is the album that made me willing to dive into Mark Kozelek's discography. Granted, before I had heard this I had only previously heard Benji (which is now one of my all time favorites) but let's just say I wasn't ready for Benji when I first heard it. I listened to this one on a whim, ready to dislike it. "Well, if I dislike The Koz I might as well be able to say I've heard a Red House Painters album." I was a fool.
From the get go I found this one impossible to hate. These songs move slowly, but the chord progressions are so beautiful that they hypnotize you as they repeat over and over. The production also feels really crisp - you can clearly hear every strum and drum beat, making you feel like you're in a small room with the instruments around you. These songs don't have anthemic choruses or anything, but the slight changes in song structure that act as choruses are just powerful enough to feel incredibly cathartic. And the fact that the average song length is like 6 minutes or something gives the songs room to wiggle themselves into your head without ever feeling too long.
Death has always had a large focus in Kozelek's writing, but despite this one being much more abstract it still feels like the darkest thing he's written. The best track is "Medicine Bottle," which is basically a diary entry from someone whose lover can't seem to understand their depression. Their lover talks about how "it's all in your head" while the narrator imagines blood dripping onto their own suicide note. Not all of the dread on this album is quite so blatant though. "Japanese to English" is a rather touching song about two lovers who can't communicate without a translation dictionary, and while the thought of love transcending language is a sweet thought it's clear their love won't be able to go anywhere. Elsewhere Kozelek reminisces about an old friend and thinks about aging, calling oldness "a friend you don't want to see." This album leaves me feeling comforted but also slightly anxious, as like I said I relate to a lot of it despite the dark content but still the music feels so calming. And who knows if you're supposed to take it seriously anyway; I love "Lord Kill the Pain" to death but I can't help but awkwardly smile whenever I hear it. [First added to this chart: 05/29/2020]
I owe this album a lot. No, it didn't get me through a tough time, and while I find it very relatable there was never a time when I felt like every word was speaking to me. Rather, this is the album that made me willing to dive into Mark Kozelek's discography. Granted, before I had heard this I had only previously heard Benji (which is now one of my all time favorites) but let's just say I wasn't ready for Benji when I first heard it. I listened to this one on a whim, ready to dislike it. "Well, if I dislike The Koz I might as well be able to say I've heard a Red House Painters album." I was a fool.
From the get go I found this one impossible to hate. These songs move slowly, but the chord progressions are so beautiful that they hypnotize you as they repeat over and over. The production also feels really crisp - you can clearly hear every strum and drum beat, making you feel like you're in a small room with the instruments around you. These songs don't have anthemic choruses or anything, but the slight changes in song structure that act as choruses are just powerful enough to feel incredibly cathartic. And the fact that the average song length is like 6 minutes or something gives the songs room to wiggle themselves into your head without ever feeling too long.
Death has always had a large focus in Kozelek's writing, but despite this one being much more abstract it still feels like the darkest thing he's written. The best track is "Medicine Bottle," which is basically a diary entry from someone whose lover can't seem to understand their depression. Their lover talks about how "it's all in your head" while the narrator imagines blood dripping onto their own suicide note. Not all of the dread on this album is quite so blatant though. "Japanese to English" is a rather touching song about two lovers who can't communicate without a translation dictionary, and while the thought of love transcending language is a sweet thought it's clear their love won't be able to go anywhere. Elsewhere Kozelek reminisces about an old friend and thinks about aging, calling oldness "a friend you don't want to see." This album leaves me feeling comforted but also slightly anxious, as like I said I relate to a lot of it despite the dark content but still the music feels so calming. And who knows if you're supposed to take it seriously anyway; I love "Lord Kill the Pain" to death but I can't help but awkwardly smile whenever I hear it. [First added to this chart: 05/29/2020]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,322
Rank in 1992:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total 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% | |
| Kanye West | 2 | 2% | |
| Songs: Ohia | 2 | 2% | |
| Sufjan Stevens | 2 | 2% | |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 2% | |
| Neutral Milk Hotel | 1 | 1% | |
| Belle And Sebastian | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 44 from 79th to 35thE•Mo•Tion by Carly Rae Jepsen |
| Up 35 from 45th to 10thSongs About Leaving by Carissa's Wierd |
| Up 29 from 76th to 47thThe Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 32 from 57th to 89thDig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney |
| Down 29 from 26th to 55thThe Suburbs by Arcade Fire |
| Down 29 from 52nd to 81stCrack 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 | blackflag29 | Overall chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  Mattdup279 | Overall chart | 2020 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s | babyBlueSedan | 1990s decade chart | 2021 | |
| BEA Forum Regulars' Top 100 (2015) |  HigherThanTheSun | Custom chart | 2015 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | gravityrider999 | Overall chart | 2019 |  |
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums |  ledemoncleaner | Overall chart | 2018 | |
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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 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 152 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 03/25/2025 19:59 | DrewHamster | 317 | 79/100 |
| ! | 01/15/2025 16:18 | Exist-en-ciel | 145 | 98/100 |
| ! | 06/25/2024 09:53 |  ssteve | 207 | 92/100 |
| ! | 01/16/2023 22:04 | Johnnyo | 2,565 | 80/100 |
| ! | 05/21/2022 09:11 |  Timestarter | 114 | 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.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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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From Johnnyo 01/16/2023 22:05 | #292938
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)
From leniad 08/31/2021 21:02 | #273144
good writing and good taste
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Keatownrodriguez 10/28/2019 21:19 | #244221
Keatownrodriguez 10/28/2019 21:19 | #244221
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)
From pctrooper 10/04/2019 19:23 | #243384
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)
From eharrell 07/24/2019 00:02 | #240304
Best Chart ever
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From tk421ucopy 07/23/2019 19:24 | #240298
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)
From 
DommeDamian 07/23/2019 12:00 | #240231
DommeDamian 07/23/2019 12:00 | #240231
Is there a limit of how much inspiration, this chart can give?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From xXhermitXx 10/18/2018 04:05 | #222709
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)
From 
jdenny2018 10/18/2018 01:19 | #222704
jdenny2018 10/18/2018 01:19 | #222704
This is one of the most amazing things I've ever read
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From manurock 10/16/2018 20:07 | #222633
+5 for this chart, I am sure it has improved a lot since I visited it. You clearly have a vast knowledge of albums and the chart is very well written. I love your comments for On the Beach, which is also my favourite Neil Young album.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
| 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. Nirvana | |
| 10. Neil Young | |
| 11. The Velvet Underground | |
| 12. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 13. Miles Davis | |
| 14. The Smiths | |
| 15. The Beach Boys | |
| 16. R.E.M. | |
| 17. Kanye West | |
| 18. Pixies | |
| 19. Bruce Springsteen | |
| 20. Jimi Hendrix |
