Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by ffudnebbuh

I used to be a buyer for one of the largest record chains in the Midwest and had access to every album that one can imagine. So my chart is a strange collection of genres, well known albums and not so well known, from the highly regarded to the disdained..I went through my soul/r&b phase beginning in 1958(which I am still moving through), Beatles, Stones, etc, Simon/Garfunkel phase, Parliament/Funkadelic etc phase, Sex Pistols, Wire,Joy Division,Talking Heads phase, then Cocteau Twins, JMC, Pixies, MBV phase etc, and now my list is just what I am listening to the most at any moment. My interest in popular music is split between jazz, blues, and r/b on one hand and pop/rock on the other. I have an undergrad degree in classical piano. My chart is based partly on being in record retail for so many years(20) and having heard almost every album made and being bored with most of it...but is also informed from a performer's perspective, how I feel that a given artist is successful in communicating the particular ideas in words, music and arrangement and production regardless of genre.

When I left retail for graduate school in 1994, I became relatively out of touch with the music catalogue. I have been using Pandora more, so I feel that I am now caught up with most of the music from all music genres over the past 15 years.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 2010s. (Remove this filter)
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 08/12/2011]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,748
Rank in 2010:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 01/11/2016]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,268
Rank in 2015:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (86/100 - 1483 votes)  86 (1,483 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 08/06/2019]
Year of Release:
2018
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,239
Rank in 2018:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 07/30/2011]
Year of Release:
2011
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,538
Rank in 2011:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 4. Page 1 of 1
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 5 5%
1960s 17 17%
1970s 39 39%
1980s 17 17%
1990s 8 8%
2000s 9 9%
2010s 4 4%
2020s 1 1%
Artist Albums %


The Beatles 3 3%
David Bowie 2 2%
Stevie Wonder 2 2%
Bob Dylan 2 2%
Steely Dan 2 2%
Joni Mitchell 2 2%
Miles Davis 2 2%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 58 58%
United Kingdom 28 28%
Canada 6 6%
Mixed Nationality 5 5%
Germany 3 3%
Compilation? Albums %
No 95 95%
Yes 5 5%
Live? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%

Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes

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Leaver Is This It
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
88/100 (from 252 votes)
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12/28/2025 10:08 Exist-en-ciel   14798/100
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08/18/2025 05:54 LadyGodiva   9697/100
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03/29/2025 20:25 mjp11   3696/100
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90/100
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01/25/2025 14:12 SomethingSpecial   1,10485/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
95/100
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10/11/2022 05:42 leniad   67385/100

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This chart is rated in the top 9% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.1/100, a mean average of 87.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 88.2/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 10.1.

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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments

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Rating:  
95/100
From 10/11/2022 05:42 | #290366
updating my score, 95/100
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/03/2022 17:47 | #287063
I was drawn to your chart when you slated LCD Soundsystem and demanded the 6 minutes of listening back! I thought - who is this not loving LCD? But love your intro and chart - big respect for your journey. Would love to hear your views on your picks and why? - Bet there are some great stories in there....
I know over half of the albums you have in your chart and like them all - and have 11 of your albums in my own top 100 - although funnily enough they are mostly from post 80's when your choices start to dry up - so I kinda feel vindicated that they are great albums if they merit a breach into your predominantly pre-80s list.
As for LCD Soundsystem - it's been a while since I hit a club and I suspect it's a bit longer for you :-)
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Rating:  
90/100
From 11/27/2021 13:44 | #276754
This is a really great chart! I don't like your #1 but apart from that I am really impressed by the depth and breadth. I got some good ideas for listening from this chart.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 11/03/2020 20:37 | #260145
liked your choices
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Rating:  
95/100
From 05/07/2019 19:38 | #235968
One of the best charts on bEA.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 02/22/2019 03:31 | #232331
great chart. we have lots of similar tastes in music.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 02/21/2019 16:17 | #232301
This charte is really great... I love Velvet Underground, Pixies. Very interesting picks
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Rating:  
90/100
From 01/11/2018 18:51 | #205278
May disagree with like Velvet Underground, but you still got many albums that I love here. Awesome to see Doolittle, The White Album and Blood On The Tracks in the top 10 =)
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Rating:  
90/100
From 07/11/2017 06:19 | #194060
Doolittle and Mingus Top 10 Yes!
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Rating:  
100/100
From 02/02/2017 21:50 | #184793
Lots in common, very neat chart.
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Best Albums of the 1980s
1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
2. Doolittle by Pixies
3. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
4. Disintegration by The Cure
5. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
6. The Joshua Tree by U2
7. Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
8. Thriller by Michael Jackson
9. Purple Rain by Prince And The Revolution
10. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
11. Closer by Joy Division
12. Master Of Puppets by Metallica
13. Surfer Rosa by Pixies
14. Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
15. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
16. Graceland by Paul Simon
17. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk
18. Murmur by R.E.M.
19. Back In Black by AC/DC
20. Ride The Lightning by Metallica
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