Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
by 
briggs54 
Here it is! A list of the albums that I have listened to 10+ times, enjoyed, found enriching, and have pushed forward my understanding of music. All tracks must be not only listenable, but engaging all the way through. And yeah a few of these are technically compilations, but guess what? I don't care. What I do care about is this concept of the "archive" which the great philosopher Jacques Derrida talks about. When we place an album into the musical canon we inevitably also leave a great album out. Thus, we have this tension in the archive of both preserving and destroying. We have to do our best to be responsible with this task of archiving the supposed "best ever albums", to carefully consider each album we place in the cannon: to be open to unique voices and sounds, to be gentle with the majority of our ratings or simply not rate at all (unless a severe rebuke is deserved). As long as we are conscious of this tension within the archive and the violence we potentially do to a lot of great art, we can (hopefully) act in a responsible way. That being said, there's probably a lot more country on here than a lot of other people would be comfortable with. I used to have albums on here like Carla Bley's "Escalator" or Faust's first LP, but I have finally reconciled to myself that while I think those albums are cool and different, I almost never listen to them and when I do I can never really get into them. Maybe someday my taste will get better, but for now I have taken them off in an attempt to be more honest about what I actually like.
I have tried to represent all genres I listen to regularly throughout this list (some better than others). I would have liked to do one album per artist, but sometimes there's an album that I just can't not include (like Van or The Velvets). And yes some genres of music are underrepresented (or completely unrepresented). That does not mean I do not appreciate those musical niches. I just do not know them well enough to make a good judgment of where classic albums within those genres should be ranked on my chart. Don't hate. Recommend something to which I should listen if you notice a particularly great album from a genre at looks conspicuously absent. If you recommend something from within a genre to which a lot of albums on this list already belong, I will probably listen to that album, but my opinions probably will not change.
Here is also a list of some of my favorite songs. Again a mixture of Pop, Rock, Scaruffi, Jazz, Rap, R&B, and Country.
Favorite Songs:
1. Night Moves: Bob Seger
2. Ghost: Albert Ayler
3. Red-Headed Stranger: Willie Nelson
4. Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2: Neutral Milk Hotel
5. Like A Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan
6. Ooh La La: The Faces
7. Stand By Your Man: Tammy Wynette
8. All My Friends: LCD Soundsystem
9. International Players Anthem: UGK feat. Outkast
10. Elevate Me Later: Pavement
11. Ignition (Remix): R. Kelly
12. Blue Train: John Coltrane
13. 100,000 Fireflies: Magnetic Fields
14. Hello It's Me: Todd Rundgren
15. Behind Closed Doors: Charlie Rich
16. Dogon AD: Julius Hemphill
17. Let's Get It On: Marvin Gaye
Finally, apologies for not having descriptions of most albums here. If you have a specific question about an album feel free to message me, but more descriptions are coming soon, I promise.
Pet peeve: people who give bad ratings without comments. At least give some constructive criticism man, come on. (and yet people continue to do it).
- Chart updated: 06/26/2019 20:45
- (Created: 12/26/2013 04:08).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 41 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 77 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
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Scaruffi may be taking over, but I doubt he will ever be able to convince me that this is not one of the best albums ever.
Why is this the best album of all time? Maybe it's not, I think one could make a case for each of the top 5 on this list, but it is certainly my favorite and I feel like I can make a pretty good argument for it being a contender for the best ever against the other four 9.5 rated albums I have listed here. First of all, I cannot find a single moment where I want to roll my eyes at the lyrics which is a pretty common occurrence for most rock albums.
Scaruffi gave it a 7/10. He says: "While lacking a unitary theme, the parade of styles was captivating precisely in its anarchic and protean overreaching." I can't argue against it lacking a unitary theme except to build off of his second point and say, that appears to be the point. Unity is chaos. Love in the midst of death, loss, loneliness, and confusion. Finding beauty everywhere. Thus, a perfect mix of a ridiculous amount influences which I don't think any band has been able to pull off up to the point this album was made. How do I know they pull it off? Because I never get bored during the record. I never think: "This is just a rehash of such and such song and they bring nothing new to the table." They band is constantly simultaneously conversing with the past while making a significant contribution to the conversation with their own musical ideas. Thus, intriguing free jazz, blazing guitar solos, peaceful ambient, etc. etc. etc.
I could go on, but you get the point. I'll wrap it up with a quote from the original Pitchfork review: "I hate to end this saying, 'You just have to hear it for yourself.' But oh my god, you do. You just really, really do."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
9.5/10 [First added to this chart: 12/25/2013]
Why is this the best album of all time? Maybe it's not, I think one could make a case for each of the top 5 on this list, but it is certainly my favorite and I feel like I can make a pretty good argument for it being a contender for the best ever against the other four 9.5 rated albums I have listed here. First of all, I cannot find a single moment where I want to roll my eyes at the lyrics which is a pretty common occurrence for most rock albums.
Scaruffi gave it a 7/10. He says: "While lacking a unitary theme, the parade of styles was captivating precisely in its anarchic and protean overreaching." I can't argue against it lacking a unitary theme except to build off of his second point and say, that appears to be the point. Unity is chaos. Love in the midst of death, loss, loneliness, and confusion. Finding beauty everywhere. Thus, a perfect mix of a ridiculous amount influences which I don't think any band has been able to pull off up to the point this album was made. How do I know they pull it off? Because I never get bored during the record. I never think: "This is just a rehash of such and such song and they bring nothing new to the table." They band is constantly simultaneously conversing with the past while making a significant contribution to the conversation with their own musical ideas. Thus, intriguing free jazz, blazing guitar solos, peaceful ambient, etc. etc. etc.
I could go on, but you get the point. I'll wrap it up with a quote from the original Pitchfork review: "I hate to end this saying, 'You just have to hear it for yourself.' But oh my god, you do. You just really, really do."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
9.5/10 [First added to this chart: 12/25/2013]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,509
Rank in 2002:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 06/08/2014]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,731
Rank in 1965:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 12/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,359
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 01/23/2015]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,981
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 10/14/2016]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,909
Rank in 1967:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 12/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1998
Appears in:
Rank Score:
32,873
Rank in 1998:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 01/23/2015]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,241
Rank in 1965:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 12/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,641
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 05/12/2015]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,467
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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I don't really know where to put this one. I really do genuinely enjoy listening to a lot of it, but the dada spoken word stuff doesn't work well without the scaffolding of music holding it up. It's just bad poetry at that point and kinda takes me out of the experience. Still, its brilliant moments are so brilliant and this album has so darn many brilliant moments. There is still nothing like it out there.
[First added to this chart: 05/12/2015]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,224
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
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 | 4 | 4% | |
| 1960s | 19 | 19% | |
| 1970s | 38 | 38% | |
| 1980s | 9 | 9% | |
| 1990s | 19 | 19% | |
| 2000s | 6 | 6% | |
| 2010s | 5 | 5% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Van Morrison | 3 | 3% | |
| Miles Davis | 2 | 2% | |
| Willie Nelson | 2 | 2% | |
| Robbie Băsho | 2 | 2% | |
| Art Ensemble Of Chicago | 1 | 1% | |
| Harold Budd | 1 | 1% | |
| 不失者 [Fushitsusha] | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
70 | 70% | |
 |
10 | 10% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
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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 77 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/31/2024 17:14 | Johnnyo | 2,557 | 80/100 |
| ! | 03/28/2021 04:31 | RioBravo | 201 | 84/100 |
| ! | 02/25/2020 03:14 | HotZappsBoogaloo | 77 | 81/100 |
| ! | 12/23/2019 06:53 |  Tamthebam | 645 | 85/100 |
| ! | 12/23/2019 06:20 | DrewHamster | 317 | 79/100 |
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 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.4/100, a mean average of 90.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.0.
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 41 comments |
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(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
From Johnnyo 08/31/2024 17:15 | #305056
Not all of your chart is to my taste but admire the selections non the less. Great chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
gidgidi 06/18/2019 20:16 | #237805
gidgidi 06/18/2019 20:16 | #237805
Nice unknown albums to hear.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
DommeDamian 06/18/2019 09:28 | #237773
DommeDamian 06/18/2019 09:28 | #237773
Gimme that Toot-toot
And lemme give you that Beep-beep
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 
Julelios 12/03/2018 09:44 | #226079
Julelios 12/03/2018 09:44 | #226079
Nice !
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From Lgk21 09/30/2018 00:04 | #221857
This is pretty awesome. I was listening ti Veedon Fleece the other day and wow is it good. I've got to find a way to work it onto my chart, I'm glad you did.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 
Boltzmann 09/29/2018 12:55 | #221841
Boltzmann 09/29/2018 12:55 | #221841
BAHAHAHA Trout Mask Replica. That’s a ballsy move, man. +5 points for that. The rest is little surprising.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From 
junodog4 03/09/2018 23:50 | #210514
junodog4 03/09/2018 23:50 | #210514
Impressive... especially putting Broken Social Scene at #1.
...but I really think you need to give Jon Spencer another listen.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Ulf 03/09/2018 20:15 | #210492
Nice one
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (0 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From 
Luciano1962 03/09/2018 11:03 | #210458
Luciano1962 03/09/2018 11:03 | #210458
personal and important. great musical culture
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 03/09/2018 09:29 | #210453
ForegroundNoise 03/09/2018 09:29 | #210453
Really love this list; only criticism would be to stop worrying about Scaruffi's opinion and write your own! You clearly know how to write about music so defy his taste with your own passion not excerpts from his reviews
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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| Best Artists of the 1980s | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Smiths | |
| 2. Prince | |
| 3. Pixies | |
| 4. The Cure | |
| 5. Talking Heads | |
| 6. U2 | |
| 7. Metallica | |
| 8. Kate Bush | |
| 9. R.E.M. | |
| 10. The Stone Roses | |
| 11. Sonic Youth | |
| 12. Michael Jackson | |
| 13. Bruce Springsteen | |
| 14. Iron Maiden | |
| 15. Prince And The Revolution | |
| 16. Tom Waits | |
| 17. Joy Division | |
| 18. New Order | |
| 19. Talk Talk | |
| 20. Rush |
