Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by AAL2014
Thanks for checking out my chart! BEA is a godsend of a website for me and has been for close to a decade now. I’ve spent countless hours of my free time here organizing my thoughts and checking out music that’s new to me. Very much in the same way listening to albums is respite for me, ranking them and arranging my thoughts is just the same.
Here you'll find some of that taking shape. My Top 100 will always be a work in progress, as I imagine anyone's would. But here's a couple things you'll find with my chart in particular:
---- My favorite (or thereabouts) lyric from each non-instrumental album.
----Being a drummer for going on 15 years, here you'll find the drummer(s) who played on each of my top 100 records to give a some due credit or to shoutout a hero.
—— As of 7/9/22, I am no longer enforcing 1 entry per artist in the top 25. I want the albums I love the most to be represented the way that accurately depicts what they’ve meant in my life.
Hope you enjoy. Let me know of any thoughts or if you have any recommendations for me in the comments. I’d love to hear them!
CHART OF THE DAY- 8/9/18, 5/10/21, 3/1/22, 10/13/22, 5/1/23
- Chart updated: 03/18/2024 05:15
- (Created: 03/18/2014 17:15).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 49 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 83 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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You could call Abbey Road the greatest album of all time and I wouldn’t give you much push back. My first listen of this record was profound. It left me feeling enlightened and happy, but most of all it was the album to make me go “So, these are The Beatles huh?” and set me on an unalterable path down their catalog and so much more music at large.
Every. Single. Track… adds something to the Abbey Road stew. Whether it be the foreboding and metallic She’s So Heavy, the auditory vitamin D of Here Comes the Sun, or the jaw-dropping medley, Abbey Road track list offers something for every type of listener. This is also a reflection of how John, Paul, and George were all peaking as songwriters during or around this time, a phenomenal capturing of a time in history.
Paul's vocals (blues mastery of Oh Darling!, gorgeous ballideering on Golden Slumbers) kick ass on this album, maybe his best album vocal-wise. The guitars are beautiful and utilized in ways not as explored on previous releases, Ringo’s drumming is smart and his tone warm and welcoming, and the production is out of this world tasteful.
So yeah.. greatest album of all time or not, there are hardly any albums I love more. Few records have single-handedly had a greater impact on me. Abbey Road is, at large, synonymous with music and all that I love about it.
Favorite tracks: Oh! Darling, I Want You (She's So Heavy), and the Abbey Road Medley (the entire medley).
Drummer: Ringo Starr [First added to this chart: 12/30/2014]
A work of art. A criminally underrated album in my opinion, although Supper's Ready has been (rightfully so) acknowledged as one of the all time great prog tracks. That's certainly not the only bright spot on this record though. The opening track, Watcher of the Skies is an epic marvel, and Get Em Out By Friday is one of the more underrated and gallivanting tracks of the Peter Gabriel era.
The production value has this rugged DIY charm even when they are reaching for the heavens sonically and thematically. Production on prog records from this time can be a huge turn off for me, but man I love the sound and feel of this record.
I decided a while ago this record eclipsed Selling England for me. While I still love that album (and the other PG era records), Foxtrot is my most listened and most beloved. This album has been with me before I could count Apocalypse in 9/8. Incredible, fantastical, transcendental, and so important to me.
Favorite tracks: Watcher of the Skies, Get Em Out By Friday, Supper's Ready.
Drummer: Phil Collins [First added to this chart: 10/03/2015]
So much to say about such an iconic record. But here we are I guess.
Over time, David Bowie’s work has purveyed my taste and listening habits more and more substantially until, overwhelmingly, he became a top tier favorite.
It started with Hunky Dory, one of my favorites in its own right. In fact, Hunky Dory was my top Bowie choice on this chart for years until recently, reaching as high as 13 or 14 I believe. But in recent years, I haven’t returned to that record (as fabulous an album as it is) as much as I have records like Station To Station and this one, the marvelous Ziggy Stardust.
Okay okay so yeah Ziggy is an androgynous alien sent to inform the planet blah blah blah.. we all know the story (one that actually holds up conceptually and thematically better than I think some people give it credit for). What we should acknowledge is how the story is one of a few key elements that makes The Rise and Fall such a brilliant album for AND ahead of the time it was released. He’s leading the glam rock charge while elevating the genre out of the streets and clubs and into the stratosphere.
Musically, the arrangements and orchestral passages serve as music that so mesmerizingly has one foot on Earth’s soil and the other one high above the clouds. Mick Ronson’s beautiful outro to Moonage Daydream is just one example of what I’m talking about. The majestic opener Five Years is another.
Lyrically, Bowie polished some absolute gems on this album too. Going back to Five Years, a song about and dripping in foreboding and impending catastrophe, the lyrics are so provocatively descriptive. Even down to the most minute but somehow very important details.. “Think I saw you at an ice cream parlor. Drinking milkshakes cold and long. Smiling and waving and looking so fine. Didn’t think you knew you were in this song.” Bowie is placing us not only in the song, but unexpected witnesses to the oncoming devastation of Earth. And if that’s not an example of how moving words in a song can be, I’m not really sure what is.
I really think this album excels fantastically with its pacing and having an overall high quality track list, one of the best in fact. For me, Ziggy Stardust is unequivocally and undeniably a 10 and one of this life’s great recordings. I only love it more as time goes on.
Favorite tracks: Five Years, Moonage Daydream, Rock & Roll Suicide
Drummer: Mick Woodsmansy [First added to this chart: 10/04/2015]
It’s strange to say it, but this album seems so underrated. I say it’s strange because Yellow Brick Road has been such a staple in my life, a record I loved on first listen and have returned to so many times over the years. But it doesn’t get anywhere near the credit it deserves, especially as a double record.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road begins with what I feel is Elton’s best track. Love Lies Bleeding appeals to the progger, the rocker, and the songwriting enthusiast in me. It is simply one of the greatest opening tracks you can write for a record. The brilliance doesn’t end there as the next handful of tracks have all experienced long lasting radio play and deservingly so. As the record moves along, the deeper cuts offer some of my favorite Elton songs including I’ve Seen That Movie Too, This Song Has No Title, and All The Girls Love Alice.
Elton’s songwriting is in top form, there are some incredible Bernie Taupin lyrics, and Elton’s band have some iconic and fiery moments all over this album.
This record has had a true impact on me and possibly even before my birth. My whole family loved this record when it came out and my mom references it as a favorite to this day. My aunts and uncles, same story. A number of my friends through the years have expressed adoration for this masterpiece too.
Take some time to take this one in. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Favorite tracks: Each of the first 4 songs, This Song Has No Title, All The Young Girls Love Alice
Drummer: Nigel Olsen [First added to this chart: 04/15/2015]
A powerhouse. A staple in heavy music. An essential. A nearly flawless masterpiece. The first two and last two tracks alone make this a candidate for greatest metal album ever. If Bruce Dickinson's vocals were ever stronger and basically more perfect than on this one, I must not have the album.
Like so much of the first batch of Iron Maiden records, the playing and the music is phenomenal, but the vocals and lyrics are what make this a truly immersive album to delve in to, and one I never tire of returning to. Listen to the story telling on a song like Rime of the Ancient Mariner or the album's title track. Putting on this album is like opening a great book, and the book of Powerslave is one not just of song and scripture, but one of personal power. Magical memories surround this album so strongly for me that it's as if I'm a character in its story.
Favorite tracks: Aces High, Powerslave, Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Drummer: Nicko McBrain [First added to this chart: 10/03/2015]
I love the Yes Album and Fragile is great too, but I think as a fan of prog rock, I can't go against one of the finest works in the genre's history, Close To The Edge. This album is absolutely mystical. Close to the Edge is brilliant, And You And I is beautiful, and Siberian Khatru is simply wild with one of the band’s best riffs. What a work of art. OH, and it's another album I saw played in it's entirety!
Favorite track: And You And I
Drummer: Bill Bruford [First added to this chart: 12/02/2014]
Peter Gabriel was a genius long before this album. Probably around the time that he dressed up in a red dress and fox head in Dublin, 1972 while fronting the legendary prog outfit, Genesis. 14 years and a band split later, this album merely cements his status as one of the most brilliant and interesting artists, composers, and multi-instrumentalists if the last 50 years.
'So' is such a tasteful blend of pop, rock, new wave, and world music, which is one of the album’s many strengths as far as it’s replay-ability and vitality as a classic album.
Even as drenched in 80’s culture and clamor as the album is, I only feel more connected to So as time goes on. There’s still so much fun to be had with these songs and so many generally marvelous moments across its runtime that I can’t help but officially call So an album that is aging well, not just a nostalgic 80’s favorite.
With lush arrangements ranging from glittery and billowy to murky and brooding, So is absolutely, and without a shadow of a doubt, one of the very best albums of the 1980’s.
Favorite tracks: Red Rain, Mercy Street, Sledgehammer
Drummer(s): Manu Katche', Jerry Moratta, Stewart Copeland, [First added to this chart: 12/02/2014]
A perfect mix of blues, rock, funk and jazz. Certainly one of Jeff Beck's best albums and one of the finest examples of the fusion era with amazing grooves, hooks, and melodies. To me, these performances are a world away from his first blues rock offerings.
Blow By Blow was one of those game changing records for me as a young drummer, and of course I still draw inspiration from it today. Really, a great listen and a lot of fun every time.
Favorite tracks: Cause We've Ended As Lovers, Thelonious, Constipated Duck
Drummer: Richard Bailey [First added to this chart: 03/21/2014]
While not my absolute favorite from the Fab 4, it's essentially as close to perfection as a rock record has achieved in the genre's history. The Beatles pushed a lot of boundaries here and really influenced everyone, themselves included, in terms of songwriting and production.
Every song on here is great, and makes for a pretty perfect listening experience. Eleanor Rigby is one of the finest tracks I've ever heard. I remember hearing it on the radio long before ever giving a crap about The Beatles and trying to keep my jaw off the floor. Chilling. It also shows Paul's genius as a writer and narrator.
Favorite tracks: Eleanor Rigby, And Your Bird Can Sing, Tomorrow Never Knows
Drummer: Ringo Starr [First added to this chart: 10/16/2015]
Every good word uttered about The Dark Side of the Moon is earned. Immersive and expansive only begin to scratch the surface of what this record is and what it has to offer. As an album experience, it is unmatched in its completeness and its heady intensity. From the ominous tolling of Time to the batshit vocal performance that leaves me breathless on Great Gig in the Sky to the one-two outro punch of Brain Damage/Eclipse closing the album with a preposterous amount of grandiosity, there’s nothing quite like Dark Side of the Moon.
With headphones, Dark Side is like staring into the void for 40 minutes, coming out on the other side with something that resembles a lesson. And the lesson I continue to take from it is life, while cacophonous and just straight looney at times, is all we have and it’s precious.
Don’t discredit it just because of its popularity. 10/10 is not enough for this album.
Favorite Tracks: Time, The Great Gig in the Sky, Brain Damage/Eclipse
Drummer: Nick Mason [First added to this chart: 12/02/2014]
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
Decade | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
1930s | 0 | 0% | |
1940s | 0 | 0% | |
1950s | 1 | 1% | |
1960s | 10 | 10% | |
1970s | 34 | 34% | |
1980s | 13 | 13% | |
1990s | 21 | 21% | |
2000s | 13 | 13% | |
2010s | 6 | 6% | |
2020s | 2 | 2% |
Artist | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
Rush | 4 | 4% | |
Genesis | 3 | 3% | |
Stevie Wonder | 3 | 3% | |
David Bowie | 3 | 3% | |
The Beatles | 3 | 3% | |
Metallica | 3 | 3% | |
Tool | 3 | 3% | |
Show all |
Country | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
|
|||
58 | 58% | ||
28 | 28% | ||
6 | 6% | ||
3 | 3% | ||
2 | 2% | ||
1 | 1% | ||
1 | 1% | ||
Show all |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
Biggest climbers |
---|
Up 7 from 97th to 90th Nevermind by Nirvana |
Up 7 from 88th to 81st Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience |
Up 3 from 83rd to 80th Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush |
Biggest fallers |
---|
Down 5 from 86th to 91st White Pony by Deftones |
Down 3 from 80th to 83rd Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus |
Down 3 from 81st to 84th The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem |
New entries |
---|
To Be Kind by Swans |
Leavers |
---|
Temple Of The Dog by Temple Of The Dog |
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
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 83 ratings for this chart.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
03/06/2024 20:43 | Moondance | 455 | 84/100 | |
05/02/2023 03:05 | ffudnebbuh | 653 | 91/100 | |
03/04/2023 19:28 | bobnickmad | 23 | 88/100 | |
01/30/2023 16:43 | Goliath | 348 | 86/100 | |
10/13/2022 20:00 | BLO | 27 | 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).
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This chart is rated in the top 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.3/100, a mean average of 90.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.4.
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
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nice variety
5 stars just for time and effort given to your chart. Some absolute beautiful albums in your Top 100.?
Great chart both on diversity and quality.
Great chart and really diggin the notes accompanying the albums. Trying to do more of this myself but failing miserably
Fascinating chart. Enjoyed the intro & album commentary ~ and appreciate the effort required to put the chart together. The chart is far too US-centric for my tastes - but I respect your choices, however they fall. Interestingly, you have Born To Run at #2 & I have it at #3; and the line you quote from the album is also my favourite line ~ so we have that and another 9 albums in common.
i have to give your chart a 100, excellent albums you choose, steview wonder along with prince and bowie are for me top 3 solo artists ever, if you count jazz then is bowie, miles davis, stevie and prince
Hey man, I've come back to your chart - somehow on a first glance I gave it a 95, but it easily deserves a 100. This is the best chart I have read. Love your work - many similar tastes to mine, and the descriptions and stories within are awesome. From a bass player to a drummer - rock on dude!
Love it!
Great taste and like your writing , keep going
You put a lot of effort on this chart and you have a lot of really good picks. Really good chart!
11/2/2020
The chart is yet again in transition mode (as always, but now moreso than in a while). Been taking in a lot of music new to me, a lot of music that I'm loving and resonating with. The chart will slowly but surely show that and the specific examples of what I'm talking about.
Just wanted to reach out to everybody who has given me high scores recently, it's always cool to see that every once in a while. However, there's more additions to include, more rearranging to be done, and much better descriptions. I've been feeling very motivated recently.
And look at that.. only 435 chart versions in....
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Best Artists of 1976 | |
---|---|
1. Stevie Wonder | |
2. David Bowie | |
3. Ramones | |
4. Eagles | |
5. Boston | |
6. Genesis | |
7. Rush | |
8. Bob Dylan | |
9. The Modern Lovers | |
10. Joni Mitchell | |
11. Thin Lizzy | |
12. Electric Light Orchestra | |
13. Rainbow | |
14. AC/DC | |
15. Steely Dan | |
16. Led Zeppelin | |
17. Queen | |
18. Jean Michel Jarre | |
19. Jorge Ben | |
20. Aerosmith |