Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by 
Repo 
- Chart updated: 08/18/2025 23:45
- (Created: 06/17/2014 23:52).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 53 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Greatest Music Albums has an average rating of 95 out of 100 (from 78 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.
This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1980s. (Remove this filter)
Buy album
- #Sponsored
THE BATHROOM
Aka Rectangles Don’t Roll
"As a matter of fact, when we cut the tracks they sucked. Jeffrey was stiff. I thought, 'Oh my God… disaster.' I went out and bought him a big bottle of champagne, that’s all I could afford. I said, 'Drink all that and then we’ll cut it, ‘cause I’m not touching the record button until you’re drunk.'" Recollected by Tito Larriva [vocalist & guitarist for The Plugz]
The Setting: It smells. Puddles of piss every which way. The toilet bowl doesn’t even have a lid. You pretty much have to squat just to take a shit. And then, to add insult to injury, good luck wiping it up. Because the toilet paper dispenser is almost always impossible to turn. Yielding nothing but one useless dainty sheet at a time. Just a matter of physics really, as the TP is wedged onto a rectangular wooden block that's been nailed into the wall. So it's NOT on an actual rotating cylinder. Just a rectangle cube nailed into the wall. And rectangles don’t roll!
BUT, us misfits of Reagan’s America wouldn’t have had it any other way. Trust me - those bathrooms kept the Biffs & Heathers FAR away. So for us, it became home. It was a place where people got our jokes. Our sensibilities. Our values. And, not unimportantly, it was a place where you could get $1 dollar PBRs and hear a decent song playing on the jukebox after a long ass day at work.
You see, Jeffrey Lee Pierce – chief resident genius of The Gun Club - didn’t come from the swamps. No. Jeffrey was born from the American Underground and its swamp-ass bathrooms. THIS was a place where even he and his suicidal, self-destructive tendencies could flourish. At least for a day.
The Listen: It sounds like it's all about to come undone. Jeffrey staggers, one hand on the mic and one with a death grip on his Boone's and careens & stumbles into drum kit. The drummer's not fazed though. Never even misses a beat. He and the rest of the band have seen, nay endured, this all before. That’s just Jeffery, they collectively shrug. Unfettered. Unchained. And off his rails. You see this is an album of Jeffrey trying to escape. And not realizing that the person he needed to escape from was himself. It's an album of someone who needed music as much as the music needed him. This is the sound of someone killing himself – with alcohol, with drugs – in order to just feel alright. Jeffrey was so repressed, it took a bottle of cheap-ass, piss-poor champagne just to free himself from himself. We all, more or less, have an imprisoned Jeffrey lurking in our brains. Holding us back. Killing us.
Let YOUR Jeffrey free today!
The Verdict: One of the most important albums of the entire American Underground. Right up there with anything by Husker Du, The Minutemen, or even the almighty Black Flag. It is album about escape. And music as the source of that escape. And THAT is what the American Underground was always all about. And until Kurdt broke the code , it was a great place to be. Shitty, broke-ass, cum-shotted bathrooms and all.
The Rating: Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil [First added to this chart: 11/12/2022]
Aka Rectangles Don’t Roll
"As a matter of fact, when we cut the tracks they sucked. Jeffrey was stiff. I thought, 'Oh my God… disaster.' I went out and bought him a big bottle of champagne, that’s all I could afford. I said, 'Drink all that and then we’ll cut it, ‘cause I’m not touching the record button until you’re drunk.'" Recollected by Tito Larriva [vocalist & guitarist for The Plugz]
The Setting: It smells. Puddles of piss every which way. The toilet bowl doesn’t even have a lid. You pretty much have to squat just to take a shit. And then, to add insult to injury, good luck wiping it up. Because the toilet paper dispenser is almost always impossible to turn. Yielding nothing but one useless dainty sheet at a time. Just a matter of physics really, as the TP is wedged onto a rectangular wooden block that's been nailed into the wall. So it's NOT on an actual rotating cylinder. Just a rectangle cube nailed into the wall. And rectangles don’t roll!
BUT, us misfits of Reagan’s America wouldn’t have had it any other way. Trust me - those bathrooms kept the Biffs & Heathers FAR away. So for us, it became home. It was a place where people got our jokes. Our sensibilities. Our values. And, not unimportantly, it was a place where you could get $1 dollar PBRs and hear a decent song playing on the jukebox after a long ass day at work.
You see, Jeffrey Lee Pierce – chief resident genius of The Gun Club - didn’t come from the swamps. No. Jeffrey was born from the American Underground and its swamp-ass bathrooms. THIS was a place where even he and his suicidal, self-destructive tendencies could flourish. At least for a day.
The Listen: It sounds like it's all about to come undone. Jeffrey staggers, one hand on the mic and one with a death grip on his Boone's and careens & stumbles into drum kit. The drummer's not fazed though. Never even misses a beat. He and the rest of the band have seen, nay endured, this all before. That’s just Jeffery, they collectively shrug. Unfettered. Unchained. And off his rails. You see this is an album of Jeffrey trying to escape. And not realizing that the person he needed to escape from was himself. It's an album of someone who needed music as much as the music needed him. This is the sound of someone killing himself – with alcohol, with drugs – in order to just feel alright. Jeffrey was so repressed, it took a bottle of cheap-ass, piss-poor champagne just to free himself from himself. We all, more or less, have an imprisoned Jeffrey lurking in our brains. Holding us back. Killing us.
Let YOUR Jeffrey free today!
The Verdict: One of the most important albums of the entire American Underground. Right up there with anything by Husker Du, The Minutemen, or even the almighty Black Flag. It is album about escape. And music as the source of that escape. And THAT is what the American Underground was always all about. And until Kurdt broke the code , it was a great place to be. Shitty, broke-ass, cum-shotted bathrooms and all.
The Rating: Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil [First added to this chart: 11/12/2022]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,739
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
16
Buy album
- #Sponsored
A BUCOLIC DAY IN THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE
Well this came out of nowhere! It's simple, but alluring piano passages combined with found sounds that is magically and movingly transportive. It’s like stepping into a wardrobe and emerging in a land of unicorns and butterflies ( can you tell I have two girls! lol). The countryside of Totoro essentially springs to life. And you find yourself sunning on a field of buttercups or whatever as warm, peaceful church bells echo in the distance. An overwhelming sense of calmness enters your bones and you believe that magic is not just possible but real. But it’s not overly pretty or overdone. It’s all very tasteful and not a bit new agey.
It has two distinct sides with side a being incredibly playful and joyful and side b being more on the somber side of things as the day comes to an end.
Grade: A+. I’ve only been at this a short time , but it is definitely the most unique and alluring ambient album I’ve ever heard. And it immediately shoots to the top of my little chart. [First added to this chart: 03/24/2017]
Well this came out of nowhere! It's simple, but alluring piano passages combined with found sounds that is magically and movingly transportive. It’s like stepping into a wardrobe and emerging in a land of unicorns and butterflies ( can you tell I have two girls! lol). The countryside of Totoro essentially springs to life. And you find yourself sunning on a field of buttercups or whatever as warm, peaceful church bells echo in the distance. An overwhelming sense of calmness enters your bones and you believe that magic is not just possible but real. But it’s not overly pretty or overdone. It’s all very tasteful and not a bit new agey.
It has two distinct sides with side a being incredibly playful and joyful and side b being more on the somber side of things as the day comes to an end.
Grade: A+. I’ve only been at this a short time , but it is definitely the most unique and alluring ambient album I’ve ever heard. And it immediately shoots to the top of my little chart. [First added to this chart: 03/24/2017]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
WINTER THAWS
Something happened. What is not clear. But something happened in between Treasure and Victorialand. Some of my sources (& I have many) tell me that Guthrie & Frasier rekindled their love. Others tell me that bassist Simon Raymonde, who was absent for this session & not missed in the slightest, is simply a mega downer. But whatever the cause, whatever the reason, their is a warmth to this album that was not present on their three previous releases. The iciness that used to cover their songs like the morning frost is gone. Winter has thawed and the pearly dewdrops of a new spring shimmer & bask in the rays of the early rising Summer sun. It’s like the black & white world that dominated Cocteau Twins world for so long has been colored in with a super deluxe Crayola crayon set. A softness and gentleness is present. Instead of a cold shoulder, we are given a warm, much needed hug.
Whereas on Treasure, Fraser sounded in pain. Tormented. Like she was exorcising some demons deep inside her. Here, those demons are long gone. Newly saved by the Lord, she’s turned into a loving Pentecostal preacher. A channeler. Taken over by the Holy Spirit and singing in tongues. She is not in control. She is simply a conduit letting the higher forces of goodness work their magic through her. Delivering holy radiance to the masses to heal us. Save us. To let us know that the universe is a divine and wondrous place. That the Gods still exists and are taking care of us. She’s certainly not speaking in English or any other language decipherable by mere human ears. No, she speaks in an ancient tongue long forgotten. A remnant from when the Gods still roamed the the Earth and mated with mortals. And perhaps that was what actually happened. For if any mortal could lure one of the Gods back down to earth for a toss in the hay with just her voice, it is certainly Elizabeth.
Grade: A+. It’s funny. Back in my teens and twenties this was (by far) my least favorite Cocteau Twins album. (Well, except for Four Calendar Cafe which I don’t even count and quickly gave to my Mom. What can I say. My Mom loves Enya. Give her a break. She’s a Mom.) Anyways, back then I loved the dark goth of their early albums and the shoe gaze wonders of Heaven or Las Vegas, but I could never quite get into Victorialand. It was too mellow. Too “nice”. It was missing the bleak drum machine and bass lines that belted out on their early releases. I wanted to be consumed by their dark power. Now, I have embraced the light. The warmth. The sunshine. And you know what? Warmth & sunshine suits them. And this is unquestionably their best. The fullest fruition & distillation of the magic of their inimitable sound. And my chart gives it a big warm hug and channels it all the way to number four. [First added to this chart: 05/30/2017]
Something happened. What is not clear. But something happened in between Treasure and Victorialand. Some of my sources (& I have many) tell me that Guthrie & Frasier rekindled their love. Others tell me that bassist Simon Raymonde, who was absent for this session & not missed in the slightest, is simply a mega downer. But whatever the cause, whatever the reason, their is a warmth to this album that was not present on their three previous releases. The iciness that used to cover their songs like the morning frost is gone. Winter has thawed and the pearly dewdrops of a new spring shimmer & bask in the rays of the early rising Summer sun. It’s like the black & white world that dominated Cocteau Twins world for so long has been colored in with a super deluxe Crayola crayon set. A softness and gentleness is present. Instead of a cold shoulder, we are given a warm, much needed hug.
Whereas on Treasure, Fraser sounded in pain. Tormented. Like she was exorcising some demons deep inside her. Here, those demons are long gone. Newly saved by the Lord, she’s turned into a loving Pentecostal preacher. A channeler. Taken over by the Holy Spirit and singing in tongues. She is not in control. She is simply a conduit letting the higher forces of goodness work their magic through her. Delivering holy radiance to the masses to heal us. Save us. To let us know that the universe is a divine and wondrous place. That the Gods still exists and are taking care of us. She’s certainly not speaking in English or any other language decipherable by mere human ears. No, she speaks in an ancient tongue long forgotten. A remnant from when the Gods still roamed the the Earth and mated with mortals. And perhaps that was what actually happened. For if any mortal could lure one of the Gods back down to earth for a toss in the hay with just her voice, it is certainly Elizabeth.
Grade: A+. It’s funny. Back in my teens and twenties this was (by far) my least favorite Cocteau Twins album. (Well, except for Four Calendar Cafe which I don’t even count and quickly gave to my Mom. What can I say. My Mom loves Enya. Give her a break. She’s a Mom.) Anyways, back then I loved the dark goth of their early albums and the shoe gaze wonders of Heaven or Las Vegas, but I could never quite get into Victorialand. It was too mellow. Too “nice”. It was missing the bleak drum machine and bass lines that belted out on their early releases. I wanted to be consumed by their dark power. Now, I have embraced the light. The warmth. The sunshine. And you know what? Warmth & sunshine suits them. And this is unquestionably their best. The fullest fruition & distillation of the magic of their inimitable sound. And my chart gives it a big warm hug and channels it all the way to number four. [First added to this chart: 05/30/2017]
Year of Release:
1986
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,050
Rank in 1986:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
It’s the Riffs, Stupid!
You could point to any number of reasons why this album was such a success. The album that instantly transformed them into legends in the metal underground. The album that is considered the gate post to seemingly every branch of metal. Black Metal. Death Metal. Even Doom! One reason, as Tom G. Warrior (TGW), Celtic Frost's guitarist and vocalist, points out is that they played slowed-down, heavier versions of Venomsongs. Before rehearsals, they would play Venom’s In The League Of Satan at 45 RPM instead of 33RPM just to make it that much heavier. And that became their goal. To sound like that.
Or as another reason, (and I just love this quote from TGW), “We weren’t good enough on our instruments at the time to emulate something more sophisticated, so punk was within the realm of the achievable”. TGW continues “…Discharge, which to me was a revolution, much like Venom. When I first heard the first two Discharge records, I was blown away. I was just starting to play an instrument, and I had no idea that you could go so far. Discharge totally opened my eyes.”
So they were heavy. And they were primitive. But, what throws them over the top, what makes them until this very day gods of extreme metal, were the riffs. The heaviest riffs imaginable completely on par with even the mighty Sabbath!
And of course, TGW’s creative ear. They may have changed their names from Hellhammer to Celtic Frost because they yearned to play better, but cutting to the chase, they still couldn’t really play their instruments. But, it didn’t matter! They had an ear for this shit. Like Venom before them, they were metal visionaries. They saw potential that people even with (or should I say especially with!) classical training just couldn’t see. Instead, TGW used his whammy bar and production overdubs like a weapon. Distorting notes in ways others said couldn’t work. As TGW said… “Most classical musicians would say ‘You cannot do that’ or ‘You cannot overdub that’ – just every possible denial. It was always a huge struggle to get them to do what we wanted to do, but at the end of the day everybody was always fascinated that it actually worked.” Amen to that! [First added to this chart: 05/27/2020]
You could point to any number of reasons why this album was such a success. The album that instantly transformed them into legends in the metal underground. The album that is considered the gate post to seemingly every branch of metal. Black Metal. Death Metal. Even Doom! One reason, as Tom G. Warrior (TGW), Celtic Frost's guitarist and vocalist, points out is that they played slowed-down, heavier versions of Venomsongs. Before rehearsals, they would play Venom’s In The League Of Satan at 45 RPM instead of 33RPM just to make it that much heavier. And that became their goal. To sound like that.
Or as another reason, (and I just love this quote from TGW), “We weren’t good enough on our instruments at the time to emulate something more sophisticated, so punk was within the realm of the achievable”. TGW continues “…Discharge, which to me was a revolution, much like Venom. When I first heard the first two Discharge records, I was blown away. I was just starting to play an instrument, and I had no idea that you could go so far. Discharge totally opened my eyes.”
So they were heavy. And they were primitive. But, what throws them over the top, what makes them until this very day gods of extreme metal, were the riffs. The heaviest riffs imaginable completely on par with even the mighty Sabbath!
And of course, TGW’s creative ear. They may have changed their names from Hellhammer to Celtic Frost because they yearned to play better, but cutting to the chase, they still couldn’t really play their instruments. But, it didn’t matter! They had an ear for this shit. Like Venom before them, they were metal visionaries. They saw potential that people even with (or should I say especially with!) classical training just couldn’t see. Instead, TGW used his whammy bar and production overdubs like a weapon. Distorting notes in ways others said couldn’t work. As TGW said… “Most classical musicians would say ‘You cannot do that’ or ‘You cannot overdub that’ – just every possible denial. It was always a huge struggle to get them to do what we wanted to do, but at the end of the day everybody was always fascinated that it actually worked.” Amen to that! [First added to this chart: 05/27/2020]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Caress Of Steel
I remember waiting for them as a kid. The good part. That part in some rock n’ roll song that would just take me over the top. The anticipation would build & build then... BANG! Cirith Ungol knows all about it. Waiting for that good part. And they had an idea. A brilliant idea. Let's just make songs chock full to the brim with the good parts! Like a super satisfying ooey-gooey Snickers bar!
Well, kiddies, that’s how you get one of the coolest rock fests in America – Frost & Fire (in Ventura, California) – named after you even when you’ve only sold about six albums and no one outside of inner metal circles have ever even heard of you. In many ways, Cirith Ungol were an indie rock metal band. Having more in common with cult Portland garage rockers Dead Moon than traditional metal bands like Raven and Accept. Their songs brim with creativity and wit. Musically, they channel early Rush at their most metallic. But there’s a manic indie rock creative streak that runs through all their songs. Cool eerie keyboards straight from Goblin here. A gum popping bass line there. Good parts everywhere!
If you’re into underground metal, it really doesn’t get any better than this. And it's easily one of my favorite finds yet on this journey. Essential (E)! [First added to this chart: 09/25/2020]
I remember waiting for them as a kid. The good part. That part in some rock n’ roll song that would just take me over the top. The anticipation would build & build then... BANG! Cirith Ungol knows all about it. Waiting for that good part. And they had an idea. A brilliant idea. Let's just make songs chock full to the brim with the good parts! Like a super satisfying ooey-gooey Snickers bar!
Well, kiddies, that’s how you get one of the coolest rock fests in America – Frost & Fire (in Ventura, California) – named after you even when you’ve only sold about six albums and no one outside of inner metal circles have ever even heard of you. In many ways, Cirith Ungol were an indie rock metal band. Having more in common with cult Portland garage rockers Dead Moon than traditional metal bands like Raven and Accept. Their songs brim with creativity and wit. Musically, they channel early Rush at their most metallic. But there’s a manic indie rock creative streak that runs through all their songs. Cool eerie keyboards straight from Goblin here. A gum popping bass line there. Good parts everywhere!
If you’re into underground metal, it really doesn’t get any better than this. And it's easily one of my favorite finds yet on this journey. Essential (E)! [First added to this chart: 09/25/2020]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Detroit Down Under!
“I don’t think there’s an Australian sound to Radio Birdman. I think there’s a Radio Birdman sound to Australia.” – Pip Hoyle, longtime keyboard player for Radio Birdman
American expat. ER doctor. US Navy flight surgeon. Deniz Tek – the lead guitarist of Radio Birdman - is the most interesting man alive. Ready but, oh, so not willing, to star in the next battery of Dos Equis commercials. Tek has little patience for such pampering. When asked about the tough life of being a rock and roller, Tek nonchalantly replies..
“Touring’s not difficult. When people talk about the hardship of the road, that’s a bunch of crap. Touring is spending all day getting to the next place and then having someone buy you dinner. Then you work for an hour and a half, and go to sleep. The next morning, you go to the next place. I mean, what could be easier than that?
Growing up on the outskirts of Detroit in the 60s, the son of a University of Michigan professor, Motor City madness runs through his veins. He recounts...
“The annual Ann Arbor Blues Festival brought in Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Hound Dog Taylor… even Led Zeppelin played there. It was cool, Led Zeppelin got kind of a lukewarm response, then One String Sam came up and brought the place down. It was like One-String Sam blew Led Zeppelin off the stage. Everyone thought that was really cool.”
A lot of people describe Radio Birdman as proto-punk. While not entirely inaccurate, it’s not entirely accurate either. A better descriptor would be proto-American Underground. Or Proto-Australian Rock. Or even proto-Kiwi Rock. More akin music evolutionary-wise to the impact of The Velvet Underground. Their sonic descendants were not so much punk bands but the broad swath of 80s American Underground bands that made up such kindred scenes as the Paisley Underground and Cowpunk. Bands like The Dream Syndicate, The Feelies, The Meat Puppets and Eleventh Dream Day.
I'm going to blame it on Australia. On the wide-open spaces. On the surf. For there's a decided pastoral element to their music. They are less city than they think they are. Or pretend to be. And that juxtaposition is what makes them stand out compared with so many of their Class of '77 brethren and ultimately makes them essential listening.
Tldr: If their record company Sire hadn't gone belly-up, they probably would have been one of the biggest names of the Class of '77. Instead they're one of the biggest & most legendary cult bands of indie rock. These are...
The TWO you NEED
1. Radios Appear (1977)
2. Living Eyes (1981) [First added to this chart: 08/17/2020]
“I don’t think there’s an Australian sound to Radio Birdman. I think there’s a Radio Birdman sound to Australia.” – Pip Hoyle, longtime keyboard player for Radio Birdman
American expat. ER doctor. US Navy flight surgeon. Deniz Tek – the lead guitarist of Radio Birdman - is the most interesting man alive. Ready but, oh, so not willing, to star in the next battery of Dos Equis commercials. Tek has little patience for such pampering. When asked about the tough life of being a rock and roller, Tek nonchalantly replies..
“Touring’s not difficult. When people talk about the hardship of the road, that’s a bunch of crap. Touring is spending all day getting to the next place and then having someone buy you dinner. Then you work for an hour and a half, and go to sleep. The next morning, you go to the next place. I mean, what could be easier than that?
Growing up on the outskirts of Detroit in the 60s, the son of a University of Michigan professor, Motor City madness runs through his veins. He recounts...
“The annual Ann Arbor Blues Festival brought in Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Hound Dog Taylor… even Led Zeppelin played there. It was cool, Led Zeppelin got kind of a lukewarm response, then One String Sam came up and brought the place down. It was like One-String Sam blew Led Zeppelin off the stage. Everyone thought that was really cool.”
A lot of people describe Radio Birdman as proto-punk. While not entirely inaccurate, it’s not entirely accurate either. A better descriptor would be proto-American Underground. Or Proto-Australian Rock. Or even proto-Kiwi Rock. More akin music evolutionary-wise to the impact of The Velvet Underground. Their sonic descendants were not so much punk bands but the broad swath of 80s American Underground bands that made up such kindred scenes as the Paisley Underground and Cowpunk. Bands like The Dream Syndicate, The Feelies, The Meat Puppets and Eleventh Dream Day.
I'm going to blame it on Australia. On the wide-open spaces. On the surf. For there's a decided pastoral element to their music. They are less city than they think they are. Or pretend to be. And that juxtaposition is what makes them stand out compared with so many of their Class of '77 brethren and ultimately makes them essential listening.
Tldr: If their record company Sire hadn't gone belly-up, they probably would have been one of the biggest names of the Class of '77. Instead they're one of the biggest & most legendary cult bands of indie rock. These are...
The TWO you NEED
1. Radios Appear (1977)
2. Living Eyes (1981) [First added to this chart: 08/17/2020]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Swiper, Stop Swiping
1983, Speed Metal and the Great White North
Well that didn’t take long. Anvil were quickly dethroned as the speed metal champs of the Great White North only a year into their reign. They gave it a good fight. Upping their own metal game with Forged In Fire but that was no match for Exciter. Many still consider Heavy Metal Maniac the quintessential speed metal album. The bench post by which all speed metal is gauged & tallied. It’s basic, brutal no holds barred metal with zero commercial aspirations. It is Priest and Iron Maiden on steroids. All bulked out and full of brawn. You could even call it simple minded, but that would just make you a killjoy. A compact & tight brick of a band that just wanted to rock out, drink some beer and have fun. So not that far removed from Anvil. lol. Kind of makes me want to move to Canada. The older I get, the more I appreciate that approach to life. Don’t over think things. Drink a few beers on a Saturday night with friends. And, of course, rock out! [First added to this chart: 09/06/2020]
1983, Speed Metal and the Great White North
Well that didn’t take long. Anvil were quickly dethroned as the speed metal champs of the Great White North only a year into their reign. They gave it a good fight. Upping their own metal game with Forged In Fire but that was no match for Exciter. Many still consider Heavy Metal Maniac the quintessential speed metal album. The bench post by which all speed metal is gauged & tallied. It’s basic, brutal no holds barred metal with zero commercial aspirations. It is Priest and Iron Maiden on steroids. All bulked out and full of brawn. You could even call it simple minded, but that would just make you a killjoy. A compact & tight brick of a band that just wanted to rock out, drink some beer and have fun. So not that far removed from Anvil. lol. Kind of makes me want to move to Canada. The older I get, the more I appreciate that approach to life. Don’t over think things. Drink a few beers on a Saturday night with friends. And, of course, rock out! [First added to this chart: 09/06/2020]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
DOOM OFF 2!!: The Blueprint (1985)
“Man have I got the guitar player for you. You like Blue Cheer and Sabbath? This guy is both wrapped into one!” – Joe Hasselvander of Pentagram
It was a match made in, well, hell to be perfectly honest. Bobby Liebling was a notorious D.C. junkie with an opiod tolerance that could rival William S. Burroughs'. Victor Griffin was a nineteen year old hillbilly from the boondocks of Tennessee where there wasn’t even a music scene. But Victor had a serious Iommi obsession and an inventive streak. On the drop B tuning that made Pentagram the kings of doom in the mid 80s, Victor humbly states…
“Yeah, that was kind of a weird discovery. I had been messing around with a drop D tuning before and kept dropping it lower. When I got down to B, I suddenly realized that when you play a fifth chord on the top two strings, it makes this octave. I’d never heard anything like it. And I don’t know of anybody who actually did anything like that before. Even Sabbath!”
Everyone told Victor that Bobby Liebling was bad news. He was unreliable. A prima-donna. Bobby perhaps says it best himself…
“I was shooting dope like crazy then. I wasn’t smoking crack because it hadn’t been invented yet. At this point all the veins in my arms and leg were gone. [So] I went right out and started shooting dope in my neck! [Laughs] I’m a walking miracle, man. God Let me live twice. “
But after Victor heard Bobby’s 70s demos, his mind was made up. Insisting, “I don’t care – I want this guy to sing.“ And that was that. Bobby was his singer. And together they made Doom history with what I personally consider THE Blueprint of Doom. Leaden, monstrous Sabbath riffs so heavy they suck you down to the ground as Bobby’s Ozzy-like yelps and wails fight against their relentless gravitational pull. It was Sabbath stripped down to the chassis and then tripped out as the ultimate muscle car from Tarantino’s Death Trip. Drop B tuning being the engine that powered the whole damn thing and made them the kings of the strip. (At least for a year. Wink ) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2020]
“Man have I got the guitar player for you. You like Blue Cheer and Sabbath? This guy is both wrapped into one!” – Joe Hasselvander of Pentagram
It was a match made in, well, hell to be perfectly honest. Bobby Liebling was a notorious D.C. junkie with an opiod tolerance that could rival William S. Burroughs'. Victor Griffin was a nineteen year old hillbilly from the boondocks of Tennessee where there wasn’t even a music scene. But Victor had a serious Iommi obsession and an inventive streak. On the drop B tuning that made Pentagram the kings of doom in the mid 80s, Victor humbly states…
“Yeah, that was kind of a weird discovery. I had been messing around with a drop D tuning before and kept dropping it lower. When I got down to B, I suddenly realized that when you play a fifth chord on the top two strings, it makes this octave. I’d never heard anything like it. And I don’t know of anybody who actually did anything like that before. Even Sabbath!”
Everyone told Victor that Bobby Liebling was bad news. He was unreliable. A prima-donna. Bobby perhaps says it best himself…
“I was shooting dope like crazy then. I wasn’t smoking crack because it hadn’t been invented yet. At this point all the veins in my arms and leg were gone. [So] I went right out and started shooting dope in my neck! [Laughs] I’m a walking miracle, man. God Let me live twice. “
But after Victor heard Bobby’s 70s demos, his mind was made up. Insisting, “I don’t care – I want this guy to sing.“ And that was that. Bobby was his singer. And together they made Doom history with what I personally consider THE Blueprint of Doom. Leaden, monstrous Sabbath riffs so heavy they suck you down to the ground as Bobby’s Ozzy-like yelps and wails fight against their relentless gravitational pull. It was Sabbath stripped down to the chassis and then tripped out as the ultimate muscle car from Tarantino’s Death Trip. Drop B tuning being the engine that powered the whole damn thing and made them the kings of the strip. (At least for a year. Wink ) [First added to this chart: 07/18/2020]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Why are the Italians so bloody good at the macabre?! I need answers. Pronto. Do they all just have super messed up childhoods? Seriously! What the fuck is going on over there. And please, my Italian friends - Keep it up!
Anyways, Black Hole do their Italian heritage loud & proud. These 70s' kids reared on Dario Argento flicks and Goblin soundtracks tracks unleash the synths to create a true mind melding underground cult classic. The whole thing is shrouded with the occult. Like walking in on some bizarre black mass chanting to their demonic lord to rise and come forth. And then the high priest steps forth with Bauhaus' The Sky's Gone Out held high. And so we pray! Because this is 80s Doom meets 80s's Goth where Bauhaus and The Cure influences walk "hand in hand forever we land" with those of Witchfinder General. Take “Land of Mystery”’s warbled bass line for instance. That could easily have been lifted from an old Cure song. Shit, even the guitar solo has that classic Robert Smith's swirling dervish feel to it. Amen! [First added to this chart: 07/18/2020]
Anyways, Black Hole do their Italian heritage loud & proud. These 70s' kids reared on Dario Argento flicks and Goblin soundtracks tracks unleash the synths to create a true mind melding underground cult classic. The whole thing is shrouded with the occult. Like walking in on some bizarre black mass chanting to their demonic lord to rise and come forth. And then the high priest steps forth with Bauhaus' The Sky's Gone Out held high. And so we pray! Because this is 80s Doom meets 80s's Goth where Bauhaus and The Cure influences walk "hand in hand forever we land" with those of Witchfinder General. Take “Land of Mystery”’s warbled bass line for instance. That could easily have been lifted from an old Cure song. Shit, even the guitar solo has that classic Robert Smith's swirling dervish feel to it. Amen! [First added to this chart: 07/18/2020]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Back Of The Bus (1983)
And here we finally are. The most important band in the entire history of extreme metal. Bar none. In the mid to late 80s pretty much every extreme band wanted to be Slayer. They were the muse. The inspiration. What everyone reached for. And it all started here with Show No Mercy.
I’ll never forget the first time I heard it. We were riding to a jv basketball game at the very back of the bus. Me & Paul Garfinkle were sharing headphones. He had a headphone splitter so we could both listen. Paul was in a metal band with his older brother Art. I used to go watch them at Battle Of The Bands shows at a nearby high school. No one in school knew metal like Paul. Anyways, He hit play and it was instant love. Killers-era Iron Maiden on speed (check out “Crionics” to see this transformative, critical piece highlighted) with a dose of Venom and hardcore. I did NOT take out my cassette copy of Bark At The Moon to show Paul. No way. Ozzy had been relegated to the jv squad.
Show No Mercy is a unique entry in Slayer’s catalog. It was something completely new and yet something that Slayer would immediately progress from with the Haunting The Chapel EP and then of course Hell Awaits. Its closest facsimile is Metallica’s Kill 'Em All. Nowadays, it would be called Speed Metal(which I will touch on soon enough). Those two albums changed everything in 1983 – dwarfing everything else released that year. Especially Bark At The Moon (which is actually good commercial metal! So don't hate me Ozzy!). [First added to this chart: 06/10/2020]
And here we finally are. The most important band in the entire history of extreme metal. Bar none. In the mid to late 80s pretty much every extreme band wanted to be Slayer. They were the muse. The inspiration. What everyone reached for. And it all started here with Show No Mercy.
I’ll never forget the first time I heard it. We were riding to a jv basketball game at the very back of the bus. Me & Paul Garfinkle were sharing headphones. He had a headphone splitter so we could both listen. Paul was in a metal band with his older brother Art. I used to go watch them at Battle Of The Bands shows at a nearby high school. No one in school knew metal like Paul. Anyways, He hit play and it was instant love. Killers-era Iron Maiden on speed (check out “Crionics” to see this transformative, critical piece highlighted) with a dose of Venom and hardcore. I did NOT take out my cassette copy of Bark At The Moon to show Paul. No way. Ozzy had been relegated to the jv squad.
Show No Mercy is a unique entry in Slayer’s catalog. It was something completely new and yet something that Slayer would immediately progress from with the Haunting The Chapel EP and then of course Hell Awaits. Its closest facsimile is Metallica’s Kill 'Em All. Nowadays, it would be called Speed Metal(which I will touch on soon enough). Those two albums changed everything in 1983 – dwarfing everything else released that year. Especially Bark At The Moon (which is actually good commercial metal! So don't hate me Ozzy!). [First added to this chart: 06/10/2020]
Total albums: 37. Page 1 of 4
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 1 | 1% | |
| 1950s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1960s | 10 | 10% | |
| 1970s | 28 | 28% | |
| 1980s | 37 | 37% | |
| 1990s | 3 | 3% | |
| 2000s | 9 | 9% | |
| 2010s | 9 | 9% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Real Estate | 3 | 3% | |
| Scorpions | 2 | 2% | |
| Bert Jansch | 2 | 2% | |
| Bob Dylan | 2 | 2% | |
| Townes Van Zandt | 2 | 2% | |
| Saint Vitus | 2 | 2% | |
| Accept | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
50 | 50% | |
 |
29 | 29% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 10th to 11th Morbid Tales by Celtic Frost |
| Down 1 from 11th to 12th Fading Frontier by Deerhunter |
| Down 1 from 12th to 13th Money Jungle by Duke Ellington / Charlie Mingus / Max Roach |
| New entries |
|---|
 The Beach Boys Today!by The Beach Boys |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Bullshit: Repo's Top Metal Albums! | Repo | Custom chart | 2023 | |
| Favorite 1980s Metal Albums |  NoisyBeast | Custom chart | 2017 | |
| Top 34 Music Albums of the 1970s | Repo | 1970s decade chart | 2020 | |
| Top 69 Music Albums of the 1960s | Exist-en-ciel | 1960s decade chart | 2025 | |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide To The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal |  MW19704U | Custom chart | 2024 | |
| Favorite 1980s Metal Albums II | NoisyBeast | Custom chart | 2017 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | Exist-en-ciel | 2000s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 99 Music Albums of the 1970s | Exist-en-ciel | 1970s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 80's Hard Rock Albums | saltysurprise | Custom chart | 2020 | |
| Top 79 Music Albums of 1984 | vruslov | 1984 year chart | 2024 |  |
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums ratings
95/100 (from 78 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 78 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 100/100  | 08/18/2025 05:03 |  LadyGodiva | | 97/100 |
| 100/100 | 06/01/2025 12:40 |  SomethingSpecial | | 85/100 |
| 100/100 | 01/28/2025 15:58 |  Robert Anton Wil | | 91/100 |
| 100/100 | 12/23/2024 23:22 | Exist-en-ciel | | 99/100 |
| 100/100 | 11/06/2024 20:37 |  sageamagoo | | 92/100 |
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 95.4/100, a mean average of 95.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 96.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.9.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums favourites
Showing latest 20 members who have added this chart as a favourite | Show all 27 members
Top 100 Greatest Music Albums comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 53 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
100/100
From LadyGodiva 08/18/2025 05:04
LadyGodiva 08/18/2025 05:04
Ahhh Donovan… nice :). Great chart x
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From sageamagoo 11/06/2024 21:17
sageamagoo 11/06/2024 21:17
I feel refreshed seeing the authentic fruits of your musical explorations - you lived a whole different era from the majority here on BEA. The world is not so narrow, I wish more specialist listeners brought online exposure to the unique acts that impressed them. I intend to check out Exciter, Black Hole, The Vibrators and Naked Raygun to fill in my blind spot around more interesting forms of punk and metal being cooked up by non-mainstream acts on through the 80's. Woo also seriously piques my interest. There is great public value in the experience you have shared.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
DommeDamian 10/09/2023 09:56
DommeDamian 10/09/2023 09:56
Have I ever properly thanked you for making me check out Mazzy Star, Yo La Tengo, Real Estate early 70s-era Dylan, as well as revisiting Townes Van Zandt? Either way, thank you again.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Foxforce5 06/28/2023 09:46
There are 3 elements to a great chart for me.
1. Some great words to tell us why the album is there.
2. A similar taste to your own - a musical message in a bottle
3. Some new picks for my own wish list.
This chart is bristling with new recommendations for my playlist. Whole genres I’ve never explored.
2 out of 3 ain’t bad.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From mianfei 10/28/2022 03:50
One really interesting and diverse list, quite unlike anything I have ever seen here or anywhere else! Many very unusual choices and genres make this a great list. The chart has virtually nothing in common with my own chart or other lists by major magazines, Joe S. Harrington, David Keenan or Piero Scaruffi.
The notes are better than anything I have seen outside of Harrington or Keenan, too.
A minor quibble of mine is the way in which albums of the same genre are clustered together. (When I see that I always wonder if the compiler is not being careful enough to be sure they are being ranked as accurately as thought possible.) even with this reservation, it is an exceptionally interesting and well-written list.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From DommeDamian 10/25/2022 08:24
DommeDamian 10/25/2022 08:24
Still wanna the greatest charts ever made on both this site and others like RYM. I think you've inspired me to do the same one day by making a chart of lesser known records, and outta those picks, create an alternate universe so flamboyant, colorful, and exciting based on descriptions and stuff.
I think something in the beautiful Donovan description summed it up "these songs doesn't know that radio exists", because some of the favorites on this chart raises this question; what would musicians/artists do if radio never existed". The answer lies in that they probably would make something so flamboyantly authentic as a lotta these wondrous records, and we could only listen to music by hand and choice etc.
God bless!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From Moondance 10/24/2022 03:20
What I like about this chart:
1. we have ZERO albums in common:
2. we have only 4 artists in common, and that may very well become 1 artist in common when I do a review of my chart over the next month;
3. the 1 artist we have in common is Dylan - although our album preferences differ significantly (I am sure that doesn't come as any surprise - you can check out my '64 Dylan albums rated' chart if you have time :));
4. this chart oozes someone who actually breathes, eats, smells, tastes, touches, feels music more than hears it;
5. knowing the effort needed to make even short comments on album choices, the EFFORT in this chart is EXTRAordinary;
6. rather than a regurgitation of the BEA top 100, this chart has only 6 albums rated in the top 1000! and the highest ranking album is at #197 on the overall chart;
7. this chart actually made me go on a wild musical album/artist discovery hunt - I didn't actually find anything that I 'fell in love with' but sometimes the journey is more valuable than the end point ~ at least it gave me a few hours of hope; that maybe out there, somewhere, there is an artist/album undiscovered in my musical universe who will excite me in ways that I cannot explain;
8. ...and finally, the 2 Australian albums - excellent choices!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
seb7 08/29/2022 05:28
seb7 08/29/2022 05:28
super frikin interesting. love this chart!!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
SuedeSwede 07/11/2022 09:17
SuedeSwede 07/11/2022 09:17
naang naang!! <3 hope ur doing well friend
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From seb7 02/16/2022 00:47
seb7 02/16/2022 00:47
man this is great. I can't even say I agree with A SINGLE ONE of your picks but damn this is very well put together chart. Just the passion you seem to have for music is insane and I love it!!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for Top 100 Greatest Music Albums
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
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.
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.