The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013) 
New Musical Express is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. These are their best albums of all time.
(Official website: www.nme.com | Original URL Warning: The address at the original source was valid at the time the chart was added, but may have changed afterwards. )
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The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time composition
Decade | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
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1930s | 0 | 0% | |
1940s | 0 | 0% | |
1950s | 1 | 1% | |
1960s | 16 | 16% | |
1970s | 27 | 27% | |
1980s | 16 | 16% | |
1990s | 26 | 26% | |
2000s | 12 | 12% | |
2010s | 2 | 2% | |
2020s | 0 | 0% |
Artist | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
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The Beatles | 5 | 5% | |
Bob Dylan | 4 | 4% | |
The Rolling Stones | 4 | 4% | |
The Smiths | 4 | 4% | |
David Bowie | 4 | 4% | |
Radiohead | 3 | 3% | |
R.E.M. | 2 | 2% | |
Show all |
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Other all time overall charts
- Top 100 Albums by ABC (published 2006)
- The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (published 2012)
- Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Channel 4 (published 2005)
- The 100 Greatest Rock Albums Of All Time by Classic Rock (published 2001)
- The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (published 2022)
- Top 100 Albums Ever by Consequence of Sound (published 2010)
- The 100 All-Time Greatest Albums by Entertainment Weekly (published 2013)
- The Guardian 100 Best Albums Ever by The Guardian (published 1997)
- Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME
(published 2006)
- Top 90.3 Listener Voted Albums by KEXP (published 2008)
- Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (published 2000)
- Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (published 1996)
- 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Mojo (published 1995)
- Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (published 2011)
- The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (published 2007)
- NME Readers' All-Time Top 100 Albums by New Music Express (published 1988)
- The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (published 2013)
- New Musical Express Writers Top 100 Albums by New Music Express (published 1993)
- NME 's 100 Best Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (published 2003)
- NME's Best Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (published 1985)
- 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (published 2003)
- Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Q (published 1997)
- 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (published 2006)
- Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2003)
- Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2005)
- The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2020)
- Top 500 Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (published 2012)
- Top 100 Albums by Rolling Stone Deutschland (published 1997)
- Os 100 Melhores Discos de Todos Os Tempos by Sinewave (published 2012)
- The Top 50 Albums of All Time by Sound & Vision Magazine (published 2010)
- 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by The Sound (published 2018)
- All Time Top 100 Albums by Sounds (published 1985)
- The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (published 2015)
- 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (published 2016)
- The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (published 2001)
- Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (published 1994)
- Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (published 2000)
- Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (published 1998)
- Best Album Ever by ZigZag (published 1971)
- Albums of the Century by ZigZag (published 1975)
Other charts by New Music Express
Year charts
- NME Albums Of The Year 2022 by New Music Express (2022 year chart)
- The 50 best albums of 2021 by New Music Express (2021 year chart)
- The 50 best albums of 2020 by New Music Express (2020 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2019 by New Music Express (2019 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2018 by New Music Express (2018 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2017 by New Music Express (2017 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2016 by New Music Express (2016 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2015 by New Music Express (2015 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2014 by New Music Express (2014 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2013 by New Music Express (2013 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2012 by New Music Express (2012 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2011 by New Music Express (2011 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2010 by New Music Express (2010 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2009 by New Music Express (2009 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2008 by New Music Express (2008 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2007 by New Music Express (2007 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2006 by New Music Express (2006 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2005 by New Music Express (2005 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2004 by New Music Express (2004 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2003 by New Music Express (2003 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2002 by New Music Express (2002 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2001 by New Music Express (2001 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 2000 by New Music Express (2000 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1999 by New Music Express (1999 year chart)
- NME Albums of the Year 1998 by New Music Express (1998 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1997 by New Music Express (1997 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1996 by New Music Express (1996 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1995 by New Music Express (1995 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1994 by New Music Express (1994 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1992 by New Music Express (1992 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1991 by New Music Express (1991 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1990 by New Music Express (1990 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1989 by New Music Express (1989 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1988 by New Music Express (1988 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1987 by New Music Express (1987 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1986 by New Music Express (1986 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1984 by New Music Express (1984 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1983 by New Music Express (1983 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1982 by New Music Express (1982 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1981 by New Music Express (1981 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1980 by New Music Express (1980 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1979 by New Music Express (1979 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1978 by New Music Express (1978 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1977 by New Music Express (1977 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1976 by New Music Express (1976 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1975 by New Music Express (1975 year chart)
- NME Albums Of The Year 1974 by New Music Express (1974 year chart)
Decade charts
- NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2010s decade chart) (published 2019)
- Top 100 Greatest Albums of the 2000s by New Music Express (2000s decade chart) (published 2009)
- Top 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s by New Music Express (1980s decade chart) (published 1990)
- Top 100 Greatest Albums of the 1970s by New Music Express (1970s decade chart) (published 1980)
- Top 50 Greatest Albums of the 1960s by New Music Express (1960s decade chart) (published 1993)
Overall charts
- NME 's 100 Best Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (published 2003)
- The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (published 2013)
- NME's Best Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (published 1985)
- New Musical Express Writers Top 100 Albums by New Music Express (published 1993)
- NME Readers' All-Time Top 100 Albums by New Music Express (published 1988)
[New Music Express was founded in 1952.]
The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time 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 97 ratings for this chart.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
100/100 ![]() | 10/27/2022 13:19 | Skunkmunk | ![]() | 95/100 |
70/100 ![]() | 10/06/2022 02:26 | MattBarber | ![]() | 78/100 |
25/100 ![]() | 09/27/2022 21:43 | Phileas | ![]() | 35/100 |
100/100 ![]() | 09/19/2022 12:10 | Yannick1398 | ![]() | 97/100 |
70/100 ![]() | 06/28/2022 02:40 | JPin8497 | ![]() | 53/100 |
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 has a Bayesian average rating of 66.8/100, a mean average of 64.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 65.1/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 23.6.
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The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time comments
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88% of the albums are British or american.
I like the list, not the best but it gets the job done!
Good list, no need for the Pixies to be higher than the bottom 400 tho.

nmzzzzzz
This list suits NME's voice a lot. Surprised at the hate
Les smith n°1? Je crois pas non et pourquoi autant d'album par artiste ?
5 beatles, 4 rolling stones, 4 smith.... Pfff

Isn't this supposed to be the best 500? Why is there only 100 in the list?
Not sure why all the hate, this list has some of the best picks from the 1980s and 1990s, even some classics from the 2000s. Still, I understand some of the reactions because it is a bit wack in some places.
The Smith's doesn't belong at #1
A big no on this one. Some nice props to Public Enemy and Wutang, but this must've been made by someone who listens to a lot of radio.
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